OUR DAILY BREAD

“Adonai said to Moshe, ‘Here, I will cause bread to rain down from heaven for you. The people are to go out and gather a day’s ration every day. By this I will test whether they observe my Torah or not.’”
Exodus 16:4

I have been giving thought to the two portions I want to chat about today since knowing they were coming this week. As one who enjoys writing I find myself working to hear something new from Adonai daily so that I can share with my readers. In contemplating this thought, I have heard Adonai tell me about sharing new manna daily as opposed to rehashing old manna and devotionals written. Between this passage, Lamentations 3:23, and Matthew 6:11, I see the importance of what we are to receive on a daily basis from Adonai.
Isra’el was to obtain their food daily, with the exception being on Shabbat when they were to take a double portion to hold them over. In order for this to happen, Adonai populated the ground with manna. At first the Hebrews questioned what it was, thus the name manna. The command given was to take an omer and eat it that day because any leftovers would not be allowed. Unfortunately not all listened and woke to find rotten manna the next day. With the only allowance of the double portion being on Shabbat, the people were to take twice as much. In fear of the rotting, some only took enough for one day as opposed to two. Still, there were those who expected to find manna again on the morning of Shabbat and came out to see no manna was covering the ground. In the extra taking, the lack of taking, and the expecting to take, Adonai was upset and questioned, ”How long will you refuse to observe my mitzvoth?”
The point I see in the manna concerns not only physical bread, but also spiritual bread. In Lamentations 3:23 we read that Adonai’s mercies are new every morning. Just as the bread was given fresh each morning and the quail each night, so also Adonai’s mercy was and is given. We see this same concept in Matthew 6:11 when in reciting the Lord’s Prayer, Yeshua says, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Adonai knows all things, including what we need before we even ask. Does this mean we should not ask; by no means.
But we should seek Him daily. Each day Adonai has a new word for us, a new message. Too many times, however, we are too busy to take the time to collect the manna, or spend time in His presence. If I may be so bold, I have even seen in my own life where I come with a time frame and list and spend the whole time reading off my list of what I expect Adonai to do. This doesn’t qualify for time with Adonai. Yet that is what we are requested to do. Daily bread means daily bread. Why is it that we, like the Hebrews, refuse to observe His mitzvots? In this area alone we have the mitzvots of studying the Torah (Deut 6:7) and writing down the Torah (Deut 31:19). These are not obeyed in our physical life, just as the collections were not right at times by the Hebrews. Our challenge then becomes making the effort to seek Adonai daily for what He has for us. Seek His mercies daily and trust He will give us only what we need for that day.

Exodus 15:27 – 16:36