Ex. 16:35 – “And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.”

Num. 11:6 – “But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.”

​The Almighty is complete and entire of Himself. He needs nothing to make him happy, fulfilled, satisfied, or sound. This is good, for He receives precious little thanks from most of the creatures He has so lovingly and wonderfully created.

Two major points stick out in the verses given above to illustrate this. In the Exodus passage, we read that God’s manna lasted forty years. Imagine never having to cook a meal for that length of time. But imagine also, as we read in the Numbers passage, people growing tired of what God had provided so well, so completely, so mercifully, for so many, and for so long. That is what happened during Israel’s forty-year wilderness wanderings when, before the very presence of the God that had miraculously delivered them and now fed them, they complained that they were hungry for leeks and onions and longed to return to Egypt (Num. 11:5). Desiring condiments to a meal rather than the meal itself! Wanting steak sauce rather than the steak!

God knew they would starve soon, so He fed them, just as He promises His children of all ages (Matt. 6:8; Lk. 12:30).

How ungrateful the Children of Israel seem to us as we read this story and try to imagine the setting. They must have forgotten that 430-year stay in Egypt when they were slaves and nearly starving. Preferring the overseers’ whips to the gentle, guiding hand of God?--what were they thinking?! They simply awoke one morning after they started the journey and found small, round (“cracker-like” we might call them) pieces of food that were both sweet and nourishing, lying on the ground. How delicious manna must have been at first! But over time, as they grew older during their journey of unbelief to Canaan, the Israelites got tired of it and complained that it was "all they had." Got tired of God’s best for them – this nourishing, tasty, appealing, complete, and satisfying food. 

For all the world, it seems that they were complaining that God’s best is simply not good enough. 

That manna was so unusual that they couldn’t even name it, other than to call it “manna,” which means “What is it?” What is it indeed! How many times today do we take for granted that which our Saviour gives us? When God gives us His best, He deserves our thanks rather than our complaints! Let us not miss the lesson!  God’s redeemed people are cared for and never betrayed by our Father in Heaven, for He has promised never to leave or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). What a wonderful God we serve! “Be ye thankful” we are told (Col. 3:15). 

So let us thank Him and devote our praise to Him alone, and leave our accursed Egypts behind us.