Manna and Quail

Bible Study Lessons -- Exodus 16:1-36

As the people are led into the wilderness, food supplies dwindle. Stress takes over and Israel grumbles and complains to Aaron and Moses - they want to go back to Egypt and bondage? Well, not really but this Bible study lesson shows that God provides what we need - it's also about trust that he can take care of our problems.

Exodus 16:1 Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

2 The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

3 The sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the LORD’S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will 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 or not they will walk in My instruction.

5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, “At evening you will know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt;

7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, for He hears your grumblings against the LORD; and what are we, that you grumble against us?”

The LORD Provides Meat

8 Moses said, “This will happen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning; for the LORD hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the LORD.”

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your grumblings.’”

10 It came about as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

12 “I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”

13 So it came about at evening that the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.

14 When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground.

15 When the sons 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 which the LORD has given you to eat.

16 This is what the LORD has commanded, ‘Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you shall take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.’”

17 The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little.

18 When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat.

19 Moses said to them, “Let no man leave any of it until morning.”

20 But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them.

21 They gathered it morning by morning, every man as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt.

The Sabbath Observed

22 Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,

23 then he said to them, “This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”

24 So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it.

25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.

26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.”

27 It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.

28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?

29 See, the LORD has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”

30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 The house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey.

32 Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded, ‘Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations.”

34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept.

35 The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

36 (Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)

Israel Wants the "Easy Life"

Complaints - Why?

This seems to be a never ending story - things go awry, Israel complains. They, like us many times, were getting along just fine until the danger of running out of food appeared in the camp. I can relate to the people as we don't always see things the way God does.

In reality, God provides everything we need according to his will. He gave the Israelites just enough food for one day at a time - they every grumbled about this but in reality, how much food did they really need? God promised them he would supply the meals; enough so that no person would go hungry.

Trusting God

All God asked for in return for keeping them alive was that the people trust him. Unfortunately, they couldn't even do that. The main focus was on the stress of not (absolutely) knowing where their next meal would come from. They were not ready to rely completely upon God for their needs.

Do We Trust Him?

In life, we are going to face uncertain times - whether it be sickness, a death in the family, financial difficulties, etc. Maybe you are experiencing some of these issues right now.

The natural human tendency is to worry, complain or to believe we can handle it all ourselves. But, if we can only bring ourselves to trust God, he will work it out to the best outcome according to his will. It might not always be in the form we ask for but the answer many times is greater than we deserve.

When we ask God to intervene in situations, let him take charge - Maybe we will receive manna from heaven just as the people of Israel did!

Love in Christ

- Bob

The Exodus - Pharaoh Says "GO" - Exodus 12:31-50