Manna

 




The children of Israel are in peril and the Red Sea is parted.


They are thirsty and Moses strikes a rock and water pours forth, providing relief for their parched souls.


They are hungry and God provides manna.  Only they don't know it is.  


In Exodus 16:15 it says "for they wist not what it was".  


They don't recognize the gift before them and the prophet clarifies for them that it is bread for them to eat. Its even called manna which means unexpected gift from heaven.  


I completely agree with these thoughts by Antoine R Ivins: "I can't bring myself to believe that those people were in any greater need of divine help than are people in our day. I can't bring myself to believe, either, that they were any more dear to God their Heavenly Father, as his children, than we and our fathers and grandfathers (and mothers and grandmothers). And I can't bring myself to believe that we are any more unworthy of the aid of God than they were. So to me, it seems a more or less proper thing and a natural thing, that God should so manifest himself."


Miracles are just as prevalent today as they were then.  The hands of our loving heavenly parents are continually evident in our lives. 


But sometimes we don't recognize them. 


And other times we do.


I have seen big and small miracles in my life.


I have seen the miracles in the yes answers to my questions.


And I have seen the miracles in the no answers to my questions. 


I have had the blessing of seeing miracles in my own life and I have had the blessing of being a witness to the miracles in others.


Sometimes God even lets me take part in a miracle as the Holy Spirit clearly prompts me in ways far beyond my own aptitude.  


But the story of the manna also taught us another important lesson.


They had to gather daily (except on the day before the sabbath in which they could gather two days) or the manna would become wormy and spoil. 


It's a lesson for us. 


Daily gathering of truth from the scriptures.  I can't just read more on the weekends or every few weeks and hope it will be enough.  It needs to be a daily tuning.   


In John chapter 6, Jesus taught "I am that bread of life." Then he spoke of the Israelites who ate their temporal manna but died in the end.  Then he continued "This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."


Jesus is the greatest miracle of all.  He is our bread.  No matter where we are on the journey.  


And he invites us all.  


Come and eat. 


Daily.  


And find joy. 





 

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