Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning.
Sunday, March 14, 2021
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Bread from Heaven [3]
Bible Verse:Exodus 16:22-30 (ESV)
"On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers [two omers = one gallon] each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’”
So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 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, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.”
So the people rested on the seventh day."
Message:
For those who have not actually read Exodus before, the lengthy section on gathering of manna and the early imposition of Sabbath laws comes as a surprise. The Hebrews immediately discover that the manna goes bad after one day. Although God has promised to send it daily, they still try to rely on their own skills; they gather extra to store up just in case, one supposes, God changes His mind. They do not trust Him fully.
Then, having established firmly to the Hebrews that manna is a gift from Him, God advances their training to the next level. Having learned to gather one day’s food each day, now they must learn that they must gather two day’s provision on Friday and that the manna will keep for a day, for God intends that the Sabbath be kept as a holy day.
One would think that they would be happy for a day of rest. Life is grueling in the desert. One would anticipate nothing nicer than a chance to lie around the tent all day, worshipping, talking, singing — anything but working. But no; some of them have to go out and try to gather manna. So, they get another lesson: there is none.
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?’” This rhetorical question actually has an answer; for neither the Jews, as a people, nor Christians, as a church, would ever keep God’s laws as an entirety. Those who really tried — such as the Catholic Church, the Puritans, the Pharisees — have inevitably broken down into politics, ungodly superstition and physical coercion.
But the greatest difficulty has always been sheer disobedience, the triumph of self-will and earthly appetite over life in the Spirit.
Christ showed us that if there is work that must be done on the Sabbath, one may do it without offending God. But His examples were work that could not wait a day: pulling an ox out of a ditch, healing a sick man. He did not, by His own assertion, come to abolish the Law, and His infringement on the Pharisees’ rules for the Sabbath was not an open invitation to ignore the fourth commandment.
God loves us and would not have given us the Sabbath law if it were not beneficial to us. Yet, very few Christians or Jews keep the Sabbath (or technically, in the case of most Christians, the Sunday “Sabbath,” which almost all scholars agree fulfills the fourth commandment). It is an issue worth considering and, perhaps, modifying our lives a bit. If we believe in God, then we must trust that following the commandment will ultimately have beneficial consequences.
Meditation
:
Prayer :
Into your hands, O Lord, Jesus Christ, my God, I commend my spirit. Bless me and all those who pray in faith of You this day; save us and grant unto us everlasting life......Amen
|
Archives: |
Monday, November 25, 2024 |
Saturday, November 23, 2024 |
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 |
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 |
Tuesday, November 19, 2024 |
Thursday, November 14, 2024 |
Monday, November 11, 2024 |
Friday, November 8, 2024 |
Thursday, November 7, 2024 |
Tuesday, November 5, 2024 |
Sunday, November 3, 2024 |
Friday, November 1, 2024 |
Thursday, October 31, 2024 |
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 |
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 |
Monday, October 28, 2024 |
Sunday, October 27, 2024 |
Friday, October 25, 2024 |
Thursday, October 24, 2024 |
Wednesday, October 23, 2024 |
Tuesday, October 22, 2024 |
Sunday, October 20, 2024 |
Friday, October 18, 2024 |
Tuesday, October 15, 2024 |
Tuesday, October 15, 2024 |
Sunday, October 13, 2024 |
Thursday, October 10, 2024 |
Thursday, October 10, 2024 |
Thursday, October 10, 2024 |
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 |
Monday, October 7, 2024 |
Sunday, October 6, 2024 |
Friday, October 4, 2024 |
Friday, October 4, 2024 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 |
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 |
Tuesday, October 1, 2024 |
Monday, September 30, 2024 |
Saturday, September 28, 2024 |
Friday, September 27, 2024 |
Thursday, September 26, 2024 |
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 |
Tuesday, September 24, 2024 |
Monday, September 23, 2024 |
Monday, September 23, 2024 |
Sunday, September 22, 2024 |
Saturday, September 21, 2024 |
Friday, September 20, 2024 |
Tuesday, September 17, 2024 |
Tuesday, September 17, 2024 |
Sunday, January 08, 2017 |
Saturday, December 31, 2016 |
Tuesday, December 13, 2016 |
Wednesday, October 05, 2016 |
Tuesday, October 04, 2016 |
Tuesday, September 27, 2016 |
Saturday, September 24, 2016 |
Thursday, September 22, 2016 |
Tuesday, September 30, 2014 |
Thursday, September 25, 2014 |
Monday, September 22, 2014 |
Monday, September 22, 2014 |
Friday, September 12, 2014 |
Wednesday, September 10, 2014 |
Monday, September 08, 2014 |
Saturday, September 06, 2014 |
Thursday, September 04, 2014 |
Wednesday, September 03, 2014 |
Tuesday, September 02, 2014 |
Monday, September 01, 2014 |
Sunday, August 31, 2014 |
Friday, August 29, 2014 |
Monday, August 25, 2014 |
Saturday, August 23, 2014 |
Friday, August 22, 2014 |
Tuesday, August 19, 2014 |
Tuesday, August 19, 2014 |
Monday, August 18, 2014 |
Sunday, August 17, 2014 |
Saturday, August 16, 2014 |
Friday, August 15, 2014 |
Thursday, August 14, 2014 |
Wednesday, August 13, 2014 |
Tuesday, August 12, 2014 |
Saturday, August 09, 2014 |
Friday, August 08, 2014 |
Wednesday, August 06, 2014 |
Tuesday, August 05, 2014 |
Monday, August 04, 2014 |
Sunday, August 03, 2014 |
Saturday, August 02, 2014 |
Saturday, August 02, 2014 |
Friday, August 01, 2014 |
Wednesday, July 30, 2014 |
Tuesday, July 29, 2014 |
Sunday, July 27, 2014 |
Saturday, July 26, 2014 |
Saturday, July 26, 2014 |
Friday, July 25, 2014 |
Saturday, July 19, 2014 |
|
|