Exodus 16:18-36 NKJV
18 So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need. 19 And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.
22 And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’ ” 24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. 25 Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”
27 Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? 29 See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
32 Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it, to be kept for 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.’ ” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35 And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.
In today’s reading Moses elaborates on the specifics of how the daily manna – the bread from heaven that God provided – was to be measured, gathered, and eaten. The people were to gather just enough for their daily needs; nothing more. And on the sixth day they were to gather two days’ worth so that the Sabbath may be kept and no work done that day. If any of the weekday manna was left until the next morning, it bred worms and stank; but what they gathered on the sixth day stayed fresh for the Sabbath day.
Yet again, God miraculously provided for all the basic needs of this large number of people – hundreds of thousands of people – who were being given their literal daily bread simply by the hand of their gracious God. And apparently it tasted pretty good: “…and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.”
True to form, some of the people disobeyed God and went out on the Sabbath to gather manna, something which God had expressly forbidden. And God was angry, telling Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments?” The Lord’s rebuke hit home, and they obeyed the Sabbath.
Dear saints, when you are convicted of not keeping God’s commandments, and when God shows you your errors of unbelief and lack of trust in Him, repent and believe that Christ has paid for your sins. Receive his body and blood for forgiveness and strength, and trust by God-given faith that all of God’s Word is good for you. His Word and promises never fail. Of that you can be certain!
Let us pray: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.