2-20-15. Exodus 16:13-22. Gather and Eat Manna From Heaven Everyday-my devotional

Exodus 16:13-22                                                                     Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse 16:15                                                                       2-20-15

 “When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.”

God was very concerned about hunger of his people and provided food from heaven for them. Look at Exodus 16: 13-36, “That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’” 17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed. 19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”  20 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. So Moses was angry with them.  21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.”  (NIV)

God was faithful to do as he said and delivered a huge amount of food to his people. Look at verses 13-14, ““That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.”  He promised to send the Manna and quail and he came through with his promises.

Let’s put this in perspective. There were approximately 3 million people. There would be 18 million pints or about 13.5 millions pounds daily. It would take a train pulling 45 cars, each car having 15 tons, to take care of a day’s supply. About 1.5 million tons of manna would be gathered annually by Israel. This was continued for 40 years. How great is our God! He is able to provide the daily needs of a nation that trusts in him. (The Expositor’s Study Bible) What a faithful God we serve. He keeps true to his promises. If he says he will do something…he will do it. But it will happen in his time and in his way. We can always trust in him.

God provided delicious food for his people. In Egypt, Israel had slave food, which may have included scraps that the Egyptians did not want, like maybe pig’s ankles, weeds and rats. But in the desert the Israelites had food specially delivered from heaven by God. The quail must have tasted delicious roasted over a camp fire or cooked in a stew. Manna appeared on the ground each day as thin flakes. It looked like frost on the ground. The people gathered it, ground it like grain and made it into honey flavored pancakes. For the Israelites, the manna and the quail were gifts. It came every day and it was just what they needed. It satisfied their temporary physical need. They were more blessed in the desert then they were while slaves in Egypt. It was because of God’s abundant grace.

What God provided for them was foreign to them. Look at verse 15, “When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.” God could have provided food that was familiar to them. He could have rained down milled grain or some other Egyptian food stuffs that that people were familiar with. But what he provided for their daily sustenance was completely new. They had never experienced Manna before. But it was what God knew that they needed. It was what God provided on a daily basis for forty years.

People are crying out to God out of their spiritual hunger. They are definitely in need of help. But they have their own ideas about what they need to solve their problems. They may think if they got the right degree, or dated the right person, or had enough money, or traveled to a certain place, or had just the right adventure, or listened to the right music, then the hunger of their souls will be satiated. But these things do not satisfy. People do not know what can quench their souls, but God does. Jesus invites the hungry to himself. John 6:35 reads, “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  Jesus is God’s answer. But like the early Israelites people do not recognize the spiritual food that God sends to them. They hear the Gospel and then say, “What is it?”  But Jesus is the bread that the Lord has given us to eat in the desert of this world.

God provides for his people, not what we think they need, but what we really need. God serves up the richest of fare for our minds, bodies and souls. Think about spiritual food for a moment. In John 6:48-51 Jesus compared himself to Manna. John 6:30-35 reads, “So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” 35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus is the Manna that came down from heaven. He is spiritual food for our souls. Christ is our daily bread who satisfies our eternal spiritual need.

Jesus also teaches his followers about their need for spiritual bread. Think about the Lord’s Prayer where Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Give us each day our daily bread.” (Luke 11:3) Daily” is an important factor in gathering and eating spiritual Manna. Eating daily bread is necessary to our spiritual lives. How can we eat this bread of life? This is somewhat personal, but we can say that it has to do with entering into fellowship and communion with the living and risen Jesus Christ.  During communion we eat and drink the body of Christ. Eating daily bread has something to do with communion with Jesus. This is accomplished by the grace of God. But on our part, this includes prayer, meditation on the Gospel, on Christ and on his word. Many Christians eat the bread of Life, Jesus, through meditating on, studying and even writing on the word of God. This is how I gather and “eat” daily bread.

Eating spiritual bread also involves doing the will of God with a “finishing” attitude. Jesus once told his disciples about what his spiritual food was and how we can eat this spiritual bread  in John 4:31-36, “Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” 34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”  According to Jesus, spiritual food is to do the will of God, not just haphazardly, but doing the will of God with an intention of finishing it. When we find God’s will for us each day and engage in it, our souls are satisfied.

.        It may seem like a small thing to spend time each morning in prayer and meditation in the word of God, but it is not a small thing. It is most important for inner discipline and for spiritual growth. Many years later, Moses said, “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.” NIV (Dt 8:2-5) Think about our physical bodies. We need to eat three times a day for our bodies to grow strong. In the same way we need regular servings of spiritual bread. Gathering this bread daily is a spiritual discipline that our souls also need. God’s daily discipline for us is a great expression of his fatherly love.

The author of Hebrews echoes these same sentiments in Hebrews 12:5-12, which says, “5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.” God wants his people to grow up and mature in their faith until their lives could have a spiritual dimension. One way to see our feeble arms and weak knees strengthened and to find level paths for our feet, is to embrace the call to gather and eat the spiritual Manna, the Bread of Life, Jesus, every day.