Manna

My team and I were asked to come up with a team name, my initial idea was to pick a funny name, but after throwing our ideas around we ultimately chose “Manna” 

Upon deciding this, I began to think about the significance of manna in both a physical and spiritual sense and as I looked into it more, I realized there was so much more to it than just “bread given to the Israelites in the desert” as I thought before.

The purpose of the manna was to test Israel’s faith, to humble them, and to teach them that one “does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut 8:3,16)

Manna appeared as a provision for the Israelites during a time when they couldn’t farm because they had not yet come to the land that was to be theirs. God was teaching and purifying the people; readying them for their land of Promise. Until they were ready to set foot in a new season of promise, this time of purification required His provision for their earthly needs in unique ways.

“Wait” or “not yet” is personally the hardest answer to hear, because in these times, we live in an instant gratification world. If something takes even 10 seconds to load we become frustrated or we move on to the next thing, there are so many things battling for our attention that it’s increasingly difficult to narrow our focus on things that are truly valuable and beneficial to us. 

This week I heard someone with a great analogy…

“We’re microwave people serving a crockpot God”

I love cooking and anything that has to do with culinary arts, and this really stuck out to me. While you can easily have a meal ready in 2 minutes, it generally won’t be very good or give you much nutrients; It’s not sustainable for the long term. Although it can fill our stomachs, it doesn’t really satisfy us.

On the contrary, if something is slow-cooked, it has a depth of flavors that could only be created with the time it took to properly prepare it, delicious foods usually take more time and effort, but that also takes willingness to set that time aside when you could be doing other things.

We might be praying to get to the promised land in our own timing (usually “now”) and we overlook the provision God provides in the meantime both physically and spiritually, the Israelites actually got tired of the manna and COMPLAINED about the physical miracle visibly taking place in front of them because they became apathetic towards the blessings they were actively receiving.

“But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” (??Numbers? ?11:6? ?NIV)

Not only did God deliver food to their doorstep during this season but He also miraculously kept their clothes from wearing out for 40 YEARS!

The manna came each morning, except on the Sabbath day. It could be collected each day for that day alone, and only as much as could be eaten in one day. If a person tried to collect more than needed or tried to store the manna for future needs, it would grow wormy and foul. In this way it was impossible for the Israelites to evade total dependence on God or to use the manna greedily for personal gain. Miraculously, the manna could be preserved on the sixth day and eaten on the Sabbath, and it was not to be found on the Sabbath morning.

There was a level of obedience associated with the miracle of manna, and one very important rule emphasized the Sabbath, which is a commandment to everyone, not just the Israelites. 

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Ex ?20:8-11?)

“When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.” (Num ?11:9?) 

This verse stuck out to me in a physical sense because for the duration of training camp, of which we still have two weeks to go, we’ve been sleeping in small tents with all of our belongings in backpacks, and with the Georgia rain all of our things have been damp and have started to grow mold. As I’m sure you can imagine, this has caused a lot of irritation and complaining, which brings our focus off of the incredible things the Lord is doing so far!

Even in the dew, rain, and humidity here in Georgia, there’s still innumerable blessings to be found, and I couldn’t be more grateful for this season of my life!