Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(Exodus 17:1) And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink.
In their wilderness trek, the children of Israel now journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Rephidim. It was by instruction from God that the people were led to camp there, and yet they came to a place where there was no water for them to drink. The chronological study I am doing is one ordered by Skip Andrews, and it now takes me to Numbers 33, which gave a little more detail:
(Numbers 33:12) And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. (13) And they departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. (14) And they moved from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
We see from this passage that actually the Lord led the people through two other stations (Dophkah and Alush), before bringing them to Rephidim. Moses, in his Exodus account, apparently didn't record every camp probably because nothing eventful took place there; now the people were brought to a place where they were again wanting water and not finding it. Now back to Exodus:
(Exodus 17:2) Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?”
The people, unbelievably, quarrel with Moses and demand water from him. Had they not learned anything from their last need of water (and their subsequent need of food) that was ultimately provided by their Lord? Moses again directed them away from him and to their actual supplier, the Lord. He accused them of tempting the Lord because they obviously did not have faith in Him to provide them with water, even though He had shown Himself to be faithful in providing all their needs up to this point.
(3) And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”
Moses had already addressed the people and reminded them it was not him to whom they should complain. Then it said "they thirsted...and the people murmured", so I would assume because they didn't immediately get water after contending with Moses the first time, they really started murmuring and complaining, once again using the old complaint that he brought them out of Egypt just to kill them in the wilderness. Being without water would have been especially hard on children and cattle, so perhaps the meaning is not that they truly thought that Moses brought them out to kill them, but that they sincerely believed that would certainly be the result if they didn't get water soon.
(4) And Moses cried to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”
Moses cried out to the Lord because it seems the anger of the people toward Moses was so great that he believed they were ready to stone him. He didn't necessarily pray that God do something for the people, as I believe he had shown in what he said just before, that He knew the Lord would provide for the people, but he honestly did not know what to do with this people whose fevered pitch was so high that he feared they were about to stone him.
(5) And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. (6) Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you
shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people
may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
The Lord told Moses to go out before the people, taking with him some of the elders, and it seems direct them nearer to a particular rock at Mount Horeb. I have read the rock remains to this day, and is red granite, 15 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 12 feet high, and lies in the wilderness of Rephidim, to the west of Mount Horeb. The Lord told Moses to take his rod with him, specifically his rod with which he had struck the river. The Lord would stand upon that rock; probably that pillar of cloud that led them through the wilderness would then stand on that particular rock. Moses was to take his rod and strike the rock and water would come out of it for the people to drink. Moses did as the Lord instructed, and he did it in the sight of the elders.
(7) And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
"Massah" meant "temptation", and "Meribah" meant "strife" or "contention". It is unclear to me if there were two different places, or if Moses called the place two different names in remembrance of the people's murmuring against the Lord. It doesn't appear that the scholars of old had a consensus either. Since they were at one rock, and the scripture said, "he called the name of the place...", I choose to believe Moses called the place by both names. He was memorializing not the miracle of the provision of water by the Lord, but the people's tempting of the Lord and their contention with him. It seems the people actually questioned whether or not the Lord was among them or not. That makes the fact that the Lord presented Himself on that rock at Horeb seem a direct answer to the people's question. Yes, indeed, He was with them, and He alone provided them with water.
(8) Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
Amalek was the son of Eliphaz, who was the son of Esau (Gen. 36:12), and the Amalekites may have held some hatred for the people of Israel because of Jacob's birthright and blessing, as has been suggested. However, this may have been a random attack for the purpose of plunder. According to another passage in Deuteronomy (Deut. 25:17-18), the Amalekites did not boldly confront the Israelites as a nation invading their land, but rather came up from behind and attacked their feeble, faint, and weary ones who lagged behind. It may be that both facts were true. The Amalekites thought of the Israelites as enemies, and they sneakily attacked them from behind so as to plunder them more easily. The timing of this attack is interesting, too. Did God send the Amalekites because the people had tested Him? I'm not suggesting it was a punishment, but it certainly became a teaching moment. God certainly allowed the attack, just as He allowed all the struggles for food and water. His people easily could have been constantly provided with a steady stream of food and water and easy sailing, but facing these daily difficulties and having them daily remedied by their Lord, kept them in constant remembrance and dependence on God. How quickly we forget the blessings of the Lord when we have hardship! Sadly, it seems we must be reminded daily, and in His mercy, our sweet Lord patiently gives us what we need.
(9) And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” (10) So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Moses called on Joshua to choose and organize men to go out and fight the Amalekites. Meanwhile, he said he himself would stand on top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand. Moses had called on Joshua to lead the men into battle, but he himself had a most important job, as well. On top of the hill, in view of the Israelite army, with that rod of God lifted up as encouragement and a reminder of God's promise and provision, Moses surely prayed to God and spiritually ministered to the children of Israel. Joshua did as Moses has directed him, and likewise, Moses, with Aaron and Hur, went to the top of the hill. We will find that they were needed to assist Moses. Aaron is, of course, Moses's brother, and it has been written by the historian Josephus that Hur was Miriam's (the sister of Moses and Aaron) husband. That part is not clear in scripture, but he was obviously someone in whom Moses had much confidence, as he was paired with Aaron by Moses another time, as well (Exo. 24:14).
