Exodus 16:28 (KJV)
And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
The account of the manna is one of amazing grace. Israel had only days before crossed the Red Sea on dry land and celebrated the victory over the armies of Egypt as they were drowned in the same path Israel had safely crossed. It’s as if the first thing they thought of after watching God save them from Egypt was that now He would let them starve to death without Egypt. In response, God gave them manna.
The New Testament calls it “bread from heaven.” They didn’t hunt for food. They didn’t pray for food. Instead, they began by murmuring because there was no food. It wasn’t just a few; it was, according to the Bible, the whole congregation. Yet God’s response was not wrath but grace. He gave them food.
God gave them enough.
Each person gathered according to their need for the day—an omer. I wonder if each person’s omer was a different size. (I don’t suppose they had to fill the container completely.) The Bible says that at the end of the day, no matter how much they had gathered, those who gathered much had none left over, and those who gathered less had no lack.
Except some tried to gather more, and that rotted overnight, riddled with worms and stinking by morning.
Someone had to prove that it couldn’t be saved.
(He would be the modern scientist who doesn’t believe God until he’s proven God is not wrong.)
God gave them more the day before the Sabbath.
The same manna that would have spoiled with worms on Thursday night was perfectly preserved on Friday night. It was a miracle, the work of God. It was His provision for them and not a natural phenomenon. The Sabbath was a day of rest; they were not to gather manna on the Sabbath.
Someone had to look for manna on the Sabbath.
How would they know God was telling the truth unless someone took it upon themselves to disobey Him on the Sabbath?
For the first time in this incident, God rebuked them. Would Israel forever refuse to keep His commandments and laws?
And still, for forty years, the manna continued to come. Day after day, year after year, twice as much on Friday and none on the Sabbath.
Moses instructed Aaron to save a pot of it so Israel could always remember how God fed them in the wilderness. It never spoiled and was eventually placed in the ark of the covenant.
I suppose we ought to be thankful for those who choose to disobey God, for they only serve to prove the value in obeying Him. But I pray for the day, promised in the future, when all men will follow, believe, and honor the Lord.
#AmazingGrace #BreadFromHeaven #GodsProvision #ObeyHisCommandments #MiracleOfManna
Manna, Miracles, and God's Care: Forty Years of Grace
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