Manna From Heaven

Exo 16:17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less.
Exo 16:18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.

2Co 8:13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness
2Co 8:14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.
2Co 8:15 As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack."
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The people of Israel had complained and the Lord had heard their complaint. He had provided for them bread from heaven. In response to "Give us this day our daily bread" the Lord provided manna. But to get this bread it had to be gathered. So the people of Israel went out as a community to gather the bread of heaven. Some were able to gather more and some were able to gather less. Yet all gathered since without the bread they would die. They were in a wilderness that had no means to support them. They were totally dependent upon God providing manna. They had to gather or they would die.

But the manna as it was gathered was brought into a central place. There at that central place, what was gathered was measured into a "OMER” which was about 7 1/2 pints. Each family was given about two quarts for every person their family so that none would go hungry.

The process here was clear. God provided the manna, all worked to get the manna, and everyone received from the community effort the food they needed. No one went hungry regardless of how little manna they were able to bring in that day. Some gathered more and some gathered less, but all benefited the same.

Now these were unique circumstances. Without the manna, people would die. God would not allow the manna to be stored so there was no way to get a surplus of manna. God literally supplied day by day and only on the day before the Sabbath did God allow more to be gathered and stored. There was no other source of economy or food. Survival depended on God providing and on the manna being gathered. God had also dictated the means of distribution. None would go hungry and none would be a glutton. Every aspect of their economy was being dictated for the common good and reflected total dependence upon the LORD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

People were motivated out of fear of starvation to work to bring in the manna. Most of us have never had supper and then not one morsel of food in the house for the next day. That creates a unique sense of need in a person.

The people of Israel did not do well under these restrictions. There was an attempt to create a manna savings account but God made the food stink and become infested with worms. There was an attempt to work seven days a week to increase security and productivity but God refused to provide the manna on the Sabbath. The people eventually had to accept God's economy and provision. They had to rest in the process that God had set up for them by which He would provide for their needs.

Paul uses this passage to reinforce his urging the Corinth Church to provide for the Jerusalem Church during a famine. The Christians in Corinth lived in physical abundance and the Christians in Jerusalem were suffering from a famine. The Corinthians had pledged support to help them and now they had to gather to a central place what they were giving so that the Christians in Jerusalem would be fed.

From Paul's perspective the Church is the new people of God. We are now spiritual Israel. Everything that every Christian has is God's manna from heaven. Today the Corinthian Church has been able to gather more and the Jerusalem Church less, but to be "fair", the Corinthians need to make sure that none of the Jerusalem Christians go hungry. Perhaps next year they will have a famine and then the Jerusalem Church will have to meet their needs. Or perhaps the Jerusalem Church being more mature spiritually may send teachers to share the spiritual bread of the Word of God while the Corinthian Church provides the physical bread that is needed to survive. The idea was that God wants His people to divide what He provides to make sure that none goes hungry. That is how Paul applied this passage in the New Testament.

A modern day example of a person with this type of perspective is found in the book God Owns My Business by Stanley Tam. Dr. R. Stanley Tam, founder of United States Plastic Corp. Dr. Tam and his wife decided that they would be content to live on $50,000 a year regardless of how successful his business became. Regardless of how much money the company earned they took only what was needed to live a modest middle class life and the rest they gave to charity. Dr. Tam actually made God the owner of his business legally. Stanley and Juanita have been able due to this decision to give $100 of millions for the work of the Lord. As Stanley likes to put it: "I like to think of having been a student in the University of Experience....with a minor in business and a major in soul winning.
It is not God's desire for any Christians to go hungry. God has provided enough to make sure all the needs of His children will be met. However, God has also made it that some will gather more and some less. God's desire is to make sure that everyone's family is feed.
Now our circumstances are much more complex. We have credit cards and mortgage loans. We need to remember that the scripture also says that if any refuse to work they should not eat. Laziness is not to be rewarded. The fear of starvation is a powerful motivator to work. All of these factors need to be put into the equation.
Yet, at the end of the day we need to seek God's wisdom about how we might use that which He has given us to help those who have less. It was only because Jesus the Messiah was willing to give up the richness of heaven and become poor for us that we now share in His kingdom. So for us who have received everything we have by grace how can we not be moved to be merciful in how we use our physical wealth. Let us remember that all we have is God's manna. Let us remember ultimately that Jesus the Messiah is God’s manna to us (John 6). Let the gospel guide our giving.