Exodus 16
Sunday Morning Bible Study
February 24, 2008
Introduction
The slaves have been rescued from Egypt. They had marched through the middle of the Red Sea. They had watched the Egyptian army drown.
When they complained about the bitter waters of Marah, God showed Moses a tree. When Moses had the tree put into the bitter waters, they turned sweet.
Exodus 16
:1-3 The next complaint
:1 And they journeyed 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.
Wilderness – midbar – uninhabited land, wilderness
Sin
– Ciyn (“seen”) – The Hebrew word can be translated “thorn” or “clay”.
The book of Numbers gives us a few details that are skipped here in Exodus.
(Num 33:10-11 NKJV) They moved from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.
{11} They moved from the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin.
If our placement of the Red Sea crossing at Nuweiba and the location of Mount Sinai in Arabia is accurate, that would mean they are moving south along the Red Sea, along the Gulf of Aqaba.
fifteenth day … - It’s been just a little over a month since the Passover. They’ve travelled something close to three hundred miles.
:2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
It’s likely that when they left Egypt they had taken some food supplies along, but they are apparently coming to the end of their food stores.
: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 pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
In the book of Numbers, their complaining would give us a few more details about their diet in Egypt.
(Num 11:5 NKJV) "We remember the fish which we ate freely in
Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;
Archaeologists found and translated a schoolboy’s letter dating back to this time, describing the food in an Egyptian city:
“Its granaries are full of barley and
wheat, and they reach unto the sky. Garlic and leeks for food are there, and
lettuce of the garden; pomegranates, apples, and olives; figs from the orchard,
sweet wine of Kankeme, surpassing honey; red uz-fish from the canal; fish from
Lake Neher…”
pots of meat – Egyptians had three-legged bronze pots used for cooking. Ancient Egyptians loved to eat meat. Their favorite meats were ox and goose. They also ate fish from the Nile River. The problem with this complaint is that even though Egyptians would eat a lot of meat, slaves wouldn’t. They remember things differently than they actually were.
:4-12 God’s response to their need
: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 quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.
Lesson
Testing 1-2-3
One of the key ingredients in this chapter is the test.
When God allows you to be stretched, could it be that you are facing a test?
Illustration
Test at Duke
At Duke University, there were four sophomores taking
Organic Chemistry. They did so well on all the quizzes, midterms and labs,
etc., that each had an “A” so far for the semester. These four friends were so
confident that the weekend before finals, they decided to go up to University
of Virginia and party with some friends up there. They had a great time.
However, after all the partying, they slept all day Sunday and didn’t make it
back to Duke until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then,
they decided to find their professor after the final and explain to him why
they missed it. They explained that they had gone to UVA for the weekend with
the plan to come to study, but, unfortunately, they had a flat tire on the way
back, didn’t have a spare, and couldn’t get help for a long time. As a result,
they missed the final. The Professor thought it over and then agreed they could
make up the final the following day. The guys were elated and relieved. They
studied that night and went in the next day at the time the professor had told
them. He placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet,
and told them to begin. They looked at the first problem, worth 5 points. It
was something simple about free radical formation. “Cool,” they thought at the
same time, each one in his separate room, “this is going to be easy.” Each
finished the problem and then turned the page. On the second page was written:
(For 95 points): Which tire?
This issue of the Israelites starving and God providing food was going to be a test. What was the test? I see two tests here:
Trust. Have they learned to trust God?
Obey. Have they learned yet that they need to be doing what God says?
The last question is really based on the first. God is going to give them an answer to their problem, but if they don’t trust God, they’re not going to do what God says.
:5 "And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily."
:6 Then 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 complaints against the LORD. But what are we, that you complain against us?"
:8 Also Moses said, "This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD."
Lesson
What are you complaining about?
It seems all some people do is complain.
Illustration
Try These
Harry is at a banquet and keeps complaining that his false teeth are
hurting him. The guy sitting to his left reaches into his pocket and pulls out
a set of dentures. He hands them to Harry and says, “Try these.” Harry tries
them, and says, “Thanks anyway, but they’re too tight.” The guy pulls out
another set and hands them to Harry. They fit perfectly, so Harry wears them
for the entire night. At the end of the banquet, Harry hands them back to the
guy and says, “They fit me perfectly. Are you a dentist?” The guy says, “No,
I’m an undertaker.”
