FRIDAY, 13 JANUARY 2023
TEXT:
Exodus 16:17-36
17.
The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less.
18.
But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing
over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as
each of them indeed.
19.
And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it until morning.”
20.
But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it
bred worms and became foul. And Moses was angry with them.
21.
Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed; but when the sun
grew hot, it melted.
22. On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers apiece.
When all
the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,
23.
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 want to boil, and all
that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.’”
24.
So they put it aside until morning, as Moses commanded them; and it did not become
foul, and there were no worms in it.
25.
Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will
not find it in the field.
26.
Six days you shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there
will be none.”
27.
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they found none.
28.
The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and
instructions?
29.
See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath, therefore on the sixth day he gives
you food for two days; each of you stay where you are; do not leave your place
on the Sabbath day.”
30.
So the people rested on the seventh day.
31.
The house of Israel called it manna; it was like coriander seed, white and the
taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
32.
Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout
your generations, in order that they may see the food with which I fed you in
the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
33.
And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place
it before the Lord, to be kept throughout your generations.”
34.
As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the covenant, for
safekeeping.
35.
The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a habitable land; they
ate manna, until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
36.
An omer is a tenth of an ephah.
(New Revised Standard Version Holy
Bible)
TOPIC:
WARNING AGAINST GREED
Against
God’s command, some of the Israelites accumulated manna that would last them
several days and it got rotten. There is a personal warning here for God’s
people today against greed. In physical realm, greed results in very senseless
accumulation of wealth that one would never be able to use, or ever need,
resulting in its being wasted.
Greed
is the bane of many African leaders who have destroyed their countries by stealing
and accumulating wealth that they would never ever need. This evil is equally
true in the spiritual realm. We can’t hoard God’s Word and try to live on
yesterday’s spiritual nourishment. It’s good to hear the Bible preached and
taught on the Lord’s Day.
But
we need fresh manna each day if we want to be healthy Christians. There’s no
substitute for a daily time alone with God and gathering fresh nourishment from
His Word.
QUESTION:
Are you greedy for fame, money, power or something else?
PRAYER:
Oh God, protect and deliver me from any type of greed and help me to live,
trust and depend on You daily, in Jesus name, Amen.
Remain
Blessed
No comments:
Post a Comment