Manna gathered not hoarded (Exod 16:16-21)

A woman in a former church I attended did not take out home insurance because she felt it would be against trusting the Lord for her needs. When a fire broke out in the apartment next to hers, she had no money to repair the damage. Several people from church volunteered to repaint her walls and help her financially in her need, but ever since that time I have wondered about the difference between trust and irresponsibility. As we engage with the story of the manna and God’s instructions not to gather more than one could eat nor leave it until the next day (Exod 16:16, 20), the questions that come to mind are, when is it hoarding to think ahead and when is it lack of trust?

The first thing to note is that the manna did not keep (Exod 16:21), so by its very nature it was not something that could be saved up. To give an analogous example, devotional Bible readings and engagement with God likewise cannot be stockpiled for a rainy day. We come to God daily in trust that He will provide for our spiritual nourishment. On the other hand, when Israel entered Canaan, the manna stopped and the grain the people harvested could be stored, indeed had to be because the growing of food was a seasonal activity. It would also have been prudent to save at the time of bumper crops for the potentially lean years. In fact, it is what happened in Egypt when at Joseph’s advice grain was stored for the coming years of famine. This was seen as a sensible decision (Gen 41:36-37) and one that saved Joseph’s own family too (Gen 41:36-37; 45:7). In our context today we are required to be responsible with what we have been given, so as not to become a burden on others, but also to recognise that we cannot prepare for every eventuality and certain aspects of our lives defy this kind of prudent approach.

Another aspect to consider is that the specific command to act in trust and not hoard more than each person could eat a day came from God and so His people could rely on Him to take care of them when they obeyed His instructions. Sometimes we have to go against conventional wisdom because we sense God’s promptings to act in a certain way. A friend of mine resigned from her job because the company she worked for expected her to behave in ways that were ethically unacceptable to her. Missionaries also well understand what it means to give up secure jobs and trust God’s provision in the call they have received.

Whether we have some control over our resources or not, we look to the Lord from whom comes everything we have and are. This was the lesson God was teaching Israel by putting them into a situation of extreme need where they were utterly dependent on Him. The wilderness was Israel’s training ground for acquiring certain attitudes necessary for living with God. The trust engendered through their experience was meant to become a permanent posture, so that in the Promised Land they might recognise God’s provision even in the mundane reality of their everyday efforts.