Message 32
Scripture Reading: Exo. 16:1-30; Num. 11:1-10, 18-23, 31-34
The book of Exodus was not written according to doctrine, but according to experience. After the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, the Lord led them to Marah. There the people murmured because the waters were bitter. Instead of being angry with the people for their murmuring, the Lord showed Moses a healing tree that changed the bitterness into sweetness. Just three days earlier, God’s people had experienced His salvation at the Red Sea. Pharaoh’s army had been destroyed, and the people had been rejoicing with praises to the Lord. However, at Marah it seems that the people forgot their experience at the Red Sea. Nevertheless, realizing that His people were children and that this was the first instance of their murmuring, the Lord did not punish them. Instead, He changed the bitter waters into sweet waters.
From Marah, the people were led by the Lord to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water flowing and seventy palm trees growing. The experience of God’s people at Elim must have been very exciting. Whenever we come to an Elim in our spiritual experience, we also are very excited. After their wonderful experience at Elim, the children of Israel “took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai” (16:1). As we shall see, after experiencing the flowing and growing life at Elim, they were led into a different situation, one which was rather difficult for them.
According to God’s ordination, there is day, and there is also night. On the one hand, after day there is night. On the other hand, after night there is a new day. In our experience with the Lord we need both the day and the night. We need the experience at the Red Sea, and we also need the bitterness at Marah. We need the exciting experience at Elim, and we also need the experience in the wilderness of Sin.
God’s people came to the wilderness of Sin “on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt” (16:1), approximately a month after the Passover in Egypt. The Passover and the experiences at the Red Sea and at Elim all were wonderful. But after all these wonderful experiences, the people were led by the pillar of cloud into the wilderness.
Exodus 16:2 says, “And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.” Here we see three parties: those who murmured, those against whom the murmuring was directed, and the Lord, who overheard the murmurings. According to verse 8, Moses said to the people, “Jehovah heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against Jehovah” (Heb.). Moses was very displeased with the people because of their murmurings. He was much more displeased than the Lord Himself was. The Lord charged Moses to tell the people that they would see His glory in the morning (v. 7). He also promised to “rain bread from heaven” for them (v. 4).
Although this message is entitled “The Experience of Manna,” my burden actually is not on manna itself. My burden is to point out that after the marvelous experience at Elim, the flesh of the children of Israel still remained. The same is true with us in our spiritual experience. After having an exciting experience at Elim with the twelve flowing springs and the seventy growing palms, we still are troubled by the flesh. The living water at Elim does not wash away the flesh. This is the reason that the so-called Pentecostal experiences do not deliver us from the flesh. Believers may experience the baptism of the Spirit or the so-called second blessing, but they still have the problem with the flesh. Even the genuine experience of the baptism of the Spirit is nothing more than the experience at Elim. As the record in chapter sixteen indicates, the experience at Elim does not solve the problem with the flesh.
By this we see, once again, that the book of Exodus is not written according to doctrine, but is written according to spiritual experience. According to doctrinal understanding, the experience of the twelve flowing springs and seventy growing palm trees at Elim should cause us to become mature saints. But the exciting experiences at Elim never have this result. The murmuring of the children of Israel in chapter sixteen proves this. They had been redeemed and delivered from Egypt, they had experienced the healing of the waters at Marah, and they had enjoyed the springs and the palms at Elim. But after all these experiences they could still exhibit the behavior shown in chapter sixteen. If we view this from the perspective of doctrine, we shall find it difficult to understand. But if we look at it from the viewpoint of our experience, we shall find chapter sixteen easy to understand. According to our spiritual experience, we realize that the exciting times at Elim never cause the believers to become mature saints.
After we have an experience at Elim, the Lord will expose the flesh of our natural being. This is the reason that even after we have the exciting experience of the twelve springs flowing and the seventy palm trees growing, we find that we are still living according to the flesh. The twelve springs quench the thirst in our spirit, but they do not cause our flesh to be put to death. In fact, the more we experience the flowing springs, the more our flesh will be exposed. If your intention is to conceal your flesh, you will have to avoid the experience of the springs and the palms at Elim. The experience of the twelve springs at Elim is always followed by an exposure of the flesh.
