“I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.” (Exodus 16:4)
God’s rescue mission for Israel from Egypt had just all too recently been executed. With unprecedented precision and resounding success, the victory rang loud throughout the surrounding nations and the hearts of kings and peoples failed them for fear of Israel! Yes, beloved God will place the fear of Himself in the hearts of your enemies and mine so they dare not touch the apple of His eye. Manifestations of His power never before witnessed by mankind from the day the Lord God created male and female and declared all things to be “very good” followed in rapid, fearful and glorious succession. The plagues, the mysterious cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, the parted Red Sea, the annihilation of Pharaoh and his army, the bitter waters turned sweet. God, the Lover of our souls left nothing undone to woo His once enslaved bride Israel to Himself.
By all reasonable expectation, Israel should have stood in awe of such a radical, unashamed, unadulterated display of pursuant love from an indescribably great God towards such an unimpressive, unremarkable nation of slaves! At this moment, the only question that they should have begged an answer for should have been “How may we serve You Lord for rescuing us, such an undeserving people?” It would not have been a stretch of the imagination to expect a jubilant chorus of praise by Israel to transcend from earth to heaven mingling with the unceasing declaration of the Seraphim who cry day and night “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3).
But alas, as the narrative continues, disappointment meets the eyes of the keen reader. Israel is found in the Desert of Sin. Their declarations… “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Exodus 16:3)
Now before we gasp in righteous indignation at ancient Israel’s apparent ingratitude, the Lord beckons to You and I, modern day Israel not to rush too quickly to pass judgement. We too are guilty of the high crime we have charged against them.
Friends, unless we seek for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our lives moment by moment to guide and lead us to all truth, we are doomed to meet the same fate all of that generation did. The whole generation perished in the wilderness, on their way to the Promised Land with the exception of two who were found obedient. The wealth of instruction found in this account has and will continue to transcend generations, peoples and nations as we daily tread in this wilderness pilgrimage on our way to Heavenly Canaan, God’s sure and Promised Land of the Redeemed. As any responsible traveler would, let us for a moment, discern some of the lessons from the experience of travelers past that are to us a compass as we journey along.
Desert of Sin
We like ancient Israel can find ourselves in the “Desert of Sin” following God’s deliverance from the enslaving clutches of vice. All to suddenly we can find ourselves reminiscing longingly at what was. It could be a rescue from an abusive relationship, job situation or living environment. Afflicted by a self-imposed case of temporary amnesia, beclouded and surrounded by barren pastures, instead of crying out to God for continued provision as we journey on, forgetting that God never said that the wilderness journey is the destination, we allow sin to continue to deceive us by portraying the days past as being the best days we ever lived. We glorify the very things that brought about harm and degradation to our souls. My heart is moved to shame and a plea for forgiveness as I ponder upon God’s response to Israel in the midst of this fearful ingratitude. He says “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.” (Exodus 16: 12). Beloved God is love and surely while we were yet sinners, He sent His only Son to die for us! Who responds with provision in the face of insult, Ah God! But let our hearts not be deceived that we can grumble against God and still reap good. Only a few short chapters tell the disastrous fate that befell the grumblers, a prudent warning to you and I. Today, let us plead for the daily outpouring of the Holy Spirit to see things for what they truly are.
Trust is the Test
The Key text reminds us that God instructed Israel to gather only enough manna for each day to test their obedience. Many are forgetful that God has given the same command to us found in Matthew 6: 34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Yet how many of us moment by moment are repeating the very same sin of gathering tomorrow’s worries and anxieties into today’s basket? Plagued by the bully of control and perfectionism, rather than surrender in the assurance given by Jehovah Himself that “…your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6), many submit to the burden of worry, depression and distress. Some have said it would seem as if women have an over expressed gene of worry. When single, many women worry about when, where and how they shall meet their husband; when married it is if that husband will ever change, will he stay faithful, or will they have children and when the children come, will they be obedient, will God keep them safe, will they choose to trust God with their lives (forgetful ofcourse that children many times tend exemplify what they see). Today, as You hear God’s voice calling for you to surrender the disobedience of worry, choose to trust and obey, do not harden Your heart.
Pay attention
“However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell (Exodus 16: 20). As many Bibles sit gathering dust on the night stand, as professed Christians pacify guilt by surface Bible reading dubbed so called Bible study, as long as some Bible scholars just plainly disregard the plain instruction given in God’s word, the consequences of inattentiveness will continue to plague God’s people. Inattentiveness causes a wretched, stinking and spoiled smell to the life lived today by hoarding and exalting self-sufficiency in an effort to provide for tomorrow apart from God. Let us search our hearts, examine ourselves as the apostle Paul admonishes and see if we are yet still in the faith. Are we guilty of robbing God by a refusal to tithe and give to His cause all because we fear poverty? Do we disobey God’s call to modesty and simplicity because we fear breaking worldly fashion standards? Or do we excessively shop because we fear nakedness? Whatever the fears, may they be subdued and annihilated by the belief one of the many assurances God has given that the Psalmist declares “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.(Psalm 37:25).
Divine lessons in every miracle
For forty years, God faithfully performed a signal three fold miracle for ancient Israel. Daily He rained manna for their provision. On Friday which is Preparation Day, He commanded the people to collect double to sustain them for two days and He caused the extra provision not to spoil. In dramatic declaration of the sanctity of the Sabbath and His expressed command to remember and keep it holy, no manna rained!
Circumstances may change, God’s provision will NEVER.
In our lives today, it may not be a physical manifestation of manna because we are also told that “The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.”(Exodus 16: 34). As soon as they reached a fertile land, God changed His provisions to meet their new situation. He does the same for You and I. Friend, You and I will fail in this pilgrim journey of trusting in the Lord only if we choose to.
Let us remember, “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history” (Ellen G. White).
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