*Manna

Food of the Exodus

Exodus 16:13-15
¹³ In the evening quails came up and covered the camp;
and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
¹⁴ When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of   the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another,   "What is it?" they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the Lord has given    you to eat.

Hebrew man (mahn) is “what?”;
man-ha (MAH nah) is “what is it?”

Yes, just "what is it"? It was certainly new to the Israelis, and modern scholars are still trying to figure it out botanically. For our purposes, it's the food God provided the Israelis in the desert when there was no other food around.

On one hand believers know that God provides. On the other the Israelis were mistrusting as from whence the next meal would originate. Paradoxically, due to centuries-long enslavement, they were used to abundant meat, fruits and vegetables in Egypt. Reluctance to trying, much less relying totally on manna that fell before them each day was/is a normal human reaction. God was looking for an “abnormal” reaction, wanting the Israelis to place themselves totally in the unity's care. I wonder if there is a message there for me.

The daily assurance of self-provision under bondage in Egypt was replaced with loving provision by God that their needs would be met, but importantly, on God’s terms. The question remained: How would God’s gift be met by its receivers? Were the Israelis prepared, are we prepared, to be sustained on God’s will and spiritual manna provided?

Are you involved in anything as historic as the Exodus? Probably not, but who and what we touch means something, and in that respect, is as important to us. Our space is our universe, and how we effect others has lasting implications in creating unity in the web of inter-dependence during our personal lifetime exodus.