How Memory Romanticizes the Past and Exaggerates the Negative Aspects of our Present.

Numbers 11:1-9  Israel Complains About Their Circumstances and Food

Day 50 of self-isolation for us personally (52 since the U.S. started it). Can hardly wait for tomorrow – garden centers are open again; and then in two days we can actually shop in large retail stores like Home Depot and others. Progress. But some futurists are predicting life will not return to normal – for a year, or two, and in some respects, never. Well, that’s enough of a downer for now.  And speaking of downers – boy do the Israelites ever know how to “feel down” and how to get Moses down as well.  Keep reading as we continue our study in Numbers.

The Passage

Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. ² The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord and the fire ^[a]died out. ³ So the name of that place was called ^[b]Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

⁴ The rabble who were among them ^[c]had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us ^[d]meat to eat? ⁵ We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, ⁶ but now our ^[e]appetite is gone. There is nothing at all ^[f]to look at except this manna.”

⁷ Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. ⁸ The people would go about and gather it and grind it ^[g]between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of ^[h]cakes baked with oil. ⁹ When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall ^[i]with it.

Footnotes

1. Numbers 11:2 Lit sank down
2. Numbers 11:3 I.e. burning
3. Numbers 11:4 Lit desired a desire
4. Numbers 11:4 Lit flesh, and so throughout the ch
5. Numbers 11:6 Lit soul is dried up
6. Numbers 11:6 Lit for our eyes
7. Numbers 11:8 Lit with
8. Numbers 11:8 Lit juice of oil
9. Numbers 11:9 Lit on

Thoughts on the Passage

You have to love that opening phrase – “the people became like those who complain of diversity in the hearing of the Lord.”  I really get a kick out of that phrase. First, notice this was Moses writing the words, not the Lord speaking them. Second, I wonder on what basis or earlier experience was he making that analogy. There is a later reference to such grumbling in chapter 14, verse 2, but that likely came afterwards. Earlier though, in Exodus (chapters 15), Moses had to deal with the grumblings of the Israelites about water (Ex. 15), about food (Ex. 16), and again about water (Ex. 17). God took care of their needs in each of these occasions. And this was early in their Exodus – before they were led to Elim.  Then things seem to have settle down for a while, and now this.

The other thing that I find interesting about this phrase is the later part, “in the hearing of the Lord” as if there was any other kind of grumbling anyone could do. Go ahead, try to grumble so God does not hear you. Don’t utter words; just think the grumbling. Did that work? No. All our grumblings are heard by God. So, what was Moses saying here? I think he just wanted it on record, for the generations of Israelites to come, and perhaps for us, that God heard their grumbling. And let me tell you, God hears your grumblings and mine. And when He thinks they’re legitimate, He answers them and when He thinks they’re not, well, just read on and see what happens. . .

The text says His anger was kindled. That’s a nice choice of words because the next thing we read is that “the fire of the Lord burned among them”. Hey, I’m not one hundred percent certain of what that looked like, but I believe it was something physical, something that could be seen, because it (this fire of the Lord) actually “consumed some of the outskirts of the camp”. David Guzik tells points out that the people counted on the fire of the Lord over their camp at night. It may well have been the same time. Whatever it was, it sure got the attention of the Israelites not to mention that it scared them profusely. We need to learn that “the fire of the Lord” in His hands can be a blessing and it can destroy.

Chuck Smith tells us that throughout chapters 11 to 20 we will see a pattern of complaining and grumbling, so let’s keep on an eye out for it. He also reminds us that if we are God’s children (as the Israelites were), trusting our lives to Him, then any complaint we make about life is a complaint against God. Some people don’t see that, and that’s okay. In the case of the Israelites, as angry as God gets with them, He does not destroy them (although He often wanted to and Moses talks Him out of it), once again showing us His long-suffering.

So they go to Moses, crying out for help. Moses prays to God and the fire goes out. By the way, the text says they called the spot Taberah or ‘burning’ because the fire of the Lord burned among them there.

