Complaint, Command, and Contentment

Complaint and Contentment in Exodus 16

Well, we are in chapter 16. I was I was glad to hear so many people make that correction. It meant that you also know where we are in the book of Exodus. That's always an encouragement for a preacher that people didn't just routinely open up to the wrong chapter and who knows where we are.

Yes, we are in Exodus chapter 16. And as we have been considering the personal presence of God over several weeks. Seeing God in his gracious Presence. God as the protector and as the guider. God as the provider as we saw last week.

We also see in the midst of that this sharp contrast between the people of God. God is the leader the people stubbornly refused to submit to his leading. If God is the provider the people are murmuring and complaining about his provision and we'll see this sharp contrast between who God is to his people and How God's people are to him and that's really coming into focus this morning in Exodus 16.

Now obviously we're cutting off at verse 16, which means we'll consider more in this chapter. Not next week with the week after next week. We anticipate having Jason Austin come From FBC and preach to us.

So be on your best behavior for that. So we will have sort of a delay as we work our way through chapter 16. But this morning we want to focus on this great contrast between the complaint of the people and yet the gracious provision of God and the application really draws us to consider the Kind of contentment that God wants us to have in our walks with him.

And how does that contentment come about? How will we actually grow in that contentment? So that's what we're going to do together this morning. Israel is heading further into the wilderness. They had that little Oasis experience at Elam.

But now they head into the wilderness of sin on their way to Sinai and in this wilderness every step. They take they're taking a step deeper into desolation a step deeper into deprivation. They're late being led further away from that Repast they had at Elam further into the desert into the heat into the lack of provision and that Brings about a great cry from the congregation.

The Cry and Complaint of the Congregation

So we'll kind of move through these verses in four parts first the cry from the congregation. Secondly the complaint against the Creator. Third the command from the cloud and then lastly the covering in the camp.

So first this cry from the congregation. Verses one through three. They journeyed from Elam and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of sin. Which is between Elam and Sinai on the 15th day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt.

Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel.

Complained.

Against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. We have this record that it's been one month since the Passover night and the Passover will be brought up again later on in these verses on the 15th of the first month God delivered his people in a mighty way by Sparing their forced-born.

Using that slaughter of the Egyptian son as it were to be the redemption of the Israelite son He brought his people out of Egypt and we read as a response to that that the whole congregation Was silent before the Lord.

In fact when Moses said God's purpose they bowed before the Lord. We read the whole congregation after the Exodus praise the Lord. Here only one month after that fateful night we read the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained.

We go from the whole congregation praising bowing in reverence adoring the wondrous miracles of God to now complaining and this complaint is Against Moses and Aaron, but as we'll see it is actually unveiled as a complaint against God himself.

The children of Israel said to them. Oh That we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt remember it was the same hand that had brought them.

Out.

But now instead of the hand that brings them out we have the hand that they wish had brought death if only we had died in the land of Egypt. A Death wish a dramatic perhaps over dramatic death wish if only we had died.

This is far worse. Yes being freed and led by God and cloud and pillar is far worse than being struck down in the land of Egypt. So deluded as they're thinking at this moment of need. Oh that we had died by the hand of the Lord and the land of Egypt when here's another delusion.

We sat by the pots of meat when we ate bread to the fill. You have brought us into the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. If you ever seen that Snickers commercial, you're not you when you're hungry.

This would be apropos of the Israelites. What are you talking about? You are not yourself. Someone get them a Snickers bar. It has been said before Unbelief has a short memory. Unbelief has a short memory.

Nothing will knock down our piles of Ebeneezer's. Faster than a trial especially a trial of great need or overwhelming loss. That trial comes like a mighty wind and it knocks down all those Heap stones we had put along our way to remind us of God's goodness and faithfulness.

He brought us through this trial 13 years ago. Surely still he'll get us through and then a new trial comes and it just knocks all that memory away. Not only is the memory of God's provision short, but it becomes corrupted.

The memory becomes almost a false Remembering a vain imagination in the land of Egypt. We sat by pots of meat.

We ate bread to the full.

The land of slavery now becomes the land of R &R. This is a sandals resort. This wasn't our bondage. This was actually the greatest thing that ever happened to us when we were chained and crying out to God for mercy.

