Our Daily Bread

Exodus 16:16–21 (ESV) This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’ ” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

The Israelites ate manna for 40 years. We know that. But do we realize the routine that God put them in for those 40 years? It wasn't that God just had manna grow on the ground and walk into their tents and onto their hands for consumption. There were some things THEY had to do to get what God had provided. 

Remember the context of the manna. God had already said to Moses:

Exodus 16:4 (ESV) "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

The manna had a testing quality to it. The word for "test" here is massah which means, "proving the quality of someone or something, often through adversity or hardship." There are times in which we need God to test us so that we develop in quality of character and consistency.

First notice they had to gather it by measure per person every day. This is a tedious way to live but it is also the formula God will use to teach His people to trust Him. We often think the big moments where things really start moving for us is when God is teaching us. We can all think of inspirational speakers or amazing church services where God's presence was so real that we felt we had catapulted in our spiritual maturity. But the scripture bears witness that in the daily grind there is growth. God is not just the God of the big moment, He is there with us in the day to day of living and redoing what we did yesterday. Can we trust Him in the repetitive and redundant?

Second, notice they had to get it early in the morning. When the sun was hot (mid afternoon), it melted away. There is something to be said about the productivity of the morning. The day is fresh and so are our minds and hearts. The ancient Jews saw sleeping as practicing to die and rise again every day. In that regard, morning is like a new birth for the child of God. We are practicing for our resurrection when true eternal life will begin. 


Psalm 143:8 (ESV) Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Third, they could not store up the manna to take long extended breaks. The text says some did not listen to Moses and tried to gather more than what was necessary for one day. Their desires of course were ours: to have more than we need so that we can take it easy. We are often like the rich fool who tore down his satisfactory barns to build bigger ones so that he might take it easy and merry. God called him a fool. There is goodness in daily toil. There is nothing wrong with working daily. God has made us to work 6 straight days and rest one. We often emphasize the need to rest in the fourth commandment, but the emphasis should also lie on the work God admonishes. We serve a God who went to work from the moment the world began. Jesus worked tirelessly to finish the Father's work. God is FOR you and I going to work. It keeps us busy and focused on things that are necessary for community that benefits others. When we seek laziness and ease we open ourselves up to all sorts of temptations and obsessions that have no good fruit to show for them. 

We should apply all three of these truths however mostly to our walk with God. Remember that Jesus said, "Man does not live by bread alone but on every Word that proceeds from mouth of God." He also said, "I am the living bread who comes down from heaven." If we also consider that Jesus is the true "manna" we come to understand the passage is showing us the importance of daily walking with Christ. getting into the Word, talking with the Lord before anything else, and making it a habit to hear from Him regularly. 

May we do so... as our daily bread has come.