LESSON X.--JUNE 5.

THE MANNA.--EXOD. 16:4-12.

      GOLDEN TEXT.--Jesus said unto them, I am the Bread of Life.--JOHN 6:35.
      TIME.--B. C. 1491. The spring of the year.
      PLACES.--The Wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Sinai.
      CONNECTING LINKS.--1. The Song of Moses (Exod. 15:1-21); 2. The Bitter Waters of Marah (Exod. 15:22-26); 3. The Encampment at Elim (Exod. 15:27); 4. The Murmurs of the People (Exod. 16:1-3).
      HELPFUL READINGS.-- Exod. 15:20-27; Exod. 16:1-3; Exod. 13:22; Psalm 105:40; John 6:26-41.
      LESSON ANALYSIS--1. Bread from Heaven Promised; 2. Murmurs Rebuked; 3. The Glory in the Cloud. [161]

INTRODUCTION.

      The subsection, containing this chapter and the following two, records the important particulars of the journey from Elim to Sinai. In Num. 33:10-15 are enumerated five stations between these points, of which only the second, the Wilderness of Sin, and the last, Rephidim, are mentioned here. The present object of the historian is to notice the provision, protection, and government of the people in their wanderings. They were provided with quails, manna, and water from the rock; they were protected from the enemy in the victory they gained over Amalek; and they were governed by Moses, with the advice of Jethro, his father-in-law. The mixture of evil with good which is displayed in the conduct of the people, is what might be expected from a tribe of fallen men, long corrupted by the habits of bondage under a nation ignorant of God or the law of truth, when they are but recently brought under the influence of the spirit of truth, freedom and holiness.--Murphy.

      I. THE BREAD FROM HEAVEN PROMISED. 4. I will rain bread from heaven for you. Without a miracle this great host of two millions could never have subsisted in the desert for forty years. Yet they were not entirely dependent upon the manna. They got milk from their flocks and herds; probably traded the products of their cattle with the desert tribes; and perhaps in this forty years' sojourn some halted long enough in some of the fertile wadies to lay them under cultivation. They shifted their camping-grounds with the seasons, as do the Bedouins to-day, in order to find the best pasturage for their cattle. Yet this manna-supply was an important part of the national education of Israel for their great mission to mankind. The national history and poetry, as found in the songs and prophets, especially show how deeply this event stamped itself upon the soul of Israel.--F. H. Newhall. There is a substance called manna by the Bedouins of the desert, now produced in the peninsula of Sinai, and gathered from the twigs of the tamarisk, or tarfa tree, which has been supposed by many, as Lepsius, Ritter, etc., after Josephus, to be the same as the manna which was to Israel "bread from heaven." This substance exudes in transparent drops from the outermost tender twigs of the tamarisk, and soon hardens into a reddish-yellow gum, or waxy substance, which the Bedouins use and sell for a condiment with bread. It has been lately shown that "man," or manhut, i. e., white manna, was the name under which the substance was known to the Egyptians, and therefore to the Israelites. When they saw it on the [162] ground they would of course at once recognize it. They wist not what it was; for in fact it was not natural manna, but a heavenly gift. Our version should therefore be retained, and the passage may be thus explained: When the Israelites saw the small round thing they said at once, "This is manna," but with an exclamation of surprise at finding it on the open plain in such immense quantities, under circumstances so unlike what they could have expected. In fact, they did not know what it really was, only what it resembled.--Canon Cook. While there are some points of resemblance, there are many more of irreconcilable diversity, between this substance and the manna of the Israelites. From this chapter and from Num. 11:7-9, we find that the manna of Israel fell with the dew, and was found on the surface of the open wilderness after "the dew had gone up," not on and under the branches of the tamarisk. It had the nutritious properties of bread, while the tamarisk manna is a mere condiment. It could be ground in mills; pounded or bruised in mortars like grain; cooked by baking and boiling; all of which are impossible processes of the tamarisk manna, as much as for gum or wax. It was found all through the wilderness, in regions where, now at least, the tamarisk does not and cannot grow; while the tamarisk manna is confined to a small district of the Sinai wilderness; and, even if it were the same substance, the whole peninsula does not now produce enough to sustain a single man. It was produced through the whole year, while the tamarisk manna exudes only in the summer; and, most decisive of all, there was a double supply of this manna on the sixth day, and none at all on the seventh. It is certain, then, that the inspired author intends to describe the supernatural production of daily bread for the Hebrew host.--Newhall. A certain rate every day. Literally, as in the margin, "The portion of a day in its day;" i. e., the quantity sufficient for one day's consumption; this may be better expressed, "a day's portion each day." It was but another form of enjoining on them the Saviour's rule: "Take no thought for to-morrow, what ye shall eat or drink." God would school them to simple-hearted dependence on his daily providence. That I may prove them. As the abundance of Egypt vanished away before the indignation of the Lord, so the very barrenness of the wilderness gave way to the bountiful hand of the Lord supplying their daily wants. In all this he was continuing their probation, education and discipline. They shall prepare. Measure, pound or grind the whole quantity gathered (Num. 11:8). It may also extend to the cooking. It shall be twice as much. The meaning evidently is that they should collect and prepare a double quantity, not (as has been assumed, in order to make a contradiction with verse 22), that the quantity collected would be miraculously increased afterward. Thus it is seen that the Sabbath, soon to be [163] given at Sinai, was to be observed in anticipation, and no manna fell or could be gathered on the seventh day.

