The Story through the Bible Exodus 16

The manicotti dinners begin

Exodus 16:1 ESV

They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.

Here is the first time we get a date after the passover. It’s been 1 month since they fled Egypt at this point in our story. It’s been a minimum of what I would presume is at least 6 days since the red sea crossing. 15:22 they set out from the red sea 3 days and make it to Marah no idea how long they’re there but I think we should give it at least a day, then they go to Elim where there are 12 springs we should say that was at least another day. Then they make it to the wilderness after leaving Elim at least another day and we get to this passage. It’s probably reasonable to think a bit more time was taken at each location and this would spread things out a lot longer. In any case what we can say for sure is that it’s been 30 days since they left Egypt by the time they end up in this wilderness of sin.

Not much time has gone by in the span of human memory, certainly one that involves your escape from slavery in miraculous fashion.

Exodus 16:2–3 ESV

And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

“OH the days when we could eat our fill.” Memory certainly becomes quite selective. Even more so when you’re in pain or suffering in some way. They’ve gotten hungry and it seems to have made it to the whole of the people at this point. I’m not sure when the provision had run out but it seems that by now they’re all hungry, they’ve been on the run for a month, and now they’re remembering that one thing they didn’t struggle with before was hunger. It’s natural to think back and only see the positive of the past in the light of the negative now while ignoring the negatives of that same past.

Exodus 16:4–5 ESV

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”

God could have done lots of things, I think we’ll all agree to that. God could have caused them to exist without needing to eat and be sustained, he could have them wake up with everything already gathered an placed an exact amount for each family at their tent, or any number of other things I haven’t considered. But what God did do was setup a task that was tied to a test. Will you be faithful to follow my simple instructions for your daily sustenance?

Why are they told to get double on the sixth day? (discuss a sabbath that hasn’t been commanded yet so how would we know anything about a sabbath without the fourth commandment?)

Exodus 16:6–8 ESV

So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.”

Lots of us might vaguely remember they get mana but did you remember they got quail too? Does anyone see a particular pattern that might be pointing us somewhere in what’s going on?

Gen 1 is certainly recalled - now remember at the end of Exod 14 we talked a little about the symbolic parallels to a new creation - in some sense we’re continuing that pattern now we’ve brought in the 7th day of rest, the evening and the morning pattern. We even see the test being set up - like a tree from the garden and this one still relates to eating. In the garden it was eat from anything but this tree here it is gather enough for just the day except on the 6th day where you will gather double. To me this is just one of those things I never even saw a hint of until really paying attention to the patterns used in the Bible to help us understand and remember God’s story, sovereignty and glory.

Speaking of we see a little re-inforcement of what the whole exodus is about even within these verses. Vs. 6 ‘you shall know it was the LORD’ and vs 7 ‘You shall see the glory of the Lord’

The people go on to grumble as if it was Moses and Aaron who were the agents of change. You see their point in vs 8 “What are we” in other words “What did we do?” They’re pointing out that it is God who is active not them and they’ll know it was YHVH in the evening when they eat meat, they’ll see it is YHVH who they see when mana is provided to save them the particular people He chose and it is his Glory he chooses to display by answering their grumbling. Because their grumbling is not about moses and Aaron, even if they think that’s who their complaining about Moses makes clear their complaints are only about things God is in control of.

Exodus 16:9–12 ESV

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’ ” And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

Now we get descriptions of this playing out

Exodus 16:13–26 ESV

In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’ ” And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted. On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’ ” So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”

Here we get some formal establishment of a Sabbath. The word Sabbath is just the word for rest, or to stop.

Some people don’t follow instructions very well and vs 27 to 30 point it out and the Lord calls them to follow his command so the people rested (shabbated) on the seventh day.

Exodus 16:31–36 ESV

Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ” And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept. The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. (An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)