11/15/2023 Daily Devotion – 40 years of manna, and then it stopped!

“The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.” — Exodus 16:35 (NIV84)

I have often tried to wrap my mind around a generation of Israelites who grew up in the desert. As you recall, because the Israelites were disobedient when told to cross over the Jordan river and possess the promised land, they were left to wander. During those 40 years, most of the original Israelites who experienced the exodus died, and their descendants later inherited the promised land. I wonder what it must have been like for them. They only knew one kind of life, a life in which God directed every step and provided daily every meal. On the day they crossed the Jordan the manna and the quail ceased.

Did God shut them off? Did He abandon them? Of course not! The provision simply changed. No longer were manna and quail necessary, because God was now bringing the Israelites into a land flowing with milk and honey. As they defeated the people of Canaan, they gradually took over fields, vineyards, herds and homes that were already mature and productive. Sometimes we think that God has somehow stopped providing for us when in fact it is simply a change of provision. God loves us! He will never forsake or abandon us. You can count on that!

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church

Let the world see Jesus in you!

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