It’s
amazing that despite the many miraculous interventions that they had seen, yet
the children of Israel couldn’t trust God. This was seen in their endless
complaining. In Exodus 16:4-12, four times it was said that God heard
their grumblings: in verse 7, then in verse 8 and again in verse 9 and 12. If
there is anything we must learn from this episode, it is a warning not to
grumble and whine. God knows our needs and it is perfectly alright to bring to
Him our legitimate needs in prayer and request for His intervention. But to
gripe and murmur will be out of character with our calling as His children. A
complaint is a reflection of a personal inability to trust the Lord to see him
or her through. The best test of trust is to rest in the Lord’s ability to
provide.
This
episode also shows us how gracious God truly is. Instead of taking a hard stand
and punish them for their childish behaviour, even though He heard their
murmurings, yet amazingly, He made a plan to meet their needs. He not only
provided them with manna, the heavenly bread but he also provided them with meat.
This was indicated in verses 4-5. God told Moses, “Behold, I will 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 or not they will walk in
My instruction. On the sixth day, when they prepare
what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” And again
in verse 8 when Moses told them, “This will happen when the Lord gives
you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning….” In
these three verses, God was making
a promise to provide for them. And it will not come in trickles but in
abundance. The word used to describe His provision is “rain.” This word gives
the idea of plenty. Then again in verse 12, He said that He would fill them
with bread. This is His great generosity on display. Despite their grumblings,
yet God would give them what they did not deserve. It is a testament of God’s
infinite graciousness. As God made a plan to provide, He also gave specific
instructions. They were to gather their daily portion whatever they needed for
that day. But on the sixth day, they were told to gather twice the portion.
This, of course, was to make sure that they would have bread on the Sabbath as well. The
reason God gave the instruction was that He desired their obedience. This was
to be a test of their obedience.
Exodus
16:7 mentions the glory of the Lord. And more than just testing their
obedience, the miraculous provisions would also be God’s way of revealing His
own glory. He wanted them to know that He was the Lord. In the ten plagues
that set them free, God was showing to Pharaoh and the Egyptians who He was.
Now in the miraculous provision of the manna from heaven and the meat, He would
be showing His people the same thing. The provision God would be making required
each of them to go and gather it for himself or herself. God wanted them to
know Him not only as the God of Israel but as the God whom each of them could know
personally.
When
God said He would show them His glory, He was saying that He would make known
to them His reputation and honour. In every provision God made, He was
declaring His own glory. His provisions for us must always be met with a
thankful heart that will be willing to offer praise and thanksgiving to Him.
God acts to provide for us. Divine Providence must cause us to see His
goodness. They must surely enable us to repent from our sin and draw near to
Him. Every provision He makes must make us see Him better. We must see beyond
the good things we have in life to a God who alone is the source of all the
things we enjoy.
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