Episode Transcript
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Exodus 16:21–30
Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”
So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” So the people rested on the seventh day.
CONSIDER THIS
There is a transformative movement afoot here in the wilderness. It takes getting a little altitude over it to see, but it is taking shape.
The Israelites had lived the last long stretch of their history as slaves under the cruel oppression of Pharaoh. They had no control over their lives. Every day was the same. They probably had more in common with livestock than with the Egyptians around them. Their lives were not ordered; they were controlled.
All of a sudden, they were delivered from Egypt and the land of slavery—no longer slaves but free people. So, how do people live free when all they have ever known is slavery? Like accident or stroke victims who must relearn how to walk and eat and many other basic life functions, slaves must relearn how to live as free people. They must be discipled into a new way of life.
The wilderness season is all about discipleship.
Notice the gracious order emerging. In the midst of what could otherwise be a chaotic experience in the wilderness, God establishes structure, rhythm, and direction. Cloud by day and fire by night. Quail in the evening and manna in the morning. Take only what is needed; no hoarding. Today, we see a new feature of this gracious order: Sabbath. Six days of gathering, one day of rest. Slaves don’t get Sabbath. Free people do.
If quail in the evening and manna every morning were not miraculous enough, notice the weekly miracle co-occurring with Sabbath. The same manna, which, if kept overnight, would turn into maggots, miraculously maintains freshness one night every week prior to the Sabbath. Further, manna did not appear on the Sabbath day. This is exquisite, care-filled provision. This is our God. It's why he says things like this: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33).
You are already seeing the analogy and application. We are all born into slavery—the slavery of sin and death. Jesus will deliver anyone who will follow him out of this cruel slavery and into a life of freedom and promise. We are saved by the blood of the Lamb. We are delivered by the decree and declaration of the Word of God. We experience freedom by the Spirit of God and then fullness to overflowing. There is deliverance, and then there is discipleship. Deliverance must be followed by discipleship. We witness the gracious order of the kingdom as we are discipled into the lifestyle of the King.
The transformative movement of salvation then and now is as follows: Egypt. Red Sea. Wilderness. Promised Land. Deliverance + Discipleship = Transformational Glory
I want to issue a caution here. It is easy to shift from a life of everything being controlled by Pharaoh to a life of trying to control everything ourselves, including our faith and relationship with God. This usually looks like some form of rigorous religion, which people sometimes mistake for discipleship. It is not.
Discipleship to Jesus is life. It is not seven more principles, eight more practices, and ten more habits to add to your life. In recent years, I have begun to see all manner of what I would call "designer religion" springing up all over the place. It is an industry. Beware of complicating discipleship with lots of rules and feature sets and spiritual practices and rhythms. Jesus, who is life, will not be controlled by a program of rigorous religion. He brings the unforced rhythms of grace. I find that religion is often something people endlessly try to cobble together to make their lives work. Jesus is not religion. Jesus is life. He will keep simple. We do need an ever-deepening understanding of the simplicity of Jesus. We don't need an endlessly complicated spirituality with lots of moving parts.
THE PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE
Lord Jesus, you are my Deliverer.
You are unveiling and revealing the unforced rhythms of grace: Cloud by day and fire by night. Manna in the morning and quail in the evening. Six days of work and one day of rest. The way is made by worship. The path is walked by deliverance and discipleship. Your provision is both exquisite and extravagant. Thank you for the complexity of your care of us. And it is all a gift. All that is required is for us to receive it, and by faith we do.
Grant us the grace to follow your gracious commands. You have delivered us from sin and into righteousness. Would you now disciple us into the fullness of life in your kingdom?
It will be for our good, for others' gain, and for your glory.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end, amen! Amen!