We have never read anywhere in Exodus that they sat by great pots of meat and ate bread to the full. We read the opposite that they were in misery that their cries were ascending to God's throne room day after day Morning and night and that God rescued them as a result of their great misery.

So notice here this this drama this short memory and this great delusion. And there's great room for caution here brother and sister great room for caution. Perhaps life has become difficult to you lately.

Of course, we're not spared from difficulties in life whether a believer or unbeliever. But perhaps your particular difficulty as a believer has caused you to look back. Wrongly on your former life on your life before the Lord.

Perhaps you begin to even think if only I could compromise a little here. If only I could loosen up a little there. If only I lived like this or like those around me those that I work with. Those that I once ran with how much better off I would be if I just stayed in the path.

They had been on if I just adopt somehow Christianity light versions of the way that they're walking or perhaps the world the flesh the devil is. Reminding you of your former life and the sinful things that you once enjoyed and and you have this false estimation of fulfillment.

Somehow these things were fulfilling to me. I Think in fact if I could somehow maneuver back toward them, I would find more fulfillment. I would find more purpose. I would find more peace and stability in my life.

In fact, this way has been so difficult and it must be very wrong. Maybe it's too far extreme. Maybe this is just a legalism and I'm all fouled up and I really just need to turn back and just at least get one.

Foot one leg one waist deep maybe just all the way back into Egypt. How much better off I would be if only I could go back. Look really carefully at the Israelites here. That's essentially what they're saying.

Better off dead than here in our time of need in our trial. In fact, if we were to go back, wasn't it grand? Wasn't it wonderful? Do you remember how much bread we got and all the meat that we were surrounded with?

No, I don't remember that at all. Remember rightly in other words, that's the great encouragement from this passage. Remember rightly Don't misestimate your former conduct. Don't be deluded in your thinking don't block out all of God's goodness and faithfulness in the bondage and darkness and solitude that you once felt and have clouded corrupted memories from the world in the flesh and the devil that Convince you of things that have never been the case at all.

God's people forgot the bitter bondage. Which had made them cry out to God for redemption and almost for that same reason now they cry out against God. That's the difference that faithful memory makes Faithful memory caused you to cry out toward God.

A.

Lack of faithful memory will cause you to cry out against God. Why have you led me this way? Why am I facing this kind of need this kind of trial? Altogether God's people have overlooked his mercy his grace.

The miracles that spared them the love and the care that he had showered upon them. And if you don't watch your own heart, if you don't guard your mind in your heart in Christ Jesus. You'll always find that forgetfulness breeds this kind of murmur.

A certain species of complaint that comes about is birthed by a lack of proper remembrance and then we begin to Sort of fall out of harmony. Our own memories our own affections now are all disharmonious.

We're no longer able to sing with the Saints. We're no longer able to have that Almost song like affection for the Lord and for his people the murmuring begins to corrupt and like a piano out of tune every note Is discordant and even those around us?

They find it kind of hard to be within earshot for that very reason. Thomas Watson you brothers I hope they have pressed on a little bit with Thomas Watson. He said murmuring is the devil's music. All out of tune all discordant chases people away.

The Complaint Against the Creator and God's Bread from Heaven

Well speaking of music we should be reminded why we're reading this very passage in exodus 616 a Few weeks ago. I had opportunity to take my girls to a classical concert and we had balcony seats at Mechanics Hall in Worcester beautiful building and as we watched the Symphony take the stage and of course, it's appropriate to stand and rise and they all sort of looked around at us, of course.

We are. Meaningfully, we are all gathered in that place to see them to behold them to look at them. We're in the balcony as spectators to see what they will do. But that is not how we ought to come to exodus 16 as Christians.

We are not in the balconies reading this narrative and seeing what they have done going. Oh, isn't that interesting? It's the other way around all of these murmuring Israelites are in the balconies looking at us.

What will we do. Paul says in 1st Corinthians 10 these things happened for your sake? Not for their sake right? They're the spectators upon what you will do from their example. So we don't come passively.

We don't come anonymously. The sight of these murmurers is upon us. How will we respond? Will we like them complain secondly complain against the Creator beginning in verse 4? And the Lord said to Moses behold I will rain bread from heaven for you and The people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day that I may test them whether they'll walk in my way or not.

