Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I’m about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people should go out and gather a day’s portion every day that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.
– Exodus 16:4
There’s so much going on here in this chapter in a scene that will be repeated over and over and over again throughout the rest of the Bible, as a picture of God’s provision for His people on a daily basis. So they are in need of food as they have now left Egypt.
The people of God are already forgetting the goodness of God. I mean, He’s just delivered them out of slavery. He just brought them through an entire body of water. The Red Sea, split the sea in half, led them through on dry ground. Like it wasn’t even wet ground, it was dry ground. He led them through, brought that water down on the Egyptians so they could not overtake them, and yet two chapters after this happened, one chapter after they praised God for that, they are complaining before God saying, “Would that we had died by the hand of Lord in the land of Egypt.”
God, we desperately need you. Above all physical needs, we need the grace of God in our life.
Exodus 16:4 Assures Us That God Provides for His People
In this story, don’t we see a picture of ourselves, of our tendency to forget the goodness of God, our tendency to doubt His love for us, His leadership in our lives, our propensity to even complain before God, when He has promised to give us everything we need on a daily basis? So He says here in verse four, “Behold, I’m about to rain bread from heaven for you. I’m going to provide for you. I’m going to provide for my people.” This is a promise God gives to His people over and over and over again in the Bible to all who trust in Him. That’s the picture as you read the end of this verse, and the people should go out and gather a day’s portion every day that I may test them whether they will walk in my law or not.
God desires for His children to trust Him, to look to Him, and trust Him to provide for them on a day-by-day, moment-by-moment basis, and is this not what prayer is? A day by day, moment by moment, looking to God, saying, “God, I need you for this and I trust you to provide. God, I need you in this way. God, I depend on you in this way. And, God, I look to you for this, and I trust you to provide.”
So we pray, O God, help us to trust your goodness, to trust your grace, to trust in your provision, which you promised to give. We praise you, O God, for your promise to provide for us, for your word that is our daily bread as we see that imagery play out after Exodus 16 here. God, we praise you for speaking to us. I think about the time that I had with you this morning. God, thank you, thank you, thank you for meeting with me, for speaking to me, for hearing from me, and not just me, but for all of us, all of your people who look to you, all of your people who trust in you.
Exodus 16:4 Reminds Us That We Need God
God, we need you. We can do nothing without you. We need you more than we need daily bread. Need you more than we need food today. We need you more than we need water today. You are our sustenance. You are our life. Our joy. You are satisfaction and we praise you for your faithfulness to provide for us for all that we need, for your faithfulness to work and all things together for our good. Even when we are tempted, prone to complain; even when we are prone to doubt your loving leadership in our lives, we praise you for lovingly leading our lives.
Let Us Pray…
So we say together today, in prayer, based on Exodus 16:4 and how this story is repeated over and over and over again throughout your word, we say together today, we trust in you. You provide us daily what we need, all that we need. You are faithful. Good. You are gracious. You are the best, most loving, most perfect Father, and we praise you for your faithful provision in our lives. And we live today with faith in you, with trust in you to provide us with everything we need as we look to you, as we walk in your law, in your ways, as we follow your commands and we trust in your love.
In Jesus’ name, we pray. In the name of the one who died on the cross and rose from the grave, you have proven yourself trustworthy with our lives for eternity. And, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
