June 14 - TEST & TRUST - Exodus 16:3-4

³ The Israelites said to [Moses and Aaron],

“If only we had died … in the land of Egypt,

when we … ate our fill of bread;

for you have brought us out into

this wilderness to kill this whole assembly

with hunger.” ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses,

“I am going to rain bread from heaven for you,

and each day the people shall go out and gather

enough for that day. In that way I will test them,

whether they will follow my instruction or not.”

Exodus 16

 

The Lord is generous – even when we complain. (We call that grace! God is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love”!)

 

Our Lord is indeed concerned about our physical needs. For example, in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus invites us to pray for physical needs, as in “Give us this day our daily bread.”

 

But … while our gracious heavenly Father is concerned about our physical needs, he is more concerned with our spiritual needs! And that’s what today’s lesson teaches.

 

Concerned about our physical needs, God says, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you”; but more concerned about spiritual needs, God states that “I will test them.” (Who hates tests?!)

 

The test was this, God-the-Provider would “rain [down] bread from heaven for [them]” … but “each day” he would only give them “enough for that day.” Why? Because, first, we grow in faith most when we depend on his provision daily. That’s why faith tends to soar in poorer countries – they have nothing to depend upon except God. And that’s why faith tends to stagnate in wealthier countries – we depend on jobs and bank accounts, a fully stocked grocery and many other things. Therefore, God helped them trust in him daily. (And that was grace!)

 

But even more fully, God tested them in a second and deeper way. He said, “I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.”

 

They didn’t. The first days they’d rush out to gather two or three days worth. Why? Because they were in bondage to fear – “What if there’s not enough for tomorrow?” But what were they doing? They were trusting in human solutions. They were not trusting in God.

 

Simple obedience – even when we think we know better – blesses our lives. Human solutions, especially when we rely on the world or rely on self, rather than trusting God – cause rotting and spoiling. (Which is exactly what the Israelites reaped when they collected more than a day’s worth.)

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s had his

freezer cut off for a week

(I don’t need anymore

spoiling and rot … ever)