A God who Satisfies
And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed. Exodus 16:18
God led the people out of Egypt. In Egypt, Pharaoh asked Joseph to choose the best land for his household and he chose the land of Goshen. Goshen was one of the best lands in Egypt, a fertile land, a land for crops and livestock. In years, a new Pharaoh came to power who did not know about Joseph or what he did to save the people of Israel. The people of Israel came into bondage, but still, they had enough food to eat because their land produced enough for them.
When they were led into the wilderness, we see a sharp contrast. They were in bondage earlier, but now they are free. However, they had enough to eat, now they are starving.
So they were grumbling against Moses and Aaron and in doing so they were grumbling against God.
Numbers 16:3 – The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
God meets them at the point of their need. He gives them manna – a new food – the food they hadn’t seen before. The people were to go out each day and gather enough for that day.
So according to the command of God Israelites went and gathered manna, some gathered much, some little.
Not everyone can gather every day at the same speed or get the same portion. Not everyone can be good judges of how much they would need for that day. What if their children wanted more one day and would refuse to eat the other day? This manna cannot be stored for the next day. It was a daily quote. Bread for the day.
Imagine the gatherer of the family suddenly is sick and decides he cannot gather more than just a particular portion. He calls it enough, comes back and decides to survive that day with the little he was able to gather.
Interestingly, how much was gathered didn’t even matter. As vs 18 says, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
Isn’t it amazing? I was honestly surprised on reading this. God establishes equality among His people. God satisfied His people. What they gathered didn’t matter, because God was able to satisfy them, irrespective of how much or how little they gathered.
Psalm 105:40 - The people asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
Look at the world around you. Everyone is seeking satisfaction. Satisfaction is almost the buzzword now. From job satisfaction to customer satisfaction, everyone wants to be satisfied.
At the same time, we need to be aware that not all of us are equal. Not all of us have the same wages, same privileges, same opportunities, same talents, same abilities, same health conditions! Whatever it may be, we can be 100 per cent certain that our satisfaction comes from God and not from what we have.
We can never think we can satisfy ourselves. Isaiah 55:2 “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
How did the manna satisfy them?
1. Manna met their daily needs. It satisfied their physical hunger. For 40 years, they did not have to worry about food. They knew for sure their daily bread is available. The moment they stepped into Canaan, the manna stopped coming. How miraculous! Joshua 5:12 - Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.
2. Manna gave them the strength to wander through the desert. I’m sure Israelites were not aware of the nutritional value of manna. They didn’t know how much vitamins, minerals, fats or carbohydrates it contained. But one thing was sure. The manna was enough to strengthen them throughout their desert journey.
While the manna did meet their physical needs, but there was a spiritual purpose.
Deut 8:3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
And a greater spiritual purpose for us.
Manna was a foreshadow of Jesus Christ.
Exo 16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you.
In John 6:51, Jesus says - “I am the living bread which came down from heaven:
John 6:48-50 “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die.
Just as manna sustained and strengthened the Israelites for forty years as they wandered through the desert, Jesus, the heavenly manna, sustains and strengthens us as we walk as pilgrims on earth destined to go to our promised land, heaven.
Our ultimate satisfaction can be found only in the person of Jesus Christ.
How does God satisfy us.
1. He satisfies us with good things
Psalm 103:5 - who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
2. He satisfies your soul even during periods of drought
Isa 58: 11 - The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
3. He satisfied you with long life
Psalm 91:16 - With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.
4. He satisfies our daily needs
Psalm 132:15 “I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread.”
5. And our ultimate satisfaction is when we are transformed in His likeness
Psalm 17:15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
The final mention of manna occurs in Revelation 2:17, in His letter to the church of Pergamum, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna” (Revelation 2:17).
The concept of manna begins from Exodus and continues till eternity…
Manna is a constant reminder that God satisfies us by providing daily bread for our physical needs and His word for our spiritual nourishment.
