Perhaps it was a writing style, but sometimes the way God is depicted in the Torah doesn’t match our current confession of God’s nature. For example, God seemed tentative about human nature and wondered about their response to a stimulus – that of blessings. That is contrary to an understanding of an all-knowing God. Today’s Holy Nougat is one such case.
Exodus 16:4-5 AFV
[4] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the heavens for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain amount every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law or not. [5] And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, they shall prepare what they bring in. And it shall be twice as much as they gather day by day.”
*Just Enough*
This depiction of YHWH is challenging to me because my experience says that although humans are capable of selfishness, some do practice self-control. In addition, the complaint in the Nougat yesterday centred on people’s desire to gratify the flesh (they longed for the fleshpots of Egypt), which suggests that YHWH already saw the precedent of human behaviour. When the Children of Israel were finally in a position to think about limits for themselves, they vacillated between the extremes of praise to God and complaining about their situation.
Point to Ponder
How do you respond to this depiction of God as One Who tests humanity regularly?
Application
YHWH intended to challenge the Children of Israel to take a prescribed amount – only what they needed for each day. And today, God asks us to do the same. Hence, we pray, ‘Give us *today our daily bread*’. Y’shua taught us in the model prayer that we should only ask for what we need for the moment. The question is, in situations of scarcity or where the potential to accumulate wealth presents itself, would it be as easy for us to use restraint? Would we see the value of just enough?
So many of us are inclined to take a bit more than we need, with the aim of ‘saving for a rainy day’. In those cases, obeying God’s law becomes secondary to our ‘need’ for wealth accumulation. Y’shua cautions us in Matthew 6:19-21 that what we need to safeguard is heavenly wealth. He further indicated that what we often hoard on earth can perish or get stolen. The heist of the crown jewels from the Louvre bears testimony to that reality.
Ultimately, our response to God’s blessings is an issue of trust: Do we trust YHWH to meet us at our points of need? If so, will we restrict ourselves to ‘_just enough_’ of God’s bounty when commanded?
Siblings, I’m still not sure that YHWH wanted to know whether the Children of Israel would be obedient. Rather, I suspect that YHWH needed them to unlearn selfishness, which also may be a lesson for many of us. I pray that when put to the test, we will be found faithful.
Self-Check
How about us, are we inclined to practice restraint, taking ‘just enough’ as directed by God?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
