Exploring Dependence – The Lesson of the Manna

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As we began to explore the issue of our dependence on God in the last article, we set out the notion that, as Christians, we tend to be ok with the idea of this dependence in theory, but practically manifest an ongoing desire to live independently of God. Perhaps this is most evident in the area of provision and protection. The fact that we see money as the most immediate path to provision and protection suggests that it, not God, may be the true source of our confidence.

We looked at some of the highlights of this theme, as The Story unfolded through Genesis. Through these events, God is revealed as the One who Provides for and Protects those He has chosen.

This week, we want to pick up with the next major event in the Story – The Exodus.

Abraham had Isaac, who had Jacob, who had sons that became the 12 Tribes of Israel. Because of a famine, they went down into Egypt, where they spent 400 years growing into a nation. Now God is ready to bring them out of Egypt and back into the land that He first promised to Abraham. After He magnifies himself through the plagues, Pharaoh finally lets Israel go, only to change his mind and chase them down as they are trapped against the Red Sea (Exodus 14-15). Here Yahweh manifests Himself as their Protector, parting the Red Sea to allow them to escape, and then destroying the Egyptian army as they pursue Israel through the Sea. With this, their deliverance from the threat of the Egyptians is final, at least for this stage of their history.

Now, the focus of the story turns to Yahweh’s as Provider – His provision of the Land He has promised, and more fundamentally, His provision in their day-to-day existence, even as they are traveling to the Land. 

The account of the parting of the Red Sea is immediately followed by the people’s grumbling about the biter water at Marah, which Yahweh turned sweet, and then, their accusation that Moses brought them into the wilderness to kill them with hunger.

This sets the stage for the introduction of one of the most vivid and enduring object lessons given by God. In response to their grumbling, He gives them something called “manna”, which literally means, “what is it?”. As a test of their obedience (Exodus 16:4), and thus, their trust in His provision, God provided a unique food – His special provision – which only appeared for the forty years they walked in the wilderness.

The uniqueness of this food was not limited to it’s physical characteristics. It was also unique in that it had a variable shelf-life. On Sunday through Thursday, each man was to gather as much as each person in his tent would eat (Exodus 16:16). This amount is further specified as an omer (perhaps 2 quarts). The significance of this should not be overlooked – on Sunday through Thursday, each person was to gather enough for each person in his tent to have enough for the day. The text goes on to say, that some gathered much, while others gathered little (verse 17), presumably based on the various appetites of the individuals in their tent, but that when it was measured with the omer, the one who gathered much had no excess, and the one who gathered little had no lack (verse18). Now, this is followed by the command not to leave any of it until morning (verse 19).

We should pause here, to consider the situation this command anticipates. Regardless of how much was gathered, there was enough for each person for that day. The only way that there could be some left over is if you ate less than you actually needed for the day.

Why would you do that?

The only apparent reason is because you were afraid that there would not be enough the next day.

Of course, Israel violated this command, saved some of it back, and it bred worms and rotted. Saving manna was not acceptable. Each day’s provision was sufficient for that day, and the Israelites were to trust that God would provide what was needed tomorrow when tomorrow came.

That is, until Friday. On Friday, they were instructed to gather and cook enough for Friday and Saturday, because Saturday was to be a Sabbath – a day of rest. Unlike the other days of the week, Friday’s manna would not spoil overnight – whatever they had gathered and prepared on Friday would last them all the way through their day of rest each week.

How do we understand this variable, but absolutely predictable, shelf-life? If the variation were random, we could consider various factors – temperature, humidity, storage methods, etc. But the only variable here is the day of the week – every Sunday through Thursday, it spoils overnight; every Friday, it lasts through Saturday.

To understand this, we need to fast forward in the story a little bit, to the end of the 40 years that they wandered in the wilderness and the end of God’s provision of the manna. In Deuteronomy 8, Moses is giving the Law to a new generation of Israel. The generation that came out of Egypt failed to trust Yahweh for His provision of the Land at Kadesh Barnea, so He made them wander in the wilderness for 40 years, until all of that generation died (Numbers 14:20-35). Now they are all gone, and Yahweh is ready to bring this new generation into the land. Moses is reviewing Yahweh’s relationship with Israel, and is giving them the Law so that they can walk in it, as they now go into the Land. Consider Moses’ words to them:

1“All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers. 2 You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. 6 Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 “When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. 

11 Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; 12 otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 15 He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. 16 In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. 17 Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ 18 But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 It shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. 20 Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God. 

