Exodus Chapter 16 & Chapter 17:1-7
The Israelis now found themselves in a great desert between Egypt and the Promised Land, Canaan, where God was leading them. Soon their water was gone and they were thirsty. They finally arrived at a place called Marah and found water there, but it was too bitter to drink. But instead of asking the Lord to help them, they blamed Moses.
Moses prayed to the Lord about it, and the Lord showed him a certain tree and told him to throw it into the water. He did, and suddenly the water was no longer bitter, and the people could drink it!
They travelled on and came to Elim; there were twelve wells there and seventy palm trees. Going on farther they came to the desert of Sihn. But now a rebellion broke out; the people began to riot against Moses and Aaron because they were hungry. They said they had plenty of food in Egypt and they wished God had killed them there instead of bringing them out into the desert to die of starvation.
The Lord heard their complaints and told Moses He would send meat for them that evening, and as much bread as they wanted in the morning. Then they would know that the Lord was taking care of them.
The Lord did as He promised; for that evening about the time the sun was going down, huge flocks of birds called quail came flying just above the ground. The people killed them with clubs and ate them for supper.
The next morning after the dew was gone, small, white, round things were all over the ground. No one knew what it was, so they called it “Manna,” In their language means, “What is it?”
“This is the bread the Lord promised you,” Moses told them.
The Lord told the people to go out each day except Saturday and gather as much as they wanted. He told them not to take more than they needed for one day, since there would be a fresh supply each morning. The Lord wanted them to trust Him one day at a time for their daily bread. Some of the people didn’t obey, and gathered enough for two days instead of one. The next morning the extra manna was spoiled, with worms crawling around in it. They had to throw it away and get fresh manna off the ground.
Each morning when the sun warmed the ground the manna melted away and disappeared. But early the next morning there was always more waiting for them.
The only exception was on the seventh day of each week. That was the Sabbath day when God told them not to work. On that day there was no manna on the ground. The day before the Sabbath they gathered twice as much as other days, and what they saved to eat the next day didn’t spoil. Some of the people went out on the Sabbath anyway to try to get some, but there wasn’t any. And the Lord was angry, so they didn’t do it anymore. After that they rested on the Sabbath day as the Lord had told them to.
The manna was small and round, and white like coriander seed. It tasted like bread made with honey. Moses told Aaron to get a bottle and fill it with manna. He wanted to keep it forever, so that the children who weren’t even born yet would be able to see a sample of the food the Lord fed His people with in the desert.
Moses did this, and God kept the manna from spoiling for hundreds of years until they finally lost it.
The Israelis ate manna every day for forty years until they finally came to the land of Canaan.
As they travelled, they came to a place called Rephidim, but found no water there. So they complained again. “Get us water,” they demanded of Moses.
“Why blame me?” Moses asked.
“Because you brought us here,” they retorted.
Then Moses cried out to the Lord and said, “What shall I do?” For they are almost ready to stone me.”
By this time, they were close to Mount Horeb where Moses had seen the fire burning in the bush. The Lord told him to lead the people to a certain rock on Mount Horeb and to strike the rock with his walking stick. Moses did as the Lord said, and water poured out giving everyone enough to drink!
Questions:
How did Moses make the bitter water safe to drink?
How did God provide food for the Israelis?
Why didn’t God want the people to collect manna on the Sabbath?
Why and where did Moses strike the rock?
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