Exodus 16

Exodus 16:1-36

Exodus 16:1-36 The Manna (Exodus 16:1-36) In Exodus 16:1-36 the children of Israel are taught the important lesson of daily dependence upon God. They were not allowed to gather more than one day’ s supply of manna. Here is murmuring after singing. How strange! These people would sooner die amid the gluttony of Egypt than die noble in the wilderness; they would sooner die enslaved than die free men; they would sooner have onions and garlic than angel’ s food; they would sooner have food for the body even though it bring leanness of soul; they would sooner die comfortable because they were unfit to be heroic. Thus fullness of temporal prosperity may be the sign of spiritual poverty and failure. Supply of Manna Miraculous (Deuteronomy 8:3) It is true that the manna was something like the exudation of a certain plant found in the desert. That it was not this plant, however, but differed very greatly from it is evident from the following facts: the natural product of this plant is a drug and not a food; it can be gathered only during some weeks in summer, whereas the manna stayed with Israel all through their journey; it is not liable to quick corruption as was the manna if kept over one day; there would have been no reason for preserving it in the ark if it could constantly be found in certain plants; it could not have been sufficient to feed one in a hundred of the Hebrew multitudes, let alone the million or more who were fed daily; nor could it have ceased on the same day when they ate the first ripe corn of Canaan. Yet the manna was not given without labor. It was to be gathered early in the morning. No provision was to be made for the morrow except in the case of the Sabbath. There was to be enough for each man, no more, no less. Just as water takes the shape of the vessel into which it is poured, so Christ is the bread of life for the satisfaction of the soul of each individual. The constant daily supply necessitated a constant daily dependence upon God. A pot of manna was kept as a memorial and as a type of that hidden manna of eternal life which Christ gives to those who believe in Him. John 6:1-71 should be studied in this connection.