Exodus 16

Passage overview

Exodus 16 begins with a scene in which the Israelites, as they leave Egypt and travel through the wilderness, complain to God because they have nothing to eat. God performs a miracle so that the Israelites can eat manna in the morning and quail in the evening. This process reveals how God both meets the people’s needs and tests their obedience.

1verseThey took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to 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.

2verseThe whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness;

3verseand the children of Israel said to them, “We wish that we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

4verseThen the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

5verseIt shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

6verseMoses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening, you shall know that the LORD has brought you out from the land of Egypt.

7verseIn the morning, you shall see the LORD’s glory; because he hears your murmurings against the LORD. Who are we, that you murmur against us?”

8verseMoses said, “Now the LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you, because the LORD hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.”

9verseMoses said to Aaron, “Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come close to the LORD, for he has heard your murmurings.’”

10verseAs Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the LORD’s glory appeared in the cloud.

11verseThe LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

12verse“I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”

13verseIn the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp.

14verseWhen the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground.

15verseWhen the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.

16verseThis is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, you shall take it, every man for those who are in his tent.’”

17verseThe children of Israel did so, and some gathered more, some less.

18verseWhen they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They each gathered according to his eating.

19verseMoses said to them, “Let no one leave of it until the morning.”

20verseNotwithstanding they didn’t listen to Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, so it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them.

21verseThey gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted.

22verseOn the sixth day, they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

23verseHe said to them, “This is that which the LORD has spoken, ‘Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.’”

24verseThey laid it up until the morning, as Moses ordered, and it didn’t become foul, and there were no worms in it.

25verseMoses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you shall not find it in the field.

26verseSix days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none.”

27verseOn the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather, and they found none.

28verseThe LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?

29verseBehold, because the LORD has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.”

30verseSo the people rested on the seventh day.

31verseThe house of Israel called its name “Manna”, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey.

32verseMoses said, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, ‘Let an omer-full of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

33verseMoses said to Aaron, “Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept throughout your generations.”

34verseAs the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

35verseThe children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan.

36verseNow an omer is one tenth of an ephah.

The Miracle of Manna and Quail

The word "manna" comes from the idea of "What is it?" and refers to food that came down from heaven. God instructs the people to gather only as much manna as they need each morning, and on the day before the Sabbath to gather twice as much so that they will keep the Sabbath. Quail were sent as meat for the people to eat in the evening. This shows that God cares for the people’s needs in a specific way.

Training in Obedience and God’s Testing

In this chapter, the Israelites’ responses to God’s commands are recorded in detail. Some break the rules and gather more than they should, or they go out on the Sabbath to look for manna and do not find any. This process is part of the education God gave so that the people would learn how to obey God’s word.

The Preservation of Manna and Lessons for Later Generations

God commands Moses to put an omer of manna into a jar and keep it so that later descendants can see it. The intention is to ensure that the Israelites do not forget the miracles and grace God provided. The fact that the people ate manna for 40 years in the wilderness serves as a reminder of God’s faithfulness.

Reflection Points

  • Reflect on how God meets our needs in everyday life.
  • Think about how the results of obedience and disobedience affect life.
  • Consider how gratitude and trust are maintained when miracles continue.

Personal Application

  • Check your attitude toward obeying God’s word every day.
  • Consider how you can pass on the grace and miracles you have received to later generations.
  • Make a decision to live in response to the God who meets our needs, with trust and gratitude.