"In-Between” Experience: Sermon on Exodus 16:1–4, 11–12, 18

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Brighton Katabaro
Nyegezi, Mwanza, 25 January 2026
 
 
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
This story is familiar to many of us. It is about the people of Israel who had just been freed from Egypt, where they had lived as slaves for generations. 
Life in Egypt was hard, painful, and humiliating. 
They faced many difficulties. 
They were forced to work for their masters without pay. 
They suffered deeply. In the eyes of their masters, they were not treated as fellow human beings.
 
This experience reminds us of the period of European colonialism here in Tanzania—a time that was also brutal and humiliating. Exploitation was widespread, and life was extremely difficult.
In such a situation, the Israelites cried out to God, and God heard their cry. God freed them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.
 
Yes, they were no longer slaves of Pharaoh. They were happy to leave his oppressive hands. However, they were not yet in the Promised Land.
 
They were in between.
 
This “in-between” experience is not new to us. The Israelites had left the bondage they had endured for many years, yet the situation they now faced seemed even worse—so much so that they wished they had remained in slavery.
Hunger, thirst, disease, and fear surrounded them. The future seemed uncertain and distant.
Today, I would like to highlight four key points from this text.
 
First: Freedom Does Not End the Struggle
At first, freedom brought joy and relief. But very quickly, reality set in.
 
Exodus 16:2–3 tells us:
“The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’”
This is shocking. The same people who cried for freedom now wished they had died in slavery.
 
Why?
 
Because hunger had entered their lives.
Because the future was uncertain.
Because the journey was longer and harder than they had expected.
 
This was not the freedom they had imagined.
Many of us experience this feeling. Sometimes we leave a painful situation, but the new path is not easy. We are free, yet insecure. We are moving forward, but without clear direction.
When the present is hard, the past—even a painful past—can appear better than it truly was.
 
Second: Complaints Are Born from Real Pain
The Israelites complained. They murmured. They accused Moses and Aaron.
 
But we must be honest: their complaints came from real suffering. They were not complaining about luxury; they were complaining about hunger. Their pain was real.
 
In such moments, leadership is crucial—leadership that listens and cares instead of turning a deaf ear. Unfortunately, those who do not experience the pain of others often fail to care. Some celebrate while others suffer. But when people are hungry, tired, and afraid, speeches and empty words are not enough. They want tangible and fair solutions.
 
This reality is not limited to the wilderness. It is present in our societies today. When people lack food, work, or hope, patience quickly runs out. The cry of the stomach and the weight of daily struggles speak louder than any argument.
 
The Israelites said, “You have brought us out into this wilderness to kill us.” In their fear, Moses and Aaron became the targets of blame. As leaders, they accepted this responsibility. But they did not stop there. They shared in the people’s pain. They did not avoid the problem. They took the people’s concerns to God and asked Him to intervene.
 
Nothing is more comforting than seeing a leader who understands the people’s suffering and actively seeks solutions.
 
Third: God Hears Before He Judges
Exodus 16:4 says:
“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day.’”
Later, in verses 11–12, God says:
“I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”
 
This is remarkable.
God hears their complaints.
God hears their anger.
God hears their fear.
God hears their hopelessness.
And God does not respond with punishment.
He does not begin with judgment.
He does not ask, “Why don’t you trust me?”
Instead, God listens—and God acts.
 
God responds to their needs with divine care. He provides meat in the evening and bread in the morning—what is necessary for life. He does this because He loves them. They are His people.
 
This is grace.
 
God does not count how often His people complain. He does not calculate how much trouble they cause. He simply provides.
And this is also God’s promise to us: no matter what we are going through, God cares and is ready to help.
 
Fourth: God Teaches Trust and Sufficiency
The people were instructed to gather only what they needed for one day—no storing, no hoarding.
 
Exodus 16:18 tells us:
“But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing left over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.”
 
There was enough for everyone.
Not excess.
Not luxury.
But sufficiency.
 
Why did God do it this way?
 
Because God was teaching His people trust and contentment.
Stored manna rotted. It smelled. It failed. Yet, because of greed and fear, some gathered more than they needed and hid it. This is where mistrust, corruption, and injustice begin—when some collect more while others suffer.
 
Jesus reminds us: What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose their soul? What does it help to own many houses while others sleep on the streets?
May God bless us with the wisdom and the heart to listen, to understand, and to act.
 
God knows our needs.
God hears our cries.
And God will help us—sometimes in ways we do not expect.
 
Let us pray:
Faithful God,
when our journey feels long
and the desert feels harsh,
teach us to trust in your love
and to believe that you will act.
Amen.
 
 

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