This passage from the Israelites’ history may have resonance with a well-known portion of our New Testament — the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:25-31, Jesus instructs his disciples to resist worrying about what they’ll eat or what they’ll wear, pointing out the ways in which God provides sustenance for even flowers and birds. From Exodus 16, we see the Israelites being instructed to gather the food they need just for that day. Further on we read that this instruction was so serious that any extra that had been collected was found to have spoiled by that second day (excepting the Sabbath).
It can be tempting to get stuck in a cycle of slaving away and planning for the future. If not tempting, then certainly accidental. In seasons of rest, how can we be intentional with actively resting? What practices or societal pressures threaten to draw us back into the “rat race”? How should we believe or how should we live if we were to take this admonition seriously?
Scripture passages: Exodus 16:1-5; Psalm 62:5-8
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