This chapter contains fairly detailed instructions for something fairly straightforward: the daily collection of food. God provided Manna for the Israelites. It came every morning except for the Sabbath and the people were to gather enough for the day and double on the day before the Sabbath.
It seems pretty simple and mechanical:
wake up, collect manna, eat manna, walk, set up camp, go to sleep, wake up, collect...
But there were some important lessons to learn:
1. God is faithful and reliable.
2. Trust God day by day
3. Learn to follow instructions
4. Some habits are good...
Unfortunately the Israelites soon tired of the routine and complained bitterly. Keith Green parodies the Israelites complaining about Manna:
"And in the morning it's manna hotcakes. We snack on manna all day.
And they sure had a winner last night for dinner, flaming manna soufflé...
What... Oh no, manna again?
Oh, manna waffles...
Manna burgers...
Manna bagels...
Fillet of manna...
Mannaroni...
Bamanna bread!"
But there are some rhythms that are profitable to repeat over and over and over again. A world-renowned concert pianist still plays scales and a world class athlete still does push-ups.
And we still need to turn to God's Word daily and talk to Him in prayer.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
