Exodus 16:12-15 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹² “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³ In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. ¹⁴ And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?”  For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”

Posting the same verses three days in a row acknowledges how easy it is to overlook important issues in the light of obvious insights. Today it is the phrasing in verse 12, “you shall be filled”.

While the quail covered the camp and the abundance is noted there is no mention of satisfaction. It is possible that they could have eaten all night and not been satisfied. It is the bread of life that fills our souls, that satisfies our hunger.

How many times have we stood in front of the refrigerator staring at the contents thinking, “I want something good.”? It isn’t enough to fill our bellies, we want something that tastes good.

Psalm 34:8a English Standard Version (ESV) Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good:

Psalm 22:26a English Standard Version (ESV) The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;

1 Corinthians 10:17 English Standard Version (ESV) Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

John 6:51 English Standard Version (ESV) I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Exodus 16:12-15 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹² “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³ In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. ¹⁴ And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?”  For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”

Here it is Christmas morning and I only covered the issue of the quail yesterday. Today we shall endeavor to take meaning from the manna, the bread of life. Since it is Christmas day let us acknowledge that the Christ child is the bread of life. Like the manna we stare at Him in wonder and have to ask ourselves how this baby can fulfill the promise of life eternal. We lack understanding and must inquire and receive instruction.

Since we do not live in the Exodus and Moses is not present to hear God and tell us the meaning, where should we turn? As babes in Christ we had pastors and teachers and through discipleship we came to understand that we can hear the Holy Spirit who is given as our companion in the Word. We went from milk to meat over time. This has taken some of us a lifetime. For all of us it has taken us from morning until evening or as God said to us the evening and the morning became the first day.

We wake up each morning and receive the bread of life, Jesus, the Word. We are awed by His appearance, new every morning. We inquire as to meaning, and how to eat of it today. As we partake of our daily bread all day long by evening it has been transformed into meat fit to sustain us all through the night.

In the morning, we begin again.