We will begin this lesson in Exodus 16:1 “And they took their
journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel
came unto the wilderness of Sin, which [is] between Elim and Sinai, on
the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the
land of Egypt.”
We see from this that, the children of Israel had been on this
trip exactly one month. The second month was Zif, or May by our
calendar. It seems, they moved as a company, and all were
present at the wilderness of Sin.
Exodus 16:2 “And the whole congregation of the children of Israel
murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:”
We see by this verse 2 that, these people did not learn a lesson at
Marah, because we see them murmur, again, here. They blamed Moses and
Aaron for their problem. When will they ever learn? Next we will hear
their complaint.
Exodus 16:3 “And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to
God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we
sat by the flesh pots, [and] when we did eat bread to the full; for
ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole
assembly with hunger.”
No one put a gun to their head, and made them go with Moses. They
came of their own accord. They just had not learned their lesson yet,
and God allowed them to go through more problems to teach them His
ways. They had forgotten how terrible it was in Egypt, and were looking
back with fond memories of the past, because they had forgotten the
taskmasters. It is easy to complain, and find fault with the present
circumstance, and blame someone else, when the fault is right at home
with your own self. They were even saying that, God brought them out
here to starve them.
Exodus 16:4 “Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain
bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a
certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk
in my law, or no.”
We see that God would answer Moses’ prayer for food. This would not
be like bread they cooked at home, but would be a foodstuff, that would
sustain them on their journey. Notice, they were to gather this each
day. This was another test from God to see, if they would do as He said
or not. There is an interesting Scripture reference to this manna
from heaven in St. John chapter 6 verses 31-51. I will show just a
few chosen verses of that here, but be sure to read all of it. John
6:31 “Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He
gave them bread from heaven to eat.” John 6:32 “Then Jesus said unto
them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread
from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.”
John 6:33 “For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven,
and giveth life unto the world.” John 6:34 “Then said they unto him,
Lord, evermore give us this bread.” John 6:35 “And Jesus said unto
them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger;
and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Be sure and read all
of this from verse 31 through verse 51. I will give you one more
verse of this and then go back to Exodus. John 6:51 “I am the living
bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he
shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which
I will give for the life of the world.” You see, this manna that
rained from heaven was miracle bread, that would save their lives. I
really believe this one day supply at a time indicates, to me, our
daily need for the Word of God (Jesus). We are told to eat the Word of
God. Jesus is the Word. Read St. John chapter 1, and you will see,
that Jesus and the Word are the same.
Exodus 16:5, “And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day
they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as
much as they gather daily.”
This “…twice as much…” on the sixth day would carry them
through their sabbath. They were not to do any work on the sabbath.
Exodus 16:6 “And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of
Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out
from the land of Egypt:”
When God miraculously rained quail in the evening, they would
realize that God, Himself, had brought them out of Egypt, and that He
was a miracle God. He was teaching them to depend upon Him, to have
faith in Him.
Exodus 16:7 “And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of
the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and
what [are] we, that ye murmur against us?”
Really, these complaints, or murmurings, spoken to Moses and Aaron
were against God. The children of Israel knew, undoubtedly, that
Moses and Aaron were just God’s mouthpieces. Then, these complaints were
against God. This glory of the Lord, that they would see was the manna
from heaven. God is always merciful. God is longsuffering toward us,
who are His. Have you ever noticed how He will spare someone over and
over? Most ministers will tell you, that even before they decided to
accept the call of God, it seemed they had supernatural protection
from God over their lives.
Exodus 16:8 “And Moses said, [This shall be], when the LORD shall
give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the
full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur
against him: and what [are] we? your murmurings [are] not against us,
but against the LORD.”
Moses made it very clear, here, that they are not against him, but
against the Lord. Then Moses told them, that even though the Lord did
not like their complaining, He was still going to send them meat in the
evening and bread in the morning to eat. This was almost a warning from
Moses, that they were about to push God too far.
Exodus 16:9 “And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the
congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for
he hath heard your murmurings.”
You remember, in the beginning, God called just Moses. Moses
asked for help, and got Aaron. The chain of authority, then, was God to
Moses, Moses to Aaron, and Aaron to the congregation. God had heard
their complaints, and told them through Moses and Aaron, to come near
before Him.
Exodus 16:10 “And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole
congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the
wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.”
We have already learned that the presence of the Lord was with
them on this journey to the promised land. It appeared to be a pillar
of fire at night, and a pillar of smoke by day. Somehow, God made them
aware of His presence in the cloud, here. Perhaps a bright light was
present, or something of that nature. God appears, many times, in the
form of a fire, such as at the burning bush. We do not know how He
made the glory of the Lord known. We do know, that He did. Let’s just
let it go at that.
Exodus 16:11 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,” Exodus
16:12 “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak
unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye
shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD
your God.”
It seems, to me, if they did not realize by now that this was God
fighting for them and protecting them, they were very hard to convince.
God raining meat (quail) in the evening, and bread in the morning,
should be evidence enough. God, also, had made them aware of the
presence of the Lord, when His glory appeared in the cloud. God wanted
them to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He is God, and that they
belong to Him. They were His chosen people.
Exodus 16:13 “And it came to pass, that at even the quails came
up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about
the host.” Exodus 16:14 “And when the dew that lay was gone up,
behold, upon the face of the wilderness [there lay] a small round
thing, [as] small as the hoar frost on the ground.”
God is good for His word. The quails came that very evening. It
seems, they came in and landed, and sat there to be caught. This bread
that fell from heaven looked like white frost. When the dampness of
the morning was gone, there were left little round portions of bread,
they would name Manna. At any rate, they were little tiny droplets of
something, that could substitute for bread. To feed three million
people, there would have to be an abundance of quail, and an abundance
of manna. “Manna” means, what is it?