And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in and it shall be twice as much as they Gather daily. Oh first notice the Lord's response to this outbreak of complaining. It's an amazing thing.

The first word is behold. Then he says I will rain and you're almost bracing for fire and brimstone upon them, right? Here's the complaint you've let a. I wish we had died. I wish we weren't brought up out of our bondage.

I wish we could just go back to our slavery and our misery if only God had left us alone. Behold says the Lord I will rain and we're expecting judgment. But what does he say?

Bread.

I'll rain bread upon you. So the answer of God to this abject rebellion is.

Provision.

Psalm 78 we won't we won't have time to look at it, but Psalm 78 cascades with this. Here's what the people of God did complained murmured rebelled refused to submit and here's what God did he provided for them?

He was patient with them. He was long-suffering for them. He did wondrous deeds in front of them. There's this constant contrast between the ways of God and the ways of his people. Instead of wrath God gives them bread from heaven.

This this manna this substance. One commentator says that the closest we can get with what manna might have meant is sort of a what's it? You know, it's not quite like bread. It's bread from heaven. It's unlike anything.

You can even get a sense of the sort of desperate attempt to describe it later on in this passage. It's sort of a small substance round. It's sort of flaky. Other descriptions go on to say it has this appearance of bdellium.

It tastes like fresh oil it scatters like dew and yet it can be gathered up. A single individual can gather up to two liters a day. That's how much God has made available for his people snowbread something like that.

Remember that in a few months when you see your kids with their mittens taking big mouthfuls Full of snow and you tell them it you know, if it's yellow or brown leave it alone. Notice that God also reveals his purpose.

That I may test them. Deuteronomy 8 makes this clear that what God is doing in this provision and in the deprivation is testing his people not Testing what he hasn't actually been cultivating or planting in their lives.

But proving his work in them as he always does in his people proving his work. Proving his law proving his grace proving the maturity of sanctification. The lives of his people. And he does that by both blessing and chastisement by withholding and providing.

This is how God is always testing and proving his people. Verse 6. Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel at evening You shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt and in the morning You shall see the glory of the Lord for he hears your complaints against the Lord.

But what are we that you complain against us? Also Moses said this shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and in the morning bread to the Full. For the Lord hears your complaints which you make against him.

And what are we your complaints are not against us but against the Lord. Remember Hebrew narrative where we have things Repeated. That's the way of emphasis and we have here a threefold repetition of the phrase complaining against the Lord a complaint against the Lord the congregation has unintentionally perhaps unconsciously Camouflage their rebellion against God.

They're simply reacting to their situation and they're murmuring grumbling they're venting their complaint against Moses and Aaron. But Moses corrects them and says no. We're simply leading as God has enabled us to lead and as we're leading you you following us is actually following God.

Which means when you've complained against our leading you're actually complaining against God's leading. You're not complaining against us. You're complaining against God and he says that three times to make the point clear.

Moses recognizes what the people cannot recognize. Their complaint is not at a Horizontal level it's at a vertical level. Moses is telling them like it is it is God against whom they complain and we need to remember this.

We need to remember this whenever we're wrestling with difficult providence in our lives. Whenever we're facing difficulty or facing need when we have Something that has provoked us or perhaps there's a genuine concern.

Maybe even a good concern to have but we may go about it in all of the wrong ways. We have to be very careful that that concern is not an opportunity for the flesh an opportunity for sin or division. God is shaping and leading us through others.

That is to say God does not only appoint the ends. But he also appoints the means and we can't just say well we trust God with the end of it all. But we refuse to trust God with the means he has provided.

That's true in a in a home. You know for children they have parents that the Lord has given them. You might say well, I'd be better off. I'd be better off in life better off spiritually if I had a different mom or a different dad.

Well, God hasn't just appointed the end for you. He's appointed the means. So a complaint against them and a refusal to honor the fifth commandment is a refusal against God and it's a dishonoring of God.

It's a distrust of his means. Or a wife to a husband or a husband to a wife I'd be so much better off the different spouse or a different kind of marriage or if we weren't led in this way or we weren't facing these kinds of.

Things.

But again God doesn't just appoint the ends he appoints the means when we vent and direct all of our murmuring and frustration against others. Maybe even involuntarily those others being the cause of our need or our concern or our difficulty if we do so in a way that we refuse to See God's hand.

