Finding Christ in the Old Testament

Finding Christ in the Old Testament
Exodus 15:19–16:12

“For the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them… Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea… And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled…”

The LORD’s deliverance of Israel through the sea did not immediately produce steadfast faith. No sooner had they sung His praise than they thirsted and grumbled. Even after the miracle of salvation, the hearts of the people remained weak. Yet the LORD did not cast them off. He led them, tested them, gave water, and in the wilderness, He promised bread from heaven. The pattern here is deeply Christological: God redeems first, then forms His people. He does not wait for their obedience to act; He acts, then teaches them to trust. Christ, the true Bread from Heaven, would later refer to this moment, showing that in the wilderness, the Father was already feeding His people with the sign of the true Manna to come. The murmuring of the people anticipates the grumbling crowds in John 6, and the LORD’s response—provision, patience, and promise—reveals the heart of Christ: gracious, merciful, long-suffering, and always providing what His people need most.

Devotion
God does not redeem us because we are faithful; He redeems us while we are still grumbling in the wilderness. His mercy leads us. He gives water where there is none. He feeds us before we even know how to ask. And still today, Christ feeds us with Himself, the true Manna. Trust Him. He will not forsake you in the desert.

New Testament Verse:
John 6:32–33 (ESV) “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. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’”

Collect
O Lord of steadfast mercy, who brought Your people through the sea and into the wilderness, and yet did not leave them in hunger or thirst, but promised them bread from heaven—grant us grace to trust in Your provision, and feed us always with Christ, the true Manna, that we may learn to walk by faith and not by sight; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn Verse
At the Lamb’s high feast we sing
Praise to our victorious King,
Who has washed us in the tide
Flowing from His pierced side.
Alleluia!
Praise we Him, whose love divine
Gives His sacred blood for wine,
Gives His body for the feast—
Christ the victim, Christ the priest.
— LSB 633:1, At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing

Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, Now and Forever, Unto the Ages of Ages, AMEN!