以神的方法遵行神的旨意
出埃及記十六章11至24節
11耶和華曉諭摩西說：
12我已經聽見以色列人的怨言。你告訴他們說：到黃昏的時候，你們要吃肉，早晨必有食物得飽，你們就知道我是耶和華─你們的神。
13到了晚上，有鵪鶉飛來，遮滿了營；早晨在營四圍的地上有露水。
14露水上升之後，不料，野地面上有如白霜的小圓物。
15以色列人看見，不知道是甚麼，就彼此對問說：這是甚麼呢？摩西對他們說：這就是耶和華給你們吃的食物。
16耶和華所吩咐的是這樣：你們要按著各人的飯量，為帳棚裡的人，按著人數收起來，各拿一俄梅珥。
17以色列人就這樣行；有多收的，有少收的。
18及至用俄梅珥量一量，多收的也沒有餘，少收的也沒有缺；各人按著自己的飯量收取。
19摩西對他們說：所收的，不許甚麼人留到早晨。
20然而他們不聽摩西的話，內中有留到早晨的，就生蟲變臭了；摩西便向他們發怒。
21他們每日早晨，按著各人的飯量收取，日頭一發熱，就消化了。
22到第六天，他們收了雙倍的食物，每人兩俄梅珥。會眾的官長來告訴摩西；
23摩西對他們說：耶和華這樣說：明天是聖安息日，是向耶和華守的聖安息日。你們要烤的就烤了，要煮的就煮了，所剩下的都留到早晨。
24他們就照摩西的吩咐留到早晨，也不臭，裡頭也沒有蟲子。
信息分享
以色列人在曠野飄流的期間，神供應食物給他們的方式，實在十分奇妙。你有沒有想過，在整整的四十年，以色列人每晚睡覺的時候，他們的帳棚之中都沒有留下任何食物？然而，到每天清晨，神卻預備了食物供他們收取。
神只供應他們當天的食物，除了安息日例外。他們若想把食物留到明天，食物就會變壞（20節）。神所賜的嗎哪好像種子般細小，他們要吃飽，就要相當辛苦地彎身拾取足夠的分量。而且，他們要每天早晨出外收取，否則當日頭發熱，嗎哪就會溶化。（21節）
這件事對我們今天有甚麼屬靈的教訓呢？神已經賜下祂的話語──聖經──作為我們每天的靈糧，等待我們去收取。然而，除非我們願意花時間去尋求和細讀神的話語，否則，我們便不能吸收當中的「營養」。耶利米先知曾說：「我得著你的言語就當食物吃了；你的言語是我心中的歡喜快樂。」（耶十五16）
百姓每天起來的第一件事，就是要去收取嗎哪，否則它就會溶化。對信徒來說，每天早晨先收取靈糧，以免其他事情霸佔我們的心思和時間，也是最明智的做法。
我們很容易會讓其他事情佔用了我們親近主的時間；但神的心意卻始終如一。祂希望我們每天先花時間去享用靈糧，然後才有充足的力量去面對世界的各種挑戰。但願我們都在主面前立志，每天起來的第一件事，就是去收取神為我們所預備的靈糧。
某位知名佈道家的座右銘：
「先吃靈糧，後吃早餐。」
DOING GOD'S WILL IN GOD'S WAY
Exodus 16:11-24
11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
12 “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel.Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread.And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”
13 So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp.
14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it? ” For they did not know what it was.
And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.
16 This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’”
17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less.
18 So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.Every man had gathered according to each one’s need.
19 And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.”
20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses.But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank.And Moses was angry with them.
21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need.And when the sun became hot, it melted.
22 And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one.And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
23 Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD.Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’”
24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.
Message
It was marvellous how God provided food for the Children of Israel during their time in the wilderness. Do you realise that every night for forty years, the whole camp went to bed without any food left in their tents? Yet every morning there was God's provision waiting to be gathered.
It was a daily provision, except on the Sabbath. If they tried to keep the food any longer, it went bad (v.20). Yet it must have been hard work gathering that manna. It was like small seeds and they had to pick it up from the ground, almost a gallon per person per day. Yet this was God's way of providing for them.
It also had to be gathered early in the morning (v.21). God did not rain down loaves of bread, only the material out of which bread could be made.
What are the spiritual lessons in this story for us today? God has provided spiritual food for us in his book, the Bible. It is there waiting for us to take it. But food from the Word of God only comes as we are willing to spend time digging into it. What did Jeremiah say? (Jeremiah 16:16). 'Thy words were found and I did eat them. Thy words became for me a joy and the delight from the heat.'
The manna had to be gathered first thing every morning, or it would melt away. The best time to look for spiritual food is in the morning, before everything else crowds out both time and desire.
It is so easy to let other things take the place of our time with the Lord and his Word. But God's plan is still the same. He wants us to find daily bread to strengthen our souls. He wants us to do this each morning so that we will be spiritually filled before we face the day and the world outside. Can we say today with a fresh determination: 'Lord, I want this daily bread and I will try to put you first day by day!'?
MOTTO OF A WELL-KNOWN EVANGELIST: 'No Bible, no breakfast'