We refuse to see God's timing his work of providence. It may be that we end up complaining not against them but against God himself. I love David's response when when he was provoked and he was sort of at one of the most desperate trials in his life and When he was being cursed out by Shimei and his bodyguard said why does this dead dog insult the king?

I'm gonna go collect his head for you to mount somewhere. And what does David say? Let him alone got God put it on him to curse me. David was so dejected. It was almost like you couldn't insult him at that moment.

He was already down so far those insults didn't even reach him, but he also had this recognition. What am I gonna stand up for myself now? Am I gonna defend my ego? Is this the right time to make sure that no disrespect is shown to me?

Or am I actually in this deep pit of humility? Am I just all that really matters right now is what the Lord is going to do. Who else can add anything right sticks and stones, but I need the Lord. I need the Lord.

Try to imagine brother and sister. When we murmur when we complain when we vent our frustration when we take some provoking jab. And we speak it to someone else or about someone else and we're only thinking in horizontal terms.

Think of how different it would be if that same vent that same murmur that same complaint that same jab. Was spoken to the Lord Jesus himself how different it would be. How different it would be if the Lord were Present in a visible way and the very way we see in this chapter when the Shekinah glory Descends in the form of the cloud how different it is when only Moses and Aaron are visible and we can complain against them.

And we feel vindicated Justified to complain against them and to rattle up others to complain against them. In fact, look at we're all unified. You're the issue. You're the problem and there's no vertical dimension to our complaining or our frustration.

But as soon as that glory cloud descends Shame descends upon the complainer or at least it ought to. When we complain against others in this way, we're complaining against the Lord. That's what Exodus 16 is saying.

That doesn't mean there's never a place for valid concern valid complaint. A Striving bringing something to attention. It doesn't mean leaders are flawless or infallible or always right in their own. Forethought and direction might mean they need to be Approached might mean that something has to be brought to their attention, but never do so with a utterly horizontal view always Understand the horizontal dimension to say I trust both the ends and the means and therefore recognizing.

There's all sorts of landmines. Surrounding this in my own flesh at play. I'm going to approach it very carefully very spiritually very prayerfully. That's vital. Because we often think well when the Lord comes he'll agree with me.

That's what Miriam thought. That's what Aaron thought when they were the ones joining in the complaint against Moses. And when the Lord descends, he doesn't agree with them. We often think the Lord is on our side.

The Lord will vindicate us. It just shows how deluded our own complaining and murmuring can be. The Lord appoints not only the ends but the means when we complain. We should picture as though the Lord were present and we were voicing our complaint to him.

When you're with another brother or two or three are gathered or you know. You're in a huddle of sisters and some issue some provocation some circumstance some relationship is in discussion. What would it be for the Lord to be there among you?

How differently that discussion would? Unravel how differently? You'd be tripping over yourself to say well, I know I'm probably not thinking right. I probably shouldn't even be saying I should probably really didn't pray about it.

You'd be tripping over yourself with all the safeguards. You instinctively know ought to be there. But when you're only thinking horizontally when you only see Moses and Aaron. You almost can't help yourself to slip into the flesh.

That's the danger. But notice here and thirdly we have a command from the cloud. The Lord does come. Moses spoke to Aaron say to all the congregation of the children of Israel come near before the Lord for he has heard your complaints.

I Love Moses, even when he's complained against he's always and ever the mediator and ultimately the Lord Jesus the more perfect a fulfillment of that very thing Jesus the perfect mediator who transforms our complaining and murmuring into Provisions from God.

That's what Moses is doing here. Come near before the Lord. He's heard your complaints. I've heard your complaints. I've had it up to here with your complaints, but come near before the Lord. He's heard your complaints and it comes to pass as Aaron speaks to the whole congregation of the children of Israel.

They look toward the wilderness and behold the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. So the glory cloud descends. This is something that we'll see thematically as we work our way through Exodus the glory cloud the presence of God in the camp of his people.

Notice that they had refused to acknowledge God and their complaining. They had refused to acknowledge God and their complaining and yet he acknowledged their complaint. Isn't that amazing? He refused to they refused to acknowledge God and their complaining and yet he acknowledged their complaint.

