Day 9: Bread From Heaven

Read: Exodus 16

Exodus 16 | NIV Bible | YouVersion

 

Have you ever developed selective memory syndrome? The people of Israel did.  They continued in their journey in the desert, and when food became scarce, they complained to Moses, “If only we were back in Egypt!  There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”  How quickly and conveniently they forgot their years of bondage and slavery under the cruel yoke of the Egyptians.

Yet despite their grumbling, ungrateful hearts, God continued to meet their every need.  He provided manna, an unknown substance that appeared on the ground every morning and melted away like the dew as the sun rose higher in the sky.  For 40 years the Israelites survived on this unknown substance, and it seems like it provided everything they needed in terms of nutritional value too.  They were literally eating bread from heaven!

To add to that, God provided for them to have a day of rest, when they didn’t have to gather their daily allotment of manna, but instead would gather extra the day before. He knew that His people were fragile and needed time to rest and spend time dedicated to God.

You would think that seeing God’s hand providing everything they needed would make the Israelites sit up and take notice, but even then they couldn’t follow simple instructions!  How like the Israelites we can be!

Have you ever rejected God’s provision for you? Have you ever complained about the very things He has provided? Have you contracted selective memory syndrome and forgotten how far God has brought you out of the chains of sin and darkness?  Take a moment to ask God to forgive you for your forgetfulness and to thank Him for His wonderful provision.

 

Listen: Promises (feat. Joe L Barnes & Naomi Raine) | Maverick City Music | TRIBL - YouTube

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