When the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, God provided for them each and every day. They had been miraculously delivered from Egypt, but now they were hungry and tired. They wanted food in their stomachs and some even wanted to return to Egypt.
So God sent manna – bread from heaven – in Exodus 16. Each morning when the people woke up, there was manna on the ground. We don’t know exactly what it was or how it tasted, but it made a kind of bread and this was their nourishment. Supernaturally, God sent it each morning.
Each day, they had just enough food for their needs. If they saved any manna for the next day, it would go bad. Once a week, they would get a double portion so that they didn’t need to collect it on the Sabbath. During their many years in the wilderness, God always had food for them. He provided quail meat in the desert and water from a rock when needed. Daily, he reminded his children that he would provide and care for them.
Moses told the children of Israel why God sent manna: “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 8:3). This was the passage of Scripture that Jesus quoted when tempted by the devil.
This teaches us two things. First, God is our provider and will care for us. Second, what is really important in life is knowing him. We worry about our daily bread, but God is interested in our obedience and Christ-like development. If we would just trust him for what is needed, then we could really focus on what God has for us.