2-26-15. Exodus 16:13-36.  Daily Manna From Heaven…The Wisdom of God                   –my devotional

Exodus 16:13-36                                                                      Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse 16:32                                                                       2-26-15

“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.’”

Part 1:  Gather and Eat Manna From Heaven Everyday (13-22)

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.

Part 2: Keep The Sabbath Holy…But Don’t Be Legalistic About It. (23-30)

The ancient Israelites were called to worship their Creator by keeping the Sabbath. God cared about his people and their spiritual lives and so he implemented some laws about the Sabbath. Look at Exodus 16:23-30, “23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’” 24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.” 27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.” (NIV)

God wants his people seek and find rest in him on the Sabbath. Part of seeking God and finding rest in him, is to worship Jesus along with other believers, on the Sabbath. When we seek our rest in God and consider the Sabbath Day a holy day, set apart to him, God gives us real rest and restores our souls. Let’s learn more about God’s intention for a Sabbath’s day’s rest in this passage.

The Israelites were commanded to not to work on the Sabbath. They were to not even cook food. Why? God knows that the busy routine of daily living would distract people from worship. It is so easy to let work, family responsibilities and recreation, crowd their schedules so tightly, that they couldn’t focus and take time to worship the Lord. Their busy schedules would make their hearts like hard packed paths, that the seed, which is the word of God, cannot be planted and take root in. And so making the Sabbath holy, practically meant to carefully guard their time with God as they made seeking and finding rest in rest in him, and fellowship with each other a top priority in their lives. We are talking about the ancient Israelites, but the same can be extrapolated to contemporary believers also.

But does this mean that we must come to church every Sunday with no exception? There are a growing number of Christians who would say, “No”. There is a passage in Hebrews 10:24-25 that urges believers to never give up meeting together. It reads, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Charles Spurgeon once said, “We may wickedly stay away from the appointed meeting place, but He never does…” But I don’t think this means never missing a Sunday Worship service. There are other meetings that one can attend to spur one another on in the faith. These could range from two people who study the Bible and pray, to a men’s meeting or woman’s meeting, to a group Bible study. It can also mean Sunday Worship by not exclusively.

There are some people who take Sunday worship service attendance too legalistically. I have an article written by a Seventh Day Adventist pastor about why it is important to never miss a Sabbath Day worship service. It is 16 pages long. It is very tedious and hard to finish reading. SDA followers do take attending church every Saturday to new heights. Adherents will cook food on Friday so they don’t have to on Saturday, just like the ancient Israelites were instructed to do in Exodus. Up until the 1950’s they thought that those who worship God on Sunday have the number of the beast.

There are some evangelical Christians who would say that a person should never, ever miss a Sunday worship service. And if they do, it should only be because of extreme sickness or a major car accident, death or birth. If their car breaks down, they will leave their car at the side of the road and take a taxi to church. They will say “no” to every other social or family gathering. They will quit their job if it interferes with Sunday church attendance. They will go to church sick. They will ignore a person in the midst of their suffering in order to make it to Sunday worship service. They will drive 4 or more hours every week to be faithful to Sunday worship at a certain church. If they miss a Sunday worship service they will feel guilty, thinking they have ignored Jesus and their calling and that they have become a bad influence to the rest of the congregation. Pastors will loose hope in them to grow as leaders in the church. They loose the joy of being a Christian. They could easily become like those who left the man beaten on the side of the road to engage in their religious practices. (The parable of the Good Samaritan. Luke 10:25-37) But should we fall into this way of thinking? Is entering into Jesus’ Sabbath rest the same as never missing a Sunday worship service? No.

In the New Testament era, the emphasis is not regular attendance at a church gathering on Sunday. The emphasis is now entering into the Sabbath rest for our souls, that is found only in Christ. The author of the Book of Hebrews tells us about this in Hebrews 4:7-11, which reads, “7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8. For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.” (NIV)

Jesus makes a similar invitation to people who believe in him. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus makes the plea, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (NIV)

There were people among the Israelites who had no desire to enter into God’s rest. Look at verse 27. “Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.” Such people have little heart for seeking and finding God’s rest. They can neither rest with Jesus nor work for God. Even though God does his best for people to find spiritual rest, there will always be people who will not take hold of it. Notice verse 27b, “…but they found none.”  Their efforts were fruitless. They thought that they could get more manna. Maybe they thought they could sell some of the extra. Maybe they were fearful about the future and didn’t trust in God’s provision and were compelled to hoard manna. Despite their reasons, they were unfruitful in their attempts. Some people do miss Sunday worship in an attempt to make a little more “manna”, or money. They think that their missing 3 hours, going to church on Sunday, will somehow make a big difference in their bank accounts. But their efforts are more than fruitless.

In my nearly 30 years of following Jesus and almost never missing a Sunday Worship Service, (by God’s grace) I can see the benefits of regular and faithful Sunday worship. When we are faithful, then we form deep relationship with others in the congregation. We become part of the group, like a family member. People notice when we miss, not in a condemning way, but because they truly miss us. We mature in our faith, by hearing the word of God regularly. We worship in song. We exercise our singing voices which is part of the equipment that God created us with. We spur each other on in our walk with the Lord. We pray for each other. We share about what is going on in the work of God. We talk and relate. We become leaders in the church, because this world is run by those who show up. It is all good at church. People really benefit in every way, and God is pleased, when people keep the Sabbath Day holy.

But it can never be a legalistic thing. It could so easy become this. But it must not. One of my friends summed it up quite nicely in and gracefully in this statement…. “Maintaining a balance in my relationship with parents and church obligations has been challenging to me.  I personally have found some freedom in Christ in this area – I don’t hold myself ultra strict in my Sunday attendance so that I never miss a single Sunday.  I try my very best to go to nearly all of them – but I’ve found that I also must honor my parents as well – and this means sometimes missing a Sunday.  I don’t think the Lord holds this against me, but rather sees my heart as I honor my parents.  I also don’t see this freedom as inhibiting my spiritual growth, but rather allowing me to exercise my freedom has allowed me to enjoy God all the more.  Of course, I do respect others’ convictions in this area – and I’m always trying to see others view points on this as well.”

I want to close this discussion with a quote from Charles Spurgeon. “If I had never joined a church till I had found one that was perfect, I should never have joined one at all; and the moment I did join it, if I had found one, I should have spoiled it, for it would not have been a perfect church after I had become a member of it. Still, imperfect as it is, it is the dearest place on earth to us… The Church is the nursery for God’s weak children where they are nourished and grow strong. It is the fold for Christ’s sheep—the home for Christ’s family.” – Charles Spurgeon.

Part 3: The Jar Of Manna Is The Testimony Of God’s Grace (31-36)

God wanted Moses to teach his people to have a sense of history about how God blessed them. They were to never to 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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Prayer: “Lord, thank you for your deep love and wisdom expressed in your daily provision for our lives. Help us to grow through the “manna” you provide. Help us respond to your spiritual discipline in all of its faucets.”

One Word: God provides for our needs with love and wisdom. Memorialize his grace.