Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Exodus 16:4-5 (NIV)
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
Exodus 16:4-5 (MSG)
God said to Moses, “I’m going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day’s ration. I’m going to test them to see if they’ll live according to my Teaching or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have gathered, it will turn out to be twice as much as their daily ration.”
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“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will cause bread to rain from heaven for you; the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, so that I may test them [to determine] whether or not they will walk [obediently] in My instruction (law). And it shall be that on the sixth day, they shall prepare to bring in twice as much as they gather daily [so that they will not need to gather on the seventh day].” -AMPLIFIED
The Israelites grumbled and complained because they were lacking food to eat. They reminisced over the way things used to be, back in Egypt, when they did not worry about what they would eat or drink. Instead of making their need known to God, they complained to Moses and Aaron. Yet, God heard them and answered.
The God of Heaven, Creator of all things was quite capable of providing food for His people. All they need do was ask. God’s answer to the people was once again given to Moses to share with them. God was going to do a miracle. He would rain down bread from Heaven and this bread would continue to rain down every day, except for on the Sabbath, for forty years. God would take care of them!
Let us notice something relevant; God was going to test the Israelites once again to see if they would be obedient and follow His instructions. This came down to gathering just enough of this Heavenly bread to provide for each person for each day; that would be one omer or as verse 36 tells us one-tenth of an ephah. In today’s measurements this would be about 3.6 liters or about a half-gallon per person each day. On the day before the Sabbath they were to gather twice as much; for on the Sabbath there would be no manna because it was a day of rest.
We will sadly find that many of the Israelites did not take God at His word. They tried to save manna for the next day and woke up to worm infested, smelly manna. Or others went out on the Sabbath to gather; when God had specifically told them to gather twice as much the day before to ensure they had food to eat on the Sabbath. It all came down to a trust issue; would they trust that God would do exactly as He said He would? Would they have faith that He would provide for them?
The same standard applies to us as well. Will we have faith and trust that God is capable to provide for our every need. The Apostle Paul reminded the Philippians of this, “And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 4:19 (AMP)
Jesus told His followers that there was no need to worry or be anxious over what they would eat or drink; for God would take care of their every need. “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.” -Matthew 6:25-26 (MSG)
When will we learn to trust the One and Only person who has never let us down?
My Prayer:
Lord, you are my provider in every area of my life. I need to learn to trust you more; I know this. Forgive my worry and anxiety; I pray. Help me to have the faith I need that you will supply for every need that I have from your riches; and those are not lacking in any way. Help me to be obedient to your biding; even when it entails stepping into the unknown. I believe that you are Jehovah Jireh, my provider. I will trust in you! God, you are good!
Growing with God 