Exo 16:1 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.

I wonder if that wilderness was named Sin because this is where Israel sinned against the Lord.
By this time with the great number of people among them, the food that they had gotten in Egypt would have gotten down almost to nothing.

Exo 16:2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
Exo 16:3 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.

Instead of politely informing Moses that the food supply was dwindling, they rose up in rebellion with an attitude of, "If God had really have sent us out hear, we wouldn't be in this state."

This is an occasion of doubt. This hits almost all of us at one time or another. We all wonder at times, "If God is with us, why are we having such a hard time?" New church congregations just getting started go through many obstacles from members fighting and disagreeing to the opposition of city councils. It is a road of faith and waiting that those of us who live in an instant gratification society have a hard time dealing with. It is hard but we must remember the words of Jesus in which He stated that "His yoke was easy and His burden light." The way does get hard and heavy at times but compared to the strength the Lord gives when we call upon Him, it is light and easy. We can't do it but He can do all things through us by His spirit.

It is too heavy for the flesh to bear but not those that are continually trusting God and being filled with His spirit.

Exo 16:4 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.

The wilderness wanderings was a time of testing. Before they could enter they promised land they had to prove that they would trust in God and be willing to obey His commandments.

Exo 16:5 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.

They had to gather twice as much because on the seventh day was the day of rest and refreshing for the body, soul and spirit.
We all need a day to set aside and worship the Lord. If God had not have required this, servants and slaves would never get any relief. Humans are selfish and would not want to stop gaining in business and would work those in subjection under them with vigor as they saw in Egypt. God did not want Israel to be like the Egyptians who were so materialistic and greedy that they made slaves out of the Israelites without mercy.

I know of a business owned by Christians that refuse to open on Sunday and Wednesday because they are traditional church days. That business is huge now and excels I believe because they honored God. I do not believe in the modern day prosperity doctrine that is taught today but I have seen God honor and give to those that put their trust in Him in that way. 

Exo 16:6 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:

See how easily they forgot the miracle of the Red Sea parting. This is why the teaching of the word is necessary to sustain us when the miracles cease. We need God's word continually.

Exo 16:7 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?

God really hates murmuring and complaining. I was in a long line at the Post office the other day. Instead of meeting new people and striking up a conversion, one man complained continually about the long line when there was nothing anyone could do about it except to tell some of us to go home. What could have been a time of conversation was ruined by one complainer.

Exo 16:8 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.

It is true that when one murmurs against a godly leader who truly represents the Lord, it is the same as murmuring against God. This type of thing has destroyed many churches. There has to be a godly way to handle disagreements then to grumble and complain.

Exo 16:9 And Moses spoke unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.
Exo 16:10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke 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.
Exo 16:11 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
Exo 16:12 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.
Exo 16:13 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.
Exo 16:14 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.
Exo 16:15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they knew not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
Exo 16:16 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.
Exo 16:17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
Exo 16:18 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.

They were fed by a miracle from God and this continued until they came into the land of Canaan where they could grow their own food and till the land.

Exo 16:19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
Exo 16:20 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 was trying to teach them just to listen, obey and trust in Him and they would be okay. This is hard for us to do because we think that our ways are better than the Lord's ways. Many times we are over anxious and quick to take matters into our own hands. Remember the story of Sarah and Hagar. Sometimes we try to help God. Sometimes we have unbelief and think God has abandoned us and we have to do something ourselves. It doesn't help when people quote scriptures that do not exist like, "God helps those that help themselves." That is not in the bible and is not true. God helps those that trust in Him and depend upon Him for all things.

The flesh profits nothing. Look at the mess the world is in. It is in that mess because we forgot to consult God in things and we are going about trying to solve disease, famine, war, and peace on our own without seeking the face of God. Of course its hard to seek someone we don't believe in. The more we try the more we will fail. As long as we keep ignoring God, someone is going to come along that will seemingly be able to solve the problem of peace but this will be a deceiver we call the anti-christ. He will be allowed to come and deceive for only one reason, "Mankind has refused to obey God so God will allow them to be deceived by an impostor."

Joh 5:42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
Joh 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

Exo 16:21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
Exo 16:22 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.
Exo 16:23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
Exo 16:24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.

It did not stink on this day because God had told them to gather twice as much only on this one day.

Exo 16:25 And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a sabbath unto the LORD: today ye shall not find it in the field.
Exo 16:26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
Exo 16:27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.

This hard headed people are no different than the hard heads we have today.

Exo 16:28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
Exo 16:29 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.
Exo 16:30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
Exo 16:31 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.
Exo 16:32 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.
Exo 16:33 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.
Exo 16:34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
Exo 16:35 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.
Exo 16:36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.


As God supplied their need, He supplies the need of all those that trust in Him. An omer is almost 2 quarts in US measurements. 

Psa 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

This doesn't promise us the riches of this life as some teach today but promises us that we will have what is sufficient for us to live until the day we enter into the spiritual promised land at the return of Jesus Christ. Until then we are to be content with what we have.  If God cannot trust us to be happy and content now, how can He trust us with the true riches that He gives.  The true riches cannot even be compared to what we think is riches.   God has got something better for us that what we think we desire and need.  The riches of His presence is greater than any thing the world can offer us.  We need to seek the true riches and not settle for the riches of this world that are gone the moment our earthly life ends. 

Exodus 17