Exodus 16:1-36

Exodus: Israel becomes a nation

The *Israelites leave Egypt

Exodus Chapter s 1 to 18

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 16

Food from heaven – verses 1-36

God promises food – verses 1-12

v1 The *Israelites left Elim. It was the second month after they escaped from Egypt. They left on day 15. And they came to the *desert called Sin. This *desert is between Elim and *Mount Sinai. v2 In the *desert all the people complained against Moses and Aaron. v3 ‘If only the *LORD had killed us in Egypt!’ the people said. ‘There we sat round pots that were full of meat. And we ate all the food that we wanted. But you have brought us into this *desert. And all of us will starve and die.’

v4 Then the *LORD spoke to Moses. ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people must go out each day, and they should gather just enough for that day. I will be testing them. I shall see whether or not they will obey my instructions. v5 On the day before the *Sabbath each week they must do this. They must gather twice as much as they gather on the other days. And they must prepare all the food that they gather that day.’

v6 So Moses and Aaron spoke to all the *Israelites. ‘It was the *LORD who rescued you from Egypt. In the evening you will know that. v7 And in the morning you will see the *LORD’s wonderful power. He has heard you when you complained against him. You should not complain against us. We are not important!’

v8 Moses continued to speak to them. ‘You will know that it is the *LORD. He will give to you meat to eat in the evening. And in the morning he will give to you all the bread that you want. He has heard when you complained against him. We are not important. You are not complaining against us, but you are complaining against the *LORD.’

v9 Then Moses told Aaron this message. ‘You must speak to all the *Israelites and tell them this. “Come in front of the *LORD. He has heard you when you complained.” ’ v10 While Aaron was speaking to all the people, they looked towards the *desert. And there, God’s wonderful, bright light was shining from the cloud.

v11 The *LORD spoke to Moses again. v12 ‘I have heard the *Israelites when they complained. Tell them my message. “In the evening you will eat meat. And in the morning, you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the *LORD your God.” ’

Verses 1-3 The *Israelites had left Egypt on day 15 of the first month (Exodus 12:6; Exodus 12:31). So they had travelled for a month. They had forgotten the difficulties that they had in Egypt as slaves. But they remembered the pots with meat in them and the other food. Also they also remembered the vegetables with a nice strong taste (Numbers 11:5). They were quick to blame Moses because they had no food. They said that he had brought them into the *desert on purpose. And his purpose was to starve them.

Verses 4-5 The *LORD would test the *Israelites again. He wanted to see if they would obey him that time. They must collect only enough food for each day. But they must collect twice the amount on the day before the *Sabbath. The prayer for our ‘daily bread’ means that we must trust God too. He will provide our food each day (Matthew 6:11).

Verses 6-9 The *LORD would provide their food each day. It was God’s wonderful act that caused the *Israelites to leave Egypt. Only God had rescued the *Israelites. God would send meat to them in the evening. And he would send bread to them in the morning. So they were complaining against God when they complained against his servants, Moses and Aaron.

Verses 10-12 The wonderful light was shining from the cloud. It showed that God was present with his people. In the evening, the sun is just out of sight. But it is not yet completely dark. At that time God would provide meat for the *Israelites. He would provide plenty of bread in the morning.

Quails and *manna – verses 13-15a

v13 That evening, birds called quails came. There were so many quails that they covered the camp. The next morning, the ground was wet all round the camp. v14 When all the water had gone, there were thin bits of a substance on the ground. It seemed like thin bits of ice. v15a The *Israelites had never seen anything like this. And they did not know what it was. ‘What is it?’ they asked each other.

Verse 13 Quails are small fat birds that people like to eat. They fly fairly close to the ground and often there are large groups of them. They fly between South Europe and Arabia in the spring and in the autumn. So they cross the area of the *desert in the region called Sinai. When they become very tired, they fall to the ground. They need to rest. At that time, people can catch them easily. Numbers 11:31 describes how the east wind blew the birds to the ground. There were so many birds, that they covered a large area round the *Israelites’ camp. An ancient writer called Pliny mentions quails. He agreed that very large numbers flew at night. He talked about many quails that landed on a ship near to the shore. Then the ship sank because of their weight.

