Psalm 78:18-20 Be Content

Psalm 78:18-20  “And in their heart they put God to the test By asking food according to their desire.  Then they spoke against God; They said, ‘Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?  ‘Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out, And streams were overflowing; Can He give bread also? Will He provide meat for His people?’" (NASB)

After much persuasion by the appeal of Moses and the plagues of God Pharaoh let the people of Israel go out of Egypt.  Of course he thought better of his decision only to have his army destroyed when the Red Sea came crashing in on them after Israel passed through.  After such a miraculous deliverance you would think the people of Israel would have been on their face and totally in awe of their God.  You would have thought they would have been attentive to every word Moses had to say to them from God so that every move they made and every word they said would be pleasing to their deliverer.

But sorry to say, their memories were short.

Out in the wilderness God provided for the people of Israel every morning providing for them manna.  As best I can understand it this was a bread like substance that would form with the dew and would be gathered each morning.  They could gather just what they needed for that day because it would not last.  Keeping and eating manna beyond that day would at least result in a spoiled meal if not sickness from the eating.  The bottom line is that God provided all the needs for His people as they were moving through the wilderness.

The people though became restless with the same old thing day after day.  They weren’t satisfied with just having their needs met they complained for variety and they challenged Moses to use his staff to provide water when God hadn’t given that instruction.  And they begged for meat instead of plain old manna.  Well, God gave them meat.  He gave them birds from the sky and they ate.  They ate too much and some ate so much they actually died.

God can always provide.  He can always provide enough and He can always provide too much.  Which will it be?  What will you ask for?  Maybe the better question is what is it that makes you happy?  With what are you content?  If God promises to meet you’re every day needs with that we should be content.  When He does provide that extra something special that’s great, enjoy!  But beware – too much of a good thing may kill you!  AMEN!