Daily Bread

Exodus 16-24 (3 Days in my http://www.bibleinayear.org/).

What speaks to me most in these chapters is the miracle of Manna that God provided for the Israelites in the desert.

1. Manna was provided just enough for the day - Each day everyone would go out and gather, but somehow everyone would have just enough (Exodus 16:16-18).
2. God provided Manna for each day, it would not keep to the next day, so the Israelites had to go out and collect it fresh each day. (Except for the day before Sabbath, where twice the amount will be provided and the Manna will keep to the next day.)
3. In His abundance, God provided both meat (quail) and manna - a balanced diet of proteins and carbohydrates. :-)
4. In his gracious love, God provided Manna that is tasty - "...it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey." (Exodus 16:31).

The daily provision of Manna reminds me of how Jesus taught us to pray "Give us each day our daily bread." (Luke 11:3). It is important to God that we depend on Him daily, yet His provision is more than enough for us. Just like with Manna, He knows what we need and provides for us beyond even what we ask (like with provision of quail), and His provisions delight us (just like the wafers of honey).

This daily provision builds what is most important in God's eyes - a relationship with us. In today's context, this probably speaks of the importance of daily Quiet Time with God - we need to feed upon His Word daily and interact with Him (thru prayer) on a daily basis. I'll be the first to confess that I am still not consistently doing this on a daily basis, and I can see the consequence of not doing so. When I wonder too far from Him, I start to make decisions based on my own will and "cleverness", which tend not to be very wise decisions.