Years ago, I read some books that talked about the experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and of the so-called second blessing. These books claimed that once a believer had such an experience, all his problems would be solved. Certain books went so far as to say that sin would even be eradicated. However, our actual experience proves that these claims are false. After we enjoy the living water at Elim, our flesh is exposed. It has no place to hide. In our experience, there is inevitably the turn from day to night. We are powerless to lengthen the day or to keep the night from coming.
It is important for us to see through the superficiality of today’s Christianity. Many Christians talk about the experience of the baptism of the Spirit. But even those genuine experiences of the baptism of the Spirit at most are the experience at Elim. We have pointed out that these experiences may quench our thirst, but they do not deal with our flesh. To the contrary, they actually cause the flesh to be exposed all the more. This was the reason that after their experience at Elim, the flesh of the children of Israel remained and was exposed. It had not changed in any way.
In like manner, although we may have exciting experiences of the twelve springs at Elim, we shall soon discover that we ourselves are unchanged. To quench the thirst in our spirit is one thing, but to deal with the fleshly aspect of our natural being is another. Do not expect the twelve springs at Elim to change what you are in the flesh. I am burdened that we be deeply impressed with this crucial point. If we are clear about this, we shall be freed from the influence of the erroneous concept that prevails in Christianity today.
Because our flesh remains after the experience at Elim, we need to be led on by the Lord from Elim into the wilderness described in Exodus 16. This wilderness is not a specific place. We are simply told that it was the wilderness between Elim and Sinai. This indicates that after we drink of the living water at Elim, we shall be brought into a situation which is indefinite. In this kind of indefinite place our flesh will be exposed.
As we shall now see, our flesh is exposed because of the lack of nourishment, because of the lack of Christ as the heavenly life supply. This is the reason that the mention of manna both in Exodus 16 and in Numbers 11 is in relation to the murmuring of the people. This indicates that the heavenly manna is given to deal with our flesh. Such a work cannot be accomplished by the springs at Elim; it can only be done by the heavenly manna.
The people murmured against Moses and Aaron because of their lust in the matter of eating. However, their murmuring actually was against the Lord Himself. The people had drunk a great deal of water, but they were still hungry because they had nothing to eat. Their hunger could not be satisfied by the water from the twelve flowing springs. No matter how much water we may drink, our hunger remains. On the one hand, we need our thirst to be quenched. But on the other hand, we need our hunger to be satisfied. The twelve springs can only quench our thirst; they cannot satisfy our hunger.
The Christian experience has different aspects. Many Christians, however, think that there is only one aspect, the aspect of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. According to them, the experience of the baptism is all-inclusive and satisfies a believer’s every need. But according to the pictures in Exodus, this kind of experience cannot be everything. Yes, at Elim there are twelve springs, but there is no mention of food. For this reason, the people were still hungry. Within, they were short of the necessary life supply. This shortage of the life supply caused the flesh to be exposed. Whenever we lack the supply of life, it is not possible for our flesh to remain hidden. If you check your experience, you will see that the very day after you have had an exciting experience at Elim, you have had the sense of dissatisfaction within. This dissatisfaction comes from the shortage of the heavenly life supply, from the shortage of Christ as the heavenly manna. In your experience, you have not yet partaken of Christ as your life supply.
Every believer has problems with the flesh and with the lust of the flesh. Do you know when the flesh is dealt with? It is dealt with only when Christ truly becomes our daily life supply. When Christ fills us and satisfies us, this satisfaction will cause our flesh to be put to death. In principle, this is the experience of every believer. After we enjoy the Lord at Elim, we discover that we still have a problem with the flesh and with the lust of the flesh. This problem is caused by hunger. Deep within, we are undernourished. We have a hunger that has not been satisfied. In our Christian experience we have not come to the place of experiencing Christ daily as our life supply to fill us and to satisfy us. However, when we daily enjoy Christ as our heavenly life supply, we are fully satisfied. At that time our flesh is subdued, and our lust is dealt with. Nevertheless, the flesh with its lust is not dealt with once for all. Whenever we are undernourished and are short of Christ, we shall become hungry again. This will cause the flesh and the lust to reappear and to become active once more.
