Exodus 16:10-21

¹⁰ And while Aaron was speaking to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and see, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. ¹¹ And the LORD told Moses, ¹² “I have heard the complaining of the sons of Israel. Tell them, For the next full day[1] you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'” ¹³ In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and it lay around the camp with the morning dew. ¹⁴ And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the desert a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” Because they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Collect it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You will each take one omer per person, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.'” ¹⁷ And the sons of Israel did so. They collected, some more, some less. ¹⁸ But when they measured it with an omer, whoever collected much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them collected as much as he could eat. ¹⁹ And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” ²⁰ But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. ²¹ Morning by morning they collected it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

Sky flakes

The “man” from heaven was a strange sight. The Hebrews had seen nothing quite like it. It was a miraculous provision, but the sons of Israel had no category to place it in, to understand how it came to be, and where it fit in their world. They had been hungry, and God had provided a full day’s worth of meat, and this regular whatchamacallit as well.

Think of the seven supernatural acts involved in the provision of these flakes from the sky:

1. They came every morning for 40 years.

2. They did not come on Sabbath mornings.

3. They would evaporate as the sun grew hotter.

4. Anything kept overnight would spoil.

5. A double portion would be available only on Friday mornings.

6. A second portion kept on Friday nights would stay fresh.

7. A single portion would be preserved for generations in the ark of the covenant.[2]

This elaborate multifaceted miracle was designed not just to meet the immediate needs a hungry mob. It was a teaching tool, designed to reinforce a relationship. The LORD wanted his people to regularly acknowledge him, and depend on him. He wanted to be their God, 24/7. He wanted them to come to him every morning and be fed as part of their daily devotions. He wanted them to realize that he is the reason they can rest. He wanted them to know that they have been set free from bondage as part of his covenant with them. The light work of collecting free bread every morning was to replace the heavy cruel bondage of working for their former god, Pharaoh in Egypt.

LORD, the manna has ceased, but the bread from the sky that you have provided for us in Christ still comes to us daily. May we feed often, and learn to trust you for all our needs.

[1] Lit. “Between the evenings”

[2] 16:33.