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"I am about to rain bread from heaven (לֶחֶם מִן־הַשָּׁמָיִם) for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my Torah or not" (Exod. 16:4). Note that while God graciously provided the miracle of manna, the people were required to receive it for themselves. Note further that a portion was given for just that day, and storing it up for later use (except for the Sabbath) resulted in rottenness and decay (Exod. 16:20). By being required to collect their daily bread the people learned that God's blessing and their efforts worked together. Our sustenance is a gift from heaven, though we must reach out to take hold of it...
"Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD" (Exod. 16:23). Here is the first mention of the obligation to observe the Sabbath, which is introduced in connection with the requirement for the people to collect a double portion of manna on Friday for the following day. The sages here note that the Sabbath and the manna both underscore our complete dependency on God as the source of our sustenance.
"I will test them to see whether they will walk in my Torah or not" (Exod. 16:4). This is the test to see whether we will trust God to meet our needs... After all, it is one thing to believe God can help you and yet another to trust that it is so. Peace comes when belief and trust are unified within the heart - when the one who firmly believes completely trusts as well. God gave bread from heaven to test us: "And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD" (Deut. 8:3). God humbles us, which is really the greatest of blessings, since we then learn to rely on God's strength and love to meet all our needs.
כִּי לא עַל־הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם
כִּי עַל־כָּל־מוֹצָא פִי־יהוה יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם
kee · loh · al-ha·le'·chem · le·va·doh · yee-che·yeh · ha·ah·dahm
kee · al-kohl-moh·tza · fee-Adonai · yee-che·yeh · ha·ah·dahm
"Man does not live on bread alone, but by everything that comes
from the mouth of the LORD does man live" (Deut. 8:3)
Hebrew Study Card
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