(11) And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
There are a couple of different ways to look at this verse. From verse 9, we learned that Moses planned to stand on top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand. When the rod was up, it may have inspired the Israelites to fight on, and when they could not see it, their hearts failed them and the Amalekites prevailed. The verse could refer to Moses raising his hands toward heaven in prayer. The ancient targums interpreted it that way. Dr. John Gill wrote that even among the "heathens", Moses "was famous for the efficacy of his prayers". Perhaps when Moses was the most stretched out and upward in prayer, he was the most fervent in prayer, and Israel prevailed; and when he faltered in prayer, Amalek prevailed. Probably both ways of looking at this verse are correct. When Moses was stretched upward to heaven, he was the most fervent in prayer, AND the Israelites saw the rod which inspired them to go onward. When Moses faltered in prayer, likewise did the people when they couldn't see the rod of God. Either way, or both ways, it's a perfect illustration of the spiritual battle in which we are engaged daily. When God is lifted up, we are victorious over our spiritual enemies, and when we falter in our faith and in our walk with God, the enemy can prevail. The daily battles move back and forth from victory to defeat, and it is a reminder that we should be in constant prayer with our Lord, the One from whom all victories come.
(12) But Moses's hands were heavy; and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the
other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down
of the sun.
Moses became tired and weary and he couldn't keep his hands held upward, so they brought him a stone so that he could sit down, and Aaron and Hur, on either side of him, held his hands upward, and in this way, he was able to keep them up until the sun went down. And when his hand was up, we know that Israel prevailed.
(13) And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
In fact, we do read that Joshua and his army defeated the Amalekites in this, the first war of the Israelites.
(14) And the LORD said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”
God told Moses to specifically and literally write about this war in a book to be a lasting memorial. It was to be recounted especially in Joshua's hearing because God would eventually completely blot out the memory of the Amalekites. The Israelites had not yet completely annihilated the Amalekites, but Joshua was chief in this first war against them. God knew His plans for Joshua, and I believe He wanted Joshua especially to remember what Amalek had done to Israel and especially how God had saved them from Amalek. He wanted him to know, as well as all posterity by the written account, that in the process of time Amalek would be totally destroyed and not even remembered (except, in history, I suppose).
(15) And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovahnissi; (16) For he said, “Because the LORD has sworn the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Moses built an altar and called it Jehovahnissi, which literally meant, "Jehovah is my banner". The Israelites fought under the banner, and therefore under the direction of their Lord, in His name, and in defense of His truth. Much has been written about how this is the incorrect translation of verse 16. It is supposed what was meant, and what was scrambled by unfortunate translations of contractions and hyphens, was that because the hand of Amalek was upon the throne of God, therefore the Lord would have war with Amalek from generation to generation. I don't really have a problem with the KJV translation as it stands. The Lord indeed had already said that He would ultimately completely put out the remembrance of Amalek, which does insinuate there would be a continued struggle with Amalek until that obliteration was achieved. I believe making the altar to the Lord that was looked upon as their banner of their Lord, would serve as a reminder to the people that they were never to form any union with the Amalekites because they were sworn enemies of the Israelites, doomed to ruin. Dr. John Gill wrote this about Amalek: "Amalek may be considered as a type of antichrist, whose hand is against the throne of God, his tabernacle, and his saints; who, with all the antichristian states which make war with the Lamb, will be overcome and destroyed by him."
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Manna and the Bread of Life
Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(Exodus 16:1) And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt.
In the last study, the Israelites had come to Elim where there was plenty of water and shade, after having been without water three days and murmuring against Moses because of the bitter water they finally found at Marah. They now left Elim and went into the wilderness of Sin, which was between Elim and Sinai. It had been a month since they left Egypt for it was now the fifteenth day of the second month, and they had left Egypt on the fifteenth of Abib or Nisan, the first month.
(2) And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. (3) And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots and when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
And now the Israelites were complaining about Moses and Aaron again. It looks like they only had provisions for about a month, because they now complained about starving to death. It's not that they shouldn't be able to present to Moses their problem, but note how they did it. They always seem to be sarcastic and murmuring against Moses and Aaron rather than directly stating their problem. They actually said they would have rather died at the hand of the Lord in Egypt when at least they had their fill of meat and bread. This would seem to imply they would have preferred to be killed by the plagues with which God had struck Egypt rather than to starve to death in the desert. The Lord had just told them at the end of the last chapter that if they would heed the voice of the Lord and follow His commandments, that He would not bring any of the afflictions He had put on the Egyptians for He was the Lord who healed them. And now they used that very example of dying at His hands in Egypt as something they would prefer to have done rather than having faith that He would "heal" them from their hunger? What faithless ingrates! It's quite astonishing to read how quickly they lost faith after all they had witnessed and had been promised, yet I'm afraid and ashamed that it is a perfect example of how we all can get so easily disheartened when things get a little tough.
