“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.”

Exodus 16 talks about when God started the supply of manna to His people. About two months after leaving Egypt, the Israelites were led by God to the wilderness of Sin. They had left Egypt in a hurry. Now they had eaten all of the food that they had brought with them. And, they complained about the lack of food, and talked about going back to Egypt.

God knew that they needed food. He was not going to starve them. What would the nations think about Him if He did? He had promised Israel that He would bring them to the Promised Land. He had led them this far, and He would lead them to the end of their journey. At the end of the chapter, we are told that they ate manna for the forty years that they wandered in the wilderness. So great was God’s provision of food.

The verse above gives an insight into God’s intentions. He had rules about the collection of the manna, as He told Moses, “…that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” He described how His provision was to be collected. The Israelites were to gather an homer per person per day. For five days of the week, they were to collect only enough for the day. On the sixth day they were to collect enough for two days, because the manna would not be provided on the Sabbath. These seem like simple rules. They were not ambiguous. The amount was prescribed and when it was to be collected. All that was necessary was for them to obey God’s rules. This is what the Lord said in the verse above; whether they will walk in God’s law, or no.

But we read of people who collected more than they should have, against God’s command. We are told that the extra bred worms and stank. Then, on the day that they were supposed to collect two measures because of the Sabbath, some did not. They went out on the Sabbath morning to collect their daily amount, but none had been provided, just like God said. They were rebuked for disobeying the command.

The simplicity of God’s command is reminiscent of the case of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2 and 3. In Genesis 2:16, 17 we read, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” In Genesis 3:3 the command was changed, but not by God, “…of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”

Note the difference between the two versions. Something was added to God’s command, and something was taken away. The addition was that they could not touch the tree. That is not what God said. He only said that they couldn’t eat from it. What was taken away was the severity of the consequence. The consequence in God’s command was strong, “thou shalt surely die.” In Genesis 3 it was expressed as “lest ye die”, changing it from dire to potential. But God said what He meant. And the enemy told Adam and Eve, “Ye shall not surely die.”

As minor as these changes may seem to our reasoning, in God’s eyes they are the difference between life and death. The real point is, Who is in charge? Is it us or God?

Perhaps Adam, Eve and the Israelites tried to make God’s simple commands make sense to them. Or maybe they thought they needed to add safeguards to avoid disobeying. We may try to add human reasoning to God’s laws. But that clouds the issue because then we think that if we keep the changes we have made to His law, we are obeying Him. This is why Jesus rebuked the Pharisees. They lived by the changes and not by God’s law. In Matthew 15:3-6 Jesus revealed an example, “But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus, have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.”

From these stories two points can be seen. The first is it is clear that mankind is unable, or unwilling, to obey God. The simplest command will stumble us, just like Adam and Eve, and the Israelites gathering manna. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The death that Adam and Eve died on the day they disobeyed was certain, and it was spiritual. And, spiritual deadness has passed on to all of mankind. The second is that God says precisely what He means and means precisely what He says.

This reveals a problem. God, being God, requires complete obedience not only in what we do, but in what we say and think: and always. As noted in the first point, we cannot do this. To the glory of His name, God planned a way for mankind to be reconciled to Himself. This was through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Who walked in God’s law His whole life. Through His sacrifice mankind was reconciled to God. Those for whom Jesus is Savior are made spiritually alive by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. By His enabling, we are able, willing, and even desiring to obey God. Then we are well able to walk in His law.

Simply trusting every day,
Trusting through a stormy way;
Even when my faith is small,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Refrain

Trusting as the moments fly,
Trusting as the days go by;
Trusting Him whate’er befall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Brightly does His Spirit shine
Into this poor heart of mine;
While He leads I cannot fall;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Refrain

Singing if my way is clear,
Praying if the path be drear;
If in danger for Him call;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Refrain

Trusting Him while life shall last,
Trusting Him till earth be past;
Till within the jasper wall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Refrain (Edgar P. Stites)