Exodus 16

Exodus 16:1

B. The Wilderness of Sin (Chap. 16)16:1-19 Journeying to the southeast, the people came to the Wilderness of Sin. There they complained bitterly about the lack of food and sighed for the food of Egypt, seemingly forgetful of the terrible slavery that accompanied the food. God graciously responded by supplying plenty of quails at night and manna in the morning. The quails were provided only twice, here and in Num_11:31, whereas the manna was provided continuously. “Manna” means “What is it?” It was food miraculously provided by God; no attempts to explain it on a natural basis succeed. Manna was small, round, white, and sweet (v. 31), picturing the humility, perfection, purity, and sweetness of Christ, the Bread of God (Joh_6:48-51).

Its arrival was somehow connected with the morning dew, reminding us that it is the Holy Spirit who ministers Christ to our souls. The Israelites were allowed to gather . . . one omer (about three pints) per person. No matter how much or how little they gathered, seeking to approximate an omer, they always had enough and never too much. This suggests the sufficiency of Christ to meet every need of all His people, and the results achieved when Christians share with those who are in need (2Co_8:15). The manna had to be gathered early in the morning, before the sun . . . melted it. So we should feed on Christ at the start of each day, before the pressures of life crowd in on us.

It had to be gathered daily, just as we must feed daily on the Lord. It was to be gathered on the first six days of the week; none was provided on the seventh. 16:20-31 On the sixth day the people were ordered to gather twice as much as on the other days, to tide them over the Sabbath. If they left part of it on any other day, the manna bred worms and stank. Manna was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. It could be baked or cooked. Moses rebuked those who went out to gather it on the Sabbath. 16:32-34 Some of the manna was placed in a golden urn and kept as a memorial, later to be placed in the Ark of the Covenant (Heb_9:4). God rested on the seventh day at creation (Gen_2:2), but He did not command man to do so at that time. But now He gave the law of the Sabbath to the nation of Israel. Later it became one of the Ten Commandments (Exo_20:9-11). It was a sign of the covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai (Exo_31:13) and a weekly reminder of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Deu_5:15). Gentiles were never commanded to keep the Sabbath.

Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the NT as instructions in righteousness for the church. The only one that is not repeated is the law of the Sabbath. Yet there is a principle of one day of rest in seven for all mankind. For the Christian, that day is the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day. It is not a day of legal responsibility but a day of gracious privilege, when, released from secular activities, we can give ourselves more wholly to the worship and service of the Lord. The “Testimony,” meaning the “Ark” of the Covenant, is mentioned here before it ever existed. This is an illustration of the law of prior mention. The “Testimony” can also mean the Ten Commandments, depending on the context. 16:35, 36 Eating manna for forty years is a prediction of the time the Israelites would wander in the wilderness. The manna ceased when they reached Gilgal, just inside the border of the land of Canaan (Jos_5:12).