(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 certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law or not. (5) And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”
Moses had obviously in turn taken this problem to the Lord as he usually did when the people complained to him. The Lord answered this ungrateful murmuring crowd in the most kind and merciful way! He would rain bread from heaven for His children! He would provide their daily bread, but He would also be testing them. They would learn to trust and depend on Him to provide their daily needs, but just what they would need in a day. They were instructed to go out every day and gather the same amount they would need for that day. On the sixth day they would gather twice as much as they usually gathered in one day.
(6) And Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt. (7) And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, for He hears your murmurings against the LORD; and what are we, that you murmur against us?”
Moses and Aaron then told the people that at evening they would know that the Lord had brought them out of Egypt. They obviously knew they had been brought out of Egypt, but they would realize it was completely the Lord's doing, and not by the work of Moses and Aaron, as they had claimed with their murmurings (verse 3). In the morning they would see the glory of the Lord; that word "kabod" meant "glory" and "splendor", and also "abundance" and "copiousness". They would see the glorious magnitude of their Lord, for He had heard their murmurings against Him. The Lord wasn't going to provide for them because they had complained, but because of His promise to them. The point Moses was making was that their murmurings were against the Lord, because all he and Aaron had done was to follow His command.
(8) And Moses said, “This shall be, when the LORD shall give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full, for the LORD hears your murmurings which you murmur against Him; and what are we? Your murmurings are not against us but against the LORD.”
Moses expounded on his original statement that the people would know it was the Lord who had brought them out of Egypt and that they would see His glory. This would come about when they saw that the Lord indeed provided meat for them in the evening and bread to their fill in the morning. The Lord heard their murmuring and He would provide for them. God patiently and mercifully answered their murmurs, not that He hadn't planned to provide for them all along. That is the point; God was patiently showing the people that they could depend on Him. HE was the one who brought them out of Egypt and He was the one who would provide for them in the desert. Moses again pointed out to them that when they grumbled and complained, they were grumbling against the Lord and His plans being implemented. They had no cause to murmur against Moses and Aaron; they were only obeying God.
(9) And Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your murmurings.’” (10) And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to 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.
Moses told Aaron, who was his spokesman, to gather the congregation of the children of Israel, and have them come before the Lord, that pillar of cloud that was always before them. As Aaron was doing this, the children of Israel looked and saw the glory of the Lord appear in the cloud. The children of Israel were reminded in a very visual way that their Lord was the One leading, guiding, and providing for them. We aren't told exactly what the people saw, but I can imagine it was an extraordinary brightness or rays of bright light possibly emanating from an image of Christ. Whatever they saw, you can be certain they had no doubt it was their Lord they saw.
(11) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (12) “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘At evening 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.’”
Out of the bright and glorious cloud, I believe the people heard the Lord speak to Moses. It was necessary that they know that Moses spoke the truth when he had told them they murmured against the Lord and that He had heard them. Audibly, so that the children of Israel heard, the Lord told Moses to tell the people that in the evening they would eat meat, and in the morning they would be filled with bread, and they would know that He was their Lord God, the One who led them and supplied all their needs.
(13) And it came to pass, that at evening the quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. (14) 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 frost on the ground. (15) And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, “What is it?”, for they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat."
Sure enough, in the evening quails came and covered the camp, and the people had plenty of meat to eat. The next morning when the dew lifted, there were small round things that appeared as frost on the ground on the surface of the wilderness. When the children of Israel saw it, they didn't know what it was, and asked among themselves, "What is it?" The word "manna" actually means "a whatzit"! The KJV actually translated, "It is manna", rather than "What is it?" The newer translations all found that an incorrect and unfortunate translation, because later scriptures point out they had never seen it before and couldn't possibly have known what it was. However, when I discovered that the word meant "a whatness (so to speak)", according to Strong's, I found it perfectly plausible that they could have themselves named it a whatzit. Either way, the gist is the same, they didn't know what it was, and Moses told them it was the bread the Lord had given them to eat.
(16) “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’”
Moses went on to tell the children of Israel what the Lord had commanded they do with the manna which He gave them. They were to gather it according to the need of their household (or their tent in the wilderness), one omer for each person. We will later read that an omer was a tenth of an ephah. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote that an ephah, from the word "to bake", probably referred to the amount that was baked at one time, but then he gave a rough liquid measure. It was Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, who gave the best definition of a dry measure, "in corn measure, six gallons, three pints, and three solid inches", and therefore an omer would be about three quarts, or about six pints, as Clarke and others put it. An omer per person certainly sounds like more than enough.
(17) And the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. (18) And when they measured it by an omer, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack; every man had gathered according to each one’s need.
The people gathered the manna. "Some more, some less" appears to mean that some gathered more than others because they had larger families, because when they measured it by omers, each man had gathered according to his family's needs. It may be that what was gathered was brought to a measuring place and then meted out by omers, so that the man who gathered much, still only received one omer per person, and the one who gathered less, also received one omer per person in his family.
(19) And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” (20) Notwithstanding, they did not heed Moses, but some of them left part of it until the morning, and it bred worms and stank; and Moses was angry with them.
