I would’ve hated to be Moses, trying to lead the people of Israel.
For one thing, they had short memories.
For another, they had ears that apparently didn’t hear very well.
Once again, the Israelites were grumbling against God and Moses, this time about not having food to eat. They said,
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)
These were the same people who while they were in Egypt, groaned under their burden of slavery, and cried out to God for deliverance.
But they had forgotten all about that and were instead dreaming about the food they had once had in Egypt.
Then God gives them bread from heaven. But they couldn’t keep the simplest commands.
“Gather only what you need for the day. Don’t try to keep any leftovers.”
So what did some of them do? They tried to keep leftovers, only to have it spoil on them in the morning.
Then God says, “On every sixth day, gather food for two days. There won’t be any bread on the seventh, so don’t go looking for it.”
So what did some of them do? They went searching in vain for bread on the seventh day.
It drove Moses crazy.
God got upset too, saying, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?” (28)
Basically, God was saying, “Why won’t you trust me? More than anything, I want your trust.”
That’s why he told them to gather the manna every day. It was teaching them to trust him for their daily needs.
God hasn’t changed in the thousands of years since. He still desires a relationship with us where we have learned to trust him.
Our whole relationship with God needs to start with just that: trust.
When the Jews asked Jesus what they needed to do to please God, Jesus said,
The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent. (John 6:29)
He didn’t say the work of God was to read your Bible, pray, and go to church.
These are all good things, mind you. But Jesus said that what God really wants is for us to put our trust in his Son.
The Jews then demanded a sign, saying,
Moses gave us bread from heaven. What will you give us? (John 6:30-31)
Jesus replied,
I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)
In other words, to have true satisfaction in your soul and spirit, you need to go to Jesus.
You need to put your trust in him for the forgiveness of your sins.
You need to go to him in order to have a relationship with God.
And as long as you don’t, there will always be a part of you that’s empty, hungering and thirsting for something to fill that emptiness.
But just as the Israelites looked at the manna, and didn’t recognize it for what it was, when the Jews looked at Jesus, they didn’t recognize Jesus for who he was.
Just as the Israelites looked at the manna and said, “What is this,” the Jews looked at Jesus and said, “Who are you? You’re just a man. We know your parents. How can you say that you’re the bread that’s come down from heaven?”
They refused to put their trust in him and ended up walking away from him.
How about you?
Will you be like the Israelites and Jews who constantly went their own way, refusing to trust in God?
Or will you be like Jesus’ disciples who said,
Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God. (John 6:68-69)
Will you put your trust in him to fill the emptiness of your soul?
Will you put your trust in him to take care of your daily needs?
Will you put your trust in him to lead you and guide you in this life?
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 