Title: God Who Fills You Abundantly
Exodus (43) God fills us abundantly (Exodus 16:31-36)
<Average by sharing>
Exodus 16 can be said to be the manna chapter in which various facts related to manna are recorded. What does manna look like? It was white like cat seeds and tasted like sweets mixed with honey (verse 31). To put it simply, it tasted like honey jjanggu. How moved the Israelites must have been when they first met the manna God had given them in the face of the crisis of temperance and hunger that had been nearing a month? Also, how good would it taste? So, when I first tasted manna, it tasted like sweets mixed with honey.
However, in Numbers 21:5, there are these words from the time when the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness were almost over. “The people grumbled against God and against Moses, saying, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? There is neither food nor water in this place, and our hearts hate this trivial food.” At that time, the Israelites resented and called manna a 'insignificant food'. How shameless, foolish, and unhappy are you, losing your emotions and gratitude? Why is ups and downs bad? Because it leads to a life without gratitude.
The ups and downs of faith that only God knows is always in danger of being corrupted and eventually falls. However, true and devoted faith is not shaken by momentary trials and tremors. Therefore, always aim for the life of an average person by dividing the 'have' with the 'not'. Of course, don't be the average person who gives up on a life that brings many blessings by challenging a new world. Receive many blessings, but become an average person by sharing those blessings. There is no such thing as a beautiful life like pursuing an average life by voluntarily sharing one's own for needy neighbors.
The ideal of communism is to ‘make it equal’. But why is that good ideal not blooming and disappearing now, leaving behind many evils? This is because they forcibly forced distribution rather than voluntarily following their emotions. As the most important value of human beings, they annihilated ‘free will’ that even God had not touched, and emphasized equality.
Conversely, in free countries, the problem is the concentration of wealth and the spread of the poor. How do I solve that problem? The voluntary donation of the righteous rich is the solution to that problem. All rich people have a responsibility to help the poor. In the end, missions and almsgiving are the beautiful ways of distribution that God has ordained. Missions and almsgiving are symbolic events, such as giving our lives to the Lord who gave his life for us. In words, “God! Instead of saying, “I give you my life!”, actually emptying your pockets is closer to giving your life.
<God who fills you abundantly>
At that time, according to God's command, Moses filled the omer with manna and kept it for the descendants of the Great Sea, in order to show them the food the Israelites ate in the wilderness when they left Egypt (verse 32). From that time on, the jar containing one omer of manna was placed in the Ark of the Covenant along with the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were engraved and Aaron's rod that budded and passed down to future generations. Keeping the manna was a measure taken so that we would not forget God's grace for a long time.
How long did the manna fall? The children of Israel ate manna for forty years until they reached the inhabited land, the land of Canaan (verse 35). And when we arrived in the land of Canaan and ate the produce of that land, the manna stopped from the next day (Joshua 5:10-12). It was January 16, 41, in Exodus. Therefore, since the first day of eating manna was on February 15th in the first year of the Exodus (verse 1), the exact period of time the Israelites ate manna would be 39 years and 11 months. In a spiritual sense, God's work of giving manna continues even now.
One day, about an hour after the flight to the United States took off, the stewardess was handing out drinks and snacks, and an old woman said she didn't need any drinks. Another two hours later, the meal came and the stewardess distributed the meal, but the grandmother said she didn't need it and did not eat it. Strangely, when the stewardess asked why he wasn't eating, he said that he didn't eat because it was a waste of money. Then the stewardess said. "grandmother! All meals are included in the price of the plane ticket, so you can just eat it.” Then Grandma had dinner.
God has given salvation to believers. The grace of salvation already includes the grace that satisfies the needs of life. Therefore, even if you encounter a brief trial in your life, do not lose gratitude for that trial. The main specialty of the Israelites in the wilderness is resentment, which is 'doing because they want to perish without grumbling. Eventually, most of the Israelites perished in the wilderness. However, if you go out with the belief that God guides your life concretely, you will surely experience the grace of God who provides abundantly whenever you need it.