Daily Manna

After the plagues in Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea, Exodus 16 covers one of the more underappreciated miracles in the Bible: God providing manna in the wilderness. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, I’d encourage you to read Exodus 16 before moving on. 

Exodus 16:20-21 says, “But they [Israel] did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it [manna] till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.” In other words, they had just enough provision for the day. And each day they had to go out and get provision again; they couldn’t last on the old food from yesterday. 

Later in the passage, God told them to get double the provision on the sixth day, to prepare for the Sabbath. Of course, some didn’t want to listen, so verse 27 reads, “On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.”

God provided manna, daily. That is a clear truth from this passage. We also know that God does not change (Mal. 3:6, Heb. 13:8). Though he may perform different actions, he often performs them with similar intentions. Which leads me to ask, is God still in the business of providing manna? 

My answer would be yes, but now, instead of the physical provision to sustain your body, it is the spiritual provision to sustain your soul (Mt. 6:11, Jn. 6:32-35, Lam. 3:22-23, etc.). 

Let Us Not Be Like Israel

If the above statements are true, there are two easy applications for us. First, we need to go collect the manna, unlike some of the Israelites in Exodus 16:20 who assumed yesterday’s manna would last until today! Daily, we need to spend time with the Lord, to receive the spiritual food from him that will sustain what we need today! We can’t assume yesterday’s spiritual sustenance will satisfy today’s hunger. 

Is God generous, and can the sermon from ten years ago still be feeding us today? Of course. However, too many of us eat leftovers, not realizing there’s fresh food on the ground that might be more of what we need today. Eat that food! 

Secondly, the Israelites disobeyed the way God told them to collect the manna. In doing this, they missed out on the extra provision during day six. I think sometimes we miss the way God tells us to spiritually eat. The Word, prayer, fellowship, communion, service, meditation… God has provided tons of means to receive spiritual food. It is clear that we need some more than others though. Or, maybe better put, we need some with much more regularity. Can God appear to you through nature, of course (Rom. 1, Ps. 19). But does God appear more regularly with the food you need or life through his Word, yes (Rom. 1, Ps. 19)! We have to go to him the way he says to do it. If we don’t, we’ll be trying to collect the “seventh day” and realize there’s nothing there! 

So, there’s manna on the ground for you, right now. What would it look like, this morning, to feast on “the bread of angels” (Ps. 78:25)? The Israelites ate bread and still died. In Jesus, we have the true miraculous bread from heaven, laid into the ground, yet resurrected, that we might hunger no more as we find our fulfillment in him. 

Give us this day, Jesus, our daily bread, which is you yourself, Christ. Let us feast forever on you.