Never Forsaken: Our Daily Bread

 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “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. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”  Exodus 16:4-5

 Manna wasn’t just provision for the Israelites, it was a test. Both the Israelites and God were being tested here. Let’s look at how.

 God had led them out into the desert, why? He hadn’t taken them somewhere that they could easily access the things they needed, like flour for bread. There was no grocery store on the corner. He brought them out to the wilderness where they would be required to rely on Him. God’s provision and wisdom were being put to the test. Would He be able to provide food for a million people? Every day? History says that He did. He provided for them in a way that they had never expected, manna itself means, “What is it?” (Exodus 16:15).

 The people were being tested in their ability to follow instructions according to the verse above. God told them to gather each day only what they needed, except they were to gather twice as much on the sixth day and not go out to gather on the seventh day, the Sabbath. Now, the concept of the Sabbath was new to them. This was not yet a part of their culture so the idea of not going out to gather or prepare food one day a week was an extra test. They hadn’t been doing this for generations or millennia like they have now. Back then, the idea of just skipping the required activities of daily life once a week must have seemed bizarre! And, sadly, the Israelites didn’t pass either of these tests initially. They gathered too much the first day and went out to gather anyways on the seventh. But did God give up on them and write them off when the messed up right away? No! He let them learn from it. He gave them spoiled manna filled with maggots to teach them to not save up for the next day, since it wouldn’t do them any good. He sent plenty for two days on the sixth day, and then didn’t send any on the seventh, to help them learn the rhythm. How many people went hungry that first Sabbath because they hadn’t gathered double the day before? How many weeks did this have to go on before the people figured it all out?

 You see, God didn’t say, “Trust me,” and then give them all the food they’d need for the 40 years they’d be in the desert. No, He gave them enough for one day (two on Saturdays). This, of course, was practical as this would have been over 6,000 lbs of food per person and impossible for them to manage, but it had an even more important purpose. He wanted them to learn to rely on Him, to trust Him for their provision. He wanted them to stay close to Him, looking to Him every day to give them what they needed. This is reflected in the Lord’s Prayer as it pertains to future generations, well after the Israelite’s time in the wilderness. Jesus says, “Give us today our daily bread,” in Matthew 6:11. Jesus doesn’t ask for this month’s bread or this week’s bread. He asks for His, and His disciples’, daily bread. He asked for the provision of their needs for that day. This implies that the prayer would need to be made every day and that life would be lived fully in the daily provision of God, just as the lives of the Israelites in the wilderness was.

 As a side note, I noticed one other things about this provision this morning. Remember, the Israelites left Egypt with all their flocks and herds. They had food with them. The thing is, they would have to kill their animals in order to eat them, and before long, that would mean that they wouldn’t have any left for the future. God didn’t make them burn through what they had before He was willing to provide for them. The government does that (at least in America). In order to qualify for Social Security Insurance (SSI), a very small amount of money the government gives to those unable to provide for themselves, you have to have less than $3,000 in assets. This means you cannot even own a car. You have to have exhausted all your available resources before the government will help you out. It’s not the same with God. He said the Israelites could hold onto their flocks and herds for the future and He would provide for today. We experienced the same thing during our recent season of unemployment. Yes, we had significant savings set aside for retirement and other purposes that we could have used, that God could have required us to use before He kicked in and helped us out, but instead, He provided for us fully: every day, every week, every month and we never had to touch our reserves. Just like with the Israelites, He took care of their daily needs and allowed them to hold onto their savings for the future.

Here’s the Thing: We may not be living in the wilderness, far from any grocery store, but we are certainly living in the need for daily provision from God. This provision cannot be satisfied once a week at church. No, we need to come to Him every day, learning from His Word, communing with Him in prayer and worship.