Burunche’s Blog

Joshua 5:10 – 12 “On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.  The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain.  The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.”

You can find the story in Exodus 16. The Israelites were out in the Wilderness with dwindling food supplies. As usual, this bunch of ungrateful wretches was kvetching! (“Kvetching” is a Yiddish term and is like whining, only more so!)

Exodus 16:2 – 15, “In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.  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.” (My observation: HUH??? These people were SLAVES! There’s no way the Egyptians were feeding them that well! They have faulty memories!)

 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

 So, Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning, you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling. While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud. The Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning, you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’” That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.  When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.”

The term “manna” literally means “what is it?” For forty years, two million Israelites depended on this manna for most of their food supplies. While the people might have complained, manna became a staple of their diet and gathering manna became a way of life. Undoubtedly, the women and children were the ones who went out and gathered the manna every morning. Manna might have been boring, but at least it was reliable and predictable.

The Israelites crossed the Jordan just in time to celebrate the Passover in the land of Canaan. Presumably, the Israelites celebrated the Passover using manna; however, the day after they celebrated Passover, they found enough flour and roasted grain to feed themselves. The day after that happened, the manna stopped.

The manna stopped because it was no longer needed; however, God also stopped it for another reason. Manna might have been boring, but the Israelites were used to it. Eating manna had become a normal thing; as long as the Israelites had manna, they were probably not in a hurry to attack any cities or conquer any tribes. God knew that unless the Israelites had a compelling reason, they might just sit down on the plains of Jericho and never move forward. But if there was no more manna, then the Israelites would have to go on and conquer if they were to survive. Hunger would motivate conquest.

APPLICATION: What do you do when the manna stops? Sometimes, God provides for us and we don’t even realize it. It’s only when God’s provision stops that we recognize what He’s been doing. And when that provision suddenly stops, what do most of us do? We respond just like the Israelites; we kvetch!

Perhaps COVID has turned your life upside down. You had a good job and a comfortable living situation. Now the business for which you worked has folded and you are wondering what to do next. Ask God! Notice that the manna didn’t stop until the day after the Israelites had eaten the bread and grain of the land. God provided the manna just as long as it was necessary. God is not going to drop you; however, God may be calling you into some totally different and greater work.

As long as the Israelites were camped on the plain of Jericho eating manna, they probably weren’t very interested in attacking Jericho. Perhaps some of the men sneaked off and looked at the size of the city walls and began having second thoughts. But God didn’t intend for the Israelites to remain as former slaves; God intended for them to become conquerors.

Has the manna stopped in your life? Look around you and see what God may be calling you to do. God wants you to move into some greater and finer work.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to trust you, even when the “manna” stops in our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen

This entry was posted on February 12, 2022 at 12:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.