Mmm...Worm Bread

This morning as I sat at the breakfast table with my seven year old, he asked me if I thought manna tasted like pancakes.  (If you don’t know, manna is the stuff that God sent to the Israelites in Exodus 18 when they were hungry and had no food.  They made bread from it.)  I think I made his day when I told him the rest of the story.  He’s a sucker for gross things.

Here are the highlights that are usually covered in this story:  the people leave Egypt. The people gripe and complain. God gives them food. We can always count on God to provide for our needs.

All of those things are true of course.  But sometimes I think we miss another lesson that is hidden in the text.  Read these instructions that Moses gives to the people:

And Moses told them, “It is the food the Lord has given you to eat. These are the Lord’s instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts for each person in your tent.”  So the people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little. But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed. Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.”

God told them not to take too much.  Only take what was needed.  Don’t even take enough for the next day…He wanted them to trust that He would provide each day as needed.

Do you stop and get a cheeseburger on your way to dinner at someone’s house just in case you don’t get enough there?  Do you keep eating food long after your stomach tells you it’s had enough?  How often do you get a second helping?  Is it because you are truly still hungry or is it because it tastes good and you aren’t quite ready to put down the fork?

Look what happened to the Israelites when they began hoarding their food (this is the part my son liked):

“But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of worms and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.”

The Bible has a lot to say about taking more food than what is necessary.  I don’t like to read these verses.  I’d like to explain them away or say that it’s all symbolic somehow.  But it’s pretty clear.  Take the time today to really read through and let these verses sink in.  God doesn’t give us these instructions and examples because He is mean and just wants to put restrictions on us.  He knows what is good for us and is trying to help us out.  I think I may print these out and keep them on my fridge.  And the next time I am reaching for something I shouldn’t eat, I’ll make myself read these and think about how God knows better than I do what I need - even if my taste buds are telling me different.

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. Philippians 3:19

Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. Proverbs 23:20-21

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it. Proverbs 25:16

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness!  Ecclesiastes 10:17