      II. MURMURS REBUKED.--6. At even then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out of . . . Egypt. Though the Lord had bared his hand in the plagues with which the Egyptians were smitten, and in the salvation of the Israelites from the Red Sea, yet as soon as food failed in the wilderness, and they seemed in danger of perishing from thirst or hunger, they forgot all the Lord had done for them, doubted whether the Lord would deliver them, and indeed probably doubted whether the Lord had anything to do with their departure from Egypt. Their faith was weak; nor were they free entirely from a tincture of Egyptian idolatry. The fact that God fed them daily in the desert would be a constant demonstration that the Lord had brought them out of the land of Egypt. The Israelites had charged Moses and Aaron with bringing them out of Egypt, as if from their own motion. Moses therefore here assures them, on the other hand, that they should soon have evidence that it was Jehovah, and not his servants, who had brought them out of the land of bondage.

      7. And in the morning. Bearing in mind the parallelism of the clauses, we obtain this meaning: That in the evening and in the morning the Israelites would perceive the glory of the Lord, who had brought them out of Egypt. "Seeing" is synonymous with "knowing." Seeing the glory of Jehovah did not consist in the sight of the glory of the Lord which appeared in the cloud, but in their perception or experience of that glory in the miraculous gift of flesh and bread (ver. 8, cf. Num. 14:22).--Keil. Ye shall see the glory of the Lord. That is, shall behold the cloudy pillar, the shekinah, resplendent with a peculiar brightness and glory, as a signal of the Lord's special presence, both to hear your murmurings and to supply your wants. It appears that on several occasions the tumults of the people were assuaged by some visible change in the ordinary appearance in the pillar of cloud, betokening, perhaps by a fierce and vehement glow, the kindling of the divine displeasure (See Num. 12:5; 14:10; 16:42).--Bush. The glory of the Lord is seen when his hand is put forth for the protection of this people by the discomfiture of their enemies, and for their preservation by the preternatural bestowment of the means of life.--Murphy. He heareth your murmurings. In his long-suffering mercy he will give another proof of his presence and love, that [164] his people may at length lay aside their impatience and unbelief, and feel that their murmuring is really against the Lord, and not against the mere executors of his will.--Murphy. When we begin to fret and to be uneasy, we ought to consider that God hears all our murmurings, though silent and only the murmurings of the heart. Princes, parents, masters, do not hear all the murmurs of their inferiors against them, and it is well they do not, for perhaps they could not bear it; but God hears, and yet bears.--M. Henry.

      8. Shall give you in the evening flesh to eat. This refers to the miraculous supply of quails which became a part of their food. The identification of the Hebrew "slav," the name of the birds in verse 13, with the common quail, may be assumed as certain. The name is applied in Arabic to that bird; it migrates in immense numbers in the spring from the south. It is nowhere more common than in the neighborhood of the Red Sea. When exhausted by a long flight it is easily captured, even with the hand. The flesh is palatable and not unwholesome when eaten in moderation. In this passage we read of a single flight so dense that it covered the encampment. The miracle consisted in the precise time of the arrival and its coincidence with the announcement. The Lord heareth your murmurings. While the Lord proposed to feed, preserve and lead the people to Canaan, he intended also to rebuke their distrust and murmurings. The abundant supply of food would be a rebuke to their unbelief. Your murmurings are not against us. Moses and Aaron were not acting of themselves, but only as the agents of the Lord. Those who reject the chosen servants of the Lord reject him (See 1 Sam. 8:7 and John 12:44).

      III. THE GLORY IN THE CLOUD.--9. Come near before the Lord. That is, before the cloud that showed forth his presence and his glory, and which, as far as Israel was concerned, constituted the shekinah or habitation of the Lord. The symbols of God's presence are repeatedly in the Scriptures called by his name (See 1 Chron. 13:10; 2 Sam. 6:7; Exod. 23:17). They are cited to appear before this awe-inspiring manifestation of the divine presence, as before a tribunal. [165]

      10. As Aaron spake . . . they looked toward the wilderness. While Aaron, at the command of Moses, spake to the people, the cloudy pillar, which had probably moved in advance of the congregation, in the direction in which they were journeying towards the wilderness region of Arabia, began to glow with the presence and glory of the Lord. An unwonted glowing, fiery brightness appeared in the guiding pillar. Its preternatural, resplendent appearance was obviously understood as a token of the Lord's displeasure.

      11. The Lord spake unto Moses. The Lord's communications for Israel, except in the rare instance of the giving of the law at Sinai, were made through Moses. The congregation of Israel is marshalled before the cloudy pillar; it shines with resplendent glory from the presence of the Lord, at the same time manifesting his displeasure; then the Lord communicates through Moses, his chosen mediator, his will.