The Lord has heard your complaint. You didn't mean for it to go to the Lord. You were just venting you were just frustrated you were just upset. You were just wounded. You were just insulted. You didn't mean for it to get with an earshot of the Lord, but guess what the Lord the Lord heard it and The Lord moves now the Lord answers.

They refused to recall God's promises or his past provision and yet he continues to keep his promise and continues to provide for them. They did not want to be kept in the way. But God keeps them in the way.

This is a picture of God's grace over the lives of his people. God bears with them like a father. Bearing with the youngest of his children knowing how ignorant that little one is seeking to gently Break in a certain level of trust and obedience.

So he doesn't take infantile Israel fresh off the chains and then sternly punish them at every wrong turn. We see at least in the last two chapters this this gracious patience of God as their father. Looking to train them up and instill a certain level of trust in them.

He's going to then prove and test that work and that's when chastisement will come. So a good illustration of how we ought to be as fathers and mothers. Not not sternly punishing Them for things that are beyond them things that we haven't even worked into them things that we haven't trained them in.

But as soon as we're training them to actually be on top of that bring Exhortation bring chastisement keep them in the way you've trained them. So you don't begin as judge dread. In fact, you never really want to end as judge dread either but you begin as a gracious patient parent and You're only admonishing and disciplining and chastising as a way of keeping in the very things that you've taught and worked.

And trained them toward that's what we see here in Exodus. Had they learned the lesson from the bitter waters? No, have we learned the lessons from our bitter waters. These things happen to them for our sake.

Never be tempted to view the Christian life as though it's some static Passive thing you just sort of float along and maintain the status quo. Go through the rhythms. Use the means of grace and it's just sort of this straight line in the same direction.

There's nothing dynamic about it. There's no seasons. There's no trials. There's no proving grounds. There's no threshing floors. Don't view the Christian life as some static maintain, you know system to maintain the Christian life is a life filled with the personal dynamic presence of God who moves his people through seasons and proves them through tests and trials and adds Blessings but also brings rebuke and chastisement and to view your Christian life as dynamic in this way ought to keep our hearts very tender toward the Lord and The Israelites here ought to have very tender hearts to the Lord when they consider their complaints have brought about this response.

Verse 12. I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel speak this to them at Twilight you will eat meat in the morning. You'll be filled with bread and you will know that I am the Lord your God.

That's the best complaint customer service department I've ever heard of. I Think that's one of the worst jobs. You could possibly have especially this time of year right customer service. You had in you know January and on and there's just a 15 minute wait and you're just dealing with people that are frustrated and dejected and upset.

Everything went wrong. This was the perfect gift and it came ruined. It was shipped damaged pieces were missing this broke. It was cheaply made and you have to put a smile on and say I'm so sorry to hear about that.

We can offer you store credit and it really must wear on the patience. Look at how God handles the complaints of his people. I've heard your complaints. I've heard your murmuring. I've heard your your sinful distrust your unbelief your death wish to be back in slavery.

And here's how I'm going to respond. I'm gonna give you meat every night. I'm gonna fill your stomachs with bread. You'll never hunger. This is how you'll know that I'm your God. Isn't that amazing. He doesn't say I've heard you and you'll each have three croutons use them wisely.

Yeah, you'll only get three per day. Be very careful it's just Quail manna, right you go out and gather up all of this wondrous food. It's this picture of Covenant faithfulness even to murmurers and that's fourth.

Lastly the the covering in the camp verses 13 through 16. The whole camp is covered now with the abundant provision of God. So it was quail came up at evening and covered the camp and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp.

This is a hunter's dream, right? The quail come to you. You just wake up open the tent door and there's game birds everywhere. When the layer of dew lifted there on the surface of the wilderness was a small round substance as fine as frost on the ground.

When the children of Israel saw it they said to one another what is it. They didn't know what it was. And Moses said to them this is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord has commanded.

Let every man gather it according to each one's need. God has a concern about each.

One's.

Need.

It doesn't say. Well, at least most of them will be filled. Now only lose about 33 in this season that's pretty good statistically. He's concerned about each one's need. Every Individual among his people he has an eye of provision upon them.

What do they need? How will I provide for them? How will I continue them on to what I have promised for them? This is how the Lord keeps his faithfulness. God pitied them. He looked to their need more than he heard their complaints.

