Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Exodus 16:13 says, And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.  In the evening, the LORD provided quail for the Israelites to eat.  They were complaining about starving, and God provided even more than just the bare minimum for them to eat.  I believe that we should be more concerned about spiritual hunger than we should physical, because if we are spiritually close to God, then we won't allow physical hunger or concerns to cause us to murmur against God.  Verse fourteen states, And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.  The ground was covered with dew in the morning, and when the dew disappeared, the ground was covered with small round things.  Verse fifteen sys, And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.  The people of Israel did not know what it was, so they called it manna.  Moses then told them that it was the bread rained down from heaven by God.  We may fail to recognize God's blessings at times because they do not look like what we are expecting.  This was not bread like the people of Israel were used to seeing, but since God provided it, I believe it was even better.  Verse sixteen adds, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.  Moses gave the people specific commands about gathering the bread.  They were to gather an omer for each person in the tent.  We today could learn from this.  God does not tell us that He will provide for our entire life's needs today, but that He will provide for our needs daily, so we should learn to be content with having our needs met daily.  Verse seventeen continues, And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.  The people did more or less what God had told them to do through Moses.  Then verse eighteen conclude, And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.  I believe that the fact that they attempted to comply with what God said was more important than the literal amount that they gathered.  Everyone had their needs met, and no more.  When we come to Christ, it is the fact that we come, and not how we come that matters.  Some people's faith may not be quite as strong as others, but if they come, they will both be spiritually filled.  Verse nineteen says, And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.  Moses told them not to leave anything over until morning.  I believe that we too often worry about tomorrow and attempt to want to keep things stored up for tomorrow instead of being willing to just rely on God daily.  Verse twenty states, Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.  Not all people listened to Moses then, and he was upset with them, and not all people listen to God today, even those who are followers of Christ.  Even as we say we think the second coming of Christ will be soon, we want a lifetime of physical security for ourselves.  Verse twenty-one adds, And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.  What wasn't used melted away, but every person had their needs met.  What we don't use for God today will likewise melt away some day.  Verse twenty-two declares, And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.  They gathered twice as much on the sixth day, so they could keep the Sabbath holy.  Verse twenty-three adds, And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.  Again, the people were given specific instructions for preparing the bread for the Sabbath.  We, as followers of Christ, celebrate the Lord's Day instead of the Sabbath, but do we keep it holy?  Verse twenty-four states, And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.  The next morning, the Sabbath, the bread was still good.  God provided for them on the Sabboth if they followed His command the day before.  Verse twenty-five adds, And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.  If the people had not prepared for the Sabbath the day before, they had no food that day.  We need to take the Lord's Day just as seriously.  Verse twenty-six continues, Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. Then verse twenty-seven concluded, And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.  Evidently, some people didn't listen to Moses and went out to gather the manna on the Sabbath, but there was none.  We today need to obey God's instructions by faith if we are to be the best that we can be spiritually.

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