Deuteronomy 8:4

שִׂמְלָ֨תְךָ֜ לֹ֤א בָֽלְתָה֙ מֵֽעָלֶ֔יךָ וְרַגְלְךָ֖ לֹ֣א בָצֵ֑קָה זֶ֖ה אַרְבָּעִ֥ים שָׁנָֽה׃

The clothes upon you did not wear out, nor did your feet swell these forty years

There’s nothing quite like back to school shopping. This time of year, parents are taking inventory and discovering that their children need far more than anyone realized. Thank God kids grow, but when they are suddenly a few sizes larger than they were at the beginning of last school year, the clothes and shoes we purchased not long ago are suddenly of no use.

In that sense, I envy the Israelites for one particular miracle that took place during their forty-year journey through the desert. Sure, manna was miraculous food from God, waiting for them each morning. Water flowing from a rock in the middle of the wilderness was also fairly impressive. But clothes and shoes that don’t wear out for forty years? That is a miracle every parent can appreciate.

Of course, this miracle was about more than saving the Israelites a trip to the mall. God provided for their basic needs so that they could focus on the larger task before them: becoming a people, preparing to enter Canaan, and building a relationship with God. Still, as we prepare for another school year, it is hard not to appreciate the practical side of the miracle. Manna from heaven was wonderful, but forty years without having to replace clothes and shoes may be even better.