“So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.”
Exodus 16:35
There is one small detail tucked at the end of the “Where Did Manna Come From” chapter that holds a truth as powerful as the miracle of manna itself…the Israelites ate manna for forty years!
Let’s recall the story of those 40 years…The Israelites ate manna for the first time one month after leaving Egypt. After that they spent over a year at Mt. Sinai, learning how to be GOD’s family and enjoying His daily provision. But then, on the eve of entering their own promised land, lack of faith caused this family to rebel against their loving Father, and consequently wandered in the wilderness another thirty-eight plus years…a total of 40 years!
Wait a minute…God did not stop His supply of manna when they stopped trusting Him? You mean, even after His kids rebelled against Him, they still received His manna? But those extra years were a wilderness of their own making!
So true…God could have said, “This detour is YOUR fault…YOU find your own food!”That’s exactly what their Egyptian enemy had done…demanded they find their own straw! But there’s a huge difference between the two…the enemy enslaves with cruel demands, the Father forgives with tender care. He feeds His kids, even in their own wilderness. THAT is our God!
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