God rescued his people from Egypt so that they could live a different kind of life: a life of faith. As they travelled through the desert they were already being taught about this new kind of life. To have faith is to let God be God, to trust him with our needs and to focus on his bigger purpose. In the story so far, we have seen that the people are struggling to trust God; but God is gracious and is showing them, again and again, that he is trustworthy. In Exodus 16 their demands show that they are not just struggling to believe but rejecting the faith-posture altogether. They want tangible assurance that things are going to be okay. They are not content to trust God with their daily needs. Their demand for food does not arise because they are starving and have nothing. They have flocks and herds with them (17:3). What they are seeking here is repeated proof of God’s willingness to give them what they want. This is not faith. They are grumbling not about a lack of food, but about having to trust God for their provision. This amounts to a rejection of the life of faith. God graciously shows them yet again that he will look after their needs by raining down bread from the sky and sending quail among them. You would think that this would end all doubt once and for all. But it does not. That is because the issue for these people is not that of a struggle to have faith but a complete rejection of a life of faith.
Reflect on which areas of your life God is calling you to trust him more.
Read Exodus 16