In verse 4, the Lord had told Moses that the people were to gather a certain rate every day that He might prove (or test) them, whether they would walk in His law or not. Moses told the people they were not to leave any of their manna until the next morning. The point was to make them dependent on the Lord for their daily bread. Well, it was to have them obey the Lord, and then to trust Him for their daily needs. By saving it until the next day, some of them disobeyed the Lord, and were in effect, not trusting Him for their next day's needs, but were trying to arrange for it themselves. When they did that, they found the manna did not last until the next day, but bred worms and stank. It made Moses angry that they had not obeyed the Lord.
(21) And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need; and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
Not only could they not save manna until the next morning, but they had to gather what they needed for the day in the morning. They couldn't gather a little for breakfast, and then expect to go back out in the evening to gather for dinner. When the sun was hot in the day the manna melted, and there was none left for gathering.
(22) 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.
On the sixth day the people gathered twice as much manna as they had been gathering daily, exactly twice as much, two omers for each person. It would seem that they didn't intend to, that it was perhaps more easily gathered, and that it unknowingly wound up being twice as much when it was measured, because the rulers of the congregation, in turn, went to Moses with the news, as if they had not expected it. We had been made privy to this in verse 4 above, when the Lord had told Moses the people were to gather twice as much on the sixth day, but evidently, Moses had not yet told the people. When you look at verse 4 again, that it would come to pass that on the sixth day they would prepare what they brought in, and it would be twice as much as they normally gathered daily, along with verse 22 where it came to pass that they seemed to unknowingly gather twice as much, it points to a miraculous doubling of the manna that the people were not even aware of at the time of gathering. After all, they had been shown that the manna could not be gathered one day and then saved till the next day, so the rulers went to Moses to tell him of their predicament.
(23) And he said to them, “This is what the LORD has said, ‘Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and that which remains, lay up for you to be kept until the morning.’” (24) And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.
This was the one day that the people were allowed to gather twice as much manna as they usually did, and they were instructed to prepare what they would for the day, and save the rest for the next day, the holy Sabbath day to the Lord. Miraculously, the manna did not breed worms and stink when it was saved from the sixth day until the Sabbath like it did when it was saved from any other day until the next.
(25) And Moses said, “Eat that 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, in it there will be none.”
On the Sabbath day, when they found their manna with no worms or bad smell, Moses told the people to eat it that day, because they would not find any manna on the ground on that Sabbath day. He reiterated the command that they should gather manna six days a week, but not on the seventh or Sabbath day. There have been some who have tried to claim that the manna was a naturally occurring phenomenon, but the way this manna fell and was used obviously debunks that theory.
(27) And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.
Whether it was willful disobedience or a curiosity to see if what Moses had said the Lord had declared was indeed true, some of the people went out on the Sabbath to try to gather manna, but found that indeed there was none.
(28) And the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? (29) See, for that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; every man remain in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”
God saw their actions as disobedience. In verse 4, He stated that He would be testing the people to see if they would walk according to His law or not, and in this, some of them obviously did not pass the test. The Lord had given them the Sabbath. It was a blessed gift from the Lord. Indeed, in Mark 2:27, Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible, said it beautifully:
"For his rest from toil, his rest from the cares and anxieties of the world, to give him an opportunity to call off his attention from earthly concerns and to direct it to the affairs of eternity. It was a kind provision for man that he might refresh his body by relaxing his labors; that he might have undisturbed time to seek the consolations of religion to cheer him in the anxieties and sorrows of a troubled world; and that he might render to God that homage which is most justly due to him as the Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and Redeemer of the world. And it is easily capable of proof that no institution has been more signally blessed to man’s welfare than the Sabbath. To that we owe, more than to anything else, the peace and order of a civilized community. Where there is no Sabbath there is ignorance, vice, disorder, and crime. On that holy day the poor and the ignorant, as well as the learned, have undisturbed time to learn the requirements of religion, the nature of morals, the law of God, and the way of salvation. On that day man may offer his praises to the Great Giver of all good, and in the sanctuary seek the blessing of him whose favor is life. Where that day is observed in any manner as it should be, order prevails, morals are promoted, the poor are elevated in their condition, vice flies away, and the community puts on the appearance of neatness, industry, morality, and religion. The Sabbath was therefore pre-eminently intended for man’s welfare, and the best interests of mankind demand that it should be sacredly regarded as an appointment of merciful heaven intended for our best good, and, where improved aright, infallibly resulting in our temporal and eternal peace."
The Sabbath was for man's benefit. The Lord had provided a way for the people to have a complete rest without worrying about the gathering of the day's food. He intended that they not leave their homes on the Sabbath day, but there some of them went, testing God and Moses and therefore losing benefit to themselves in their disobedience. Mere rest from work was not the only benefit of the Sabbath; it was a time of worship and reflection of their Lord and provider. Obviously, they were missing that, too, while they were out testing their God instead of thanking and worshiping and resting in His provisions. Moses reiterated the command that the people should gather manna six days, and that the Lord provided two days' worth on the sixth day, so that no man was to leave his place on the seventh day.
