Carrying on from where they left off in chapter 15, 'The whole community grumbled' (Ex 16:2). Now, Joyce Meyer does a lovely bit about how this journey into the Promised Land was only a ten or eleven day hike away but took 40 years to get there: why? Because the people had a negative attitude to their situation. It's food for thought that our attitude affects our outcomes.
In verse 12 God tells Moses "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'. Basically the people are moaning about not having food, and God turns around and responds to their moaning; what grace! God could have fireballed them all to death for moaning, yet actually treated their groaning like a prayer request and sorted it for them.
God then provides food for everyone, with one stipulation: "No-one is to keep any of it until morning" (Ex 16:19). What stands out here is the importance of a day by day relationship with God - he will give you everything you need for today, so stop worrying about tomorrow, stop regretting yesterday, and focus on today.
Just a small point, but the Manna God gave the people was a honey tasting pancake. I think there's something in that: God wants us to enjoy life, and the fact that he gave them something sweet rather than savoury suggests he is a God of joy.
Finally, Moses tells the people to "Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come" (Ex 16:32). In this verse we see yet another example of the altar building principle; when God does something big for you, buy or make a physical symbol of it to remind you of his goodness.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment