Read Exodus 16
Manna and Quail
1 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”
24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my command sand my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”
33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”
34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.
36 (An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)
Go Deeper
It’s just a little over a month since the Israelites sang a song of gratitude at their triumph over the Egyptians. Remember Exodus 15? The Israelites’ song of praise and declaration that “In Your unfailing love You will lead the people You have redeemed. In Your strength, You will guide them…” (Exodus 15:13). Yet, here they are, just a few weeks later, complaining that they would rather be back in Egypt and questioning the intention and leading of God.
Already?! After all the miracles of deliverance and provision they witnessed with their own eyes—the Ten Plagues; the escape route through parted waters of the Red Sea; the destruction of Pharaoh’s strongest warriors; bitter water made sweet to quench their thirst. They are already exhausted with the God of exhaustless resources and provisions.
The Israelites do what so many of us do:
Recreate history.
Romanticize the past.
Question God’s appointed leaders over us.
Question God’s deliverance and care for us.
Approach God as a glorified Santa Claus, hoping He grants our wish list without asking anything of us.
We are a forgetful bunch. We beg God for miracles of deliverance and then quickly forget them when He provides. We pray things like, “God if you’ll get me out of this mess, I’ll believe;” or, “God, provide for me and then I’ll believe.” But, miracles only bring people to a faith in God for a short time. A faith and belief dependent on what God can do for you will be disappointing at best and disheartening and distrusting at worst. God cannot and will not be manipulated.
However, God will provide for us. He is true to His promises. He will supply all we need (Philippians 4:19). Let’s not be people who evaluate God’s faithfulness and goodness to us by what He does for us. The goal is dependency on the Giver, not the gifts. He will be faithful to us. Let’s be faithful to Him.
Questions
What do you learn from the Israelites in this passage? How do you relate with them? How are you different?
What do you learn about the character of God in this passage?
In what ways do you ask God to provide for you? How often are those requests tied to your belief in His goodness and faithfulness?
Did You Know?
Manna is a Hebrew word for “what is it?” The Israelites would eat manna every day for forty years until they entered the land of Canaan. Joshua 5:10-12 records this event.
2 thoughts on “Exodus 16”
As I read chapter 16 I highlighted important truths to take to heart:
1. Have I let my carnal nature drive the way I live?
2. Do I understand that when I grumble to others I’m really grumbling AGAINST God and his faithful provisions?
3. Do I grasp and know & proclaim the ONE who said “I am the Lord your God”?
4. Do I make it a habit of reflecting on God’s timely faithfulness, my personal Omer of remembrance?
5. Do I trust in God’s heart to provide “just enough manna & quail for each day?
6. Do I prioritize the gift of Sabbath rest?
I want to wrap my mind around these truths and walk faithfully in them without reservation, because I can completely trust his heart.
1 – I find it hard to put myself in their situation sometimes. for I just cannot imagine how it was to live in that culture and in or with the Lord without the New Testament, or even everything after them in the Old Testament. I think I would have spoken out that I would like more food and had imagined it differently when God would save and Leeds us. But I would not have distorted the past or accuse Moses, Aaron, or God of planning our death. I learn from them to try to be more patient and not jump to conclusions, and to not complain but pray and talk with God.
2 – his perfect balance between mellowness/graciousness and sternness/rigorousness all while being righteous and fair. How he knows, finds or makes this perfect balance between giving and holding.
3 – I think in almost all ways, I depend on God. I ask him to provide for his spirit and his fruits in me, so that I may be fruitful and a light to others. I ask him to not leave me and to give me a good night’s rest every evening, and ask for his knowingly and understanding for the day every morning. And I am blessed in every way that I do not have to ask for; food, a house, loved once a.s.o. just his blessings over all of it.