Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
An instruction[a] of Asaph
Remembering God in Times of Trouble
78 Listen, my people, to my instruction.
Hear[b] the words of my mouth.
2 I will tell[c] a parable,
speaking riddles from long ago—
3 things that we have heard and known
and that our ancestors related to us.
4 We will not withhold them from their descendants;
we’ll declare to the next generation the praises of the Lord—
his might and awesome deeds that he has performed.
5 He established a decree in Jacob,
and established the Law in Israel,
that he commanded our ancestors
to reveal to their children
6 in order that the next generation—
children yet to be born—
will know them and
in turn teach them to their children.
7 Then they will put their trust in God
and they will not forget his awesome deeds.
Instead, they will keep his commandments.
8 They will not be like the rebellious generation of their ancestors,
a rebellious generation,
whose heart was not steadfast,
and whose spirits were unfaithful to God.
17 But time and again, they sinned against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 To test God was in their minds,
when they demanded food to satisfy their cravings.[a]
19 They spoke against God by asking,
“Is God able to prepare a feast[b] in the desert?
20 It’s true that[c] Moses[d] struck the rock so that water flowed forth
and torrents of water gushed out,
but is he also able to give bread
or to supply meat for his people?”
21 Therefore, when the Lord heard this, he was angry,
and fire broke out against Jacob.
Moreover, his anger flared against Israel,
22 because they didn’t believe in God
and didn’t trust in his deliverance.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above
and the doors of the heavens to open,
24 so that manna rained down on them for food
and he sent them the grain of heaven.
25 Mortal men[e] ate the food of angels;
he sent provision to them in abundance.
26 He stirred up the east wind in the heavens
and drove the south wind by his might.
27 He caused meat to rain on them like dust
and winged birds as the sand of the sea.
28 He caused these to fall in the middle of the camp
and all around their tents.
29 So they ate and were very satisfied,
because he granted their desire.
2 The whole congregation of the Israelis complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. 3 The Israelis told them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt when we sat by the cooking pots,[a] when we ate bread until we were filled—because you brought us to this desert to kill this entire congregation with hunger.”
4 The Lord told Moses, “Listen very carefully! I’ll cause food to rain down for you from heaven, and the people are to go out and gather each day’s portion on that day. In this way I’ll test them to demonstrate whether or not they’ll live according to my instructions. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be double what they gather on other days.”[b]
6 So Moses and Aaron addressed the entire congregation of the Israelis: “This evening you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaints against him.[c] After all, who are we that you complain against us?” 8 Moses also said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread in the morning to satisfy you, the Lord will hear your complaints directed[d] against him. Who are we? Your complaints aren’t against us, but rather against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses instructed Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelis, ‘Come near into the Lord’s presence, because he has heard your complaints.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to all the congregation of the Israelis, they turned toward the desert, and there the glory of the Lord was seen in the cloud. 11 The Lord told Moses, 12 “I’ve heard the complaints of the Israelis. Tell them, ‘At twilight you are to eat meat and in the morning you are to be filled with bread, so you may know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 Later that evening quail came up and covered the camp, and then in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew evaporated,[e] on the surface of the desert a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost, appeared on the ground. 15 When the Israelis saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?”,[f] because they did not know what it was.
Moses told them, “It’s the food that the Lord has given you to eat.
31 The Israelis named it[a] “manna”.[b] It was white like coriander seed, and tasted like a wafer made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Set aside one omer[c] of it for future generations, so that they may see the food with which I fed you in the desert when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
33 Then Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar, fill it with about one omer[d] of manna, and place it in the Lord’s presence, to be preserved throughout future generations.” 34 So Aaron placed it before the Testimony[e] to be kept, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 35 The Israelis ate manna for 40 years until they came to a land where they could settle.[f] They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
Jesus Feeds More than Four Thousand People(A)
32 Then Jesus called his disciples and said, “I have compassion for the crowd because they have already been with me for three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away without food, or they may faint on the road.”
33 The disciples asked him, “Where in the wilderness are we to get enough bread to feed such a crowd?”
34 Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
35 Ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks. Then he broke them in pieces and kept giving them to his disciples, and the disciples gave them[a] to the crowds. 37 All of them ate until they were filled, then the disciples[b] picked up what was left of the broken pieces—seven baskets full. 38 Now those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 After he sent the crowds away, he got into a boat and went to the region of Magadan.[c]
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