Wilderness Economy

12 "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'" 13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. (Exodus 6:12-14)

Approximately one month after God miraculously brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, those same witnesses to God's power began a pattern of forgetting and complaining. They forgot the harsh circumstances of their time in slavery. They forgot the ways God had protected them when their oppressors were beset with plagues. They forgot that God did not have to hold back the waters and allow then to cross safely on dry ground. Rather than allowing gratitude to strengthen them, they allowed the vastness of the wilderness and the uncertainty of their time there to fuel fear. But God saw past the surface of their grumbling to the depth of their need for reassurance about God's presence and provision.

God supplied both - the reassurance they didn't ask for, and the provision they pestered Moses for - but only just enough. There was only enough food for what each family would need each day - none was to be kept for later. In God's wilderness economy everyone got what they needed by looking each morning and evening for what God had promised, and by being obedient to the plan God had provided.

Every sphere of societal life can be characterized by the extremes of excess and poverty - some hoard while others are deprived. We forget that we are supposed to be care-takers of the earth and of each other. As residents of the wilderness, always between our past and our promise, may we learn to use only what we need, so there will always be enough for everyone - for God's mercies continue to be new each day.

13 But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matthew 20:13-16)