以神的方法遵行神的旨意
出埃及记十六章11至24节
11耶和华晓谕摩西说：
12我已经听见以色列人的怨言。你告诉他们说：到黄昏的时候，你们要吃肉，早晨必有食物得饱，你们就知道我是耶和华─你们的神。
13到了晚上，有鹌鹑飞来，遮满了营；早晨在营四围的地上有露水。
14露水上升之后，不料，野地面上有如白霜的小圆物。
15以色列人看见，不知道是甚么，就彼此对问说：这是甚么呢？摩西对他们说：这就是耶和华给你们吃的食物。
16耶和华所吩咐的是这样：你们要按着各人的饭量，为帐棚里的人，按着人数收起来，各拿一俄梅珥。
17以色列人就这样行；有多收的，有少收的。
18及至用俄梅珥量一量，多收的也没有余，少收的也没有缺；各人按着自己的饭量收取。
19摩西对他们说：所收的，不许甚么人留到早晨。
20然而他们不听摩西的话，内中有留到早晨的，就生虫变臭了；摩西便向他们发怒。
21他们每日早晨，按着各人的饭量收取，日头一发热，就消化了。
22到第六天，他们收了双倍的食物，每人两俄梅珥。会众的官长来告诉摩西；
23摩西对他们说：耶和华这样说：明天是圣安息日，是向耶和华守的圣安息日。你们要烤的就烤了，要煮的就煮了，所剩下的都留到早晨。
24他们就照摩西的吩咐留到早晨，也不臭，里头也没有虫子。
信息分享
以色列人在旷野飘流的期间，神供应食物给他们的方式，实在十分奇妙。你有没有想过，在整整的四十年，以色列人每晚睡觉的时候，他们的帐棚之中都没有留下任何食物？然而，到每天清晨，神却预备了食物供他们收取。
神只供应他们当天的食物，除了安息日例外。他们若想把食物留到明天，食物就会变坏（20节）。神所赐的吗哪好像种子般细小，他们要吃饱，就要相当辛苦地弯身拾取足够的分量。而且，他们要每天早晨出外收取，否则当日头发热，吗哪就会溶化。（21节）
这件事对我们今天有甚么属灵的教训呢？神已经赐下祂的话语──圣经──作为我们每天的灵粮，等待我们去收取。然而，除非我们愿意花时间去寻求和细读神的话语，否则，我们便不能吸收当中的「营养」。耶利米先知曾说：「我得着你的言语就当食物吃了；你的言语是我心中的欢喜快乐。」（耶十五16）
百姓每天起来的第一件事，就是要去收取吗哪，否则它就会溶化。对信徒来说，每天早晨先收取灵粮，以免其他事情霸占我们的心思和时间，也是最明智的做法。
我们很容易会让其他事情占用了我们亲近主的时间；但神的心意却始终如一。祂希望我们每天先花时间去享用灵粮，然后才有充足的力量去面对世界的各种挑战。但愿我们都在主面前立志，每天起来的第一件事，就是去收取神为我们所预备的灵粮。
某位知名布道家的座右铭：
「先吃灵粮，后吃早餐。」
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'