No Surplus or Shortage

In the wilderness, Israel complains about their lack of food. They even look back fondly on their days of slavery and pots of stewed meat – even considering a return to bondage in Egypt. But the Lord sends quail and bread from heaven (even to the point of providing “all the bread they could want”). He gives clear instructions about the gathering of this bread to ensure that Israel daily depends on his provision. Some of them try to squirrel away leftovers and the bread rots by morning. But the text makes clear that no matter what they needed or what they gathered, they were given no surplus and no shortage.

We find ourselves wondering if the things we want and need might be found back in the land of bondage – that dabbling in sin might take the edge of our appetite. But real satisfaction is only in Jesus – and only in daily dependence on Jesus! So, we pray with Proverbs 30:8, “Give me neither poverty nor riches.” We give because we recognize that our possessions have a tendency to possess us. And it is sweeter to live in daily dependence. We cherish what the Lord gives us, and we steward all of it knowing that it is not ours but his. We bring in to send out – and when we send, we send our best.