As we shall now see, our flesh is exposed because of the lack of nourishment, because of the lack of Christ as the heavenly life supply. This is the reason that the mention of manna both in Exodus 16 and in Numbers 11 is in relation to the murmuring of the people. This indicates that the heavenly manna is given to deal with our flesh. Such a work cannot be accomplished by the springs at Elim; it can only be done by the heavenly manna.
The people murmured against Moses and Aaron because of their lust in the matter of eating. However, their murmuring actually was against the Lord Himself. The people had drunk a great deal of water, but they were still hungry because they had nothing to eat. Their hunger could not be satisfied by the water from the twelve flowing springs. No matter how much water we may drink, our hunger remains. On the one hand, we need our thirst to be quenched. But on the other hand, we need our hunger to be satisfied. The twelve springs can only quench our thirst; they cannot satisfy our hunger.
The Christian experience has different aspects. Many Christians, however, think that there is only one aspect, the aspect of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. According to them, the experience of the baptism is all-inclusive and satisfies a believer’s every need. But according to the pictures in Exodus, this kind of experience cannot be everything. Yes, at Elim there are twelve springs, but there is no mention of food. For this reason, the people were still hungry. Within, they were short of the necessary life supply. This shortage of the life supply caused the flesh to be exposed. Whenever we lack the supply of life, it is not possible for our flesh to remain hidden. If you check your experience, you will see that the very day after you have had an exciting experience at Elim, you have had the sense of dissatisfaction within. This dissatisfaction comes from the shortage of the heavenly life supply, from the shortage of Christ as the heavenly manna. In your experience, you have not yet partaken of Christ as your life supply.
Every believer has problems with the flesh and with the lust of the flesh. Do you know when the flesh is dealt with? It is dealt with only when Christ truly becomes our daily life supply. When Christ fills us and satisfies us, this satisfaction will cause our flesh to be put to death. In principle, this is the experience of every believer. After we enjoy the Lord at Elim, we discover that we still have a problem with the flesh and with the lust of the flesh. This problem is caused by hunger. Deep within, we are undernourished. We have a hunger that has not been satisfied. In our Christian experience we have not come to the place of experiencing Christ daily as our life supply to fill us and to satisfy us. However, when we daily enjoy Christ as our heavenly life supply, we are fully satisfied. At that time our flesh is subdued, and our lust is dealt with. Nevertheless, the flesh with its lust is not dealt with once for all. Whenever we are undernourished and are short of Christ, we shall become hungry again. This will cause the flesh and the lust to reappear and to become active once more.
Our flesh will remain until we are in resurrection and have a glorified body. Although I have been in the Lord for so many years, I must testify that the flesh is still with me. If I am not filled with Christ and satisfied by Him, my flesh will still be active. Do not think that a person who has been in the Lord for many years will reach the point where he is no longer troubled by the flesh. Although the flesh may be dealt with repeatedly, even hundreds of times, it is still with us. However, whenever we are satisfied by Christ as the heavenly life supply, the flesh with its lust is conquered. But whenever we are short of Christ as our nourishment, the flesh will be exposed once again. My burden in this message is simply to make this matter clear to all the saints.
If we see that the flesh is always exposed when we are short of Christ as our daily life supply, we shall be enlightened concerning our experience with the Lord. Perhaps you have wondered why even after you have had certain glorious experiences in the Lord, you discovered that your flesh was the same as ever. By now we should realize that we need the heavenly manna as well as the twelve springs at Elim. If the apostle Paul were still on earth, even he would need to be satisfied by Christ as the daily life supply, for he would yet be troubled by the flesh. Although we need to experience the twelve springs at Elim, we also need our hunger to be satisfied by Christ as the heavenly manna. Day by day we need to experience Christ as our life supply.
What helps us the most in our daily living with the Lord is not the drinking of the twelve springs at Elim; it is the eating of Christ as the heavenly manna. The experience at Elim comes occasionally. As the record indicates, it was not a continual experience of the children of Israel. However, the people partook of manna daily for a period of forty years. With the exception of the Sabbath days, they had to gather manna every morning for all these years. This indicates clearly that the experience of manna is daily and continual. If we have the adequate experience of eating Christ daily as our heavenly manna, our flesh and lust will be dealt with. But whenever we are short of manna, the flesh with its lust will appear again. This is the reason the negative experience recorded in Exodus 16 follows the positive experience at Elim in 15:27.
The negative experience of Exodus 16 is repeated in Numbers 11. We have pointed out that when the people complained at Marah, the Lord was not angry with them. When they murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness between Elim and Sinai, the Lord was somewhat displeased. But in Numbers 11 “when the people complained, it was evil in the ears of Jehovah: and Jehovah heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of Jehovah burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp” (v. 1, Heb.). When the people complained this time, there was no need for Moses to say a word. In His anger the Lord came in as a burning fire. Verse 2 says, “And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto Jehovah, the fire was quenched” (Heb.). Verse 3 goes on to say that the name of that place was called Taberah, “because the fire of Jehovah burnt among them” (Heb.).
We need to see that this negative experience is related to the experience of manna. Once again we see that whenever we are short of Christ as our life supply, the flesh will be exposed. Lust appears because we are undernourished. Do not place your trust in your past experience with the Lord. Do not think that because you have been in the Lord for such a long time, you can no longer be troubled by the flesh. I can testify that although I am an elderly man and have been in the Lord for years, I still need the Lord to be my present life supply. Remember that the manna was sent every morning and had to be gathered every morning. This indicates that we cannot store up the supply of Christ. The Christ we experienced yesterday is not sufficient for today. If you attempt to preserve yesterday’s manna, you will find that it will not nourish you or satisfy you. Rather, it will breed worms and stink (Exo. 16:20).
May we all be impressed with the need to experience Christ daily as our life supply. It is crucial to see that the shortage of the heavenly supply of Christ is what causes our flesh to be exposed. No matter what exciting experiences we have had in the Spirit, we still need to partake of Christ daily as our heavenly manna. If we are undernourished, our flesh will rise up, and our lust will disturb us and hinder our fellowship with the Lord. Day by day we need to be filled with Christ as the heavenly manna and satisfied by Him.