#LENT2019 Day 13-14: Exodus 16
(For our lent devotional, we’ll be going through the book of Exodus with the rest of our church and be looking at the hand of God carrying the Israelites through their captivity and oppression as well as their sin and unbelief. Keep up with us as we look at how much God loves His people and never leaves us alone.)
First, read: Exodus 16.
I don’t know about you guys, but of all the things that happens in Exodus, I find this one to be the weirdest.
Chapter 16 is the story of how the people of Israel came to be given manna for the next 40 years in the wilderness. Elim, with its 12 springs and 70 palm trees, was welcome relief, but now Israel has to go back into the Wilderness of Sin(ai), and this time, they’re grumbling about lack of food. So God says to Moses that he will rain down bread for two days, with specific instructions on when to get it, when to eat it, and how long to store this manna, this food that will rain down from heaven. Manna is described to be a wafer-like, circular bread that tastes like honey is on it, and it’s supplied to the Israelites by God directly every day.
The Israelites don’t listen to these instructions totally well. God clearly says to eat everything you pick up on that day except for the sixth night, where you should pick up two days’ worth because the Sabbath is the Sabbath— but some people try to save some where you shouldn’t and end up with maggots in their bowls where the manna was, or go out to pick up more manna on the Sabbath only to find nothing on the ground. It’s just silly disobedience. They’re not reading the directions and doing what they want. But God says to them, “Why don’t you listen to me?” and still provides— for the whole 40 years, which is revealed at the end of the chapter.
This is a very very interesting story. It almost sounds like folklore or fairytale. Bread falling from the sky? But behind this supernatural phenomenon is a greater understanding of food and faith. Israel was forgetting a lot of what God had done for them.
First, they were forgetting that in the ordinary, God is with them, and not just with them, but thinking for their good, just as much as he did in the wonders and miracles that He performed. They didn’t know how to trust Him, which was why as soon as there was no food they grumbled and got upset against God. It was as though they hadn’t seen all that He had provided prior— back to square one.
And yet aren’t we like that, with our goldfish-habit of forgetting all of His goodness, His promises to be with us, His hand over our lives, as soon as we turn away?
Second, even though God's rules were the standard in the wilderness, just as he had set it straight when they first lost water, Israel was still operating on their own rules. When God had given them strict guidelines for the food He was providing, they weren’t listening and operating on their own wisdom and discernment, saving the food when they shouldn’t be and trying to get more when they shouldn’t be. They were living on the same standards and mindset as they were in Egypt, even though they were free.
I see so much of us in that. We often still live like we’re in in bondage and we often still live like we’re of the world even though we’ve been set free. Our paradigm of living and our mindset is so fixed on the world that we forget that we need to live like we’re a Christian, with different values… And yet, instead of following what God says, we follow our gut. Because clearly, we’re smarter than God, right?
And finally, they were forgetting that they needed to submit to God and rest. They idolized their work above God and couldn’t stop working when God told them to keep the Sabbath sacred and stay in their homes. They didn’t know how to obey God when he told them something for their own good.
I am so like that. LOL. I never know how to stay in my lane with God and just be. I’m always running around like a chicken with her head cut off (grotesque visuals but you get my point) and worship God with all that He commands in the midst of my limitedness. We all don’t know how to follow God and not the world or what we think.
But yet, even when God chastises us, He cares for us. His loving instruction is not punitive, meaning it’s not punishment— he directs us where we need to go, and even though we disobeyed, even though we suck at obeying, He still loves us and shows us grace. That’s our loving God.
Hey guys? We’re a lot like the Israelites (spoiler alert). We get like this too. We still live in bondage even though we’re free to choose God and choose what’s good for us— we still choose whatever the heck we want and whatever the heck we think is best, even though God clearly says it’s not. But God still loves us and seeks after us, not for the sake of punishing us, but for the sake of directing us to where we need to go and building a deeper relationship with us. He doesn’t give up on us just because we’re a handful.
Let’s remember the God that never stops seeking after us and never stops showing us love. And let’s start walking towards this loving, faithful God. Have you prayed today? Pray and talk to Him. Have you opened up your bible? Maybe today’s the day— because God’s not trying to punish you, He’s trying to lead you the right way and be closer to you. He died so that you can have that relationship with Him. So let’s remember and seek Him today.
love,
janedo
