Exhortation

Armies travel on their stomachs, and, as Pastor Sumpter will show today, Israel marches out of Egypt as an army. But the exodus is a haphazard operation if there ever was one.

The Israelites leave with the unleavened bread cakes that they baked before leaving, but they have no traveling provisions and no plan. As soon as they get over the Red Sea, they are in a wilderness without water or food. If this were a US military action, we’d want to see some heads roll at the Pentagon.

This is Yahweh’s way, and it is the way of Jesus because Jesus is Yahweh. Yahweh’s “Get out of Egypt” is the Old Testament equivalent to Jesus’ “Lay down your nets and follow Me.” Jesus too is gathering an army, and He too calls us to follow Him into battle without preparation or adequate supplies.

For Israel, the lack of planning doesn’t matter because Yahweh opens the windows of heaven and rains down bread from His own storehouse. Before long, Israel is eating the grain of heaven and receives the provision of mighty ones (Psalm 78:23-25). Yahweh forms a heavenly army, like the stars of heaven, with food from the sky.

So too, Jesus calls us to leave our nets and our full cupboards behind to follow Him, trusting Him to provide bread for the journey – which He does, because He is Living Bread, the Bread of God come down from heaven, who offers Himself as our true food.