Exodus 16:19-36 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Exodus 16:19-36. Let’s go!
Exodus 16:19-21 (NIV)
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.
On verses 19-21: What can we learn from this? This is not to say that we shouldn’t plan ahead or keep leftovers in the fridge. But the lesson here is that God’s grace is enough for each day. Instead of worrying that we won’t have enough tomorrow, trust God that He will have new grace to give us for each new day. His grace is always sufficient for us.
Also, when we ignore God’s commands for living and working, our lives begin to decay and smell.
Exodus 16:22-26 (NIV)
22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much–two omers for each person–and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.
23 He said to them, “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.'”
24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it.
25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today.
26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
On verses 22-26: The LORD did not provide manna on the 7th day because He wanted the Israelites to get rest on the 7th day. Instead God told the Israelites to collect a double portion for themselves on the 6th day and, unlike on other days, whatever was leftover till the 7th day did not decay or smell. Again, what’s the lesson here? Rely on God’s grace and God’s Word as opposed to being a workaholic who refuses to rest and who depends only on yourself. You will be both more joyful and more effective when you rely on God’s grace and God’s Word.
Exodus 16:27-30 (NIV)
27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.
28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?
29 Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out.”
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
On verses 27-30: Despite God’s command not to go out and collect manna on the 7th day, some Israelites still tried to do so. How slow we can be to trust God and do things God’s way instead of our way. Praise God that He is gentle and patient with us even when we outright disobey His Word.
Exodus 16:31 (NIV)
31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.
On verse 31: “Manna” means “What is it”, which is a funny name for bread, but a testament to the fact that the Israelites had never seen anything like it before. For some reason, reading this verse about wafers made with honey, I feel like a bowl of frosted flakes (“thin flakes like frost” – see verse 13).
Exodus 16:32-36 (NIV)
32 Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.'”
33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to be kept for the generations to come.”
34 As the LORD commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna in front of the Testimony, that it might be kept.
35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.
36 (An omer is one tenth of an ephah.)
On verses 32-36: Yesterday my sister was talking with me about how it would be great to capture the stories of our grandparents and great grandparents so that we and the generations after us would know where we came from. That’s what God was doing with the Israelites in verses 32-36 by telling the Israelites to keep an omer of manna for the generations to come. That way future Israelites could see the bread God gave their ancestors to eat in the desert. Verse 34 says that “Aaron put the manna in front of the Testimony”. The “Testimony” is probably a reference to the Ten Commandments tablets that we will read about in Exodus 32 and 34.
What can we learn from this? We might tend to downplay or take for granted the stories and sacrifices of those who went before us. But God does not want us to forget the stories of where we came from. They are a part of our heritage and we would not be here today without them. For your sake and the sake of the generations coming after you, find a way to pass on the stories of your ancestors to the generations coming after you. In particular, be sure to recount the ways that God provided and protected your family all the way till now, so that new generations would not take for granted God’s provision and protection on our lives.
Heavenly Father, thank You that there is new grace to meet us with each new day and that Your grace is always sufficient for us. Thank You that we are at our best and our most joyful when we live according to Your Word. Thank You also for being merciful, gentle and patient with us even when we disobey You. We pray that we would not take for granted or forget, but pass on to the generations after us, the stories of our ancestors, so that the people after us can appreciate how Your provision and protection have kept us till now. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
