The Book Of Exodus
Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say
unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."
About six weeks after the exodus from Egypt the Israelites arrive in the wilderness of Sin. (v.1) (Numbers 33:10-11, Ezekiel 30:15) “Sin” is the English translation of the original Hebrew word, and it’s very likely that this region is so named because of the sin committed by the children of Israel. They grumble and complain against Moses and Aaron, this time due to a lack of food. (v.2) (Psalm 106:25, 1 Corinthians 10:10) “Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt…for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (v.3) (Exodus 17:3, Numbers 14:2-3, 20:3) How quickly the children of Israel forgot the slavery and persecution that accompanied the bread, meat, fruits and vegetables of which they had plenty in Egypt! (Numbers 11:4-5)
God, ever the patient and loving Father, tells Moses, “I will rain bread from heaven for you…” (v.4) He then gives a specific set of instructions regarding this special food: 1. There would be flesh every evening in the form of quail and bread every morning with the dew. (v.12-13) 2. Of the bread the Israelites are to gather only one omer’s worth per man. An omer is a tenth of an ephah. (v.36) 3. They are to gather only enough for that day and no more. If they try to save some for the next day, other than the sabbath day, the bread will rot and grow worms. (v.20) (Exodus 12:10, 23:18, 2 Corinthians 8:15) 4. On the sixth day of the week, the Israelites are to gather two days’ worth of food, for on the seventh day they are to rest. There will be no quail or bread from heaven on that day because it is the sabbath. (v.26-27) He then concludes these instructions with the statement, “…that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” (v.4) (Judges 2:22) As with the incident at Marah in the previous chapter, God is once again giving His chosen people the opportunity to show their faith by trusting in Him to meet their daily needs, as well as obeying His simple instructions regarding the daily allotment of meat and bread. Moses and Aaron relay God’s message to the people. (v.6-9) One the next morning, when the Israelites first see the small, white, wafer-like substance, they call it “manna” which, in Hebrew, literally means “What is it?” (v.15, 31) It tastes sweet and can be baked or boiled (v.23), but it is unlike anything they have seen or tasted before. The description of manna in this chapter makes it clear that this food was a miracle from God. (Numbers 11:7, Deuteronomy 8:3, 16) There is not now nor back then anything naturally growing in the desert of this region of the world that fits the description of manna. Furthermore, the fact that it appeared only with the morning dew and that it would become spoiled if not eaten that same day, except on the sabbath, also testifies to the supernatural source of this bread from heaven. Verse 35 makes it clear that God used manna to feed the children of Israel from this day until they entered the promised land, a period of about forty years. There was nothing like it back then, and there has never been anything like it since. Despite Moses and Aaron’s clear and specific instructions, however, some of the Israelites do not obey. (v.20) They either gather too much and try to keep some extra overnight when the next day is not the sabbath, or they don’t gather enough on the sixth day, and when they go out on the sabbath there is no manna to be found. (v.27) But those that do obey the word of the Lord by measuring what they gather each morning – only one omer per man for the first five days of the week and two per man on the sixth day – discover that each has just enough to feed him and his family for each day. (v.18) The rulers of the congregation come to Moses, asking the reason for the gathering of an additional omer per man on the sixth day. (v.22) Moses explains that “…to morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord…” (v.23, 25) There will be no manna from heaven on the sabbath day. (v.26) This chapter in Exodus is the first mention in the Bible of the sabbath day. Although Genesis 2:3 says that God rested on the seventh day, it’s not until now that God gives this holy day of rest a specific name. It is shortly after this that God will give His law to Moses in the form of the ten commandments. (Exodus 20:8, 23:12, 31:15, 35:2, Leviticus 23:3, Nehemiah 9:13-14) As a final command from God, Moses tells Aaron to gather an omer of manna “…and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations.” (v.33) Later, when God gives instructions to Moses for the building of the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant, that urn of manna – which never spoils, yet again proving the supernatural nature of its very existence – is one of the items God commands to be placed in the ark. (Exodus 25:22, Numbers 10:33) There are within this chapter many pictures of – and lessons for – the daily life of the believer today. As the manna itself was a miraculous provision from heaven each morning, so Jesus called Himself the true bread from heaven, the Bread of Life. (John 6:32, 35) Just as God taught the Israelites here in the desert to always be looking to Him for their daily sustenance and care, so we today should be looking daily towards Christ for our spiritual manna each morning. God provided manna with the morning dew, and the Israelites had to rise early to go gather it. So we should rise early each morning to receive our daily spiritual food from the word of God. If not in the morning, then at least at some point during our day we should be setting aside an hour of quiet time to spend with our Lord and Savior. Feasting upon the manna of God’s word is the only way we will grow in our faith and our walk with Him! (John 15:4-5) God gives us instructions and commands in His word that He expects us to follow and obey. When we disobey by murmuring or complaining, or when we don’t do what we’re told, God is displeased. (v.28) The Israelites continually murmured and complained against Moses and Aaron during their sojourn in the desert, and God always chastened them for it. (Numbers 14:27, 17:5, 21:5-6, 1 Samuel 8:7, Luke 10:16, Romans 13:2, 1 Thessalonians 4:8) When we grumble and gossip and complain about our pastor or other church leaders, or even the leaders in government that God has allowed to rule over us, we sin against God Himself. We show the same immaturity of faith and lack of trust that the Israelites displayed here in Exodus 16. Instead of complaining, we are commanded by God to pray for our pastor, our deacons, our boss, the president and the kings of the earth. (Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 2:13-15) When the Israelites complained to Moses about the lack of food, Moses immediately turned to the Lord. (1 Peter 5:7) He made no attempt to solve the problem on his own but instead sought the wisdom of God for direction and a solution. The same holds true today for you and me. Too often we find ourselves in the midst of a crisis or some situation of peril, and, rather than get on our knees in prayer, we seek out all other solutions and directions that we think are best. Only after we’ve exhausted ourselves and are still mired in trouble and despair do we finally call out to God. Verse 10 says, “And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto 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.” In my Bible I have written in the margin next to this verse, “Am I daily seeking God's face? Am I always turned towards the glory of the Lord?” Moses and Aaron tell the Israelites to look out towards the wilderness, and there is where they see the glory of the Lord manifested in the pillar of a cloud that has guided them every day since their exodus from Egypt. (Exodus 13:21, Numbers 16:19, 1 Kings 8:10) The children of Israel are so focused on themselves and their circumstances that they forget to look for the presence of God, which is the cloud by day and the fire by night. Unfortunately, we today are no better than they. We should always, every day, be looking for the glory of God’s presence in our lives. God provides us each day what we need, but no more. He commands us not to worry about tomorrow, for it is cast into the oven. (Matthew 6:30) That doesn’t mean that we should live foolishly by squandering the mortgage payment on a new car or use the week’s worth of grocery money on a single meal at an upscale restaurant we couldn’t ordinarily afford. God expects us to use his blessings wisely and plan smartly so that we meet our daily needs. But nor should we be so focused on the future that we neglect the work that needs to be done for the Lord today. God wants all of our attention to be on the task(s) that He has delegated to us for today and not to be concerned with what might be coming tomorrow, or next week, or next month. God meets our needs each day, both physical and spiritual, but it up to us to have faith and obey Him accordingly as we seek His glory, presence, and wisdom each morning.
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