God Provides Mana

Last week, we talked about the bitter waters at Marah

they had traveled 3 days in the wilderness without water

then they finally ran into some water, but it was undrinkable

at this point, the Hebrews started murmuring and complaining, showing their lack of faith in God to bring them through the situation

then, God had told Moses to take a tree and to throw it into the water, then the water was made sweet

we see imagery here of the cross, and the fact that there was healing through the tree, or the cross.

we also see imagery of the water of life, which was provided due to God and through the tree, or the cross

So we see a story where the Hebrews lacked faith and complained to Moses, but Moses’ reaction was to reach out to God, and only when God was reached out to was the solution found

In theory, the Hebrews should have learned from this, that even in a deady situation, God can provide the answer

even though they had to go through some hardship before that, and sometimes we just have to go through something for God to bring in His will

but God can always provide the answer, and we must reach out to Him and trust in Him rather than complain

Exodus 16:1 KJV 1900

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.

***SHOW MAP***

We are in the lead up to the covenant at Sinai

arrived on 15th day of 2nd month, about one month after the Passover and leaving Egypt. The Passover was on the 14th day of the 1st month

So we see that the stories that we have looked at so far have not taken place very far apart, so things like the waters of Marah turning sweet shouldn’t be far out of memory

Exodus 16:2 KJV 1900

And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:

So not even one month later, the Hebrews are already complaining about their situation

but more importantly, they are lacking faith in God

let’s look at some of the things that God had done for them in a roughly one month period of time

the Passover, where the Hebrew firstborn were spared from the 10th plague upon Egypt

The Egyptian people giving them supplies to leave with, like gold jewelry and other such things

The pillar of smoke and fire, sparing them from a confrontation with the Egyptians at the Red Sea

then, the parting of the Red Sea, where they survived and the Egyptians perished

then we have the waters at Marah being made sweet

and lets not forget a little before their most recent month, there were the plagues upon Egypt where they were spared in a great way

So God had done all of these wonderful things for them, and yet they seem to complain at every opportunity

this should be a warning to us to not only not forget the things that God has done for US

but that because of these things, we can have a solid faith in God

Exodus 16:3 KJV 1900

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.

they say, “If only we had DIED in Egypt, where we had all the food we needed.”

Just think about having this perspective after all theyve seen!

their mind is on the PHYSICAL, rather than the spiritual, rather than the things above

rather than the fact that they have a God that has quite literally given them all of their needs up to this point

again, we musn’t forget that they had their share of hard times, but they always made it through

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That the complaint leading up to the manna is unjustified can be seen from the record itself. They left Egypt with flocks and herds and very much cattle, and about 45 days later they are complaining that they are without food. Moses reminded them later that they lacked nothing (Deut 3:7; for the whole sermon on this passage, see 8:1–20). Moreover, the complaint is absurd because the food of work gangs was far more meager than they recall. The complaint was really against Moses.

Exodus 16:4–5 KJV 1900

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. 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.

God, again, says He will provide for the people

and we think about these stories, and how many times God has said He will help His people - He’s said it many times

and how many times has He come through - EVERY SINGLE TIME

****SLIDE****

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 16

In addition to satisfying the people’s hunger, God sends manna (Exod 16:15) to test their character. The test foreshadows Sabbath regulations that will be outlined in the commandments given at Sinai (ch. 20) and ensuing case laws. See Deut 8:2–3.

Exodus 16:6–8 KJV 1900

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: 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? 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.

The phrasing here is similar to the phrasing when God told them about the Passover

moses and aaron and kind of saying “hey, you murmur against us, but we’re just serving God and doing His will, so really your issue is with God”

God HEARD their murmuring, their unjustified murmuring

the murmuring that they did just after the waters at Marah and the red sea crossing

but yet, even with that, God still says He will provide them manna, food, for this hard time in the desert

This really shows how God not only is there for His people who are good, but He even provides for imperfect people

think about the cross and what Jesus did, He lived a hard life and died a terrible, painful death, for us, and look how imperfect each of us are

it really shows the love that God has for His people, the care He has for His people, and the grace and mercy that He has for us

what is God to us? well, for one thing, He is a savior to us and a provider for us

Exodus 16:9–10 KJV 1900

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. 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 see the glory of the Lord appear to them in a visible form, to further show them His realness, and the fact that He is there with them

because God is with His people, just like Jesus said He’ll be with us to the end of the age.

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 16

Though the cloud is visible, the glory (kavod in Hebrew) will also be visible and distinct in appearance from the cloud. Other descriptions of the glory suggest that there was some sort of luminescence within the cloud (e.g., Ezek 10:4; 43:2).

Exodus 16:11–16 KJV 1900

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 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. 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. 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. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.

So in the evening, they received quail for meat, and in the morning, a bread like-thing

So they get this setup for a while, God not only provides it for a day, but for a fairly long time, up until Joshua and the Hebrews enter the promised land

They are in this world, journeying through a fairly barren desert, and God provides survival

and that goes to show how merciful God is, and how much God provides

but it takes that faith in God, that faith in God changes everything for them

imagine this situation without God! they would have a great multitude of people who would essentially be stranded.

God makes sure to get across that each person is to have his own portion, and only as much as they need

and an omer is thought to be some kind of unit of measurement, some say 21-22 litres

In the following passage, we will see a bit of a test of faith for the Hebrews, and what happens with that

Exodus 16:17–30 KJV 1900

And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the Lord: to day ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.

Exodus 16:31–36 KJV 1900

And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations. As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

Moses and Aaron told them to keep a portion of manna to lay up in the ark of the covenant for a rememberance of the great thing God had done for them not just once, but for an extended time.

let us remember, God is all powerful and God hears our cries

we’ve seen all He’s done for those in the Bible, but also for us and those around us

Are we going to murmur? or are we going to trust in God? What example are we to set for others?