Richard Davenport
August 4, 2024 – Proper 13
Exodus 16:2-15
The Old Testament passage for today is one of those real head scratchers. The Israelites have only been out of Egypt for a short while at this point. It’s been a big whirlwind of activity though. They sat and watched as plague after terrible plague was thrown against all of Egypt. Though the Israelites were there in the midst of the land and the people, they did not suffer any ill effects from the plagues. They were kept safe and sound. That included the last plague, the death of the firstborn, because they followed God’s plan and the blood of the Passover lamb kept them safe.
You knew, even before this, that the Egyptians didn’t like you. After all, you were all slaves there. As the plagues are going on and things are getting worse and worse, while you’re still untouched, there was probably a fair bit more hostility going around. Maybe there were some Egyptians who had it figured out to some extent. The Israelite God was angry and he was fighting on behalf of his people. Whether any of them did or didn’t was kind of beside the point, since Pharaoh called the shots and he was still very much of the opinion that he could outlast anything their God might throw at him.
The Israelites understood what was going on, however. God told Moses quite clearly why this was all going the way it was. We aren’t told if the Israelites were overly worried about it, but there was no reason for them to be worried. God had everything under control and had promised to keep them safe. More than that, he explained the basics of the plan to them. They knew more or less what to expect as this all went along.
There were a few times the people got pretty nervous, but everything went just as God had planned. The Israelites escaped Egypt. They escaped slavery. They escaped from the pagan idolatry of its people. They escaped death at the hands of a ruler who cared nothing for them and who wanted only to crush them into the dirt until they were gone.
When Joseph and his family had first settled in Egypt centuries ago, things were very different. Joseph was a man in high esteem. He was favored by Pharaoh and all of the people. He, like his descendants at the Passover, had his ups and downs. But things eventually worked out and it was all according to God’s good plan. The people didn’t know all of that, but they didn’t really need to know all of that. Even if they had known every step of the plan, it wouldn’t have changed anything and wouldn’t necessarily have made them any more trusting that things would go the way they were supposed to.
But they’re out now. They made it. Here they are in the wilderness. They’re free from slavery. Free from death. Free from the idolatrous land and its people. You might think this would be cause for celebration, but no. We don’t hear much about celebration during all of this time the Israelites are wandering the Sinai peninsula. They don’t seem to be too big on celebration.
No, if I had to pick one adjective to describe the Israelites out here, it would be: grumpy. Granted, we have to remember that they are out here for forty years. Weeks, months, even years can pass from one scene recorded in Scripture to the next. But, typically when those scenes do come up, it’s because they’re grumpy about some new thing, or an old thing that they’ve been grumpy about before.
In our reading for today, not much time has passed at all. But, we’re already grumpy about something that will come up more than once as we’re out here in the wilderness. God has brought us out here and left us without enough essentials to survive. He’s brought us out here to die. He’s done all of that plague stuff, that lamb’s blood stuff, that dividing the water stuff, the pillar of cloud and fire stuff, the drowning of Pharaoh’s army stuff, and all of the rest, just to lead us here to die.
There’s a lot that could be said here about forgetfulness and for the lack of thanks we offer to God. Both of these are major themes in text for today. You don’t really anything from the Israelites that suggests they’re grateful for all that God has done for them. The one exception being Moses, who sings a song to God, praising him for his mercy and for his protection.
Whether it makes any real sense or not, whether justified or not, the Israelites here are complaining that life was better in Egypt. They look around at this wilderness that can’t provide the food they need and they collectively decide that life in slavery is better. They wistfully long for the life they had in the past. They think about how much easier it was, at least they never had to worry about food.
The blessings God has given them since then have meant nothing. They are quickly forgotten. God’s power and might which worked to save them have also been forgotten. His mercy and love may as well have never been. God has been working a con game this whole time and the whole nation of Israel, as well as Egypt and the surrounding nations, were duped. Now, having done what he set out to do, God leaves them to fend for themselves in the wilderness.
There’s the saying, “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” It’s a tried and true saying, but it’s a true saying because we all have encountered those situations before. “That guy’s job is better than mine. He hardly has to work and he still makes good money. Look at that lady’s family. Her husband is so attentive. Her kids are disciplined and obedient. Her life is so much better. He has more money. She’s more talented. He’s more athletic. She’s more organized.”
Wanting what someone else has is a pretty common problem for all of us. What triggers those thoughts and desires may differ between us, but they all intrude at times. Thinking that what I have isn’t good enough. Thinking that what others have is better. Thinking that what I used to have was better. Thinking that God failed to provide. Thinking that God doesn’t care. It’s all wrapped up in the concept of coveting, and all about our lack of trust.
The grass is always greener…the grass is better over there, in that life, with those people, with that job, with that kind of money, in that kind of place, where it’s warmer, where it’s cooler, where I can do this hobby or that, where I can do this kind of work or that, where I have a husband who does this, a wife who does that, kids who do this, friends who do that, where I have this thing or that thing, where I don’t have the problems I face in front of me right now. Any place, every place must be better than where I am right now. God put me in this position, so it’s his responsibility to get me out of it and I won’t stop giving him an earful until he does.
The Israelites, in their perpetual grouchiness and complaining, had failed to note a couple of pretty important points. The first is that, in assuming God had led them out there to die, that he no longer cared about them, or that he had never cared about them to begin with. If he didn’t care about them, he certainly wasn’t helping them, providing for them, or blessing them in any way.
We think of God’s blessings only in terms of tangible things or things that we can measure in some way, money, fame, success, good health, or even more mundane stuff like skills and various achievements. That God would bless you in other ways hardly comes to mind. Could God be helping you to be more courageous, more humble, more dedicated, more compassionate, more thoughtful, more imaginative, more industrious, more trusting, more of any number of different qualities and virtues that make you a better person, a better Christian, a person who better shows how God loves you and all creation.
The idea that God had abandoned them in the desert doesn’t make much sense at all unless you think about it in terms of God’s blessings. God saved them from Egypt. He brought them across the sea. He defeated Pharaoh and his armies. All big and obvious signs of God’s favor. But now, here they were, and those big, obvious signs were nowhere to be found. So, the conclusion they all come to is that God doesn’t favor them anymore.
What’s more, the “grass is greener” mentality has some major problems with it too. Maybe life really was easier back then. Maybe that family gets along better. Maybe that job really would be more exciting and fulfilling. Maybe all of those things are true. You look around and think about how the grass doesn’t look very green on your side of the fence and how it should. If God really cares for you and loves you, it should look great.
Maybe things don’t look great right at this moment. But God doesn’t promise things will be great now. He does promise they will be and he also tells us that we aren’t there yet. The highs we experience on a good day now, versus every day life in God’s kingdom will be like comparing a speed bump on the road to the heights of Mt. Everest. They aren’t even in the same category. Yet, we get so worked up about life now that we don’t think to compare it to what is to come.
When God gives us gifts, or blessings, or whatever other word you might think of, sometimes those things are tangible. But the more important ones are not. The tangible signs of God’s favor might make you feel better, but the intangible ones make you better. The forgiveness Christ died to give you isn’t found in how much stuff you have or how famous you are. It isn’t a thing that can be measured. Just as you can’t measure the depth of your sins, you can’t measure the height of God’s grace. Learning to look to him more, learning to follow him better, learning to trust him more, learning to be more like him, all of these are blessings only he can give, that can’t be seen or touched or measured, and all of gifts without price.
The Israelites were being shaped and molded into God’s people. It was already who they were in name, but they needed to be God’s people in word and deed as well. They were going to be the messengers of his love and grace to the world, but they needed to see that in action in their own lives before they could share that message with the world. Would God care for their physical needs? Yes, but even while they were waiting for those needs to be met, he was also seeing to their spiritual needs. All of this aimed at the much greater, much greener pastures that awaited them, if only they learned to follow the shepherd who would lead them there.
In that regard, the way God works hasn’t changed. He still cares for your needs. He still provides for you, but he reminds you that your needs go beyond just what you can see and touch. There are needs in your heart and soul that only he can attend to and he can care for. Put away your short-sighted need to see God’s favor and measure his love. See instead how his grace and favor hide in places you do not look and do not expect. Look at how his love is not shown in big flashy signs or in outpourings of physical wealth, but in his son hanging on a cross to die for people who think God has abandoned them.
He comes to earth to show you that the grass is greener, not in the past, not over there with those people, with that family or that job or that house, but wherever he is found. Rejoice at his grace and mercy. Rejoice that he forgives you and loves you enough to tend to all of your needs, no matter what it costs him. Trust him and follow him, for he leads you to where the grass is green not just here or there but everywhere.