Exodus 16 - 18

The Children of Israel

Exodus 16

Manna and Quail from Heaven

Another complaint

Then Israel set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt.

There, too, the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained to Moses and Aaron. “If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I’m going to rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will walk in my law.

On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.”

So Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt. And in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because He has heard your complaints, which are against Him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?”

Then Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for He has heard all your complaints against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us.”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel: ‘Present yourselves before the LORD, for He has heard your complaining.’”

And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the LORD appear in the cloud.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”

That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew. When the dew evaporated, there lay a small round thing, as small as a drop of dew on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it they were puzzled. “What is it?” they asked each other. They had no idea what it was.

And Moses told them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts for each person in your tent.”

So the children of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered more, some less. But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed.

Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.” But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.

After this the people gathered the food every morning, each family according to its need. And as the sun became hot, it melted.

On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual, four quarts for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses.

Moses told them, “This is that which the LORD said, ‘Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the LORD. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.”

So they put some aside until morning, just as Moses had commanded. And in the morning the leftover food had no maggots nor did it stink.

Moses said, “Eat this food today, for today is a Sabbath day dedicated to the LORD. There will be no food on the ground today. You may gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground that day.”

Some of the people went out anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food. The LORD asked Moses, “How long will these people refuse to obey My commandments and laws? They must realize that the Sabbath is the LORD’S gift to you. That is why He gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day.

The house of Israel called the food Manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers.

Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: Fill a two-quart container with manna to preserve it for your descendants. Then later generations will be able to see the food I gave you in the wilderness when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.”

Moses said to Aaron, “Get a pot and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then put it in a sacred place before the LORD to preserve it for all future generations.” Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded Moses. He put it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

So the children of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

(Jesus is the Bread of Life see John 6:47-51)

John 6:47-51, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. ⁴⁸ I am that bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰ This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Exodus 17

Water from the Rock

Another Complaint

At the LORD’S command, the whole congregation of the children of Israel left the wilderness of Sin and moved from place to place. Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink.

So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded. Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the LORD?”

But tormented by thirst, they continued to complain against Moses. “Is this the reason you brought us up out of Egypt? To kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”

Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me!”

The LORD said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.

Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the children of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?”

(That Rock was Christ see 1 Corinthians 10:4)

1 Corinthians 10:4, “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”

Israel Defeats the Amalekites

Then while in Rephidim, Amalek came and fought with Israel. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”

So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up his hand, Israel had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage.

Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

After the victory, the LORD instructed Moses, “Write this down in a book for a memorial, and read it aloud to Joshua: for I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

And so Moses built an altar there and named it Jehovah-nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”). And he said, “Because the LORD has sworn that He will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Exodus 18

Jethro’s Visit to Moses

Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything God had done for Moses and his people, and how he had brought Israel out of Egypt.

Earlier, Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, and his two sons back to Jethro, who had taken them in. Moses’ first son was named Gershom, for when he was born Moses said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”

His second son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my father was my help, he delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, now came to visit Moses in the wilderness. He brought Moses’ wife and two sons with him, and they arrived while Moses and the people were camped near the mountain of God.

Jethro sent a message to Moses, saying, “I, Jethro, your father-in-law, am coming to see you with your wife and your two sons.”

So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. He bowed and kissed him. They asked about each other’s welfare and then went into Moses’ tent. Moses told his father-in-law everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of Israel. He also told about all the hardships they had experienced along the way and how the LORD had delivered his people from all their troubles.

Jethro was delighted when he heard about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel as He delivered them from the hand of the Egyptians.

“Blessed be the LORD,” Jethro said, “for He has delivered you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Yes, He delivered Israel from the powerful hand of Egypt! Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, because he rescued His people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians.”

Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came out and joined them to eat bread with Moses’ father in law before God.

Jethro’s Wise Advise

The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. And the people waited before him from morning till evening.

When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”

Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God. When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who judges between the two parties. I inform the people of God’s statutes and laws.”

“This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. “You’re going to wear yourself out, and wear the people out, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him.”

“But, teach them God’s ordinances and laws. Show them how they must walk, and the work they must do. Select some men from all the people that are capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.”

“They should judge the people year round with small matters, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making this work much easier for you.”

“If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”

Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions. He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people. He put them in charge of groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.

These men judged year round to solve the people’s common disputes. They brought the major cases to Moses, but they took care of the smaller matters themselves.

Soon after this, Moses’ father-in-law departed and returned to his own land.