Bible Study for Exodus 16

Prayer of the Day

Holy provider, despite your people’s hardened hearts you gave them manna when they were hungry. Soften our hearts, and make us grateful for your marvelous gifts. We pray this in the name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Reading: Exodus 16:1-18

After being freed from slavery in Egypt, the people of Israel went into the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula on their journey home. They were free, but they were also on uncertain ground: the food and housing provided by Egypt was much more certain than food in the desert.   

A reading from Exodus.

¹The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim; and Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. ²The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. ⁵On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days." ⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaining against the LORD. For what are we, that you complain against us?" ⁸And Moses said, "When the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the LORD has heard the complaining that you utter against him — what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the LORD."
⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, 'Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" ¹⁰And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. ¹¹The LORD spoke to Moses and said, ¹²"I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
¹³In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. ¹⁴When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. ¹⁶This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.'" ¹⁷The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. ¹⁸But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed. 

COMMENTARY & QUESTIONS

1. What questions do you have about this reading? 
2. A timeline point mentioned by Prof. Kathryn Schifferdecker: at the time of this reading, the Israelites have been traveling out of Egypt for one month, including the crossing of the Red Sea, and they’ve complained three times and have said they want to go back to Egypt three times.
1. Think back to long car trips as a child or with your own children - what was the response when someone had complained about the same thing three times? How does God respond?
3. Dr. Craig Koester of Luther Seminary says this story marks a critical juncture in the lives of the people of Israel, particularly in light of their desire to go back to the slavery they at least understood. “[The people of Israel] can’t have the past as they wanted it to be: will they step into a future that can only be lived by faith?” 
1. Dr. Walter Brueggeman also notes this looking back to Egypt and remarks, “Present anxiety distorts the memory of the recent past.” 
4. If God can make bread come from heaven, why wouldn’t God provide bread from heaven that doesn’t spoil every day?
5. As you encounter this scripture reading, can you think of a time in your life when you were wandering in the wilderness, sustained by manna? If this was some time in the past, do you see things the same way today as you did when you were actually in the “wilderness”? If you’re currently in the wilderness, what gives you hope?