      12. I have heard the murmurings. The murmurings described in verses 2, 3--verses that describe the same people who had seen all the first-born of Egypt perish in a single night, virtually wishing that they had died in the same manner; where the very people who had groaned and cried from the Egyptian bondage now magnify the plenty of Egypt, and are willing to return to bondage that they might obtain the food of its fleshpots. At even ye shall eat flesh. At even the quails came and covered the camp. They came up from the Arabian gulf, across which they fly in great numbers in the spring, and are often so fatigued after their passage, and fly so low, as to become an easy prey, wherever they alight (See Ps. 78:27). In the morning ye shall be filled with bread. This refers to the manna which fell with the dew, and was left behind when the dew dried up. There was left a "small, round thing, as small as hoar-frost, upon the ground," a fine powdered substance, probably in appearance resembling flour. Ye shall know that I am the Lord your God. That I am Jehovah, the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and your God as the heirs of the covenant. In this supply of food there will be proof positive that the same God who led them out of Egypt is still [166] watching over them and preserving them in the desert. When they are filled by his hand all distrust will pass away until they have a new trial. They were probably not worse or weaker than the mass of Christian worshipers, who lose courage and faith whenever the clouds of misfortune or calamity gather around them.

PRACTICAL AND SUGGESTIVE.

      God feeds his people whether the food be gathered into the granaries from rich harvests, or they be miraculously provided for in the desert. In him we live and move and have our being.

      God, who bared his hand to feed Israel on the march to Canaan, so feeds us as we march to the heavenly Canaan. They axe sustained on the Bread of Life, the Bread of God, the Bread that came down from heaven.

      How weak the faith of Israel, but perhaps no weaker than ours. They could believe in the Lord while all was bright and prosperous, but their faith would fail at the time of trial.

      People are more clamorous for earthly bread than anxious concerning food for their souls. Ver. 2, 3.

      God feeds his people not with the bread made on earth, but prepared by his own hands from heavenly materials.

      Like the manna, the supply of grace must daily be renewed; the food of the soul for one day will not suffice for another.

      The divine supply is abundant, yet individual; there is enough for all, but each must gather for himself.

      They were destitute of all visible means of substance, and cut off from every visible comfort, with only the promise of an unseen God to look to as the ground of their hope. And though we may lament they should tempt God in the wilderness, and freely admit their sin in so doing, we can be at no loss for a reason why those who had all their lives been accustomed to walk by sight should, in circumstances of unparalleled difficulty and perplexity, find it hard to walk by faith. Do not even we find it difficult to walk by faith through the wilderness of this world, though in the light of a clearer revelation, and under a nobler leader than Moses?--Fisk.

      THE MANNA AND CHRIST.--Notice some points of analogy between the manna and Christ: (1) It was indispensable, Israel would have perished without it. Comp. John 6:53. (2) It was a free gift "without money and without price." Comp. Isaiah 55:1; Rom. 6:23. (3) It had to be gathered; had the Israelites refused to gather it, or not thought it worth while to do so, what use would it have been to them? Comp. John 5:40. (4) It had to be gathered daily, that the people might not lose the sense of their sole dependence on God. So we need to come to Christ every day for fresh grace, not trusting in what we did yesterday, or felt last week. (5) It had to be gathered early, before the sun melted it. So to secure our spiritual food we must seek it in the morning of life, and in the literal morning of each day we live, before business or pleasure prevents our getting it at all. "Those who seek Me early shall find me." (6) There was enough for all. See the [167] "every one" of Isaiah 55:1; the "all ye" of Matt. 11:28; the "whosoever" of John 3:16, and Rev. 22:17.--E. Stock.

POINTS FOR TEACHERS.

      1. Review the situation, Israel across the Red Sea, the danger from Egypt over; another danger more terrible. 2. Consider the conduct of the people, their failure of faith, their despair, their murmurings against Moses and Aaron, their longings for Egypt. 3. Point out that unless they could walk by faith, no hope, the foodless desert, no cities or granaries near, their little ones crying for food. None but the Lord can deliver, and their faith has failed. 4. Bring out the Lord's promise. He will rain bread., He can do it as easily as to grow it in the field. He will provide. 5. Show that his people are safe in any environment where they are led by doing his will. The Lord has led them into the desert and will feed them there. 6. Point out the communication of the Lord to the people. To draw near; the glorious pillar shining with the divine glory; a supernatural resplendence that rebukes the murmurs of the people that the Lord would fail them. 7. Show how the promise was fulfilled; how flesh was given; how the bread from heaven came; describe these and the miracle. 8. Bring out the True Bread from heaven of which the manna was a type, and its superiority. Manna might sustain life, but could not give it or keep people from dying finally, but the True Bread gives life; they who eat shall live forever. 9. Show that only the True Bread will satisfy the soul's hunger. Christ that Bread; eaten by faith and obedience to his will.

Source: Barton Warren Johnson. The Christian International Lesson Commentary for 1887. Des Moines, IA: