I’m Starving!
Opening Prayer
Lord, I pray that You will feed me with spiritual food as I read from Your Word today.
Read Exodus 16:1-16
[1] The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. [2] In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. [3] 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.” [4] Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. 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. [5] On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” [6] So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, [7] and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” [8] Moses also said, “You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.” [9] Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'” [10] While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud. [11] The LORD said to Moses, [12] “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'” [13] That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. [14] When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. [15] When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. [16] This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.'” Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
When the Israelites grumbled, what was their lament (2,3)?I used to annoy my children by reminding them that they were a long way from starving when they called out this refrain! I’d seen starving children in Africa; my children might be very hungry, but they were a long way from starving. It seems to be a universal human characteristic for us to exaggerate our needs while not recognizing our resources. Presumably the Israelites still had cattle (12:32,38; 13:2,12)! Maybe their supply of yeast-free bread had run out six weeks after they’d left Egypt (1) and there wasn’t much grain around in the desert, but they’re a long way from starving to death (3)! So why didn’t they butcher some animals? Perhaps it was easier to hoard their capital (cattle comprised most of their “wealth”) and whine. God patiently supplies them with bread (4) and meat (12,13). Manna, the bread-like substance, arrives with the dew (13,14); Numbers 11:31 tells us the quail were brought by the wind. God shows his glory by supplying their food. Despite our modern sophistication, he still does.
Apply
What difference would it make in your life to forsake complaining and, instead, seek the same God who saved Moses’ people?
Closing prayer
Thank You, God, for giving me more than enough for all my needs. May Your trust be wholly justified by my response and efforts.
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