Exodus Chapter 16 Verses 1-3

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

“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.”  Several principles are suggested by this verse of scripture:

    1.  Elim is where there were 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees.  It was a place of rest and refreshing in the desert.  As we have previously seen the numbers 12 and 70 in the scripture are kingdom numbers and point us to the kingdom of God.  Thus the children of Israel were departing from this place to journey in the wilderness of Sin.

    2.  The wilderness or desert that the children of Israel were traveling was named “the wilderness of Sin.”  This is typical of us as children of God today as we journey in this lifetime.  We journey through a wilderness of sin

    3.  The wilderness of Sin stretched between Elim and Sinai.  Sinai is associated with the giving of the law and the establishment of the law covenant between God and the children of Israel.  Thus there is a separation between the two locations called the wilderness of Sin.  This is comparable to God’s children today who try to rest and refresh in the kingdom of God.  Between the law of God and the kingdom of God there is a wilderness of sin that we must pass through on our daily journeys.

    4.  The children of Israel had departed out of the land of Egypt which is figurative of God’s deliverance of his elect family out of the bondage of the law of sin and death.  In a type the children of Israel were on redemption ground.  They had been redeemed from Egypt by the power of God and by the blood of the lamb.  Now they are beginning their journey to the land of Canaan.   

“And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:” Rather than take their needs to the LORD they murmured against the servants of the LORD.  For those true gospel ministers who have faithfully tried to serve the Lord, they are well acquainted with the Lord’s people murmuring against them.  The children of Israel had forgotten the great power of God that had sent forth those wondrous signs in the land of Egypt and that had divided the waters of the Red Sea so that they could cross on dry ground and the Egyptian host who followed after to be drowned in the Red Sea.  They had also forgotten the pillar of a cloud and pillar of fire that had led them and given them light by night and protected them from the Egyptian army.  This reminds me of how quick we are to forget that the Lord’s mighty working in our lives today whenever we are faced with trouble or problems.  

Now the needs of the children of Israel was indeed great as they had no food to eat and there was not resources in the desert to which somewhere close to 2 million people could be fed.  They doubted that the LORD could provide a table in the wilderness.  Doubting the power and love and concern of God is a big problem that plagues God’s children even to this very day. 

“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.”  Embellishing the past is typical of God’s people today.  People speak of how much better it was in years past or when we were young.  They speak of the good old days.  Yet, today is the day that the Lord hath made.  We should rejoice and be glad in it.  The God who delivered his people in the past is the same God who is able to deliver us in the present and in the future.      


Verses 4-8 

: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. 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. 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: 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? 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.”   

“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 congregation of the children of Israel was a great congregation with somewhere close to 2 million people.  How could the LORD provide food for such a mighty congregation daily for about 40 years?  It would seem to the human mind an impossible task.  Yet, the things that seem impossible for man are easy for the LORD.  The LORD promised to rain bread for the people from heaven and that the people were to go out and gather a certain rate every day.  The bread, which is later called manna, is in many ways typical of the written word of God known as the scriptures.  The scriptures are spiritual food to born again children of God.  We are supposed to gather a certain rate every day.  The Lord taught us that we are to pray that God would give us this day our daily bread.  This is true both naturally and spiritually.  We stand in need of natural food each day we live and we also stand in need of spiritual food.  We should gather of that spiritual food called the scriptures on a daily basis.   

The LORD said that he would use the gathering of bread by the people as a test to see if they would walk in his law or not.  Reading the scriptures is important for our spiritual welfare as we journey as the disciples of the LORD.  Keeping of what is written therein is also important.  If we read the scriptures and then don’t keep what they teach then we are not being good servants of Jesus Christ.   

“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.”  The test for the children of Israel was that they were to gather a certain rate of the bread daily and on the sixth day they were to gather twice as much, but they were to rest on the seventh day in honor of God’s work of creation.  As we shall see later, failure to follow these simple instructions would have severe consequences.   

“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: 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?”  Moses and Aaron told the people that when they saw in the evening what the LORD hath done for them that they would know that it was the LORD and not them that had brought them out of the land of Egypt.  The people had accused Moses and Aaron as being responsible for their departure from Egypt and bringing them into the wilderness.  Moses and Aaron were certainly incapable of preparing a table in the wilderness, but the LORD is quite capable of doing so and by what the LORD would do in the evening the people would have the evidence that it was the LORD who brought them out of Egypt. 

What the LORD would do in the morning by showering bread unto the children of Israel would show to them that this would glorify God.  By this the children of Israel would understand that their murmurings were not against Moses and Aaron but were against the very God who had delivered them and who would provide for them.   

“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.”