Exodus 16:13-21
Seven years ago, there was a new baby in our house. We were thankful God blessed us with a healthy baby boy. My wife and I were excited to have another child, and we did our best to care for him. Like all babies, there were many things he needed, and as a baby, he could do very little for himself. We fed him, bathed him, changed him, and at first, we really did everything for him. Yes, he had ways of letting us know what he needed, but as soon as we knew, we would do our best to help him.
As new parents, we were thrilled to help our son; we wanted to provide for him and help him in everything we could. This example gives us a glimpse of God’s heart. Just like we wanted to provide and care for our child, God wants to provide and care for His children.
II Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” The prophet Hanani said this to King Asa; however, this has always been God’s heart. This verse gives me the idea that God is looking, searching for those who trust Him, then when He finds someone, He is right there to help. Just like the first few days our son was home, we were there as soon as we heard the smallest noise. I am sure God is a much better parent than we were, but just like we as parents wanted to provide and care for our son, so God loves to provide and care for His children.
If you can, turn to Exodus 16. Today we will see God’s unique provision for the children of Israel. We are so glad you joined us; now, let’s go with Bible teacher J. Mark Horst to Exodus 16.
Too many of us take undue pride in our own achievements. We give too little credit to God. We somehow feel that, given our own abilities, we can make it. We forget that God is the one Who gave us our abilities, our power to earn a living, even the very breath we breathe. Our pride makes us reluctant to give God any kind of credit.
We forget that God’s open hand of mercy is what feeds every living creature, as the Psalmist very clearly tells us. Were it not for His mercy, we would be consumed. The end would be upon us if God did not continue to extend His mercy to all living creatures everywhere. It is important to recognize God’s gracious provision for us.
In Exodus 16:13-21 there is the account of how GOD DOES PROVIDE. He does it beautifully, faithfully, effectively, and abundantly. Listen as I read that text.
13. And it came to pass, that in the evening the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
14. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
15. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they knew not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
16. This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
17. And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
18. And when they measured it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
19. And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
20. Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
21. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
In this text from Exodus, we find the PROOFS that God does provide. While this experience has to do with the children of Israel, it has a personal application for every child of God.
Adequate proof of God’s provision was shown in
The Heavenly Bread
This was a special provision God made for the people of Israel. There was no grain available. Wheat and barley did not grow in that wilderness. There were no vineyards or olive groves. Only palm trees and a bit of grass can be seen today at the oases in the wilderness, and they are far apart. So, food has to be a miracle from the LORD, especially for such a multitude.
We are told that the dew came down. In the morning, when the dew evaporated, it left behind small seed-like things on the ground, like hoarfrost. It came by a miracle. It came from the clouds as though the people of Israel were living on air. There was no evidence of where it came from, but God was providing this special food for them. It was heavenly bread.
It was simple bread. It came down from heaven, but it was nothing complex. It looked like frost balls on the ground. There were no fancies or luxuries about this. This was not a multi-course meal or a sweet dessert. This was a necessary staple of life. It would supply their need daily. It provided their total nutritional need. It was the kind of thing that people could live on. It gave them the energy they needed to perform their work and continue their journey to Canaan. It met their needs, nothing more and nothing less.
They called this heavenly bread manna because they didn’t know what it was. But they recognized that it was sent by the gracious provision of God. He does provide! He provides for the ordinary with simple things. The manna was His simple way of providing for their needs at this particular time.
God means for us to have the basic necessities of life. So, He provides, and sometimes He does it in miraculous ways. He helps us to see how He takes care of our needs.
Adequate proof of God’s provision was also shown in
The Daily Bread.
We are taught in the New Testament to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” That is how God provided for His people. They would go out in the morning and gather what they needed. They were not to gather more than they needed or less than they needed. The people who needed more gathered more, and the people who needed less gathered less because they were instructed to gather according to the number of people in their families. An omer was the quantity prescribed for each person, about a liter or a liter and a half. Here we have the daily bread according to need, not according to their wants.
They could not provide for tomorrow. It was the daily experience, to gather each day. They gathered it, and they measured it on a daily basis. That was to teach them trust in the LORD. Isn’t it beautiful to see how the LORD provided for them on a daily basis? What the LORD provided they were to gather.
God didn’t do all the work for them. He gave them the manna in a form that they could prepare for eating. So, what the LORD provided, they were to gather. This left some responsibility to them. The LORD still does it that way. He does not provide completely, but He provides sufficiently so that each one can have what he needs on a daily basis.
It was that way back in the Garden of Eden when Adam was first created. The LORD told him that he was to keep and dress the garden. As the result of his labor, he could eat all the fruit of the trees in the garden except that one tree that was forbidden to him.
God provided for the children of Israel, but they needed to gather it and prepare it. This teaches us that God intends for us to work for our daily food. We cannot simply depend upon Him. We have a certain responsibility. When God provides for us, He expects us to be actively responsible to gather together what we may need. The problem with many of us is that we think our needs are greater than they are, and we begin to pursue wants instead of real needs.
So, let’s remember that God expects us to be diligent in gathering what He provides. Our existence is to be a daily walk of faith, believing that God will provide for every need in every circumstance.
We must therefore trust Him every day so that He can provide us with those necessary things of life, even if it is only the common things such as daily bread. But God does provide, and we thank and praise Him for it.
Adequate proof of God’s provision was also shown in
The Sufficient Bread.
Let me emphasize again that the manna they gathered was only for one day. Moses instructed them, “Let no one leave any of it until the morning.” What was left could not be eaten. Some of them did not listen to Moses; they didn’t think that Moses knew what he was talking about. They kept some over until the morning, and it became wormy and stank. Moses was very angry with them because they did not listen to him. But one lesson was enough. They didn’t try that again.
God prepared it that way to teach them that every day had its sufficient bread. It was sufficient for that day and that day only. When the sun came up in the morning, what was left on the ground that had not been gathered, and wasn’t needed, melted. It was a miracle that came to His people daily. God was providing for them in a beautiful way. They needed to recognize His sufficiency. God was able day by day to provide for their needs.
There is a delicate balance between recognizing God’s daily and sufficient care and our responsibility to look ahead into the future for possible unforeseen needs. In this particular case, God wanted the children of Israel to learn that He had sufficient quantity for every day. They didn’t need to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow would take care of itself. God would be there again the next morning to provide sufficiently for their daily needs.
There is a precious lesson here for us. God provides and supplies the needs of all His creatures. But our problem so often is that we do not recognize God’s hand of provision. We think so much of our own achievements and do not give God enough credit for what He is doing.
I appeal to you to make God truly personal in your life so that His daily care becomes your sufficient provision. He will not come to us with manna raining it down from heaven, but He has provided for us in such a way that we can gather a sufficient quantity to meet our needs. God means for us to be responsible, to do the thing we ought to do in providing for ourselves from the abundance that He has given us. It is wonderful how the LORD provides in such a sufficient way for all our needs.
So here we have the proofs that God does provide heavenly bread, daily bread, and sufficient bread. He gave them all they needed, but no more. I urge you to come and trust in the One Who still provides in such abundant and appropriate ways.
Thanks, J. Mark, for teaching us, and thank you for joining us. We trust our time together has been a blessing. If you would like this teaching or if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us.
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Thank you so much for being with us. We look forward to next week and hope you will join us then as we continue our study in Exodus. I will part with an encouraging thought from Joel chapter 2, “Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God and there is no other.” Blessings as you serve our great King!
*This episode is an exposition of Exodus 16:13-21 by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.