Verse 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.
The children of Israel left the second encampment after leaving Egypt where there were the palm trees and the wells of water and went into the wilderness of Sin which was a tract of land thought to be between Elim and Sinai. The name ‘Sin’ means ‘thorn’ or ‘clay’. As the name implies, it most likely was not a scenic or comfortable stretch of wilderness in which to be traveling.
Verses 2-3 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.
Murmuring was a way of life for these Hebrews. Instead of looking at the positives, they chose to dwell on the negatives. Yes it was hot and dry and barren and the walking was long and tiring. But these had been the conditions in which they had toiled as slaves back in Egypt. Now they were free, they were safe from tyranny, and they had seen the miracles of God up close and personal. Their attitude and communication to Moses and Aaron revealed that these people were not really walking with the LORD and trusting in His provision. They were walking in the flesh and looking for a human solution.
Application: God detests murmuring, either against Him or against His church. Colossians 3:17 states, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 states, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Think about your attitude. Is it one of thanksgiving even if circumstances are difficult? Or is it one of complaining when things do not go as planned or expected?
Verses 4-5 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.
Not only were the Hebrew people walking in the flesh, but they were not respectful of the fact that the God of the universe was walking along with them in the cloud and in the pillar of fire. They were engaged in the “blame game” and accused Moses and Aaron of trying to kill them with hunger. It has always mystified this writer as to why the Hebrews did not just kill and eat their livestock if they were truly hungry. They left Egypt with all their sheep, goats and cattle so these animals were right there in the wilderness with them. What do you think?
The LORD knew what these people were thinking and saying and that they were not trusting in His provision. So He set up a system of food provision that would test their obedience to His words. It wasn’t difficult to comply with the instructions of, “go out and get the food provided each morning but don’t gather it on the Sabbath.”
Verses 6-7 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?
Moses and Aaron confronted the multitude and clearly told them that their complaints were against God and that they, Moses and Aaron, were just men in the same situation as they were in regarding the food supply, so stop the complaining and see what the LORD would do.
Verse 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.
God put Moses and Aaron in charge. To complain against them was to complain against God’s decision and choice of leadership.
Application: When the believer complains about anything, he/she is demonstrating discontent and in actuality is complaining about the LORD and His plan and provision. There is a lack of thankfulness. Think about it.
Verses 9-10 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 backed up Aaron and Moses by showing His glory in the cloud at the time Aaron was speaking to the Hebrew multitude.
Verses 11-15 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.
God sent birds for the people to eat so that they had a meat source. Then He provided the manna to complete a balanced diet. The Hebrew word “manna” means who, what, or whosoever. The people had never seen this substance before and they basically asked, “What is it?” So it became known as manna or ‘what is it’. By sending the quails every evening and the unknown substance or manna every morning, God demonstrated His power and glory.
Verses 16-18 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.
An omer is thought to be a dry measure of approximately 2 liters. The men of the camp were to gather enough manna to feed their families. The amazing thing was that, regardless of how much manna was gathered, the amount was just right for each person in each family.
Verses 19-20 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.
God stated in verse 4 above that He wanted to prove or test the children of Israel. Would they be obedient and follow instructions regarding this simple task of gathering food and using it according to the directions of the LORD? Apparently they failed the test as they kept the manna overnight and it rotted so fast that the worms (maggots?) found it and it smelled terrible.
Application: The Hebrews were to be holy as God is holy and they were to be an example to the rest of the world. Their disobedience to the most simple command of Almighty God resulted in rottenness and a foul smell in the camp. When the believer fails to obey the simple commands of Almighty God, he/she has spiritual rot in his/her life and instead of being seen as a fragrant incense to the LORD, he/she sends a spiritually rotten odor to the LORD and fails to be an example to the unsaved people in his/her life. The believer needs to repent of any and all disobedience and cease to sin against the LORD.
Verses 21-24 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. 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.
To seeth means to boil. The manna could be boiled or baked. The miracle that occurred each week was that the Heavenly food did not rot or smell when saved to be eaten on the Sabbath.
Verses 25-26 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.
The LORD set the example for all mankind when He rested on the seventh day after six days of work. This pattern was to be followed by the children of Israel. They were to rest and not gather on the Sabbath. Why? To give each person a quiet time in which to reflect on the goodness of God and on the condition of their soul.
Application: How do believers spend their Sabbath in today’s modern lifestyle? Most spend it rushing off to a church where there is social interaction, talking, music, and a sermon, all of which do not allow for quiet reflection. This is not to say that believers should not go to church. They should. But time needs to be found elsewhere to be quiet with the LORD and to think about what He has done in the believer’s life and to think about the believer’s relationship with Him. Think about it.
Verses 27-30 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 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.
The Hebrew people continued to rebel and not obey the commandments given to Moses and Aaron. It appears that there was a lack of surrendering their lives to the leadership of the LORD through Moses and Aaron. They wanted to do things their way.
Application: God is everywhere at the same time and transcends the limits of time and space. He know what will happen before it happens. Therefore, His judgement is accurate and to disregard His direction in life will only lead to frustration, failure and heartache. Do all things His way and be blessed.
Verses 31-34 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.
The manna that was to be kept for a remembrance for future generations would be kept supernaturally by God and not rot or become infested with worms. It was to be a testimony to the provision of God for the children of Israel while they journeyed in the wilderness.
Verses 35-36 And 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.
Apparently the manna was sweet. This writer would like to imagine that it was similar to chocolate and therefore this writer would be quite happy consuming it for 40 years. However, realize that a new generation would be born and raised in the wilderness that would not know what regular food was. And the adult population more than likely became tired of the same thing each and every day. But just as the LORD is consistent and does not waiver, the quail and the manna were consistent and provided every day for the entire time the Hebrews lived in the wilderness. What an amazing God we serve.