Now apparently it was not everyone that grumbled or at least they all didn’t grumble to the same extent. Or perhaps it was that they all weren’t as greedy. But we read that some had some real greedy desires in the opinion of Moses. Smith reminds us that not all in the camp were pure Israelites as some were married to Israelites and had left Egypt with them. So, they weren’t fully committed to being God’s people and He being their all-sufficient God. These same people cried out for meat, because the regular diet of manna that God had provided much earlier was no longer sufficient for them. They remember all the good stuff (fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, garlic) they had back in Egypt and yearned for the “good old days” they were in captivity as slaves. They remembered the good things in their old lives, but they neglected to focus on the horrors of the hard labor they had to undertake as servants and slaves. They were sick of the manna and lost their appetite. No wonder God was a little riled. And sometimes, we behave in the same way – forgetting what God has saved us from and only focusing on the fact that His yoke is not easy. Jesus later speaks of those who are like that as being “lukewarm” in our faith. And we could well ask ourselves whether the church today is pampering too much to these kinds of believers?

Guzik says that memory often romanticizes the past. That was what the Israelites were doing. Recently one of my own relatives broke up with someone they loved and were in a relationship with for a number of years. They often remember the nice times they had together. But only the rest of remember the terrible times they endured during that period. Yes, memory often romanticizes the past.

Guzik also reminds us that the Israelites wanted someone to give them “meat” – but God had not forbid them to hunt in the wilderness, or to use some of their own livestock for food. No, they would rather complain and do nothing. Often, we want something better (job, friends, education, relationship with Him, etc.) and complain to God because He doesn’t give it to us, while we are willing to do nothing about it.

I love verse 6 that says, “our appetite is gone” which is translated more literally “our soul is dried up”. So, not only does memory romanticize the past, it apparently causes us to exaggerate the negatives of the present. Guzik says there’s no way their soul was drying up – God wouldn’t have allowed that. And He won’t allow it for us. Let’s give our heads a shake and recognize that we need to fight the memory that erases the bad past and causes our present to look so dreary.

The bottom line is this – the people sinned against God and He got angry with them. They knew better.

And can you imagine the impact on Moses? You see, when children grumble about their lot in life, there is a great impact on their parent or parents. When employees grumble, there is an impact on their superiors. When citizens grumble, politicians should be impacted. When church people grumble, there is an impact on pastors. If we learn nothing else here, let’s learn about grumbling. First you can’t grumble outside God’s hearing. Second, when you and I grumble, it affects those we relate with.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

In Remembrance of God’s Delivery -- Exodus 16:31-36:

The house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey. Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded, ‘Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept. The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. (Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)
 

The Israelites named their daily provision sent by God from heaven for their physical nurturing “manna”.  The writer tells us it was white in color, like coriander seed in appearance, and tasted like wafers dabbed in honey.  Wikipedia gives us this picture of coriander fruits:

Only of course it was all white in color.

And God also made arrangements for the Israelites to remember His provision to them.  He told Moses that they were to keep an ‘omer’ of this manna forever.  He wanted it as an exhibit to those that came afterwards, so that this part of history – and especially the fact that it was God who delivered them from slavery in Egypt and fed them daily in the wilderness -- is always remembered.

To accomplish this, Moses told Aaron, his brother, to take a jar, and fill it with manna.  (In Hebrews 9:4 of the New Testament we are told it was a jar of gold.)  As Christians today we have the opportunity to have the “Bread of Heaven” of which this manna was only typical (John 6:32).  I pray we treasure this Bread of Life in the same way.

Aaron was to put one omerful of manna in the jar.  Strong’s Lexicon tells us an omer is a dry measure of 1/10 of an ephah (about 2 litres).  Strong also defines an ephah as a dry measure of quantity about 9 imperial gallons (which is 40 litres).  There seems to be some contradiction between the first definition of an omer (2 litres or 1/10 of an ephah) and this definition of an ephah (40, rather than 20 litres).  Rabbinical writings give sizes of one-half this amount to comply with the definition of an omer.  In any case, Aaron did just that and he placed the jar, the text says, before the Testimony.

Matthew Henry translates the word “Testimony” here as simply the ark.  And this seems indeed to support the meaning given to this account in Hebrews 9:4.