Illustration
Parrot Wouldn’t Talk
A lady is looking to purchase a pet for companionship, and so goes to the
local pet shop to purchase a cat or such. However, when she arrives, she is
intrigued by the beautiful young parrot on a perch by the counter. “Will this
parrot talk?” she asks the owner. “Oh yes, this parrot comes from a long line
of excellent talkers. In two weeks, he will be mimicking your speech like he’s
having a conversation with you.” The lady excitedly purchases the bird in a
large cage (for a handsome fee) and takes it home. Two weeks later, she comes
into the store and complains, “This bird you sold me hasn’t said a word!” The
owner looks puzzled. “I can’t understand it, that is our best talker. He should
talk when he swings.” “What? You didn’t sell me a swing!” The owner happily
sells her a swing for the bird’s cage. But, two weeks later, she returns with
the same complaint. “I really can’t understand it, he should talk after
exercising on the ladder,” the owner says. Frustrated that he didn’t tell her
this before, she buys the ladder. Two weeks later, ...you know. The owner says,
“something is wrong, because when he climbs on the stairs, and gets on his
swing, and looks into the mirror, he definitely should be talking!” She buys
the stinkin’ mirror, and in 2 more weeks... In she walks with the cage,
containing the swing, ladder, mirror... and one dead parrot with its legs up in
the air. “Here’s your dumb bird and all the junk you sold me - all I want is my
money back!” The owner was dumbfounded. “Lady, this is the first parrot that
has ever come back - didn’t the parrot say any words at all??” “Well, now that
you mention it, he did, say one thing,” she said. “He said, ‘Doesn’t, that,
shop, sell... Bird food?!?’”
Illustration
A famous Viking explorer returned home from a voyage and found his name missing from the town register. His wife insisted on complaining to the local civic official, who apologized profusely saying, “I must have taken Leif off my census.”
Who are the people you find yourself complaining about? A boss? Your spouse? Your teenager?
When I don’t like how people are treating me and I complain, is it possible that I’m really complaining against God?
Could it be that I don’t trust that God is big enough to take care of this person who I don’t like?
Here’s the real principle: Complaining displays my lack of faith.
:9 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, "Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, 'Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your complaints.'"
:10 Now 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.
:11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
:12 "I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
:13-21 Meat and Bread
:13
So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the
morning the dew lay all around the camp.
quails – these small birds are actually still common to Saudi Arabia.
:14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
As the dew evaporates, there were little frosted flakes covering the ground. Grrrreat!
:15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.
What is it – the Hebrew phrase here is “man hu”.
They stood around and looked at each other and said, “What is it?”
: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.'"
omer – ‘omer – a dry measure of about 2-3 liters.
This goes to show us that the ancient Israelites were great baseball
players. Each person got an “omer”.
:17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less.
:18 So when they measured it by omers, 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.
If you had more people in your family then you gathered more, if you had less, then you gathered less. The idea is that each person will get an omer of this stuff.
:19 And Moses said, "Let no one leave any of it till morning."
They were to eat it all up. No leftovers. No saving it until tomorrow.
:20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.
You could look at this and think that God was teaching the people not to save for the future. But the lesson here is different. God is trying to teach them that He will provide for their needs every day.
Jesus taught us to pray,
(Mat 6:11 NKJV) Give us this
day our daily bread.
:21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.
They needed to gather it in the morning. If they slept in and waiting until noon to go to the wilderness store, the stuff would be gone.
Lesson
Spiritual food
I see some principles here that apply to our own spiritual nourishment.
1.
God promises enough for every
day.
God promised enough for every person. It was readily available.
2.
You have to go out and get it
If you want to eat, you need to go get it.
You and I need to take the time to read our Bible and spend time with God every day.
3.
Do it when it’s there.
For some of us it means getting up a little earlier every day to spend time with God before the day gets away.
For others there is a time of day that God provides you – maybe at break time at work, maybe after the kids are asleep – but you need to take the time and use it before the manna melts.
If you don’t take advantage of the time it’s there, it will “melt” and be gone.
4.
Leftovers stink.
Don’t try living off of yesterday’s manna.
Some of us try to live off of what we get from the sermon on Sunday – that’s got to really stink by Saturday …
:22-30 The Sabbath
:22 And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
They had been told (vs. 5) that there would be twice as much stuff available on the sixth day, so they all took twice as much just like they were supposed to.
:23 Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD has said: 'Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.'"
Sabbath – shabbath – Sabbath; it comes from the word shabath which means “to cease, desist, rest”. This is the first time the word “Sabbath” is found in the Bible.
For the first time God is going to give these weary slaves a “day off”.
:24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.
:25 Then 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, which is the Sabbath, there will be none."
:27 Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.
like
white coriander seed – an herb