S3 | E5 Does your Nativity Scene Violate the Second Commandment? – Reformed Faith and Family
From Manna to the Messiah
As the Christmas season turns our attention to the Incarnation, Scripture invites us to consider God’s sending of His Son from angles both familiar and unexpected. While traditional Christmas texts often frame this celebration, the theme of Christ’s coming is woven throughout the whole of Scripture.
At first glance, Exodus 16 does not appear to be a Christmas passage. Yet the physical hunger Israel experienced in the wilderness mirrors the spiritual hunger that defined God’s people before the Son of God came to dwell among them and save them from their sin.
The physical hunger Israel experienced in the wilderness mirrors nicely the spiritual hunger God’s people felt before God sent His Son to dwell among them and save them from their sin. Living under the New Covenant, we are used to words like fulfilled, satisfied, completed, and rest, to describe our relationship with God. Things were a bit different under the Old Covenant. God was then – as He eternally is – full of lovingkindness for His people, and yet His acceptance of them was based on what would be rather than what was. As such, their relationship with Him was marked by different words than ours. Words expressing expectation, longing, waiting, and a sense that everything was incomplete.
The difference between their position and ours is the difference between the Old and New Covenant. The difference is Christ. Everything in the Old Covenant system anticipated Him, identified Him, necessitated Him. To rightly understand and celebrate His birth, we need to rightly understand the longing and hunger that universally defined human existence between the fall of Adam and the arrival of God’s Son.
In this Advent reflection, we trace a powerful biblical pattern: the manna in the wilderness, Jesus’ declaration in John 6 that He is the true bread from heaven who satisfies forever, and the consistent way Scripture shows that true satisfaction is found only in Christ. Food from heaven served once would fulfill what daily portions for a lifetime could not.
Unsatisfied Hunger
Exodus records Israel’s condition following their deliverance from Egypt. God had called Abraham, promised to make him into a great nation, and to bless the world through his offspring. His descendants eventually found refuge in Egypt, but over time became numerous and strong. Pharaoh, forgetting Joseph, feared them.
Heavy burdens and harsh labor were imposed. What had once preserved them from famine became the land of their captivity. The people groaned under their suffering, and God heard their cries.
Exodus 2:23–24 (ESV)
23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
In response to their suffering, God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush and sent him to lead Israel out of bondage. Through mighty acts like the ten plagues, the Passover, and the parting of the Red Sea, God redeemed His people. Egypt’s power was broken, and Pharaoh’s army was destroyed.
Exodus 14:30–31 (ESV)
30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
Reflecting back upon the amazing salvation of their God out of their bondage in Egypt, Moses led the people in a song of praise celebrating God’s power, salvation, and promise to bring them into the land He had prepared for them.
Soon after, they set out from the Sea into the wilderness and their celebration turned to complaint. Almost immediately, they felt thirst, and then they grumbled and complained against Moses. The only water they found was bitter. In His mercy, God turned the bitter water sweet, and their thirst was quenched. Then hunger followed.
Exodus 16:1–3 (ESV)
1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Their suffering in Egypt now seemed preferable. God’s mighty works were quickly forgotten. Yet their hunger was real, and God was merciful.
Exodus 16:4–5 (ESV)
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”
God was good to His word:Exodus 16:13–15 (ESV)
13 … in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.Exodus 16:31 (ESV)
31 Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
God gave them what they needed, with two stipulations. Gather each day only what was needed for that day and gather enough for the Sabbath the day before. The gift of manna taught them temperance and faith. Trying to seize more out of greed, or out of fear that God would not provide what was needed tomorrow, was seen as faithless disobedience.
God provided for the real needs of His people, but in a way that left them longing for something greater. The manna lasted only as long as their time in the wilderness – it stopped coming each morning once they reached the promised land and they were able to grow and raise all the food they needed and had water aplenty – the land flowing with milk and honey.
The nation’s physical need echoed their spiritual need. God provided for them there much the same as he did the food and drink in the wilderness. He cared for them, but in such a way that they were never free from longing for something greater. Until the arrival of Christ, the people remained in a spiritual wilderness.
God was faithful, but the people’s eyes were ever drawn to that better time, that better salvation, that better Kingdom, where all weariness, sickness, and hunger would vanish.
