Exodus 16: A Meditation for Today
Bread from Heaven
1. And they took their journey from Elim, and all the
congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the
second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt .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 unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the
land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we
did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness,
to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
A
month has passed under this new life, but already they have begun to complain
and murmur again. Bad habits are hard to break (Eph 5: 4). It is no
wonder that the Holy Ghost uses the pun "wilderness of sin" for us today,
we are living in a wilderness because of sin (Isa. 14:17), as a result there is
a struggle for food and water.
4.
Then said the LORD unto 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 no. 5. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall
prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they
gather daily. 6. And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At
even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of
Egypt: 7. And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that
he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye
murmur against us? 8.And Moses said, This
shall be, when the LORD
shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the
full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him:
and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.9. And Moses spake
unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near
before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings. 10. 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.
God said he was going to send bread (meat) in the morning for
their hungry stomachs and quails that evening. People become so very agitated
when they are hungry. Just go and ask someone who works in fast food joint or a
restaurant. Even so God’s people need to be greatful and thankful even in
pressing times.
11. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 12. I have
heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At
even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and
ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. 13.And it came to pass, that at even
the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round
about the host.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
hoar frost on the ground. 15. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to
another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto
them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
It is interesting to think that Moses told them that in the
morning God was going to send them bread from heaven, but when it came down
from heaven they did not recognize it as such. Israel had preconceived ideas of
what it would look like and possibly how it should appear to them. Sometimes
are answers do not look like what we pictured in our minds. Israel said, “Manna” which means, What is
this?
Moreover, it came down right after the dew early in the morning
and was round, small, almost like frost on the ground. The meaning of this is easy
to understand, the shape of this bread was round meaning it had no end, thus it
was eternal, and “small” coming in small parts or even humble presentation. Secondly,
as we will read in verse 31 it was “white” as even here like “hoar frost,”
meaning it was “pure (Psa. 12:6, Psa. 119:140, Prov. 30:5, Rev. 22:1).” Third it tasted like wafers with honey (sweet). This was a physical representation of the Word
of God.
John 6:48-51
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.
51. 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.
The dew descended in the morning for the manna to land upon.
This represents John the Baptist the anointed preaching of the prophet
preparing the ground for the coming of the Messiah. Even as it takes the preparation
of the Spirit of God to fall upon mankind the ground (man was made from the dust of the
ground) to perceive the things of God (1 Cor 2:13-14). ISRAEL did not recognize the
bread from heaven just like they did not recognize Jesus Christ. In their minds
they perceived a mighty man like David who would free them from their chains of
the Romans through mighty exploits. Instead their Messiah was a poor carpenter of
(small) humble beginnings, yet he was the eternal bread (Micah 5:2). Christ was
pure, even the Centurion as Jesus hung upon the cross said, “he was a righteous
man.”
16.
This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it
every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of
your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. 17. And the children of Israel did so, and
gathered, some more, some less. 18. And when they did mete it with an omer, he
that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack;
they gathered every man according to his eating. 19. And Moses said, Let no man
leave of it till the morning. 20. Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto
Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and
stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
It can be noted that when they gathered the bread it was based
off their own personal hunger for each day. Yet, they could not store it up, Jesus
when teaching his disciples how to pray said, “give us this day, our daily
bread” we need to gather it each morning and not be lazy. Some of the children
of Israel attempted to store up the bread and it bred worms and stank. We must
live off Christ Jesus everyday keeping our relationship fresh and alive. They
gathered this bread on their knees each morning, so each of his disciples
should fall upon our knees seeking God for fresh revelation each morning to
feed ourselves and also those who need to be fed around us.
21.
And they gathered it every morning,
every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
We should rise early in the day to seek the Lord while
the dew is still on the roses (Pro 8:17), before the day becomes hot and the
bread melts and we miss what Christ has prepared to share with us. Isa. 50:4 “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that
I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by
morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.”
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. 23.And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD
hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will
bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth
over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 24. And they laid it up till
the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm
therein. 25. And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto
the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. 26. Six days ye shall
gather it; but on the seventh day, which
is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
27. And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they
found none.
God wanted the people to learn how to rest and honor him on the
Sabbath. There is much that rest does for the physical and mental health of
each person. In addition, God wanted Israel’s full attention to teach them his Word
that they might represent him to the nations. Of course there were those who did
not believe and kindled God’s anger. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for
the Sabbath. Jesus is the Rest (sabbath) today (Matt 11:28-30), Sunday is not
the substitute, God wants us to cease from our own works (sin) and trust in his
Work through the cross. This does not mean that you should not attend services
on Sunday, but rather because everyday (Hosea 2:11and Col 2:16-17) is the
sabbath (living in Christ) we should attend every service as much as possible
to help strengthen ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
28.
And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse
ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 29. See, for that the LORD hath given
you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two
days; abide ye 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. And the
house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander
seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32. And Moses said, This is the thing which
the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that
they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I
brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 33. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a
pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to
be kept for your generations. 34. As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it
up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35And the children of Israel did eat manna
forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until
they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.
36.
Now
an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
God commanded Moses to lay up a testimony of his provision for
Israel in the Ark of the Covenant. Hidden Manna (Revelation 2:17)- a tenth of a
Ephah, showing us that Christ is the first-fruits or tithe.
The Lord God provided bread and meat (quails) for these millions
of people for forty years in the wilderness, train loads every day. Father God help
us to believe you will provide for our every need! Amen!
Selah (stop and
think).
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