God’s miraculous provision for His people revealed His steadfast compassion despite their continual grumbling. In today’s passage, we read of God granting the Israelites far more than they deserved, heaping upon them more than they needed as they journeyed with Him to the Promised Land. Today, those who are in Christ receive undeserved grace and provision through His sacrificial love lavished upon us like manna in the wilderness.
What made the Israelites long for their old lives in Egypt? What does the Sabbath teach us about God’s provision?
Though not far removed from the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, the Israelites grew desensitized to God’s extraordinary power at work in their lives. Not only had He delivered them from slavery, but He kept His presence close, guiding them day and night as they journeyed through the wilderness. Now, after weeks of wandering, their grumbling grew louder. They would have rather died in Egypt than learn to depend on and trust God in a desolate place. They took for granted their freedom to worship God in the wilderness; they longed for their predictable lives in Egypt—forgetting the toils of slavery.
Despite what they deserved, God looked on them with compassion, causing bread to rain on them from heaven and for meat and water to become miraculously within reach. He called for His people to trust in His provision, only gathering what was necessary for the day. He desired them to thrive under obedience to Him. Just as God had fought their battle against Egypt, God called them to be still and rest in His provision. Rest requires the people of God to stop striving and simply trust and receive. God was helping His people learn this truth through the Sabbath.
Sadly, the Israelites turned a blind eye to God’s faithfulness in fighting their battles and meeting their needs. We are also prone to overlook God’s faithful provision in our own lives and perhaps even downplay the miraculous gift of salvation in Christ. Lead children to see the gift of God’s undeserved grace and to hunger and thirst for His gift of salvation.
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