Verses 13-15 Sometimes, very tiny amounts of water appear in the early morning. They are on the ground or on plants. People call it ‘dew’. If it freezes, it becomes ‘frost’. The *Israelites found a thin substance that seemed like ice or ‘frost’. They did not recognise it, so they called it ‘*manna’. The word ‘*manna’ means ‘What is it?’

Food for each day – verses 15b-21

v15b Moses answered them. ‘This is your bread. The *LORD has given it to you to eat. v16 And this is what the *LORD has ordered you. “Each person should gather as much as he needs. Take an omer (about two litres) for each person who lives in your tent”, God says.’

v17 The *Israelites did as Moses had told them. Some people gathered a lot, and some of them gathered only a small amount. v18 Then they measured it. And those people who had gathered a lot did not have too much. But those people who had gathered a small amount had enough too. Each person gathered as much as he needed.

v19 Then Moses spoke to them again. ‘Nobody should keep any of this bread until the next morning.’

v20 But some of the people did not listen to Moses. So they kept a part of it until the next morning. But it became full of young insects called ‘maggots’. And then it had a nasty smell. So Moses was angry with those people.

v21 Every morning everyone gathered as much *manna as he needed. And when the sun rose, the rest of the *manna melted away.

Verses 15-18 In verse 16 the *Hebrew word is ‘omer’. An ‘omer’ measured just over two litres. It was difficult for some of the older people to collect the *manna. Younger *Israelites collected more. Probably they shared what they had collected. Then everyone had all that they needed. Paul used this example when he was writing to the Corinthians. He urged them to be generous. They should share things with other Christians who were poorer (2 Corinthians 8:14-15).

Verses 19-21 Some *Israelites did not obey God’s command. They showed that they did not trust God. They did not believe that he would continue to provide food every day. So they kept some of the *manna until the next morning. But it went off, and it began to have a nasty smell. It became full of ‘maggots’. Maggots are young insects that develop into flies. The *manna melted away when the sun rose. So the *Israelites had to get up early to collect it each day.

Food for the *Sabbath – verses 22-30

v22 On the day before the *Sabbath, each person gathered twice as much *manna. So they gathered about 4 litres for each person. Then the *Israelites’ leaders came and reported this to Moses. v23 Moses spoke to them. ‘This is what the *LORD ordered. “Tomorrow must be a day when you rest. The *Sabbath will be a holy day that you use especially for me. I am the *LORD. So bake the food that you want to bake. And boil the food that you want to boil. Then save all that remains until the next morning.” ’

v24 So they saved the extra food until the next morning, as Moses had ordered them. It did not have a nasty smell and young insects had not grown in it. v25 ‘Eat it today’, Moses said to them. ‘Today is a *Sabbath day for the *LORD. You will not find any *manna on the ground today. v26 You must gather it each day for 6 days. But the 7th day is the *Sabbath day. There will not be any *manna on the ground on the *Sabbath day.’

v27 Some of the people did not listen to what Moses had said. They went out on the 7th day to gather food. But they did not find any *manna. v28 Then the *LORD spoke to Moses. ‘The people are refusing to obey my *commandments and my instructions. v29 Remember that I am the *LORD. I have given the *Sabbath day to you. That is why I give you enough bread for two days. I do this on the day before the *Sabbath. Everyone must stay in their home on the *Sabbath. Nobody should go out on that day.’ v30 So the people rested on the *Sabbath.

Verses 23-26 The word ‘*Sabbath’ appears here in the *Old Testament for the first time. When God created everything, he ‘rested’ from all his work on the 7th day (Genesis 2:2-3). While they were in Egypt as slaves, the *Israelites had to work every day. The *Egyptians gave them no opportunity to rest for a whole day.