Hunger and Thirst No More
This longing comes into sharp focus in John 6.
Jesus miraculously fed thousands with five loaves and two fish. The crowd followed Him, eager for another meal.
John 6:26–27 (ESV)
26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
Though Jesus had performed many signs and wonders throughout the region, it wasn’t messianic fever that drew this crowd. They wanted their physical needs met. They were hungry. Jesus had fed the masses. He could, He might, do so again.
Jesus told them not to seek to be satisfied with physical food that satisfies but for the moment, but instead to pursue spiritual food that endures forever. The people then essentially asked Him how could He provide it? They referenced the manna given to their fathers, but Jesus corrected them.
John 6:31–35 (ESV)
31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Jesus, Himself, was the spiritual food which alone could satisfy. Eternal freedom from hunger and longing could only be found in Him. It wasn’t those who sought out their next meal who were blessed at His arrival, but blessed were those who hungered and thirsted after righteousness (Matthew 5:6).
The people asked for physical food, but Jesus saw their greater need yet remained their spiritual malnourishment. They were starving for truth – starving for peace – starving for freedom from bondage and for restoration with God. He saw their greatest need and He offered Himself.
John 6:47–51 (ESV)
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Many who heard these words disputed and argued about what He said. They didn’t understand. They thought He was offering His physical body for natural food. Instead of rephrasing or making it easier to accept, Jesus doubled down on the metaphor.
John 6:53–58 (ESV)
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
And then a bit later Jesus confirmed to His disciples that He was speaking of spiritual nourishment:
John 6:61–63 (ESV)
61 … “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Many turned away, but those who remained understood that eternal life could be found nowhere else.
Satisfied in Christ
It is a consistent pattern in Scripture that what God gave His people under the Old Covenant was designed to create a longing for the only real means of providing for their salvation.
The Law revealed sin but could not remove it. It was given because of lawlessness, and to reveal the perfect nature of God, but also as a way of exposing a deep need within all men that they could never satisfy.
Galatians 3:23–24 (LSB)
23 But before faith came, we were held in custody under the Law, being shut up for the coming faith to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor unto Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
Men could not fulfill the Law for themselves, they needed one who could identify with them and yet also stand righteous before the Law.
Romans 8:3–4 (LSB)
3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Much as Israel groaned under the oppression of Egypt, the people groaned under the weight of the religion and traditions of the scribes and Pharisees. They either gave up hope or worked themselves to the bone trying to achieve a righteousness that God would accept.
Instead, Christ offered peace and rest.
Matthew 11:28–30 (ESV)
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The sacrificial system offered temporary relief for sins already committed but never a final cleansing. It offered the hope that God would accept the blood of the animal as a symbol of gilt and repentance and forgive sin. Yet every part of the system showcased its inherent weakness. It created a longing for a sacrifice that could satisfy and sustain.
Hebrews 10:1–4 (ESV)
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
The sacrifice of Christ was altogether different. Christ’s sacrifice was final and sufficient.
Hebrews 10:11–14 (ESV)
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
We could go on, but Scripture is clear. Between the fall of Adam and the arrival of Christ mankind was plagued with an insatiable hunger and thirst that they themselves could not understand, and which they could never satisfy. In His mercy, God taught His people to channel that longing into looking to Him and trusting in His promises.
From the Fall onward, humanity lived with a hunger it could not satisfy.
Psalm 42:1–2 (ESV)
1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. …
Psalm 42:5–6 (ESV)
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation 6 and my God. …
That longing found clarity and fulfillment in the Incarnation. The child born in Bethlehem was bread from heaven.
Apart from Christ, humanity remains restless and unsatisfied. Even believers can forget what has already been given and begin to search elsewhere.
Even if you feel you are walking through the wilderness and you can’t see anything that could sustain you, do not be deceived into thinking the world you left behind can satisfy you any better now than it did when you repented of your sin and trusted in Christ.
Doubt not the provision of our God and King. Doubt not His love. Doubt not His faithfulness.
Everything has been revealed and secured for us in Christ. Look to Him. Be satisfied with the Bread from Heaven.
The article above, is taken from this sermon delivered by Caleb Stomberg at Legacy Reformed Baptist Church. Listen below:
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Unwrapping the Hope Behind the Holiday Unit Study
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