Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test whether or not they will follow My instructions. Then the LORD said to MosesThis phrase indicates direct communication from God to Moses, highlighting Moses' role as a mediator between God and the Israelites. It underscores the personal relationship and direct guidance God provided to Moses, a theme consistent throughout the Pentateuch. This divine communication is foundational for the leadership and prophetic role Moses plays in the narrative of the Exodus. Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you
The promise of "bread from heaven" refers to the manna that God provided for the Israelites during their wilderness journey. This miraculous provision is a testament to God's care and sustenance. The phrase "rain down" suggests abundance and divine origin, contrasting with earthly provision. Manna is later referenced in the New Testament as a type of Christ, the true "bread of life" (John 6:31-35), symbolizing spiritual nourishment and God's provision through Jesus. Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day
This instruction emphasizes daily dependence on God, teaching the Israelites to trust in His provision. It reflects the principle of daily reliance on God, akin to the Lord's Prayer's request for "daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). The daily gathering also prevented hoarding, fostering a community reliant on God's faithfulness rather than human effort. In this way I will test whether or not they will follow My instructions
The provision of manna served as a test of obedience and faith for the Israelites. This testing is a recurring theme in the wilderness narrative, where God uses circumstances to reveal the hearts of His people (Deuteronomy 8:2). It underscores the importance of obedience to God's commands as a demonstration of faith and trust in His promises. The test also foreshadows the broader covenant relationship between God and Israel, where obedience is a key component of their identity as God's chosen people. Persons / Places / Events 1. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant-keeping God of Israel, who provides for His people and tests their obedience. 2. MosesThe leader of the Israelites, through whom God communicates His instructions. 3. The IsraelitesThe people of God, recently delivered from Egypt, who are learning to trust and obey God in the wilderness. 4. The Wilderness of SinThe location where the Israelites are journeying and where God provides manna. 5. MannaThe miraculous bread from heaven that God provides to sustain the Israelites. Teaching Points God's ProvisionGod is faithful to provide for our needs, often in unexpected ways. Just as He provided manna for the Israelites, He provides for us today. Daily DependenceThe instruction to gather manna daily teaches us to rely on God each day, trusting Him for our daily needs rather than hoarding resources. Obedience and TestingGod's provision often comes with instructions that test our obedience. Our willingness to follow His commands reveals our trust in Him. Spiritual NourishmentBeyond physical sustenance, God desires to nourish us spiritually. We are called to seek His Word and presence daily. Faith in God's TimingThe Israelites had to trust God's timing and provision, learning patience and faith as they awaited His daily supply. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the concept of daily gathering of manna challenge our modern understanding of security and provision? 2. In what ways can we practice daily dependence on God in our current circumstances? 3. How does the testing of the Israelites' obedience with manna relate to the tests of faith we face today? 4. What parallels can you draw between the manna in the wilderness and Jesus as the "bread of life" in your personal spiritual journey? 5. How can reflecting on God's past provisions in your life strengthen your faith in His future provision? Connections to Other Scriptures Deuteronomy 8:3This verse reflects on the purpose of manna, emphasizing that man does not live by bread alone but by every word from God, highlighting the spiritual lesson behind the physical provision. John 6:31-35Jesus refers to Himself as the "bread of life," drawing a parallel between the manna in the wilderness and His provision of eternal life. Psalm 78:23-25This passage recounts God's provision of manna, describing it as the "bread of angels," underscoring the miraculous nature of God's provision. People Aaron, Ephah, Israelites, MosesPlaces Canaan, Elim, Sin Desert, SinaiTopics Behold, Bread, Cause, Daily, Day's, Follow, Gather, Gathered, Heaven, Heavens, Instruction, Instructions, Law, Laws, Matter, Needs, Portion, Prove, Rain, Raining, Rate, Sky, Test, Try, Walk, WhetherDictionary of Bible Themes Exodus 16:4 5473 proof, through testing
7968 spiritual gifts, nature of
8832 testing Exodus 16:1-10 7206 community Exodus 16:1-14 4478 meat Exodus 16:1-30 8131 guidance, results Exodus 16:2-4 5928 resentment, against God Exodus 16:3-8 8841 unfaithfulness, to people Exodus 16:4-8 4418 bread Library The Bread of God
'Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or no. 5. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. 6. And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureSeptember the Twenty-Eighth the Daily Manna
"I will rain bread from heaven for you." --EXODUS xvi. 11-18. And this gracious provision is made for people who are complaining, and who are sighing for the flesh-pots of Egypt! Our Lord can be patient with the impatient: He can be "kind to the unthankful." If it were easy to drive the Lord away I should have succeeded long ago. I have murmured, I have sulked, I have turned Him out of my thoughts, and "He stands at the door and knocks!" I yearn for "the flesh-pots," "He sends me manna," "Was …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year Dining with a Pharisee. Sabbath Healing and Three Lessons Suggested by the Event.
