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What Is It?

           That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’” (Exodus 16:13-16)

          My pastor sent my mind on a rabbit trail yesterday morning. We were supposed to be considering the parable of the mustard seed, but he mentioned manna and my brain turned into a Greyhound. Fortunately, I was able to trap both the rabbit and the dog and take notes on the actual sermon and go out to lunch. But after I got home and got some canning done, it was time to let them run again.

          The key is the idea that the term manna was Hebrew for “What is it?” They wanted food, and God provided it, but it wasn’t what they expected. How often does God answer our prayers with something we don’t expect or don’t understand? We might be tempted to say He hasn’t answered because He hasn’t given us what we think we asked for, but He’s given us what we need? Whether it’s in anger or confusion, we ask, “What is it?” or “What is this?”

          Each person was instructed to take as much as they needed. An omer was between a half a gallon and a gallon. Of course, some folks gathered extra and tried to keep it overnight. I probably would have been one of them. I’d want to dehydrate, freeze, or can it, but it went bad and got wormy overnight, except on the night before the Sabbath. They collected a portion for the Sabbath, and it didn’t go bad.

          I thought about the number of times I’ve prayed for something I couldn’t name. I wanted something that would meet my need. Now I have a name for the thing I pray for when I don’t know what it is. I pray for  Manna, for “What is it?” or “Whatzit?” And then, instead of getting greedy or lazy, I gather only as much as I need, because tomorrow’s  Manna will be sufficient for tomorrow. Unless God tells me otherwise. 

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