(30) So the people rested on the seventh day. (31) And the house of Israel called its name Manna; and it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
The people rested on the Sabbath day as it was intended by the Lord. The children of Israel officially gave this bread of the Lord the name of Manna. Initially they used that word to mean a whatzit of sorts, but it now became the name of the bread from heaven that fed the Israelites in the wilderness. Manna was described as being like a coriander seed in form and figure, but white, and it tasted like wafers made with honey.
(32) And Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, ‘Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” (33) And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omer full of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.”
Moses told the people that the Lord had commanded they preserve an omer of manna for their posterity, so that they could see the bread with which He fed them in the wilderness after He brought them out of Egypt. He further instructed Aaron to put an omer of manna into a pot to preserve it for future generations. How miraculous the very stuff that could not be kept overnight without breeding worms and stinking, now could be kept forever as a reminder and memorial of their Lord's blessing and provision. This is mentioned again later in the New Testament, specifically Hebrews 9:4, "...the ark of the covenant...in which was the golden pot that had manna..." How often do we read in scripture that a record or memorial of some sort was to be kept for the next generations? God's blessings were not just for the people at the present receiving them, but were to be a proof and reminder of His continual blessing upon us:
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, gave this wonderful reminder, "Eaten bread must not be forgotten. God's miracles and mercies are to be had in everlasting remembrance, for our encouragement to trust in him at all times."
(34) As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
As the Lord had commanded, Aaron indeed preserved the manna and "laid it up before the Testimony". Since Moses wrote about this event afterward, and the ark of the testimony, or covenant, was indeed coming, perhaps he meant that, as most of the old commentaries seem to imply. However, we have already been told that the Lord wanted Moses to preserve in writing a record of events, specifically from Numbers 33:2, chronologically ordered before this current event, but also alluded to in other verses when God told Moses to pass the reports of events to the next generation. Perhaps there was already the beginnings of a preserved Testimony before there was an ark of the Testimony.
(35) And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. (36) Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.
Here we are given a couple more facts about the bread of God, manna. It was provided to the children of Israel for forty years all during their wilderness trek, until they came to the land of Canaan. Additionally, we learn that an omer is a tenth of an ephah, a statement that seems a little out of place here, and was already discussed after verse 16 above.
The main subject of this chapter is the miracle of manna, God's bread from heaven to sustain His children. God wanted His children to learn to trust and depend on Him for their daily bread. That He alone was their provider was evident in the way that the manna would not last overnight during the week, but did on the Sabbath. The children of Israel were taught to observe a Sabbath rest and know that God would take care of those who would rest in Him. Finally, they were to show and tell their future generations what God had done for them in the wilderness.
This manna is a beautiful illustration of the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. Just as the Israelites would have perished in the wilderness without the bread from heaven, so would all our souls perish had Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, not come down from heaven to save us all from eternal deaths. As Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread, we learn to daily depend upon the Lord for our immediate needs. We must make note that we aren't fed without any effort on our parts. That is not to say that we have to work for our salvation; we don't. However, the children of Israel were expected to obey God with regard to how they were to gather their daily bread. They were to work in daily communion with God. As the apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 3:6-9), one plants and another waters, but God gives the increase, and "we are laborers together with God". Additionally, Paul pointed out that this work in which we labor with God is built only on the foundation of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11). As I reread verses 17 and 18 above, I was struck by the correlation of Jesus Christ to the manna that was gathered by each man. Some gathered more and some gathered less, but when it was meted out, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to his need. Is that not a perfect picture of Christ as illustrated by the parable of the workers in the vineyard? The workers who came late were paid the same wages as the workers who started early. They were told upfront what their wages would be. All who come to Christ, the Bread of Life, receive His salvation from their sins. Some come sooner, some come later, but as the Israelites, some of whom gathered more, and some of whom gathered less, they all had just what they needed. The people had to gather the manna in the morning while it was found because when the sun waxed hot, it melted and could not be found. Likewise, we are to seek the Lord and his bread of life while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6). The children of Israel were taught to observe a Sabbath rest, and Jesus Christ became that sabbath rest for us. Again it was the apostle Paul who wrote that a relationship with Christ freed us from the works of the law and gave us rest in the work of Christ to save us from the penalty of our sins (Hebrews, chapter 4). As the Israelites were instructed to show and tell future generations about God's bread of life, so are we instructed to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the true Bread of Life.
(Exodus 16:1) And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt.
In the last study, the Israelites had come to Elim where there was plenty of water and shade, after having been without water three days and murmuring against Moses because of the bitter water they finally found at Marah. They now left Elim and went into the wilderness of Sin, which was between Elim and Sinai. It had been a month since they left Egypt for it was now the fifteenth day of the second month, and they had left Egypt on the fifteenth of Abib or Nisan, the first month.
