Manna — Part 2: 03/12/2024

Broadcast

                            Manna - Part 2
                             Exodus 16:4-5
                              03/12/2024


        4    Then the LORD said to Moses, ``Behold, I am about
             to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people
             shall go out and gather a day's portion every day,
             that I may test them, whether they will walk in my
             law or not.
        5    On the sixth day, when they prepare what they
             bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather
             daily.''  (ESV)

        God heard the grumbling of the children of Israel.  He knew
   of their dissatisfaction, their desire to abandon the path which
   led from slavery to freedom.  The lure of the present, even if it
   meant living as a slave, was greater than the promise of the
   future.

        Yet God, in His mercy, did not punish them for their
   discontent.  Rather, He used their discontent to show His love,
   grace, and mercy.
        Then the LORD said to Moses, ``Behold, I am about to
        rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go
        out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may
        test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.  On
        the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it
        will be twice as much as they gather daily.''


        And so it was that God prepared an answer to their prayer.
   Even as the children of Israel complained, even as they doubted
   God's love, He provided for them.  Yes, this was a testing of
   their faith, an opportunity for them to grow in their trust in
   God.

        We may not be in the wastelands of the desert east of the
   Red Sea, but we still are beset with problems and concerns.
   Either we can complain, or we can trust in God to provide, even
   if we do not understand how He will sustain us.  His plans for
   us, His deliverance from our physical and spiritual problems, are
   always astounding.

        May our Lord grant us wisdom to trust in Him above all
   things.  Amen.