Exodus 16
15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. 18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. 22 And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. 25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a Sabbath unto the Lord: to day ye shall not find it in the field. 26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.
27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 28 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32 And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.
33 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations. 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35 And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. 36 (Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah).
We should never stop changing – till our last breath – into the likeness of Christ.
Change means risks. Our human nature dislikes changes and taking risks. Because of this we risk spiritual stagnation.
Example: Recent research into Alzheimer’s disease has shown that patients who are stimulated with changes around them (gentle but challenging) are likely to experience a slowing down of the disease.
The temptation is to settle down and not face the trials and temptations of life.
Let this beginning of the New Year of 2004 be a time where you are prepared for change.
We will look at Israel during their time of change and examine some lessons, including risks:
The Israelites had spent 400 years in Egypt before they were led to the promised land.
In leaving they had to risk the danger of Pharaoh’s anger and what he could do to hurt them. So too, in breaking from sin and leaving the devil’s grip there is a feeling of risk.
Being born is full of risk – in fact, there is death involved in the birth process. The child has to leave the comfort of its surroundings and enter the world. Perhaps you too have grown accustomed to things and fear any change. But unless you’re willing to die, to be born again, you will never live. There is a medical phenomenon with some births called a “mummified foetus”. It means that though the baby was there it never went through the process of birth and was still-born. Perhaps it seems like death to you when God speaks of the repentance and apologies which are necessary. If you don’t have the courage to go through with God, perhaps being afraid of being tagged, you try and deal with problems yourself and not bring them to the Lord and God’s people for real help. Perhaps you chat to a friend and the rub-off effect on that friend is deadly. Sin in you is like nuclear waste. You can’t just dump it because it continues to radiate its deadly effects. Rather, come to Christ, the Son of God because He can deal with the filth, the nuclear waste in your heart. By coming to Him, you are born anew and can, like a newborn child, wake up in the arms of a loving and smiling mother.
The poem “Risks” by a secular poet:
ONLY A PERSON WHO RISKS IS FREE
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach for another is to risk involvement.
To expose your feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To believe is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken,
because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.
Chained by their attitudes they are slaves; they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
The other risk which the Israelites had to face was where to get food. They needed daily manna to be sustained in the wilderness. Be willing to take risks when God leads you, even if it means losing your job because of honesty – the Lord will provide your daily manna.
If you don’t risk anything it means you are lukewarm and you run the greatest risk – that of Christ spewing you out!
If you don’t risk anything you will do nothing and achieve nothing. You should always be experiencing change: more holiness, more humilty, more of the Lord. You will run the risk of making mistakes. These can be repented of. But if you stop growing you will not survive.
As we read in our text the attempt to hang on to the manna only resulted in maggots and a stench. Never hold on to God’s gifts (instead of clinging to Him) because it will end up as a stink. This also includes the danger of working for God and the ministry He has given. All these things must remain on the altar. God’s children had to rest on the Sabbath and the Lord provided manna for that day because the Lord ensured that the manna would last for the next day.
Are you living in anxiety? God told His people not to be anxious but to trust Him to supply their need. They had to do it God’s way. They had to learn when to relax and rest. If you feel a compulsion to have to do something, when the Lord wants you to rest, it shows that it is the devil. Some Christians are forever busy with some new project instead of receiving bread from God. Who is this bread? It is the One whose birth we’ve just celebrated this Christmas.
Remember that “the manna melted” – it didn’t last long. Use the grace which He gives you today. Don’t be like the 5 foolish virgins who didn’t get their provisions while it was possible.
Be willing to take risks and stay close to God; then you’ll receive daily bread from heaven. If the Lord could provide manna for His people for 40 years you can count on Him.