I recently watched Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, so naturally when I read that God said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you” I imagined it accompanied by T-bone steaks and ice cream. Although that didn’t happen, what did happen was just as amazing.
A little backstory: the Israelites were freed from Egypt and were being led by Moses through the desert when God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and caused him to give chase. God divided the Red Sea, led Israel through it on dry land, and released the waters back on the Egyptians. Exodus says, “And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him.”
As we’ve come to expect with the Israelites, the praise and trust didn’t last long. Less than a page after they sing, “Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” they begin grumbling. “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
As we’ve come to expect with God, He provided. He gives them quail and forms thin flakes of bread on the desert floor. There are stipulations, though. The Israelites have to gather the bread every morning and only gather enough for that day (with the exception of the sixth day, where they get double so that they rest on the Sabbath.) If they keep the bread until the next morning it starts to smell and becomes infested with maggots. Exodus says the Israelites ate manna for forty years until they reached the border of Canaan.
I once heard manna used as an illustration of how our walk with Jesus should be. How every day we should be diving into His Word, praying with Him, pondering Him, seeking Him. We can’t store up a bunch of Jesus for later, it doesn’t work like that. He needs to be our daily sustenance just like manna was for the Israelites. There are 1440 minutes up for grabs every day…lets use 30 of them to be alone with Jesus. I can guarantee we have time, and I can guarantee there’s no better way to spend it.
Seeking The Light 