Chewing on Exodus 16 this morning, and there’s repetition — boy, is there repetition.

The newly delivered-from-Egypt, on-their-way-to-the-land-promised people of God, being fresh off of walking through a walled-up Red Sea, find what you’re gonna find in the wilderness, the land between deliverance and promise. And what’s that? Not much. After all, it’s the wilderness.

They’ve seen the mighty hand of God deliver from slavery. They’ve walked under the glory of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. But they should know that leaving the land of what was doesn’t automatically and immediately put you in the land of what will be. So, the wilderness should be a place to be expected, a place to trust in the LORD who walked you out of Egypt and has said He would walk with you into a land of promise. But instead of trusting, what do they do? They grumble.

Eight times, in Exodus 16, the reader is told, and told again, that the people grumbled. What’s more, and kind of ominously, four times it’s ensured that we know that the LORD heard their grumbling. Uh oh!

They’re grumbling. He’s hearing. Is the hammer coming? Cue the Jaws music.

And then I read this, the LORD’s response to His people’s grumbling:

“I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'”

(Exodus 16:12 ESV)

I have heard the grumbling . . . you shall be filled. Wanna talk about grace? That’s grace. (Pull out the brown colored-pencil and shade it.)

Wanna know something about the God who delivers with a mighty hand? Well, as Moses will discover up close and personal in a few chapters, He is “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex. 34:6).

It’s not grace just so empty bellies might be filled, but grace so newly redeemed souls might know more fully the nature of their Redeemer. Filled with bread in order to know that I am the LORD your God. Grace for our good. But also grace for His glory.

Wilderness wanderers — especially those new to the wilderness — are gonna be tempted to grumble. Even veteran sojourners will, at times, succumb to weary whining. But blessed are those who hunger, for they shall be filled. Sure, better to taste the LORD is good when we’re trusting, but what of a God who provides bread from heaven even when we’re grumbling on earth? How gracious is that? Pretty gracious!

Oh, to grumble less and trust more. To look confidently to my Deliverer when the desert’s particularly dry, and not to long again for Egypt and crave the fake food of the world.

But to also know that whether I’m faithful or faltering, my God is always faithful and that those He has delivered from death He will deliverer to life, and life abundantly.

Thank God that where grumbling abounds, grace does more abound.

Not to be cavalier in our testing, but to have confidence in His trustworthiness.

Not to presume on His goodness, but to rest in the gospel.

The good news of grace. And grace for His glory.

Amen?