(2) And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. (3) And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots and when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
And now the Israelites were complaining about Moses and Aaron again. It looks like they only had provisions for about a month, because they now complained about starving to death. It's not that they shouldn't be able to present to Moses their problem, but note how they did it. They always seem to be sarcastic and murmuring against Moses and Aaron rather than directly stating their problem. They actually said they would have rather died at the hand of the Lord in Egypt when at least they had their fill of meat and bread. This would seem to imply they would have preferred to be killed by the plagues with which God had struck Egypt rather than to starve to death in the desert. The Lord had just told them at the end of the last chapter that if they would heed the voice of the Lord and follow His commandments, that He would not bring any of the afflictions He had put on the Egyptians for He was the Lord who healed them. And now they used that very example of dying at His hands in Egypt as something they would prefer to have done rather than having faith that He would "heal" them from their hunger? What faithless ingrates! It's quite astonishing to read how quickly they lost faith after all they had witnessed and had been promised, yet I'm afraid and ashamed that it is a perfect example of how we all can get so easily disheartened when things get a little tough.
(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 certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law or not. (5) And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”
Moses had obviously in turn taken this problem to the Lord as he usually did when the people complained to him. The Lord answered this ungrateful murmuring crowd in the most kind and merciful way! He would rain bread from heaven for His children! He would provide their daily bread, but He would also be testing them. They would learn to trust and depend on Him to provide their daily needs, but just what they would need in a day. They were instructed to go out every day and gather the same amount they would need for that day. On the sixth day they would gather twice as much as they usually gathered in one day.
(6) And Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt. (7) And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, for He hears your murmurings against the LORD; and what are we, that you murmur against us?”
Moses and Aaron then told the people that at evening they would know that the Lord had brought them out of Egypt. They obviously knew they had been brought out of Egypt, but they would realize it was completely the Lord's doing, and not by the work of Moses and Aaron, as they had claimed with their murmurings (verse 3). In the morning they would see the glory of the Lord; that word "kabod" meant "glory" and "splendor", and also "abundance" and "copiousness". They would see the glorious magnitude of their Lord, for He had heard their murmurings against Him. The Lord wasn't going to provide for them because they had complained, but because of His promise to them. The point Moses was making was that their murmurings were against the Lord, because all he and Aaron had done was to follow His command.
(8) And Moses said, “This shall be, when the LORD shall give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full, for the LORD hears your murmurings which you murmur against Him; and what are we? Your murmurings are not against us but against the LORD.”
Moses expounded on his original statement that the people would know it was the Lord who had brought them out of Egypt and that they would see His glory. This would come about when they saw that the Lord indeed provided meat for them in the evening and bread to their fill in the morning. The Lord heard their murmuring and He would provide for them. God patiently and mercifully answered their murmurs, not that He hadn't planned to provide for them all along. That is the point; God was patiently showing the people that they could depend on Him. HE was the one who brought them out of Egypt and He was the one who would provide for them in the desert. Moses again pointed out to them that when they grumbled and complained, they were grumbling against the Lord and His plans being implemented. They had no cause to murmur against Moses and Aaron; they were only obeying God.
(9) And Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your murmurings.’” (10) And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to 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.
Moses told Aaron, who was his spokesman, to gather the congregation of the children of Israel, and have them come before the Lord, that pillar of cloud that was always before them. As Aaron was doing this, the children of Israel looked and saw the glory of the Lord appear in the cloud. The children of Israel were reminded in a very visual way that their Lord was the One leading, guiding, and providing for them. We aren't told exactly what the people saw, but I can imagine it was an extraordinary brightness or rays of bright light possibly emanating from an image of Christ. Whatever they saw, you can be certain they had no doubt it was their Lord they saw.
(11) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (12) “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘At evening 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.’”
Out of the bright and glorious cloud, I believe the people heard the Lord speak to Moses. It was necessary that they know that Moses spoke the truth when he had told them they murmured against the Lord and that He had heard them. Audibly, so that the children of Israel heard, the Lord told Moses to tell the people that in the evening they would eat meat, and in the morning they would be filled with bread, and they would know that He was their Lord God, the One who led them and supplied all their needs.
(13) And it came to pass, that at evening the quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. (14) 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 frost on the ground. (15) And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, “What is it?”, for they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat."
Sure enough, in the evening quails came and covered the camp, and the people had plenty of meat to eat. The next morning when the dew lifted, there were small round things that appeared as frost on the ground on the surface of the wilderness. When the children of Israel saw it, they didn't know what it was, and asked among themselves, "What is it?" The word "manna" actually means "a whatzit"! The KJV actually translated, "It is manna", rather than "What is it?" The newer translations all found that an incorrect and unfortunate translation, because later scriptures point out they had never seen it before and couldn't possibly have known what it was. However, when I discovered that the word meant "a whatness (so to speak)", according to Strong's, I found it perfectly plausible that they could have themselves named it a whatzit. Either way, the gist is the same, they didn't know what it was, and Moses told them it was the bread the Lord had given them to eat.
(16) “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’”
Moses went on to tell the children of Israel what the Lord had commanded they do with the manna which He gave them. They were to gather it according to the need of their household (or their tent in the wilderness), one omer for each person. We will later read that an omer was a tenth of an ephah. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote that an ephah, from the word "to bake", probably referred to the amount that was baked at one time, but then he gave a rough liquid measure. It was Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, who gave the best definition of a dry measure, "in corn measure, six gallons, three pints, and three solid inches", and therefore an omer would be about three quarts, or about six pints, as Clarke and others put it. An omer per person certainly sounds like more than enough.