Our flesh will remain until we are in resurrection and have a glorified body. Although I have been in the Lord for so many years, I must testify that the flesh is still with me. If I am not filled with Christ and satisfied by Him, my flesh will still be active. Do not think that a person who has been in the Lord for many years will reach the point where he is no longer troubled by the flesh. Although the flesh may be dealt with repeatedly, even hundreds of times, it is still with us. However, whenever we are satisfied by Christ as the heavenly life supply, the flesh with its lust is conquered. But whenever we are short of Christ as our nourishment, the flesh will be exposed once again. My burden in this message is simply to make this matter clear to all the saints.
If we see that the flesh is always exposed when we are short of Christ as our daily life supply, we shall be enlightened concerning our experience with the Lord. Perhaps you have wondered why even after you have had certain glorious experiences in the Lord, you discovered that your flesh was the same as ever. By now we should realize that we need the heavenly manna as well as the twelve springs at Elim. If the apostle Paul were still on earth, even he would need to be satisfied by Christ as the daily life supply, for he would yet be troubled by the flesh. Although we need to experience the twelve springs at Elim, we also need our hunger to be satisfied by Christ as the heavenly manna. Day by day we need to experience Christ as our life supply.
What helps us the most in our daily living with the Lord is not the drinking of the twelve springs at Elim; it is the eating of Christ as the heavenly manna. The experience at Elim comes occasionally. As the record indicates, it was not a continual experience of the children of Israel. However, the people partook of manna daily for a period of forty years. With the exception of the Sabbath days, they had to gather manna every morning for all these years. This indicates clearly that the experience of manna is daily and continual. If we have the adequate experience of eating Christ daily as our heavenly manna, our flesh and lust will be dealt with. But whenever we are short of manna, the flesh with its lust will appear again. This is the reason the negative experience recorded in Exodus 16 follows the positive experience at Elim in 15:27.
The negative experience of Exodus 16 is repeated in Numbers 11. We have pointed out that when the people complained at Marah, the Lord was not angry with them. When they murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness between Elim and Sinai, the Lord was somewhat displeased. But in Numbers 11 “when the people complained, it was evil in the ears of Jehovah: and Jehovah heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of Jehovah burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp” (v. 1, Heb.). When the people complained this time, there was no need for Moses to say a word. In His anger the Lord came in as a burning fire. Verse 2 says, “And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto Jehovah, the fire was quenched” (Heb.). Verse 3 goes on to say that the name of that place was called Taberah, “because the fire of Jehovah burnt among them” (Heb.).
We need to see that this negative experience is related to the experience of manna. Once again we see that whenever we are short of Christ as our life supply, the flesh will be exposed. Lust appears because we are undernourished. Do not place your trust in your past experience with the Lord. Do not think that because you have been in the Lord for such a long time, you can no longer be troubled by the flesh. I can testify that although I am an elderly man and have been in the Lord for years, I still need the Lord to be my present life supply. Remember that the manna was sent every morning and had to be gathered every morning. This indicates that we cannot store up the supply of Christ. The Christ we experienced yesterday is not sufficient for today. If you attempt to preserve yesterday’s manna, you will find that it will not nourish you or satisfy you. Rather, it will breed worms and stink (Exo. 16:20).
May we all be impressed with the need to experience Christ daily as our life supply. It is crucial to see that the shortage of the heavenly supply of Christ is what causes our flesh to be exposed. No matter what exciting experiences we have had in the Spirit, we still need to partake of Christ daily as our heavenly manna. If we are undernourished, our flesh will rise up, and our lust will disturb us and hinder our fellowship with the Lord. Day by day we need to be filled with Christ as the heavenly manna and satisfied by Him.
Let us go on to see how the Lord comes in to deal with the flesh of His people (16:4-30). He deals with their flesh by showing them His glory (16:7, 10). According to the doctrinal understanding of many Christians, a fleshly person cannot see the glory of the Lord. It is significant, however, that we are not told that the Lord’s glory appeared to His people when they were at Elim. But His glory did appear to them when they were murmuring in the wilderness of Sin.
