2-25-15. Exodus 16:31-36. The Jar Of Manna Is The Testimony Of God’s Grace-my devotional

 Exodus 16:31-36                                                        Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse 16:32                                                          2-25-15

“Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”

God wanted Moses to teach his people to have a sense of history about how God blessed them. They were to never forget the grace of God in their lives. Look at Exodus 16:31-36, “The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’” 33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 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. 36 (An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)”

The Hebrews put some manna in a special jar as a reminder of the way God provided for them in the desert. This jar of manna was to be kept as a testimony to God’s grace…a memorial of the faithfulness of God. Later on, the “testimony” would also include the Ten Commandments inscribed on two tablets of stone, and also Aaron’s dry rod that budded and they would all be preserved in the Ark of the covenant. Any manna that was held over would normally breed maggots and stink, but the manna placed in the jar would be sustained by the power of God for many, many centuries.

The miracles of the past are to be never forgotten, but related over and over. This is also called holding onto the grace of Jesus.

There are many times in the Bible where believers are called to remember. Jacob set up a stone and poured oil on it to commemorate the place where he met God personally and saw the stairway leading up to heaven. The tribes took 12 stones out of the river Jordan and stacked them up on one side to always remember how God stopped the flow of the Jordan to let the people of Israel pass through. (Joshua 4:1-9) The Jewish people had many festivals and feasts throughout the year to commemorate the grace of God for their people. New Testament believers are to always eat the Lord’s Supper, remembering the body and blood of Christ.

The Bible is full of exhortations to remember the grace of God. Look at some verses found among the epistles…

2 Corinthians 13:14, “ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

2 Timothy 2:1, “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

2 Peter 3:17-18, “¹⁷ Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

God is so concerned with remembering his grace because his grace is beneficial to one’s life. God was not commanding them to remember his grace just to have a handle on them to control them. Some people try to use the grace of God to control others by saying, “You had better not forget all the things I (or we) have done for you!” and then enslave them emotionally with a sense of obligation. No! Our God is not like this. God knows that it is good for us to meditate on his grace and not let go of his grace.

Remembering the grace of God can calm our hearts of worries and fears. When we think that we are at the end of our rope and all else has failed, we simply have to remember the grace of God and how he has provided for us over and over again. Just like he provided manna in the desert for his people every day for forty years. We can find rest in the God who provides. Ebenezer! (Which means, Thus far the Lord has helped us. 1 Samuel 7:12) When we meditate on the grace of God then we are nurtured and grow like a well watered plant. We grow up spiritually healthy in the love of our Heavenly Father.

Commemorating the grace of God, in the form of jar full of manna, can also help us to approach God with right perception of him. When we approach Jesus, what premises do we hold about him in our hearts? Do we approach him as a judge? Or a distant, aloof God that has nothing to do with his people? Do we see him as a God who does not care about us? But when we think about God, by remembering his grace first, we are convinced that God is the God who is involved in our lives, he hears our prayers, sees our need, and he faithfully provides.

The jar of manna would become a type of symbol, symbolizing in how God provided for and how he loves his people. It would be an aid in worship. Symbols have always been important part of the Christian worship. Such symbols can be valuable as aides to worship, but we must be careful to keep them from becoming objects of worship.

I need to always remember the grace of God in my life. Jesus suffered and died so that I can be forgiven and become a child of God and a servant of God. He rose again so that I could have a living hope in the kingdom of God. Despite my many weakness and sins, he helped me to be a Bible teacher and speaker. In eight years, (1992- 2000) he blessed me to marry Julie, establish a family, career, home, five kids and a mission to be the pastor of a house church. And he is keeping it all together for us. He is leading all of us on new adventures now. He will continue to lead me and my wife Julie to the eternal Kingdom of Heaven to dwell with him forever. He is faithfully providing what we need on this pilgrimage we are led on. All of this is not because of my doing. It is completely the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ. My “jar of manna” is my personal testimony of God’s grace. He helps me never to forget it and to share it again and again.

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