Pharaoh was the one who provided to the Israelites what they needed to survive as his slaves. Everything came from his hand. But what the Pharaoh gave, he could also take away: life, food, security and most of important of all, identity.
Once the Israelites are in the desert, they mumble and grumble over what they do not have: life (what they were used to) food, ("pots of meat" and lots of it) security (starvation is imminent) and identity ("this entire assembly").
"Assembly" ...really? Not the children of Israel? Clearly, they didn't see their glorious inheritance of the covenant between God and His people. Egypt with its enormous structures, all extolling the virtues of the pharaohs, the gods and the glory that was Egypt, meant that their covenant with God seemed pretty lackluster:
Them: Pyramids!
Us: We have this verbal contract spoken by God years ago to our distant ancestor named Abraham.
Them: Big statues of the pharaohs, powerful and looking divinely smug!
Us: Some guy named Moses shows up, and tells we are to be free and how our God is going to demonstrate not once, but many times, His superiority.
Them: Gods for every aspect of life, carved in stone, and looking divinely smug!
Us: We have one God. He has revealed that He is enough and covers all the bases--weather, harvest, water, animals, life and death.
Them: We were slaves and yes, they tried to kill our babies, but hey, we got up every day, knowing who we were and who we were not!
Us: Who are we now? Children of Yahweh, who really showed us and Egypt who is mightier, but this desert thing is not very impressive. Well, yes, we have food. And drink. And Yahweh's presence. And security. But...
God is cultivating trust in these former slaves. He shows them time and time again that He is worthy of their trust with all He is providing. Yes, Pharaoh provided, but with a whip, and a claim to deity that is utterly offensive to Yahweh, and oh yes, all of those gods...Basically, these gods are what humans think gods should be and what they should do; thus, they are made in man's image.
That's the way humans like it. Remember, the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil went into our collective DNA, and we have recreated the world into something we think is accurate and explains what we hear, see and feel.
So our gods are just a version of a mightier us, and while we are afraid of them, we seek to control them with ritual and sacrifice. Because we fulfill our part of the bargain, we count on them showing up and doing our bidding.
But Yahweh, the one true God, operates on a level He must teach His children to recognize and understand. He shows His glory to the Israelites, not by punishment and oppression to inspire and maintain fear, but by provision.
This is God's modus operandi: He provides for His children out of His character, which is centered on lovingkindness--the word for covenant, by the way. God is demonstrating His covenant by His lovingkindness in how He continually provides for them in the desert.
God could allow us to sink ever so slowly but surely into the mire of sin and its deception, but He seeks to put our feet up on the rock, enlarging our view and seeing the world through His perspective.
In other words, God is constantly handing us the Tree of Life's fruit, and asking us to partake of it.
Jesus used another analogy. He is discussing manna and how it nourished the people, but they eventually died:
"Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ 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.' They said to him, 'Sir, give us this bread always.'” (John 6:31-34)Then Jesus ups the ante on this spiritual analogy:
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 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.” (John 6:47-51)
Now an uncomfortable part (God's words generally are):
The people listening comment that "this is a hard saying." (6:60) and many leave Jesus as a result.
But upon inquiring of the Twelve if they will leave as well, Peter responds: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (6:68-69)
Jesus showed lovingkindness every time He provided for His disciples and His followers. He gave them a new identity, from slaves to a ritualized religion, to becoming children of God. He demonstrated this provision with His teachings, His miracles and His love for their hungry souls. His ultimate provision would be His very flesh and blood, broken and poured out for the remission of sins and giving us a new life of freedom and forgiveness.
The manna eaten by the Israelites nourished them and enabled them to survive.
But Jesus was saying His bread--His flesh, broken and sacrificed to give His people eternal life--would nourish their spiritual DNA, recoding who they were. He would provide wisdom and strength, enabling His children to longer be slaves to sin's deception.
In other words, those who followed Jesus would eat from the Tree of Life.
The same applies to us. Jesus' bread, His sacrifice of His body on the cross, is ours to partake of and be transformed from sin's slavery to walking as His children. We, too, will eat from the Tree of Life.
But we, through Christ alone, must leave behind what Pharaoh--the world--says who we are.
The World: Big, flashy and very alluring to our flesh!
Us: We have fulfillment of all of God's promises in Jesus Christ, spoken by God years ago to our distant ancestor Abraham.
The World: Look at all the world has, seated in power and authority and looking "divinely" smug!
Us: The Messiah came to set us free. God demonstrated mightily that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
The World: "Gods" for every aspect of life--money, sex, power, indulgence and pleasure--inviting us to bend our knee and join in, so we, too, can be smug as we show off what we have and who we are!
Us: One God. We only need Him--He fulfills every aspect of who we are, and transforms us to be what we were intended to be.
The World: We are slaves and yes, the world tries to kill our souls, but hey, what a ride, huh?
Us: Who are now children of God. He has triumphed over the prince of this world, for greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world. Christ is our food, our drink, and will never leave nor forsake us. We are secure in Him, and He stands by us.
From punishment to provision: What a holy ride, huh?