The description of this substance refers to it as a flake-like thing. Moses tells them "It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat." It didn't matter how much they gathered, when they measured it everyone only had a certain amount. If they tried to store it up for the future, it rotted.
The Manna came to them daily, and it was enough.
We had a discussion about this in our Catechism Revisited Class on Monday. In that class, we were reviewing the Lord's Prayer, particularly the petition which says "Give us this day our daily bread." The Catechism instructs us to give thanks to God, who sends us our daily bread. Inevitably, the discussion had to turn to those who might offer this prayer, but remain hungry.
There are socio-political explanations for why so many in the world do not have daily bread. Many of those reasons come back to the greed and indifference of others. Setting aside socio-politics, I attempted an answer on Monday which I will repeat here. Exodus 16 and that petition in the Lord's Prayer does not answer questions of why some of God's children go hungry. Exodus and the Lord's Prayer teach me to look upon what I have as a gift from God, and understanding them as such motivates me to share my bread with those who have none. God alone can handle the huge problems associated with solving enormous problems, I can only change my small part of it. I can donate to the Clemson Food Pantry. I can send gifts to Lutheran World Relief. I can participate in the CROP Walk for Hunger. I can speak up on behalf of those who have no food. I can't change the world, but becoming grateful for what God has given me I can change the way I see the world, the way I see what has been given me, and the way I use what God has provided.
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