Doing some cleaning and getting ready to fix dinner for Carla.  She decided that she wanted a whole chicken.  Who am I to disagree?

Exodus 16:4 Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

Vs 12  I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.

Vs 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.

Only God could provide this food, every day, except the 7^th day, the Sabbath Day, when they had plenty from the day before because they must rest.

Every day, 365 days a year for 40 years 14,600 days (I realize the Jewish calendar is different from ours, but it is close enough for my thoughts, today.)

Over 600,000 men, plus the women and children – total estimated to be over 3 million - were fed every, single, day.  Obviously it met all of their nutritional needs; they ate it and not only survived but were able to travel and when necessary defend themselves.  They cared for their animals and each other, they were just laying about, they were working.

Quite a miracle; God supplied all their food related needs.

As I read these verses this morning something came to mind, a verse in Mathew, a verse in the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught the people.

Mathew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.

I have no idea whether or not what I am about to say is accurate.  I have never heard it preached on or taught (that I am aware of) so my associations may be wrong.  However, having said that, this is what I am thinking:

When I read or repeat the Lord’s Prayer I am always thinking of our current meals; asking the Lord to put meat and all the trimmings on the table.  Rarely do we just eat bread for dinner.

As a matter of fact the old punishment of bread and water for prisoners was more than just reducing what they ate; it was actually harmful to their system.  It was like putting glue into their stomach and intestines.

It was a punishment that had limited duration because the result could mean death. 

But, God gave the Jewish people bread to eat, every day for 40 years and they were fine. 

Vs 15 ... This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.

It wasn’t that He wasn’t aware of their body functions; it was because He knew what was needed and how to take care of that need.  He created man, so what He gave them would not be harmful – either their system was touched or the bread was digested differently than what is normally thought of as bread.

Was Jesus, in teaching the Lord’s Prayer, referring back to this time of miracles where God provided sustenance of bread everyday while they were in the wilderness?  Could be.

Every Jewish person knew the story, it was one of the foundations of their teachings – God provided bread to their ancestors in the wilderness when they fled from Egypt.

Every one that stood around Him and heard that prayer HAD to have thought about the manna that God provided their people, for forty years.  If God could do that for their fore fathers, then He can do that now, for them.

Jesus told us, often, that God can supply all our needs.  We read it, we hear it but how often do we really believe it?  The best way to bring the message home, is to point to the times He did supply our needs.

God takes care of His people.  He did it in the wilderness and throughout the history of His people.  Jesus says to pray for it now.  God is well aware of what we need and He is prepared to provide it for us – we but have to ask.

Mathew 6:7 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

I don’t know if I am correct in aligning these two themes, but it does reinforce, to me, that God is able to provide whatever I need to serve Him.

Proverbs 30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

When the people gathered the manna up they were told to only take that which they needed for that day – those that did not found it full of worms and decay the next morning.  He provided for them precisely what they needed to do what needed to be done.  The manna was sufficient for them.

What am I asking for that is more than I am required to have to serve God?  Why do I think I need it?

Later, Art :-)