Exodus Chapter 16

.

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.

 .

1. What was this bread that rained down from heaven?

.

Manna, which literally means “what is it?”  It was said to be sweet to the taste. Manna is a sweet bread-like food that God provided for the Israelites in the desert. Marie Antonnet “let them eat cake”  “After they left the land of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea and came to Mount Sinai, there are seven

recorded experiences which correspond to the Christian experience. So far they have sung the song of Moses, gone three days without water, arrived at Marah where the water was bitter, and then journeyed to Elim where there were water and trees in abundance. Elim is a picture of the fruitful Christian experience, and God promises to bring us to this place. Now we come to the Wilderness of Sin, the manna and the quail. And we find that Christ is the Bread of Life.”  Dr.McGee

.

John 6:35, 41, 47-51

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…………….⁴¹ The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven………………….. ⁴⁷ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.⁴⁸ I am that bread of life.⁴⁹ Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.⁵⁰ This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.⁵ 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.

 .

Exodus 16:5-8 (NIV2011) 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 theLORD 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.”

 .

2. Why are they grumbling about Moses and Aaron?

.

They can’t see God, but they can see Moses and Aaron. Much of the time we blame the nearest person.

Although the people grumbled against Moses and Aaron, Moses will make it clear that their complaint is really against—and is heard 

by—the Lord 

.

Exodus 16:9-14 (NIV2011) 

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.’ ” ¹  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.

 .

3. Were these the first “frosted flakes”?

.

 It was said to be sweet to the taste. Manna is a sweet bread-like food

that God provided for the Israelites in the desert.

 

 

Manna is described as being available six mornings a week, after the dew had evaporated.^[1] It is described in the Book of Numbers as arriving with the dew during the night;^[2] Exodus adds that manna was

comparable to hoarfrost in size,^[1] similarly had to be collected before it was melted by the heat of the sun,^[3] and was white like coriander seed in color.^[4] Numbers describes it as having the appearance of bdellium, (an aromatic gum like myrrh that is exuded from a tree.) )^[5] adding that the Israelites ground it up and pounded it into cakes, which were then baked, resulting in something that tasted like cakes baked with oil.^[6] Exodus states that raw manna tasted like wafers that had been made with honey.^[4] The Israelites were instructed to eat only the manna they had gathered for each day. Leftovers or manna stored up for the following day “bred worms and stank”:^[7] the exception being the day before Shabbat (Preparation Day), when twice the amount of manna was gathered, which did not spoil overnight.

.

Exodus 16:15-19 (NIV2011) 

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.”

. 

4. Why was the manna only good for one day?

A teachable moment: “give us this day our daily bread.” Christ is the bread and our life is a day by day dependence on Him.

 2 Corinthians 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

.

 

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.

 

5.Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it

melted away.  What is the message here?

A sense of urgency

2. Cor. 6:2 Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

.

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 commands and my instructions?

 .

6. How long will you? 

. 

The prisons are full of people who need to answer that question. Corruption, theft,

rebellion against authority, incompetent and dishonest leadership are the marks

of our time. The thoughts of men were “evil all the time”. It’s getting worse and we don’t see it coming.

The secular humanist tells us that society is evolving toward a utopian world of peace and good will. That man is basically good and if he can throw off the bounds of obsolete religion and outdated absolutist moralism he will become his own moral authority.

Sounds familiar?

 Genesis 3:5    “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be God, knowing good and evil.”

More people were murdered in the last century than in all centuries put together. Over 200 million were killed, most by atheist regimes.

Look at the nightly news, does it seem like people are becoming more civilized and peaceful?

.

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.” ³  So the people rested on the seventh day.

 .

7. What is the Sabbath?  Do we still observe the Sabbath?

.

Remember this is before the law was given. The 10 commandments had not been give yet.

The Sabbath is also a covenant between Israel and God: “Keep My Sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout the generations, that you may know that I the Lord have consecrated you … a covenant for all time: it shall be a sign for all time between Me and the people of Israel.

.

God declared: “It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed” (Exod. 31: 17)..

For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that  rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”

Today Jesus is our Sabbath. our every type, command, ordinance in the Old Testament He fulfilled.The “True Sabbath Rest” is found only, by faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ. In the New Testament the true light comes to earth and the shadows (types which were temporary) disappear. Now we no longer look to the shadows, but to the substance which the shadow was cast from, the substance in the person of Christ (Col. 2:16-17).

.

The emphasis at Pentecost is the first day, we should not confuse the Sabbath as now being Sunday, it is still Friday night to Saturday night. These are pictures of what God would do in the future as He came to earth. The Sabbath refers to completion, God rested when He was done, the Lords

Day has to do with a new beginning, the resurrection to eternal life was something absolutely new. The Sabbath is relating to God’s rest in creation.

The 8^th day is a memorial of new creation of Israel as well as Gentiles receiving new life in God, Commemorated by the resurrection.

Christ did not bring reform to the Mosaic Law and the Sabbath, but instead installed a NEW COVENANT to replace the Old (Heb.8:13). The Old Testament Sabbath was based on a works covenant. The NEW Testament rest (Sabbath) is based on grace.

. 

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.’ ” ³  So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before theLORD 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.)

 .

8. They ate the same thing for 40 years?

.

Manna burgers, manna pancakes, manna ice cream, 

manna spaghetti, manna chips. No wonder some wanted to go back across the Red Sea and have some good old Egyptian BBQ.

ESVN……………..….ESV Study Bible Notes

MSBN……………….MacArthur NASB Study   Notes

NIVSN……………….NIV Study Notes.

JVM ………………….J Vernon McGee’s Commentary

BN ……………………Barnes Notes

WBC………….…….Wycliffe Bible Commentary

CN ……….…………..Constables Notes

IC……………….…….Ironside Commentary

NET…………….…….Net Bible Study Notes.

JFB……………………Jamieson Fausset  Brown Commentary

VWS………………….Vincent Word Studies

CMM………………..Commentary on Matthew and Mark

BDB……………..….Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)

Darby……………….John Darby’s Synopsis of the OT and NT

Johnson……………Johnson’s Notes on the New Testament

NTCMM…………..The New Testament Commentary:  Matthew and Mark.

EHS………………….Expositions of the Holy Scriptures

CPP…………………The Complete Pulpit Commentary

SBC…………………..Sermon Bible Commentary

K&D…………………Keil and Deilitzsch Commentary on the OT

EBC……………….…Expositors Bible Commentary

CBSC……………….Cambridge Bible for Schools and College

GC……………………Guzik Commentary

RD…………………..Robert  Deffinbaugh

NSB …………………The Nelson Study Bible

MHC…………………Matthew Henry Commentary

CSTTB………Chuck Smith Through The Bible

LESB…………….Life Essentials Study Bible.

 “Fair Use “ Notice – Title 17 U.S.C. section 107

The above post may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is being made available in an effort to advance the understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, social justice, for the purpose of historical debate, and to advance the understanding of Christian conservative issues.  It is believed that this constitutes a ”fair use” of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the Copyright Law. In accordance with the title 17 U.S. C. section 107, the material in this post is shown without profit to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.