How quickly we forget
They were slaves for over 400 years and yet it hadn't been 3 months (Ex. 16:1) and already they were complaining. Like the Israelites when we encounter lack, discomfort and fear we tend to complain. That's human nature.
"The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Exodus 16:3
The bad part about complaining is when we are deceived into thinking the past life was better. They were imagining pots of meat and all the food they wanted - there was no such thing, they were slaves. That was their situation and often is ours (should I say mine). The past without God wasn't really better. The only real way is forward. But more than forward - its forward with God.
"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14
The only way forward is press on toward the purpose that God has for me in Christ. As far as the past is concerned, there are things we need to forget - our past infractions, mistakes, failures, our sins - our inability to hit the mark. Instead we must trust that in Christ we can do all that God has called us to do. Herein lies the reason that God said to Moses:
Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Exodus 16:4
Jesus is the bread from heaven. That's why He said:
“Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. John 6:32
The Israelites needed to see that natural provisions were not the most important thing they needed to move forward. These provisions could not and will not sustain them. They needed God's eternal food - His bread from heaven to sustain them from being deceived about their past. Only then can they move forward. This is just as true about us.
"The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions." Exodus 16:4b
The second half of verse 4 explains it all. We don't need a lot of Jesus - we just need Him everyday. A little of Christ goes a long way. Heaven's bread sustains more than we can understand or imagine. What's more important is that we pass the test - the test of trusting God in His word. Putting our faith in Jesus is the only way we can move forward despite the deep, dark issues and deceptions of the past.
Thank You Jesus that You are our daily manna. Heaven's provision for us on earth everyday.
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