Consider this matter of the appearing of the Lord’s glory in the light of your experience. When you were having a wonderful and exciting experience at Elim, did you have the sense of the Lord’s glory, or were you simply carried away with your excitement? But at those times when you were murmuring and complaining, did not the glory of the Lord appear to you? I can testify that a number of times the glory of the Lord did appear to me when I was complaining, and this appearing caused me to be frightened. At Elim there is a great deal of excitement, but very little of the appearing of the Lord’s glory in a definite way. However, when we murmur against the Lord, often that is the time His glory appears to us.
As the children of Israel were following the Lord in the wilderness and seeking Him, their flesh and their lust were still active. We have pointed out repeatedly that the reason for this was that they were undernourished. They murmured against the Lord because they lacked the adequate supply of life. While they were murmuring, the glory of God appeared to them. In principle, we have experienced the same thing. As we were following the Lord and seeking Him, our attitude sometimes became negative, and we began to complain and murmur against the church or against the leading ones in the church. Often, when we have been complaining in this way, we have seen the Lord’s glory. The appearing of the Lord’s glory at times such as these is very frightening. The times when I have been the most fearful have been those times when the glory of the Lord appeared to me in the midst of my murmuring and complaining. The reason I complained was that I lacked Christ as my nourishment.
In their murmuring against the Lord, the children of Israel said, “Would that we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full: for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (16:3, Heb.). In our complaints we may say something like this: “Why did we ever come into the Lord’s recovery? What is going on in the recovery? Would that we had died in the denominations!” Often in the midst of our complaining in this way the Lord’s glory appears, and we are frightened.
In Exodus 16 we are told again and again that the Lord heard the murmurings of the people (vv. 7b, 8b, 9b). According to verse 12, the Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel.” Be assured that the Lord hears your murmuring. Furthermore, as you are murmuring, He is looking at you; He is observing everything that is taking place.
In 16:7 the Lord said that in the morning the people would see His glory. Verse 10 says, “And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of Jehovah appeared in the cloud” (Heb.). When the glory of the Lord appeared to the people, it caused them to stop murmuring. In principle, we have experienced the same thing. At certain times, because we were undernourished, our attitude has become negative as we were seeking the Lord. This shortage of Christ as our life supply caused us to murmur and complain. At those times, we saw the Lord’s glory inwardly and were full of fear. Like the children of Israel, we are often very eloquent in our murmuring and complaining, much more eloquent than when we testify for the Lord in the meetings. But the glory of the Lord appears to cause our murmuring and complaining to cease.
Would you say that the glory of the Lord appeared to rescue the people or to condemn them? The answer is that God’s glory appeared for the purpose of rescuing them by condemning them. This understanding also can be confirmed by our experience. Many times the Lord comes in to rescue us by condemning us. When we are undernourished and our attitude is negative, we may fear that the Lord may come in to slay us. Although we may complain against the Lord, we do not stop seeking Him. In the same principle, we may complain about the church or about the elders; however, we are not willing to give up the church life or to forsake the Lord’s recovery. A number of times saints have come to me with complaints about the church. When I asked them why they did not leave the church and go elsewhere, they told me that they could not find a better place. When I suggested that they stop complaining and simply be satisfied with the church life, they told me that they could not do that either. On the one hand, they would not be satisfied with the church life. But on the other hand, they would not give it up. Many times those who complain about the church in this way have a deep inner sense of the appearing of the Lord’s glory, and they fear that He may smite them. This is the appearing of the glory of the Lord to rescue us by condemning us.
After the glory of the Lord appeared to the people, He sent them the meat they wanted. He sent quails (16:13; Num. 11:31) to satisfy their lust in eating (16:12; Num. 11:18, 32), to show them His sufficiency and to discipline them with His anger (Num. 11:19-20, 33-34).
In Exodus 16 the Lord did not deal with the people in a harsh way. But when they murmured and complained again in Numbers 11, the Lord said through Moses, “Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; but even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised Jehovah which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?” (vv. 19-20, Heb.). According to verse 33, “Jehovah smote the people with a very great plague.” He then called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah, which means the graves of lust (v. 34).
Many Christians have experienced such a thing in a spiritual way. The Lord satisfied their lusts by giving them what they desired. Then, spiritually speaking, He came in to smite them, and they suffered spiritual death. The more these ones enjoy the “quails,” the more they are smitten. For a long period of time, perhaps for years, they remain deadened in the spirit.
