Reflecting on the Manna (Beth Moore Bible Study)

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Reflecting on the Manna:  God's Provision

As we begin week 3 of our Bible study, A Woman’s Heart:  God's Dwelling Place by Beth Moore, Beth wants us to reflect back on what we learned about God’s provision of manna in the wilderness.  We learned that God provided physical food for the children of Israel as they journeyed through the wilderness.  Today, God provides spiritual food and Jesus is our “manna from Heaven.”

So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. – John 6:30-35

God always gives us everything we need.

If we look back at previous lesson about manna in the wilderness, we will be reminded that manna was always provided in the mornings.  It came daily.  However, for the children of Israel to be nourished by the manna, they had to go out, early, and gather it.  In the same way, we must develop a relationship with Jesus.  We must reach out to Him daily and gather all He has to offer and all  He has to offer us is sufficient for each of us according to our individual needs.

When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat. – Exodus 16:18

Until this study, I never thought of the provision of manna as an humbling process.

You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. – Deuteronomy 8:2-3 

 A few notes I wrote in the margin of my workbook:

*Not only the hunger, but also the feeding with manna was part of the humbling process because humans want to be self sufficient.  Manna only comes from God.  We can’t grow it.  We have to depend on God alone for it.

*When you cease having problems common to man, you cease being effective.

To benefit from Beth Moore’s full study, consider ordering your own workbook and completing the entire study on your own or with a group.

Get your copy of A Woman’s Heart:  God’s Dwelling Place here.

You can also download video sessions here.

 Read all posts in this series here.

If you are doing the Bible study by yourself or if you wish to host the study, you'll need the leader kit which includes the DVDs.  You can get that here.