We note that this manna was provided for forty years right up until the Israelites came to the land of Canaan.  While God is outside time, and can do anything by just uttering the appropriate command, we as His children need to be mindful neither to be in a hurry nor to think He is being tardy.  Remember when Jesus’ friend Lazarus died, people felt Jesus was four days late going to see his body.  But our Lord was right on time for what He wanted to accomplish through that event.  Both He and us are in a relationship that takes time, as we know it, so that His full plan for us to become more like Him will be fulfilled.

One of the greatest downfalls of many a leader is haste, often manifested with just plain impatience.  God made the children of Israel wander in the desert for forty years.  But the good news is He was there and He fed them daily.

Are you in the desert today because God wants you to learn something or to develop a characteristic that will be useful for His glory in the rest of your life?  If so, make sure you get your daily dose of Manna.  Make sure you are aware that God is there with you and He is providing for you.  And then make sure to remember it years later when you have reached your Canaan.

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[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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Keep The Commandments, Yes, But What About His Instructions? Just What Can We Do On The Sabbath? -- Exodus 16:25-30

And Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.  Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”  And it came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.  Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?  See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath, therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day.  Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”  So the people rested on the seventh day.
 

The provision of manna for the physical wellbeing of the Israelites was being provided daily by God.  This was an early demonstration of what Jesus had mind many years later when He taught us to pray asking God to “give us this day our daily bread”.  But when it came to the Sabbath, the provision for physical wellbeing was provided the day before when God gave them manna enough for two days.

On the “Sabbath to the Lord” no manna was to be found in the fields.  The word sabbath is from the Hebrew word SHABÀT, meaning ‘cessation,’ or ‘time of rest.’  Interestingly, as God wanted His people to rest on that day, He was, in one sense, also resting, as He was not providing them with food.

What do we take from this?  First, God was serious about His Sabbath requirement for us.  Second, God modelled the required behavior.  Third, God made alternative provisions in order for Him and His people to observe the Sabbath.

A couple of interesting things to note here:  First, the fact that the manna was not provided on the seventh day provides our non-believer scientists with a problem.  What was it in the “evolutionary nature of things” that prevented the manna from falling from the sky every seventh day?  Interesting.  Instead, we can boldly answer, it was a “God thing”.  Second, you will note that the original intent of the Sabbath was not about worship.  God was basically saying to the Israelites “On the Sabbath, rest as I did at the time of creation, and stay in your tents; your bodies need you to.”  We, however, while we make the pretence of not working on the Sabbath, have turned the day into one of much activity in worship.  Although I do not see an easy alternative at this point, I think it would do us good to stop and realize that perhaps what we are doing on Sundays was not the original intent of God.  To Him, our worship was to take many forms and be required of us 24/7 rather than on an hour or so Sunday morning or worse still during the time of pre-sermon singing we are involved in.  But we will save our thoughts on worship for another time.

No manna and clear instruction from Moses as to what they were to do, and yet some of the people of Israel still did not believe God.  Instead, they went out and tried to gather manna on the Sabbath – maybe because they wanted more, or they ate twice as much on the day before and did not save any, or maybe because they really wanted to check it out for themselves as to whether or not Moses, or perhaps God Himself, was giving them the straight goods.  There is a possibility, some may argue, those who did this had not heard Moses’ instructions on this matter; after all, it was a very big camp encompassing a very large area and word does not get around that easily.  But if that were the case, God would have known that and He would not have said what He said to Moses in the next sentence.  Instead He shared His anger of the people with him .

At this point in the text we note that God is angry because the people refused to keep both His commandments and also His instructions.  Many have often argued that God’s commandments must be kept, but many other requests of His are optional.  I do not see it that way.  God is God and I would have a hard time suggesting to Him, “Okay, I will not steal but I cannot possibly really love my neighbour as I love myself because he just is not as nice a guy as I am.”  You get the idea.  Having said that, however, I realize that the perfect keeping of both commandments and instructions is impossible and thus God’s grace allows us to remain in relationship with Him even though we mess up regularly.  And please note I am not in any way condoning the idea that it is acceptable to mess up regularly and thus we should not worry about not messing up.  God forbid.  Instead, I believe messing up is forgivable when we repent with a pure heart and truly regret our sin, because of Who God is and how much He loves us.

