“What is it?” “It is
the bread the Lord has provided us to eat.”
Thus began the provision of the manna for the people of Israel. It was stuff on the ground that was
unidentifiable to the people and yet Moses knew this was the Lord’s
provision. Picky eaters need not
apply. The instructions were simple, pick
it up off the ground and eat as much as you want, just don’t leave any
leftovers because it turns bad in a hurry, with the exception of the night of
the Sabbath. It was a gracious provision
by the Lord but it wasn’t intended to last as long as it did, forty years. If they had been obedient to enter the Land,
they would have enjoyed they Land filled with milk and honey. As it was, they subsisted on it for a
generation.
The Lord has provided for His people. He has provided a Savior and Messiah, One who
spoke the truth to them and yet, as John tells us in the prologue to his
Gospel, they knew Him not. We should be
truly thankful for all the Lord has done for us, saving us by the gift of faith
itself, opening our eyes that we might know the truth about His Son. Jesus promises that if they and we will do
the work we have been given we will see some come to faith and others who will
not and instead will persecute us. Too
often we allow the fear of persecution, or even simply fear of rejection, keep
us from the work of evangelism and therefore the joy of seeing God change
lives. We fail to enter the Land for
fear, just like the Israelites. Are we
subsisting rather than prospering for the same reasons?
Is there a difference in our attitude if we choose to
willingly submit ourselves to authority rather than doing so under
compulsion? Certainly there is. Now, I do so in obedience not to a master but
to the One who has redeemed me and loves me as His own child. My submission to an earthly master is an act
of loving obedience to God, a way to serve Him.
Jesus submitted Himself to the abuse and crucifixion in that manner and
showed us the way of love. Fear is the
wrong motive, whether that is fear of the power of the state or fear of losing
my job. The writer of Hebrews says that
fear is what kept them from entering rest, our fears keep us from peace and
rest, they keep us from knowing the fullness of God. Let us live as free people, free because this
life does not define us, we have eternity within us, the hope of glory, let us
use our freedom to choose the path of loving service that we might enter that
rest today.
We are Thine, Thou
dost befriend us, be the guardian of our way;
Keep Thy flock, from sin defend us, seek us when we go astray.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! Hear, O hear us when we pray.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! Hear, O hear us when we pray.
Keep Thy flock, from sin defend us, seek us when we go astray.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! Hear, O hear us when we pray.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! Hear, O hear us when we pray.
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