Life Stinks When...
We trust in this world's system of hoarding, gratification, and worry.
After the Jews left Egypt by the Exodus, they began complaining that it would’ve been better to die in Egypt than to wander in the desert and slowly succumb to starvation.
“Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this desert to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Exodus 16:3).
After Moses asked the LORD (YHWH) for help, the LORD promised to send “manna from heaven” every morning for the Israelites to eat.
If you ask, “What is manna?” There is no good answer because even the people who picked it up in the morning and ate it during the day asked, “What is it?”
The Hebrew word “manna” literally means “What is it?”
Though God’s people couldn’t tell what it was, the LORD provided it to satisfy their hunger and nourish their bodies.
However, the Jews were only to pick up enough manna to last them for the day. They were to collect no more than what their family needed daily.
“And Moses said, “Collect just enough manna so that none is left for the next morning.” - Exodus 16:19
This is the origin of Jesus teaching us to pray:
“Give us this day, our daily bread.”
God is interested in us trusting Him for our daily needs, not future needs.
So if you sometimes think, “I don’t know how I’m going to make it tomorrow (or next week, or next month, or next year), remember the lesson about manna.”
God will provide your needs daily according to His riches.
Why…
Despite the LORD’s command to the contrary, the people of GOD began accumulating daily manna to hoard for future days.
The future manna they collected began to “stink” (בָּאַשׁ; ba’ash).
“And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” However, they did not heed Moses. Some of them left part of the manna collected until morning, and it bred worms and it began to stink.” - Exodus 16:19-20
This Hebrew word stink (בָּאַשׁ; ba’ash) occurs in other places in the book of Exodus:
When the king of Egypt required the Hebrew slaves to make more bricks while at the same time cutting back the straw rations to make bricks, the people said to Moses and Aaron:
“The Lord look on you and judge because you have made us stink (בָּאַשׁ; ba’ash) in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us” (Exodus 5:21).
In addition, during the Plagues of Egypt:
“The fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank (בָּאַשׁ) so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile” (7:21; cf. 7:18).
“Dead frogs gathered in heaps, “and the land stank (בָּאַשׁ)” (8:14).
The odor of Egypt returns when the manna begins to stink in the wilderness.
Trust God and Obey Him
The “stink” of manna collected beyond the command of daily provision taught the Hebrews something valuable about God and their faith in Him.
In Egypt, they remembered the “meat pots” and “full baskets of bread ” (16:3).
Yet, the Egyptians operated in open rebellion against God. The judgment that came from God brought stink to their lives.
When a person trusts God and obeys His commands, life doesn’t stink.
When the Israelites finally followed God’s instructions, the manna “did not stink anymore” Exodus 6:24.
The life of trust and obedience to the LORD is sweet in comparison to the stench of slavery and sin in Egypt.
So, “if life stinks” right now, I suggest the first step in removing the stink is to lay aside any anxiety or worry about tomorrow and vocalize your faith in the LORD today.
Then, as you express your trust in Him, listen to what He says and forget the ways of this world.
The LORD’s ways are often opposite of this world’s path. Trust and obey Him, and watch the stink in life disappear.
In the garden of trust blooms the sweetest rose,
Where my daily faith in God steadily grows.
With each step I take in His light, peace I find,
A melody of joy in this believer’s heart and mind.
But in the shadow of self, where indulgence leads,
The air turns sour, choked by my selfish deeds.
Worry takes root, and doubts begin to creep,
In faithless soil where true peace cannot sleep.
So I trust and obey God for sweet fragrance to rise,
Like a morning dew beneath His endless skies.
For to live only for self means heaven’s sweet song
Turns to a bitter echo, where all in life goes wrong.
The point you made about vocalizing faith is an important one and one I need to be reminded of often. Saying it affirms it in your own heart as much as it testifies of it to others.
I felt convicted after writing my reply to this post and being very judgmental and seemingly self-righteous in condemning this world and culture. It came to mind afterwards that I am the most despicable and offensive of all and it is only through God's grace and redemption that I have been changed from a pile of rubbish to something of value to God. I need to be more aware of who I have been when being critical of others.