Exodus 16:35 - Daily Manna.
Exodus 16:35 (NLT) So the people of Israel
ate manna for forty years until they arrived at
the land where they would settle. They ate manna
until they came to the border of the land of
Canaan.
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
God had promised to be their God, to take
them to Himself as a people, and to lead them to
a large and good land; but they were ready to
faint at every obstacle encountered in the way to
that land. In a marvelous manner He had brought
them out from their bondage in Egypt, that He
might elevate and ennoble them and make them a
praise in the earth. But it was necessary for them
to encounter difficulties and to endure
privations. Had they possessed faith in Him, in view of
all that He had wrought for them, they would
cheerfully have borne inconvenience, privation, and
even real suffering; but they were unwilling to
trust the Lord any further than they could witness
the continual evidences of His power. They
forgot their bitter service in Egypt. They forgot
the goodness and power of God displayed in their
behalf in their deliverance from bondage. They
forgot how their children had been spared when the
destroying angel slew all the first-born of Egypt. They
forgot the grand exhibition of divine power at the
Red Sea. They forgot that while they had crossed
safely in the path that had been opened for them,
the armies of their enemies, attempting to
follow them, had been overwhelmed by the waters of
the sea. They saw and felt only their present
inconveniences and trials; and instead of saying, God
has done great things for us; whereas we were
slaves, He is making of us a great nation, they
talked of the hardness of the way, and wondered
when their weary pilgrimage would end. PP292-293
[Remnant SB]
Every day of their travels they had been
kept by a miracle of divine mercy. In all the way
of Gods leading they had found water to
refresh the thirsty, bread from heaven to satisfy
their hunger, and peace and safety under the
shadowy cloud by day and the pillar of fire by
night. Angels had ministered to them as they
climbed the rocky heights or threaded the rugged
paths of the wilderness. Notwithstanding the
hardships they had endured, there was not a feeble one
in all their ranks. Their feet had not swollen
in their long journeys, neither had their
clothes grown old. God had subdued before them the
fierce beasts of prey and the venomous reptiles of
the forest and the desert. If with all these
tokens of His love the people still continued to
complain, the Lord would withdraw His protection until
they should be led to appreciate His merciful
care, and return to Him with repentance and
humiliation. PP429
COMMENTARY PEARL
Exactly What We Need
In 1999, David Whipple bought a burger at
a McDonalds in Logan, Utah, to use in a
demonstration. He put it in his coat pocket and then forgot
it was there. When his wife found it in the
coat in 2013, he decided to store it in a tin
from that point on.
Recently a reporter persuaded Whipple to
take a look at the burger. Other than the pickle,
which had disappeared, they concluded that it
looked relatively the same after all those
years.
When God provided food for the Israelites
in the wilderness, they couldnt even keep it
overnight. Otherwise, it would rot (except the extra
they collected for the Sabbath). They called this
food Manna, and they were to gather as much
as they needed for the day.
Exodus 16 tells us, So the people of
Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot,
some only a little. But when they measured it
out, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered
a lot had nothing left over, and those who
gathered only a little had enough. Each family had
just what it needed (verses 17"18 NLT).
Lets think of Manna like Gods Word
for a moment. Job said, I have not departed
from the commandment of His lips; I have
treasured the words of His mouth more than my
necessary food (Job 23:12 NKJV).
We can find everything we need to know
about God in the pages of Scripture. And we can
find everything we need to know about life there
as well.
The Bible says that Gods mercies are
new every morning (Lamentations 3:23 NKJV).
Every day, we should open the Bible and say,
Lord, I need You to speak to me through this Book.
I need to hear Your voice.
Dont live off yesterdays blessings.
Start every day with the Word of God. [Greg Laurie
from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Since Ive cut down on carbs, I don't
need to buy bread as often as I used to. This is
a good thing - most of the time. Yesterday, I
decided to have a sandwich for lunch. Thankfully, I
found two slices left in the bread box.
Unfortunately, both had greenish spots of mold beginning to
form. It looked gross, but not as gross as what
the Israelites found when they tried to hoard
manna.
God had rained down manna from heaven
each morning and instructed the people to gather
just enough for that day. Only on the sixth day,
the people could gather twice as much to include
their needs for the Sabbath since He didn't send
the manna on their day of rest. Some Israelites
disobeyed and gathered extra manna. By the next
morning, it was full of maggots and smelled awful.
Both then and now, God wants His people
to trust Him on a day-by-day basis to provide
for their needs. Jesus's model prayer includes
"Give us each day our daily bread" (Luke 11:3,
NIV). He promises to provide exactly what we need
and when we need it, as long as we walk humbly
and obediently with Him.
Manna was a temporary fix for the
Israelites; later, Jesus identified Himself as the true
Bread of heaven in John 6. He added that if He is
our source of nourishment, we will never go
hungry. And we will live forever. Even if we're on a
carb-free diet, we can never get too much of the Bread
of Life. Dianne Neal Matthews
Faith Step: Whenever you eat a meal or a
snack today, thank Jesus for providing both
physical and spiritual nourishment on a daily basis.
[Mornings With Jesus 2021 Devotional by Guideposts and
Zondervan]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC
Matthew 6:34 - Plan for Tomorrow but Live
for Today.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20201123-1013.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides:
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Revelation Now by Pastor Doug Batchelor:
https://www.revelationnow.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