(17) And the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. (18) And when they measured it by an omer, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack; every man had gathered according to each one’s need.
The people gathered the manna. "Some more, some less" appears to mean that some gathered more than others because they had larger families, because when they measured it by omers, each man had gathered according to his family's needs. It may be that what was gathered was brought to a measuring place and then meted out by omers, so that the man who gathered much, still only received one omer per person, and the one who gathered less, also received one omer per person in his family.
(19) And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” (20) Notwithstanding, they did not heed Moses, but some of them left part of it until the morning, and it bred worms and stank; and Moses was angry with them.
In verse 4, the Lord had told Moses that the people were to gather a certain rate every day that He might prove (or test) them, whether they would walk in His law or not. Moses told the people they were not to leave any of their manna until the next morning. The point was to make them dependent on the Lord for their daily bread. Well, it was to have them obey the Lord, and then to trust Him for their daily needs. By saving it until the next day, some of them disobeyed the Lord, and were in effect, not trusting Him for their next day's needs, but were trying to arrange for it themselves. When they did that, they found the manna did not last until the next day, but bred worms and stank. It made Moses angry that they had not obeyed the Lord.
(21) And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need; and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
Not only could they not save manna until the next morning, but they had to gather what they needed for the day in the morning. They couldn't gather a little for breakfast, and then expect to go back out in the evening to gather for dinner. When the sun was hot in the day the manna melted, and there was none left for gathering.
(22) 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.
On the sixth day the people gathered twice as much manna as they had been gathering daily, exactly twice as much, two omers for each person. It would seem that they didn't intend to, that it was perhaps more easily gathered, and that it unknowingly wound up being twice as much when it was measured, because the rulers of the congregation, in turn, went to Moses with the news, as if they had not expected it. We had been made privy to this in verse 4 above, when the Lord had told Moses the people were to gather twice as much on the sixth day, but evidently, Moses had not yet told the people. When you look at verse 4 again, that it would come to pass that on the sixth day they would prepare what they brought in, and it would be twice as much as they normally gathered daily, along with verse 22 where it came to pass that they seemed to unknowingly gather twice as much, it points to a miraculous doubling of the manna that the people were not even aware of at the time of gathering. After all, they had been shown that the manna could not be gathered one day and then saved till the next day, so the rulers went to Moses to tell him of their predicament.
(23) And he said to them, “This is what the LORD has said, ‘Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and that which remains, lay up for you to be kept until the morning.’” (24) And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.
This was the one day that the people were allowed to gather twice as much manna as they usually did, and they were instructed to prepare what they would for the day, and save the rest for the next day, the holy Sabbath day to the Lord. Miraculously, the manna did not breed worms and stink when it was saved from the sixth day until the Sabbath like it did when it was saved from any other day until the next.
(25) And Moses said, “Eat that 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, in it there will be none.”
On the Sabbath day, when they found their manna with no worms or bad smell, Moses told the people to eat it that day, because they would not find any manna on the ground on that Sabbath day. He reiterated the command that they should gather manna six days a week, but not on the seventh or Sabbath day. There have been some who have tried to claim that the manna was a naturally occurring phenomenon, but the way this manna fell and was used obviously debunks that theory.
(27) And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.
Whether it was willful disobedience or a curiosity to see if what Moses had said the Lord had declared was indeed true, some of the people went out on the Sabbath to try to gather manna, but found that indeed there was none.
(28) And the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? (29) See, for that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; every man remain in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”
God saw their actions as disobedience. In verse 4, He stated that He would be testing the people to see if they would walk according to His law or not, and in this, some of them obviously did not pass the test. The Lord had given them the Sabbath. It was a blessed gift from the Lord. Indeed, in Mark 2:27, Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible, said it beautifully:
"For his rest from toil, his rest from the cares and anxieties of the world, to give him an opportunity to call off his attention from earthly concerns and to direct it to the affairs of eternity. It was a kind provision for man that he might refresh his body by relaxing his labors; that he might have undisturbed time to seek the consolations of religion to cheer him in the anxieties and sorrows of a troubled world; and that he might render to God that homage which is most justly due to him as the Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and Redeemer of the world. And it is easily capable of proof that no institution has been more signally blessed to man’s welfare than the Sabbath. To that we owe, more than to anything else, the peace and order of a civilized community. Where there is no Sabbath there is ignorance, vice, disorder, and crime. On that holy day the poor and the ignorant, as well as the learned, have undisturbed time to learn the requirements of religion, the nature of morals, the law of God, and the way of salvation. On that day man may offer his praises to the Great Giver of all good, and in the sanctuary seek the blessing of him whose favor is life. Where that day is observed in any manner as it should be, order prevails, morals are promoted, the poor are elevated in their condition, vice flies away, and the community puts on the appearance of neatness, industry, morality, and religion. The Sabbath was therefore pre-eminently intended for man’s welfare, and the best interests of mankind demand that it should be sacredly regarded as an appointment of merciful heaven intended for our best good, and, where improved aright, infallibly resulting in our temporal and eternal peace."
