April 2: God Will Provide an Omer

Have you ever been curious about something, but after researching the topic, you only end up more confused than before?

Well this is what happened to me a few days ago as I was reading Exodus. I arrived at chapter 16, where the Israelites are first introduced to manna, a flaky and sweet bread that God provided daily to them as they were wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years.

The Lord commanded the Israelites to each gather an omer of Manna. I googled the word “omer” to get a better sense of the measurement so I could make note of it in my Bible. However, I quickly found the differing opinions on what an omer could be:

Wikipedia gave a very confusing answer:

1 omer = 1/10 ephah = 7.2 logs = 7.2 Sumerian minas = 7.2/60 maris = 3.64 liters = 7.68 pints

Not even kidding! You can look it up yourself.

On the other hand, discussion forums and blog posts had their own confusion, too.

Some would say as little as half a pint. Then others would write 4 pints, 4.2 pints, 5.2 pints, 7.5 pints, all the way up to 9.1 pints.

I was more confused than when I had started and was at a loss about which one to write down when I came across one last article. It was titled “An Omer is One-Tenth an Ephah”.

In it, the writer gave me much clarity. He says:

“So, at the end of the 16th chapter, after continuing in my confusion, I read an answer: An omer is one tenth of an ephah! Well, of course it is…thank you very much! Problem solved.

Which begs another question…What’s an ephah?

But, you know, the answer I think lies more in what I don’t know than it does in what I do. You see, it doesn’t really matter! What matters is that the omer was just enough! It was all they needed for the day.

No more…and no less!”

It totally clicked! At the end of the day, I wasn’t going to be able to write down the exact measurement in my Bible, but who cares? I could rest assured that an omer was just enough.

And even today, God’s word promises that He will still provide us our omer! He daily provides an omer of grace, an omer of strength, an omer of peace. It is just enough, and exactly what we need!

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you,

so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times,

you may abound in every good work.”

2 Corinthians 9:8

God, we praise you and thank you for providing each of us

exactly what we need every day.

We pray that during this season of the unknown,

we will rest assured that you are in control.

Today, give us an omer of your grace.

Amen.

Shelter in Peace,

Laura Johnson