In Exodus Chapter 16, we find the Children of Israel wandering through the “Seen” desert, and they were none too happy with Moses and Aaron. They were famished and complained loudly that they might as well have died back in Egypt, rather than starve to death in the wilderness.  Still possessing a slave mentality, they weren’t accustomed to being responsible for their own lives, such as gathering their own food and were completely dependent on their leaders. Even after being led out of Egypt, they continued to grumble to Moses, and questioning God.

God told Moses He would rain bread from the heavens and that everyone should gather one day’s ration daily. Thus, they would be dependent on God for their daily bread (literally) and therefore would follow His rules. On the sixth day, they should collect two days’ worth so they could rest on the Sabbath. Moses also told the people that the Lord would give them meat in the evenings, and in the morning they could eat bread until they were satiated. Note that though they were promised meat in the evening, they weren’t promised meat “to satiety.” Here again is a lesson in moderation – let’s not behave like gluttons (remember the Seven Deadly Sins?)

 The Israelites later named the “bread” that rained from Heaven “manna,” which looked like white coriander seeds, but tasted like wafers dipped in honey. In Hebrew, “manna” not only means the bread that fell from Heaven, but also a “portion.”  A linguistic lesson: live according to the portion we need.

Why for so many years did we conspicuously consume things not all of us could afford: mega-mansions, Hummers, play stations, Wii’s, gizmos galore.
 
And it appears over-indulgence isn’t just a modern ailment. Moses told the Israelites they should gather only the amount of manna they needed to feed their household, and that they should not leave any leftovers for morning. Those who didn’t gather enough discovered they had enough to eat. Those who had leftovers found them rotten by morning.

The only day the bread did not rot was Sabbath morning as God did not want them to gather food on the day of rest. Moses reminded them they needed to bake, boil and cook all they needed to eat prior to the Sabbath because on that day they should not be working. In fact, those who foraged for manna on the Sabbath found none in the fields. Translation: there is no portion from heaven for those who work on the Sabbath, inspiring God’s ire, as He asked Moses how long these people would refuse to follow His commandments.

Exodus Chapter 16 teaches us not only about the morality of moderation, but also about industriousness. Check out verse 21. The Children of Israel gathered the manna every morning, because when the sun became hot, it would melt. The early bird does get the worm. Let’s not over-indulge by gathering too much, but let’s also not waste our time: pick when the pickin’ is good.