(Deuteronomy 8:1–20 NAS95)

The key to understanding the variable, but absolutely predictable, durability of the manna is found in verse 3. Yahweh was using the manna — the “what-is-it” — to teach Israel that “...man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD (Yahweh)”. It is not bread, not food, that keeps a man alive, but it is every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh.

Note the way that this is stated. It is not some decree of God made long ago that determines how long you and I live, it is every word. You get the sense that the words of God that keep us alive are present tense, active and ongoing. We exist, not because of food, but because God actively, currently wills it. This is the truth that Yahweh was teaching Israel through the manna.

So, how does the variable nature shelf-life play into this? Well, let’s consider how Israel’s original experience of the manna unfolded.

Israel grumbled about being brought into the wilderness to die of starvation, so Yahweh provides this manna. But it comes with specific instructions – instructions to daily gather enough for each person for that day, and not keep any of it back, except on Friday, when they were to gather and prepare enough for Friday and Saturday, because Saturday was to be a day of rest.

As you remember, Israel ignored these instructions and kept some of it back for the next day.

Why would they do this?

Because they were focused on the manna as the solution to their problem, not on Yahweh, who provided it. To thwart this reliance on the manna, He caused it to breed worms and spoil overnight.

So, they seemed to get the message, but then we come to the first Saturday in the cycle and, contrary to God’s instructions, some of the people go out to gather manna (Exodus 16:27-29).

Again, why would they do this? Again, because they were still focused on the manna, not on Yahweh, Who provided it. If they had been focused on Him, they would have paid attention to His instructions and been careful to obey them. So the point of the variable shelf-life of the manna was to drive home to Israel that He was their Provider.

But the lesson is not limited to them. Approximately 1500 years later, Jesus shows up, and as His ministry begins, one of the first things that He experiences is to be led into the wilderness to be tempted by The Enemy (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). He had been there, 40 days without food, and was obviously hungry. Satan comes, tempting Him to turn stones to bread (v. 3 of both accounts). Each of the temptations were temptations to receive things that Jesus had a legitimate claim to, but to achieve them independently of God’s provision. Jesus’ response to the temptation to satisfy His hunger independently of God’s provision is to quote verse 3 from Deuteronomy 8 –

“But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’””

(Matthew 4:4 NAS95)

This verse is often badly mishandled, and, as a result, the very important point is missed. Jesus is not saying that we need to read our Bibles every day. He is saying that bread (food) is not what keeps us alive. It is Yahweh’s active and present will, His every word that keeps us alive. This was true of Israel in the wilderness, it was true of Jesus, and it is true of us today. The recognition of this requires that we worship Him alone and no other.

This recognition takes us back to Deuteronomy 8, and the larger point that Moses is making to the new generation of Israelites. His overarching concern is that they be very careful to obey the commands he gave them (vv. 1, 2, 6, 11) — God’s commands — commands that were integral to their relationship with Him.

In this context, he reminds them of their 40 years of wandering and the things they experienced – both their experience of need, and their experience of God’s provision. In these experiences, God tested their obedience and taught them that their daily existence was absolutely dependent on Him (vv. 2-6).

These lessons were vital because it prepared them for what God wanted to do for them. He was preparing to bring them into a land of abundance (vv. 6-9), and it was essential that they remember and acknowledge Him as the source. He then highlights the very significant danger that, in the midst of such abundance, there is great risk of becoming confused about the source of their wealth and forget Yahweh (vv. 11-14).

Again, he reflects on God’s leading of Israel in the wilderness for the last 40 years, pointing out that God’s desire was to do good for Israel in the end (v. 16).

There is a significant point here. The manna was never intended to be a “normal” experience of God’s provision for Israel.

The manna was for testing and humbling Israel, so that when God brought them into the land where they would prosper, they would come in with the understanding that it was God who gave them the power to make wealth. In the wilderness, God’s provision expressed itself in the manna, but in the land, His provision would express itself in the power to make wealth. Israel’s continued recognition of that was to be expressed in their continued worship of, and obedience to, Yahweh. If they began to worship other gods, it would be because they forgot this lesson. Thus, their entire relationship with God rested in the recognition that their minute-by-minute existence was a result of His active provision and protection.

And this is Jesus’ point when He quotes Deuteronomy 8 to Satan in the wilderness. Our very existence is dependent on God’s active, minute-by-minute provision and protection.

But the lesson doesn’t end with the 40 years in the wilderness. Next, we need to look at how the succeeding generations were reminded of this truth. We will pick the story up there in the next article.

I will be taking next week, the last week of the year to retreat with God, reflect on this past year, and prepare for 2012, so the next article will be posted January 3, 2012.

Y’all have a Merry Christmas!