Only after so many things had happened to the children of Israel did the Lord send manna to them. This indicates that manna is not given in a simple way. Many Christians, however, hold the mistaken concept that manna comes easily. Actually, we can enjoy manna only when certain conditions are met. This is the reason that, although one verse is devoted to the experience at Elim, two chapters cover the experience of the manna.
The experience of Christ as the heavenly manna is not as simple as many Christians may suppose. The children of Israel did not enjoy manna as soon as they crossed the Red Sea. Rather, they had to have the experiences at Marah and Elim. Then when their flesh had been exposed and they were disciplined by the Lord, the manna came. It is the same with us in our experience with the Lord. Christ as the heavenly manna comes to us in this way.
Many saints have the practice of spending time with the Lord early in the morning. However, sometimes no manna is gathered during these early morning times. The reason for the shortage of manna is that the conditions for the giving of manna are not fulfilled. Exodus 16 and Numbers 11 reveal that manna is given only when a number of conditions have been met. This shows that in our Christian walk we need to reach a certain point before manna can be sent to us. This is a basic principle. Manna is given only after our flesh has been exposed due to the shortage of the inner life supply. It is given when we recognize our need for something more than the twelve springs at Elim. We need manna; we need Christ as our heavenly life supply.
When the children of Israel murmured at Marah and the Lord showed Moses the healing tree, the Lord did not deal with the people. On the contrary, the tree was cast into the water, and the bitter waters became sweet. But in Exodus 16 the Lord told Moses to say to the people that He had heard their murmurings and that He would appear to them in His glory. The Lord was somewhat displeased with them, and He disciplined them. After this discipline had been carried out, the manna was sent.
Let us consider briefly the way manna is sent (16:13-14; Num. 11:9). Manna is always sent in the morning. It is significant, however, that the quails which satisfied the lust of the people came in the evening. Manna comes to refresh us at the beginning of the day. Because it is sent in the morning, it causes us to have a new beginning.
Secondly, manna comes with the dew. Numbers 11:9 says, “And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.” In Exodus 15 and 16 we see three types of water: the waters at Marah, the twelve springs at Elim, and the dew in the wilderness. We need to experience all three kinds of water. We need the water that has been changed from bitter to sweet, we need the water flowing from the twelve springs, and we need the water that comes as dew. Actually, I treasure the dew much more than the water that flows from the springs.
When some hear this, they may remind me that there will be no dew in the New Jerusalem, only the flowing of the river of water of life (Rev. 22:1). The reason there will be no dew in the New Jerusalem is that dew comes during the cool of the night, and there will be no night in the New Jerusalem. As we have pointed out, in our experience with the Lord we presently have both day and night. After the night has passed, we need the dew, which is the Lord Himself, to water us softly and gently. Because we still must pass through many nights, many situations filled with darkness, we need the refreshing dew to water us. Morning by morning, the Lord’s grace descends upon us as the fresh dew.
If we would enjoy manna during our time with the Lord in the morning, we must experience Him as the dew. Manna does not come alone; it always comes with the dew. In fact, the dew comes first and serves as the base for the sending of the manna. Manna does not come with the water that has been changed from bitter to sweet, nor with the water flowing from the twelve springs. It comes with the dew. Whenever we have the dew, we have manna also. This means that when we experience the Lord’s refreshing and watering grace, we also receive Him as our heavenly life supply.
Do not take this word about the dew as a doctrine, but receive it as a word that corresponds to your experience. Even the younger ones among us can testify that such a word matches their experience. At Elim we experience the water flowing from the twelve springs, but we do not have the dew. As soon as we move on from Elim, we sense a dryness within. This indicates that we need to experience the morning dew, the dew that is the foundation for the giving of the manna.
Numbers 11:9 also indicates that the manna comes around the camp. The camp refers to the arrangement of God’s people into an army. This indicates that the nourishment of manna is also for God’s people, as an army, to fight the battle for God’s interests on earth.
In forthcoming messages we shall have much more to say about manna. The main point of this message is that after we have a wonderful and exciting experience at Elim, we discover that the flesh is still with us. The exposure of the flesh is the result of being undernourished. This indicates our need to have our hunger satisfied by being filled with Christ day by day. Whenever we are not filled with Him, our flesh with its lust will appear again.
