Manna in the Desert
And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 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. -Exodus 16:14-15
It’s been commonly applied that God’s manna represents our spiritual nourishment. Just as the children of Israel went out and daily gathered their manna, so too ought we to get spiritual nourishment through the reading of God’s Word each morning, and through prayer.
A small thing
Yet one thing to keep in mind is the size of the individual pieces of manna: they were very small, about the size of a snowflake or an ice crystal.
In getting our spiritual nourishment, sometimes it is bit by bit: in small increments. It all adds up to a daily meal, but it comes in bits.
So often, we go out and look for an entire pork roast, so to speak. We want the big answer, the big verse that will change our lives. Yet we don’t want to apply our hearts toward the getting of wisdom, nor to the learning of godly principles.
The Gathering of the Manna, Dirck Bouts (1464-67)
We do not want to build precept upon precept, nor line upon line. We want an entire package all gift-wrapped and ready-to-go. Yet God does not always work this way: in most instances it is like the tiny bits of manna: many small pieces adding up to a whole.
What if the children of Israel refused to gather any of the manna because they didn’t want to trifle with such small pieces of food? They would starve! And so will we spiritually if we don’t recognize that God wants us to search out His ways and apply the little bits of wisdom to form a godly life. And in our search, He may tap us on the shoulder with the monumental calling or the revelation that we’ve been longing for.
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. -Proverbs 2:3-5
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