Exodus 16:2-5, 13-31, 35
The "Manna" Test

The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days."

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was.

Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.'" The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.

And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over until morning." But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul. And Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers apiece. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy sabbath to the LORD; bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.'" So they put it aside until morning, as Moses commanded them; and it did not become foul, and there were no worms in it.

Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is a sabbath, there will be none." On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. The LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and instructions? See! The LORD has given you the sabbath, therefore on the sixth day he gives you food for two days; each of you stay where you are; do not leave your place on the seventh day." So the people rested on the seventh day.

The house of Israel called it manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a habitable land; they ate manna, until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

New Revised Standard Version

"Give us this day our daily bread," we read in Matthew 6:11, as Jesus taught his disciples through the ages how to pray. We can be confident that the same God who fed the Hebrew people daily for forty years will take care of our needs, too!

But I do have trouble living in the confidence that God will provide. In my desire to control comes weakness in my faith, and I often respond to God's love in ways that are just as ridiculous as the Hebrew people did in this passage. I invite you to look carefully at their actions, then examine your own responses.

Let's first consider the context. The Hebrew people escaped the Egyptian army by crossing the Red Sea in chapter 14, but two months later, in chapter 16, they are bemoaning their assumed fate of starving in the wilderness. Somehow, we seem to forget what God has done for us in the past when we're not sure what God is doing for us in the present. Likewise, we assume when we can't see what God is doing, God must not be doing anything to help us. We are too often shortsighted, fearful, and faithless when problems come.

Don't miss how the laws of physics stopped working for the people as they gathered the manna. Those who put forth a half-hearted effort and gathered up just a little had a full omer, which would be about two quarts of bread. Those who were aggressive and gathered an abundance of manna still had only an omer. Too often, I place far too much importance on my role in God's provision for me, thinking that what I do and how I do it is critical to God's success. God provided a gracious amount of manna for each person, whether they worked hard enough to "deserve" it or not, and whether they took only "their fair share" or grabbed all they could. It was God's power and God's grace that fed them, and their responsibility was to accept the gift and eat it.

Notice their weakness in faith continued even while God was providing them food. Maybe those who tried to save manna overnight were convinced that God might miss a day--that God's grace would be as flawed as our own temperamental graciousness. I think my reasons for hoarding manna often are different, looking back at some of my past foolish behaviors: "God, I'm not all that hungry this morning, so I'll give you tomorrow off from feeding me and I'll eat this second quart of manna in the morning." How absurd! When I think and respond that way, I'm trying to put myself on equal footing with God, trying to work out at least a partial exchange with God for what God has given to me. At the root of this sin is a reluctance to see myself honestly for who I am, and an unwillingness to embrace and celebrate the undeserved grace that God is eagerly showering on me. Trust. Accept. Eat. Enjoy!

God bent a few more laws of physics to provide for the Sabbath rest, doubling the amount the people would gather on Friday and protecting that extra from spoiling before Saturday. But there were the doubters who had to go see for themselves that there really wasn't manna on Saturday morning. These are the direct descendants of Adam and Eve, who couldn't resist eating the one fruit that God commanded them not to eat. We all have this perverse response to the command "Don't!", and that curiosity, lacking in trust, breeds rebellion, rejection, and separation.

Two verses near the end of the chapter underscore the extravagance of what God provided to the Hebrew people. The first verse describes manna as being pure white (which was difficult for nomadic bakers to achieve), with the rich aroma of the herb coriander, and a smooth, sweet taste of honey. God could have provided them with ordinary flat-bread, and they could have survived quite well on that bread. But God's nature is to exceed our expectations, in the same way that Jesus changed water into the finest wine of the wedding feast in Cana. We will always be surprised at the extent of God's goodness, if we're observant enough and expectant enough to notice.

Finally, notice that God kept up this daily provision for these foolish people for forty years. God only stopped giving them manna when God had something better to give them, which was the Promised Land, a land described opulently as flowing with milk and honey. We usually have limits on our giving to others, and we expect limits on the gifts we receive, but God's love is limitless.

I think I need to apply a "manna" test to myself when I encounter problems. As I face difficulties, I need to ask God to help me perceive the answers to these questions:

• Am I expecting God to solve this problem for me, or am I doubting?
• Am I doing what God is telling me to do about this problem, not what I want to do about it?
• Am I trusting God's power to provide, or am I relying on my power?
• Am I fully accepting and embracing what God is doing, or am I limiting what God can do?
• Am I being obedient, or am I second-guessing God?
• Am I looking carefully for what God is doing, so I don't miss all God intends for me?