The Sabbath was for man's benefit. The Lord had provided a way for the people to have a complete rest without worrying about the gathering of the day's food. He intended that they not leave their homes on the Sabbath day, but there some of them went, testing God and Moses and therefore losing benefit to themselves in their disobedience. Mere rest from work was not the only benefit of the Sabbath; it was a time of worship and reflection of their Lord and provider. Obviously, they were missing that, too, while they were out testing their God instead of thanking and worshiping and resting in His provisions. Moses reiterated the command that the people should gather manna six days, and that the Lord provided two days' worth on the sixth day, so that no man was to leave his place on the seventh day.
(30) So the people rested on the seventh day. (31) And the house of Israel called its name Manna; and it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
The people rested on the Sabbath day as it was intended by the Lord. The children of Israel officially gave this bread of the Lord the name of Manna. Initially they used that word to mean a whatzit of sorts, but it now became the name of the bread from heaven that fed the Israelites in the wilderness. Manna was described as being like a coriander seed in form and figure, but white, and it tasted like wafers made with honey.
(32) And Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, ‘Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” (33) And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omer full of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.”
Moses told the people that the Lord had commanded they preserve an omer of manna for their posterity, so that they could see the bread with which He fed them in the wilderness after He brought them out of Egypt. He further instructed Aaron to put an omer of manna into a pot to preserve it for future generations. How miraculous the very stuff that could not be kept overnight without breeding worms and stinking, now could be kept forever as a reminder and memorial of their Lord's blessing and provision. This is mentioned again later in the New Testament, specifically Hebrews 9:4, "...the ark of the covenant...in which was the golden pot that had manna..." How often do we read in scripture that a record or memorial of some sort was to be kept for the next generations? God's blessings were not just for the people at the present receiving them, but were to be a proof and reminder of His continual blessing upon us:
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, gave this wonderful reminder, "Eaten bread must not be forgotten. God's miracles and mercies are to be had in everlasting remembrance, for our encouragement to trust in him at all times."
(34) As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
As the Lord had commanded, Aaron indeed preserved the manna and "laid it up before the Testimony". Since Moses wrote about this event afterward, and the ark of the testimony, or covenant, was indeed coming, perhaps he meant that, as most of the old commentaries seem to imply. However, we have already been told that the Lord wanted Moses to preserve in writing a record of events, specifically from Numbers 33:2, chronologically ordered before this current event, but also alluded to in other verses when God told Moses to pass the reports of events to the next generation. Perhaps there was already the beginnings of a preserved Testimony before there was an ark of the Testimony.
(35) And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. (36) Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.
Here we are given a couple more facts about the bread of God, manna. It was provided to the children of Israel for forty years all during their wilderness trek, until they came to the land of Canaan. Additionally, we learn that an omer is a tenth of an ephah, a statement that seems a little out of place here, and was already discussed after verse 16 above.
The main subject of this chapter is the miracle of manna, God's bread from heaven to sustain His children. God wanted His children to learn to trust and depend on Him for their daily bread. That He alone was their provider was evident in the way that the manna would not last overnight during the week, but did on the Sabbath. The children of Israel were taught to observe a Sabbath rest and know that God would take care of those who would rest in Him. Finally, they were to show and tell their future generations what God had done for them in the wilderness.
This manna is a beautiful illustration of the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. Just as the Israelites would have perished in the wilderness without the bread from heaven, so would all our souls perish had Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, not come down from heaven to save us all from eternal deaths. As Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread, we learn to daily depend upon the Lord for our immediate needs. We must make note that we aren't fed without any effort on our parts. That is not to say that we have to work for our salvation; we don't. However, the children of Israel were expected to obey God with regard to how they were to gather their daily bread. They were to work in daily communion with God. As the apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 3:6-9), one plants and another waters, but God gives the increase, and "we are laborers together with God". Additionally, Paul pointed out that this work in which we labor with God is built only on the foundation of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11). As I reread verses 17 and 18 above, I was struck by the correlation of Jesus Christ to the manna that was gathered by each man. Some gathered more and some gathered less, but when it was meted out, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to his need. Is that not a perfect picture of Christ as illustrated by the parable of the workers in the vineyard? The workers who came late were paid the same wages as the workers who started early. They were told upfront what their wages would be. All who come to Christ, the Bread of Life, receive His salvation from their sins. Some come sooner, some come later, but as the Israelites, some of whom gathered more, and some of whom gathered less, they all had just what they needed. The people had to gather the manna in the morning while it was found because when the sun waxed hot, it melted and could not be found. Likewise, we are to seek the Lord and his bread of life while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6). The children of Israel were taught to observe a Sabbath rest, and Jesus Christ became that sabbath rest for us. Again it was the apostle Paul who wrote that a relationship with Christ freed us from the works of the law and gave us rest in the work of Christ to save us from the penalty of our sins (Hebrews, chapter 4). As the Israelites were instructed to show and tell future generations about God's bread of life, so are we instructed to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the true Bread of Life.
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