It would be well Christian for you to look to people's needs more than their complaints. It would be well for us to be the kind of church that can deflect and see through a barrage of.

Misguided.

Conversation of posturing and preening of gossip of maybe even insult or complaint or venting frustrations if we could see through that all and say What does this brother or sister really need and how can I serve them according to that need?

This is to be Christlike a.

Mother.

Does not as soon as a newborn baby cries, right? The empty stomach triggering the response in the brain through the vocal cords and this desperate cry the mother doesn't say that's it. You know had enough.

It's an amazing thing. I've seen it now four times. It doesn't matter how tired how sleep-deprived a mother is when that crying starts. There's there's no anger in her face. There's a lot of exhaustion.

There's a lot of fatigue. There's a lot of. You know, I can't wait for this season to pass but there's no anger directed at the baby. The baby has a need and though there's a great wailing of complaints and maybe even the baby the infant is getting angry.

There's no anger on the part of the mother. There's just this self sacrificial way of providing this instinctive way of saying yes, and now I will fill you now I will nourish you. And that's how the Lord is.

He looks to our need more than our complaining he hears our cry and not our complaint. Isn't that amazing? Our prayers are so faithless because they're often more More like ornate complaints flowery complaints than they are actual prayers.

Prayers of faith and trust and praise. In fact as as one said God treats our murmurings almost like they were prayers. He answers what we should have asked. That's the faithfulness of God. He answers what we should have asked.

We say Lord if you would just give me this everything would be great. And he says no, I'm gonna actually answer what you should be praying for. I have something much better for you. Speaking of Ebeneezer's aren't you glad to look back and See that at different times in your life all the things that you prayed for and thought would be the best things for you.

God did not allow to be answered. Aren't you grateful for that? I'm so grateful that God didn't answer most of my prayers when I was a teenager. Very thankful for that Word to the teenagers in the congregation.

You want what God wants for you? You'll never hear another testimony. Complaints command contentment. When we see God Answering our prayers. We can't help but see his compassion in this way when we see God Answering the prayers we should have asked.

When we hear God not receiving our complaints, but answering our need. We see a compassion that is beyond our human experience. This is a compassion that defies all sympathy of understanding. We can't understand what it's like for God to be the God of mercy in this way.

For God to be as holy as he is and yet have this kind of compassion we see a glimpse of it in Matthew 15 when the multitudes come to Jesus and they're gathering this this train of lame and mute and blind and maimed and many others and there's just this constant train of these people in need being laid at the feet of Jesus and So he's healing them and healing them and healing them and the multitude of the healed are turning in awe and this has a General effect on the multitude of the people thousands that are now gathering Moment by moment hour by hour to look at the one who has this power to heal who has the very Word of God.

Blind seeing lame jumping up for joy all the things he said he would fulfill at the synagogue in Luke 4 the very things that Isaiah said would be true of this suffering servant and Jesus called his disciples to himself and he said Matthew 15 verse 33.

I have compassion on the multitude. Because they've continued with me now three days, but they have nothing to eat and I don't want to send them away hungry. Lest they faint on the way. I've never seen a health and wealth preacher with that kind of concern.

You know, I must get to my Rolls-Royce. You know, I can't meet too many people on the way out of the football stadium. But what does Jesus do when he has a stadium full of people surrounding him? He says well, I've healed all their lame.

I've cured all their blind. I've I've made pure all their lepers. But what about they themselves? I don't want to send them away hungry. I don't want them to faint on the way. Jesus has a concern and the mix of that multitude even for an empty stomach.

The people that were there witnessing were so caught up in the awe of what he was doing. They probably weren't even thinking about their need for a meal, but Jesus is. He has concern for the things that have yet to develop as concerns for themselves.

His disciples, of course understand the logistics of this whole operation which leads to this miraculous feeding. Where can we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude? So you have people that are weary hungry and God refuses to send them faint on their way.

God will fill them though. They're in a wilderness. He will rain bread upon them. That's what he's doing in Exodus 16 and here in Matthew 15. Jesus is fulfilling that Jesus now is saying that was all corresponding to who I am what I will do what I am.

I won't allow the people who come to me to be sent away empty to go on the road. To go off and starve to go off and faint on the way if they've come to me, I will rain bread upon them. But Lord where it's a fallen world.