Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 16-18.

There are two things which strike me as noteworthy about today’s passage.  One of them concerns the way in which God fed the Israelites in the wilderness with manna.  The second concerns the advice which Moses’ father-in-law gave him.  I will start with my thoughts today about the manna.  We will see if I get to writing about the advice which Moses received.

When God provided food for the Israelites in the form of manna, He also included  a test on who would follow His instructions.  As I read this passage I believe that this test was a teaching test.  I am not sure if you are familiar with this concept, but when I was in school I had one or two teachers who administered tests which were designed as much to help us learn and master the material as to demonstrate how much of it we already knew.  He was testing how well the Israelites would listen to His instructions, but He was also providing them a lesson to help them understand that His instructions were for the best, even when our understanding made us think otherwise.  So, when the people went out to gather, God had told them to gather a “cup” of manna for each person in their tent (I am using “cup” to indicate a unit of measure).  Some people gathered a lot and others just a bit, but when they actually measured what they had gathered they discovered that they all had just a “cup” for each person in their tent.  Then God had told them not to keep any until the next morning, but some of them did anyway.  Those that did discovered that it had gone completely bad.  However, on the sixth day when they gathered manna, they all discovered they had twice the amount they usually collected.  God told them to keep the extra for the following day, the Sabbath.  On this day, the manna which they saved was still good in the morning.

So, let’s go over this more closely.  God told them to collect a specific amount.  Some of the Israelites were lackadaisical in their collection efforts and just grabbed a little bit.  Others were industrious and gathered lots.  However, once they returned from gathering it turned out they had the amount God told them to collect.  This was the first test.  God corrected their mistake in not following His instructions. Then God told them they should eat all that they had collected that day, but some of them saved a bit for the next day.  In the morning they discovered that it had gone disgustingly bad.  This was the second test.  Here God made the correction more obvious.  Then God gave them extra on the sixth day and told them not to go out to collect any on the seventh day.  Nevertheless, some went out to collect and found none.  God gave them a simple, easy primer on following His instructions.  Some understood it right from the start.  Others needed the first test to understand following God’s instructions.  Some needed the second test, a few more the third test.  And some still didn’t get it even after seeing all three examples of what it means to follow God’s instructions.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.