Verses 27-30 But people did not obey Moses’ command. They went to look for *manna on the *Sabbath, but they did not find any. On the day before the *Sabbath, the *LORD’s provision was enough for two days. And the *manna did not go off. The *Sabbath was a good gift from God. They rested on that day. Later, Jesus spoke about it. ‘God made the *Sabbath for people’s benefit’, he said (Mark 2:27). The *Sabbath was a special day that they should use for the *LORD.

The nature of *manna – verses 31-36

v31 The *Israelites called the bread ‘*manna’. It was white like the small seeds called ‘coriander’. It tasted like thin biscuits that people make with honey. v32 Then Moses spoke to the people. ‘This is what the *LORD has ordered. “Keep two litres of *manna for all the people to see in the future. Then people can see the bread that I gave to you. That was how you had food to eat in the *desert. I gave it to you when I brought you away from Egypt.” ’ v33 And Moses told Aaron. ‘Get a jar and put two litres of *manna into it. Then place that jar in front of the *LORD. You must keep it there for all time to come.’

v34 Aaron did what the *LORD had ordered Moses. Aaron put the *manna in front of the special box, which contained God’s special promise to them. Aaron put the *manna there in order to keep it safely.

v35 The *Israelites ate *manna for 40 years. Then they reached the border of *Canaan where many people lived.

v36 (An ‘omer’ measures a 10th part of an ‘ephah’.)

Verse 31 Even today, people can find a kind of *manna. They find it in the region of the *desert called Sinai. Some writers think that it is the same kind of *manna. That *manna is a sweet juice that falls from insects. The insects live on the branches of the bushes called ‘tamarisk’. The juice becomes solid, but it melts quickly in hot weather. There was a supply of *manna each day for the *Israelites. And it continued during all of the years that they were in the *desert. Each week there was a double amount on the day before the *Sabbath. But there was never any *manna on the *Sabbath day (verse 26). The *manna was God’s special provision. Psalms 78:25 says ‘men ate the *angels’ bread’. God tested the people when he provided the *manna. The *Israelites had to trust God for the next day’s supply. And they had to obey his commands. So they had to gather it each day except the *Sabbath day.

Verse 32 God had provided food for the *Israelites in the *desert. In the future, people must remember God’s provision. And they did remember. After Jesus fed 5 000 people, they asked him for a *sign. They wanted to see something wonderful like the *manna that God had sent from heaven. Jesus told them that he is the true bread from heaven. Only he can let us live for all time (John 6:30-35).

Verses 33-34 The special box reminded the people about the special promise that God had made to the *Israelites (Exodus 25:10-22). They placed the box in the Most Holy Place, which was in God’s special tent. Later, they placed the special box in the *temple in Jerusalem. It contained the two flat stones where God wrote his 10 *commandments. Also, the box contained Aaron’s stick and Aaron’s jar with the *manna in it. Hebrews 9:4 refers to Aaron’s jar that contained the *manna as a ‘gold’ jar. Very few people lived in the *desert. So the *Israelites did not meet many other people for those 40 years.

Verse 36 An ephah measured 22 litres. So an omer measures just over 2 litres.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.
Mount ~ another name for mountain
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Sabbath ~ the 7th day in a Jewish week. It is from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday The day on which God rested when he created the world. So he wants people to rest on that day. Anything that has a relationship with the Sabbath.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
manna ~ a food like bread. God provided this food in a special way for the Israelites to eat in the desert.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
commandment ~ a rule or a command that God gave to the Jews; the 10 rules that God gave to Moses on the mountain called Mount Sinai (or Horeb); a command from someone who has authority.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

Mount ~ another name for mountain

'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, it tells about the history and the beliefs of the Israelites. The Jews’ holy book

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
Egyptian ~ someone from the country called Egypt; anything with a relationship with Egypt.
Canaan ~ the country that God gave to Israelites. Canaanites lived here. And also people called Amorites, Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites and Perizzites lived here.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Canaanite ~ the people who originally lived in the country called Canaan; something that comes from the country called Canaan.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
angel ~ a servant of God who sometimes brings messages from him.
sign ~ a signal; a mark to show that something is special; a powerful act.
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God. King Solomon built the first temple.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.