(Probably Peræa.) ^C Luke XIV. 1-24. ^c 1 And it came to pass, when he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching him. [The Pharisees were an unorganized party, hence their rulers were such not by office, but by influence. Those who were members of the Sanhedrin, or who were distinguished among the rabbis, might fitly be spoken of as rulers among them. The context favors the idea that Jesus was invited for the purpose of being …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Beauty and Glory of the Risen Body.
We have seen in the foregoing chapters that, in the Beatific Vision, the human soul sees, loves, and enjoys God, and that her essential happiness consists in that unfailing, blessed vision. But, although the blessedness she now enjoys is far greater than words can express, it is not yet integral or complete, and never will be, except when she is again clothed in her own body, beautified, and glorified after the likeness of her Saviour's body. However, although her happiness is not yet complete, you …
F. J. Boudreaux—The Happiness of Heaven Questions About the Nature and Perpetuity of the Seventh-Day Sabbath.
AND PROOF, THAT THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK IS THE TRUE CHRISTIAN SABBATH. BY JOHN BUNYAN. 'The Son of man is lord also of the Sabbath day.' London: Printed for Nath, Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, 1685. EDITOR'S ADVERTISEMENT. All our inquiries into divine commands are required to be made personally, solemnly, prayerful. To 'prove all things,' and 'hold fast' and obey 'that which is good,' is a precept, equally binding upon the clown, as it is upon the philosopher. Satisfied from our observations …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Tithing
There are few subjects on which the Lord's own people are more astray than on the subject of giving. They profess to take the Bible as their own rule of faith and practice, and yet in the matter of Christian finance, the vast majority have utterly ignored its plain teachings and have tried every substitute the carnal mind could devise; therefore it is no wonder that the majority of Christian enterprises in the world today are handicapped and crippled through the lack of funds. Is our giving to be …
Arthur W. Pink—Tithing The Personality of Power.
A Personally Conducted Journey. Everyone enjoys the pleasure of travel; but nearly all shrink back from its tiresomeness and drudgery. The transportation companies are constantly scheming to overcome this disagreeable side for both pleasure and business travel. One of the popular ways of pleasure travel of late is by means of personally conducted tours. A party is formed, often by the railroad company, and is accompanied by a special agent to attend to all the business matters of the trip. A variation …
S.D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on Power Epistle xvii. To Felix, Bishop of Messana.
To Felix, Bishop of Messana. To our most reverend brother, the Bishop Felix, Gregory, servant of the servants of God [246] . Our Head, which is Christ, to this end has willed us to be His members, that through His large charity and faithfulness He might make us one body in Himself, to whom it befits us so to cling that, since without Him we can do nothing, through Him we may be enabled to be what we are called. From the citadel of the Head let nothing divide us, lest, if we refuse to be His members, …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great How Subjects and Prelates are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 5.) Differently to be admonished are subjects and prelates: the former that subjection crush them not, the latter that superior place elate them not: the former that they fail not to fulfil what is commanded them, the latter that they command not more to be fulfilled than is just: the former that they submit humbly, the latter that they preside temperately. For this, which may be understood also figuratively, is said to the former, Children, obey your parents in the Lord: but to …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great 1 to Pray is as it were to be on Speaking Terms with Me...
1. To pray is as it were to be on speaking terms with Me, and so by being in communion with and abiding in Me to become like Me. There is a kind of insect which feeds upon and lives among grass and green leaves and becomes like them in colour. Also the polar bear dwelling among the white snows has the same snowy whiteness, and the tiger of Bengal bears upon its skin the marks of the reeds among which it lives. So those, who by means of prayer abide in communion with Me partake, with the saints and …
Sadhu Sundar Singh—At The Master's Feet Appendix viii. Rabbinic Traditions About Elijah, the Forerunner of the Messiah
To complete the evidence, presented in the text, as to the essential difference between the teaching of the ancient Synagogue about the Forerunner of the Messiah' and the history and mission of John the Baptist, as described in the New Testaments, we subjoin a full, though condensed, account of the earlier Rabbinic traditions about Elijah. Opinions differ as to the descent and birthplace of Elijah. According to some, he was from the land of Gilead (Bemid. R. 14), and of the tribe of Gad (Tanch. on …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Deity of the Holy Spirit.
In the preceding chapter we have seen clearly that the Holy Spirit is a Person. But what sort of a Person is He? Is He a finite person or an infinite person? Is He God? This question also is plainly answered in the Bible. There are in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments five distinct and decisive lines of proof of the Deity of the Holy Spirit. I. Each of the four distinctively Divine attributes is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. What are the distinctively Divine attributes? Eternity, omnipresence, …
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Exodus 16:4 NIVExodus 16:4 NLTExodus 16:4 ESVExodus 16:4 NASBExodus 16:4 KJV
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