So what then did God intend for us to do on the Sabbath and what does that mean for us in the early 21^st century?  Let’s get technical but avoid being legalistic if we can.  God clearly told the Israelites a) to rest, and b) to remain at home and not to go out.

Okay, the ‘rest’ part we get.  Most of us do try to rest on the Sabbath.  The problem with the resting component however is not so much the rest itself, but what qualifies as rest for purposes of the Sabbath these days?  Can I read novels?  Can I watch Hollywood movies?  Can I play Scrabble or Monopoly?  Can I work on finishing my basement?  Can I play contact hockey with my teenage children or grandchildren or my friends?  Can I moonlight to make ends meet?

Wait.  There is a part about staying at home on the Sabbath?  Every time we go to church on the Sabbath are we not breaking God’s instruction as given in Exodus to the children of Israel?

I cannot answer any of these questions definitively.  I do not believe anyone can.  But I do know this – Jesus Okayed the pulling of one’s oxen (read automobile today) out of a ditch on the Sabbath.  He also did not want us to stop doing good deeds on the Sabbath.  Is it possible God was only speaking to the Israelites?  (If you think that way, you then get to pick and choose what God intends for you to learn from the Scriptures.)  Well, what about the idea of the New Covenant erasing the Old Covenant (the laws, etc.)?  (Well maybe, but then again you have to deal with Jesus saying He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfil it, to complete it, to perfect it as we read in Matthew 5:17.) So just how does an individual resolve all of this for him or herself?

For me it simply goes something like this: My purpose in life is to get to know God better.  All of my priorities and activities – every day, not just on the Sabbath – should be ordered or arranged and carried out in such a way that through it all, I am in relationship with my Redeemer and am getting to know Him better all the time.  If I make that my top priority, then as I live and breathe and move about on the Sabbath, I am giving it “to the Lord”.  (Well, maybe not that ‘simply’ but certainly pursuable.)

And how I do that may be very different than how you do that.  While you and I can both rest in the same room, we are not in essence “resting together”.  Our bodies rest independently of other bodies.  You may prevent me from resting, but when I am resting, I do it alone, just as I breathe alone, or heal my physical scars alone.  And as we breathe and heal differently, we may also rest differently.  What really matters is our heart’s passion for God and desiring to know more about Him.  Finally, the motives behind our actions on the Sabbath are critical, as they are for the other six days.  Get those right and enjoy your Sabbath!

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[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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God Provides For Our Sabbath Needs -- Exodus 16:22-24

Now it came about on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one.  When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, “This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”  So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul, nor was there any worm in it.
 

A little in the way of background: You will remember back in verse 5 of this same chapter, God had told Moses that when He would give the people bread from heaven, the amount they gathered on the sixth day would be twice as much as their daily allotment.  Then from verse 18 we learn that no matter how much they gathered on a regular day, at the end of each day, it would be as much as they needed.

Now we jump to the first verse of our scripture portion here, verse 22.  The first thing to note is that there is no instruction to the people about the sixth and seventh gatherings.  Moses had told them nothing about what was to happen on the sixth day.  And verse 22 simply says they gathered twice as much on that first sixth day.  How did this happen?  It appears that no matter how they tried to measure their omer (as per verse 18) at the end of the sixth day’s gathering, it came out to two omers’ worth per person.

This became worrisome to them as they may well have felt they were going against God’s command to only gather one omer’s worth per person daily.  So they told their leaders and the leaders went running to Moses to see if he knew what was going on.  He shared with them what God intended as God had explained it to him earlier.  And Moses gave the people instruction as to how to handle the extra amount.  From what they gathered on the sixth day, they were to use what they needed for that day, and then save the rest for the morning of the seventh day.  And guess what, this ‘saving until tomorrow’ unlike the ‘saving’ that took place in verse 20 when it was driven by their insecurity and lack of trust in God’s provision, did not go bad, did not breed worms and did not stink.

What are the lessons here for us in these three short verses?  I find at least four.

First, God is serious about what He asks us to do especially when it comes to things that matter to Him.  In Genesis 2:2 God rested after six days working on the creation of the heavens and the earth.  In Genesis 2:3 He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.  And thus it was that He wanted His people to rest on their seventh day.  Are we aligned with what is important to God?

Second, God made provision for this ‘rest’ for His people totally on His own without their even asking for it.  In fact, He did not even tell them about how He was going to do that, sharing His intention only with Moses.  I would not be surprised if the majority of Israelites would have forgotten about God’s blessing and sanctification of the Sabbath, and having found out that saving manna until the next day was to no avail, had every intention of ‘not resting’ on the Sabbath and going out to gather their daily supply again on that seventh morning, had God not provided otherwise.  Do we trust God to provide for us (no matter what the need is) in accordance with His will and plan and method?

Third, the people enquired about what was happening, being fearful that they may be doing something contrary to what God had ordered. Right away their conscience, knowing that God had said “gather only for your daily need”, knew something was different and they wanted to make sure that they were still united in purpose and approach with Him.  When something changes in our life, when an opportunity or a windfall presents itself, do we stop to check and see if it is indeed from God?

Fourth, normally extra gathering on a regular day resulted in what was being saved for tomorrow going bad, breeding worms, and stinking, due to the laws of nature.  However, when God is behind the very same action, He can circumvent His own laws of nature as we see the extra manna gathered on the sixth day and saved for the Sabbath did not suffer any of those conditions.  Do we realize that we serve a God Who controls what He has created, including nature?

As we think about our actions and God’s provisions today, let us be aligned with His purpose and His approach.  Let us count fully on Him for direction and provision.

_____________________________________________________________________

[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

Thanks for dropping by. Sign up to receive free updates. We bring you relevant information from all sorts of sources. Subscribe for free to this blog or follow us by clicking on the appropriate link in the right side bar. And please share this blog with your friends. Ken Godevenos, Church and Management Consultant, Accord Consulting.  And while you’re here, why not check out some more of our recent blogs shown in the right hand column.  Ken.

________________________________________________________________________

 

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

How A Miracle Can Go So Wrong -- Exodus 16:17-21

And the sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little.  When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat.  And Moses said to them, “Let no man leave any of it until morning.”  But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them.  And they gathered it morning by morning, every man as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt.
 

Moses gave them instructions on how to collect the manna from heaven each morning and the text says, “And the sons of Israel did so”.  One can only assume that many followed the instructions to the letter; others just heard the part that said, “Gather it”.   But no matter how much each family gathered, they always ended up with what they needed.  Those that by miscalculation or any physical inability to gather a sufficient amount had just what they needed for each member of the family.  Those that got greedy and gathered more than they were supposed to, somehow ended up with just what they needed.  No excess and no lack.   And that is what God promises us today – no guaranteed excess, but no lack for the day either.

And Moses also gave them instructions not to save any of what they had collected on one day for the next day.  It is not clear whether Moses gave them this follow-up instruction as given in this portion of Scripture with his initial directions, or whether he had noticed that some had tried to save manna for ‘tomorrow’.  But nevertheless, even after this instruction, the text tells us at least some (although again it is not clear whether all behaved in the same manner) did not listen to him and they tried to store some manna for the future.  I think that one of the most difficult things to learn, as Christians, is that our God provides sufficiently for the day, and will provide again tomorrow sufficiently for that day when it comes.

Anyway, for those that did not listen, the manna that was saved contrary to the instruction of God’s anointed leader, had by morning, bred worms and became foul or moldy.  The account reminds me somewhat of what Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount after He had taught us how to pray.  In Matthew 6:19-21, we read (NASB version):

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Sometimes we tend to very easily forget where we are laying our treasures and thus where we are allowing our hearts to find themselves.  I feel this way especially at this season of the year as I write this on December 26^th, the day North Americans refer to as Boxing Day.  Wikipedia helped me realize that Boxing Day has been commercialized just as much, if not more so, than Christmas has been.  Neither one is being celebrated by the majority, in accordance with its original purpose.  Let me quote Wikipedia on the topic of Boxing Day:

Boxing Day is traditionally the day following Christmas Day, when servants and tradesmen would receive gifts, known as a "Christmas box", from their bosses or employers . . . It is observed in (most). . . Commonwealth nations . . ..

The exact etymology of the term "boxing day" is unclear. There are several competing theories, none of which is definitive.  The European tradition, which has long included giving money and other gifts to those who were needy and in service positions, has been dated to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown. It is believed to be in reference to the Alms Box placed in places of worship in order to collect donations to the poor. Also, it may come from a custom in the late Roman/early Christian era, wherein metal boxes placed outside churches were used to collect special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen, which in the Western Church falls on the same day as Boxing Day.

In Britain, it was a custom for tradesmen to collect "Christmas boxes" of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year . . . This custom is linked to an older English tradition: since they would have to wait on their masters on Christmas Day, the servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts and bonuses, and maybe sometimes leftover food.

In Britain, Canada, and some states of Australia, Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday, much like Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) in the U.S..  It is a time where shops have sales, often with dramatic price reductions. For many merchants, Boxing Day has become the day of the year with the greatest amount of returns . . ..

Many retailers open very early (typically 5 am or even earlier) and offer doorbuster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores. It is not uncommon for long queues to form early in the morning of 26 December, hours before the opening of shops holding the big sales, especially at big-box consumer electronics retailers. Many stores have a limited quantity of big draw or deeply discounted items. Because of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, many choose to stay home and avoid the hectic shopping experience. The local media often cover the event, mentioning how early the shoppers began queueing up, providing video of shoppers queueing and later leaving with their purchased items.  Many retailers have implemented practices aimed at managing large numbers of shoppers. They may limit entrances, restrict the number of patrons in a store at a time, provide tickets to people at the head of the queue to guarantee them a hot ticket item or canvass queued-up shoppers to inform them of inventory limitations.

In recent years, retailers have expanded deals to “Boxing Week”.  While Boxing Day is 26 December, many retailers will run the sales for several days before or after 26 December, often up to New Year's Eve.”

No, thank you.  I avoid these ‘days’ for four reasons: First, I believe a wise shopper can find good bargains any time of the year or at least on numerous other occasions.  Second, I really do not want to be waiting in line ups and arguing about who gets the last ‘one’ of the desired product being hunted for, or being disappointed because they “ran out” of what I was looking for or had my heart set on.  Third, and importantly, because it is not what Boxing Day is all about as we learned above.  And finally, and most important, shopping for more stuff which I will ultimately leave behind is not where I want my heart to be.

So Moses got angry at the Israelites who tried to save “for tomorrow”, and rightly so.  Not only did they disobey him and God, but now, they also had to deal with the worms and the stink in the camp.  The question that arises for us as Christian leaders from this reaction of Moses is whether or not we should get angry with those who disobey God?  Of course, this opens up the whole topic of “judging” and the concept of “judge not, lest you be judged”.  I have likely said this before, and I repeat it here.  I personally believe that we should not judge people for things that God has not clearly specified His instructions or will about – but we are to draw to the attention of others, especially Christians, what God or the Scriptures have said about topics and issues that are indeed covered by them.  Enough said on that.

The text we are studying here goes on to say, that God kept on providing for them in this way (manna from heaven) morning by morning.  His faithfulness to His people is indeed worthy of our trust and reliance upon.  It is also fresh every morning.  Have you gathered His manna for you today?  Have you prepared yourself to collect the spiritual quails He is providing for you tonight?

The last phrase of this section of Scripture provides yet another interesting aspect to the story.  In reference to the manna, the text reads, “but when the sun grew hot, it would melt.”  David Guzik suggests the following: “Apparently the bread from heaven had to be gathered and prepared early in the morning. This was God's gracious way of forcing a work ethic upon the nation of Israel.”  Perhaps He wanted them to collect it early, but we would be guessing with respect to His actual purpose – although what Guzik suggests complements God’s thinking and attitude towards work found elsewhere in Scripture.

It is my prayer that you and I realize God’s desire to provide us with whatever we really need (not want) for our daily lives, as He did for the children of Israel in their own desert.  It is my prayer that what God has provided for us (His word, His love, His Son) is not treated in a way that it breeds worms and goes moldy.  But rather, I pray that you and I will accept His blessings and use them to be a blessing to others.

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