Food at Home

Exodus tells the story of a young people who keep thinking God has left the cupboards bare. They walk out of Egypt free, but fear trails them into the desert. The wilderness becomes the place where they discover that the One who rescued them also feeds them. Again and again God shows them there is food at home. Water at home. Presence at home. They learn it slowly. God teaches it patiently.

The story opens at the sea. Exodus 14 places Israel between Pharaoh’s army and the water. Fear erupts. “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14.11). They act as if God brought them out empty-handed. Moses speaks the truth. “The Lord will fight for you” (Exodus 14.14). Then the waters part. The path was already there in God’s plan. They only needed to see it. Freedom is not scarce. It rests on His power.

In Exodus 15 they travel three days into the wilderness. The water at Marah is bitter. “The people grumbled against Moses” (Exodus 15.24). God shows Moses a tree. The water becomes sweet. God says, “I am the Lord, your healer” (Exodus 15.26). There is water at home. Scarcity reveals God, not His absence.

Exodus 16 sharpens the theme. Hunger stirs their old memories. “Would that we had died in Egypt” (Exodus 16.3). They speak like children who think nothing in the house can help them. God answers with patience. “When the dew had gone up, there was… a fine, flake-like thing” (Exodus 16.14). Manna every morning. Quail in the evening. Enough for each family. Grace in measured form. God fills their days with food that teaches trust. He forms them through daily gifts that cannot be hoarded.

Exodus 17 returns to thirst. “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to kill us” (Exodus 17.3). Then the question that cuts. “Is the Lord among us or not” (Exodus 17.7). God tells Moses to strike the rock. Water pours out. Presence turns visible. God’s action becomes revelation. The rock becomes a sign of the God who does not leave His people empty. The water was always His to give.

The chapter ends with the attack from Amalek. Israel is weak. Moses lifts his hands in prayer. “Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed” (Exodus 17.11). When he grows tired, Aaron and Hur steady him. Victory comes. Moses names the place “The Lord is my banner” (Exodus 17.15). God shows them they live through His strength and the shared faith of His people. There is help at home. There is community at home.

Across these scenes Israel learns a single truth. God has already stocked the house. Bread. Water. Presence. Strength. They discover it step by slow step. The wilderness is not punishment. It is formation. God teaches them to trust what He has already given.

The Gospels place this same truth on Jesus. After His baptism “the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness” (Mark 1.12). Where Israel grumbled, He trusts. Where Israel accused, He lives by the word (Matthew 4.4). He becomes the faithful Israel inside the old story.

He feeds crowds in desolate places. “You give them something to eat” (Mark 6.37). Bread multiplies in His hands. John tells us He is “the bread of life” (John 6.35). He embodies the presence Israel doubted. Paul says “the Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10.4). The water from the rock was a shadow of Him.

At the cross His arms are lifted. Death presses close. The Father raises Him. A new banner rises over a new people. This is the exodus that does not end with a land but with a life.

In the desert you learn what keeps you alive. Either God is with you or you perish.

Jesus stands in that place and says, I am with you.

Food at home. Water from the rock. Presence that does not leave. The Father has not changed.

~PW 🌮🛶