Exodus 16

AND they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came Though not immediately: for there is another stage of theirs by the Red-sea mentioned Numb. 33. 10. (in which chapter Moses designed exactly to set down all their stations) but omitted here, because nothing remarkable happened in it, and Moses in this place designed to record only the memorable passages. unto the wilderness of Sin A great Wilderness between the Red-sea and Mount Sinai, but differing from that Sin mentioned Numb. 20. 1., which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month, after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

And the whole Congregation of the children of Israel murmured For want of meat, as appears from the following verse, their provisions brought out of Egypt being now spent. against Moses and Aaron in the Wilderness.

And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD By any of those Plagues wherewith God destroyed the Egyptians. in the land of Egypt, when we sate by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full Which is not probable: but they amplifie their former mercies that they might aggravate their present calamity, as the manner of impatient and ungoldly men is.: for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger Quest. What danger was there of dying with hunger, seeing they had their flocks and their herds which they brought out of Egypt? Answ. 1. There was no great danger of it, but they use aggravating expressions, as discontented persons use to do. 2. Their flocks and herds were not so numerous as to suffice them for above a months provision, if they had all been slain and eaten, as it is implyed, Numb. 11. 21, 22. So there was some danger of it, though neither immediate, nor great. 3. They were it seems resolved to spare these, partly for increase and for their future subsistence, and partly for sacrifice, as not knowing how many of them they should be required to offer. See Exod. 10. 26..

Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread (i. e.) Manna, which shall serve them instead of bread, Numb. 11. 8. and was a more delicate and pleasant kind of bread, called therefore, The bread of Angels, Psal. 78. 24, 25. from heaven The air, oft called Heaven, in which Manna i... produced. for you: and the people shall go out, and gather a certain rate every day Heb. The thing (i. e.) the provision, of a day in his day, i. e. every day as much as was sufficient for a mans sustenance that day., that I may prove them Either 1. whether by my giving them such miraculous and excellent provision they will be won to love and obey me. Or, 2. Whether by raining it down upon them for several days together they will learn to trust me for the following days, and therefore gather no more than that day required., whether they will walk in my Law or no.

And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare Lay up, grind, bake or seethe. See ver. 23. and Numb. 11. 8. that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, at even, then ye shall know that the LORD has brought you And not we by our own Authority or Counsel, as you suggest, ver. 3. out from the land of Egypt.

And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD Either this glorious work of God in giving Manna: Or rather the glorious appearance of God in the Cloud, as is evident from ver. 10., for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: And what are we that ye murmure against us?

And Moses said, This shall be when the LORD shall give you in the everning flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full: for that the LORD heareth your murmurings, which ye murmure against him, and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.

And Moses spake unto Aaron, say unto all the Congregation of the children of Israel, come near before the LORD Either before the cloudy pillar, where God was especially present: or in the place of Gods Worship. For though the great Tabernacle was not yet built, yet it seems from Exod. 33. 7. there was a little Tabernacle. For as the solemn and publick and Sabbath worship was among them before the Tabernacle was built. So it was necessary there should be some place where they did assemble together and perform that worship which was proper to those times, and there God was supposed to be present in a peculiar manner.: for he has heard your murmurings.

And it came to pass as Aaron spake unto the whole Congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD An extraordinary brightness suddenly appearing in the pillar of Cloud. See Levit. 9. 6, 23. appeared in the cloud.

And the LORD spake Or had spoken, to wit, before, by comparing this with verse 7. unto Moses, saying,

I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread God chuseth the proper time for each kind of provision, the evening for the quails, which being brought from remote parts by their days flight about evening came thither; and the morning for Manna, which usually falls at that time.: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.

And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay Heb. there was a bed of dew, wherewith the Manna was covered, ver. 14. To this the hidden manna, Revel. 2. 17. alludes. round about the host.

And when the dew that lay was gone up To wit, into the Air, or, was vanished, as the word ascend is used, Ier. 48. 15. behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost upon the ground.

And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, it is Manna Or, what is this? which best suits with the following reason, for they wis... not what it was. Man signifies what in the Egyptian Tongue; and it is not strange that the Israelites use one of their words being newly come out of their Land. Hence this is called Manna, but it is of a different nature from the ordinary Manna which now we use only as physick for purging, whereas this Manna was food and nourishing, being prepared by the great God for this use.: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.

This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: gather of it every man according to his eating (i. e.) As much as is sufficient for his eating.: an Omer Which contains the tenth part of an Ephah, and therefore was a very liberal allowance and such as might abundantly suffice a man of greatest strength and stomach. It might seem too much, but it must be remembred that it was a very light meat and easie of digestion: nor was every one obliged to eat up his whole portion, as we shall see. for every man, according to the number of your persons take ye every man for them which are in his tents.

And the children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less Either 1. According as their Families were more or less numerous. Or rather 2. As the gatherers were more or less strong and active in gathering it..

And when they did mete it with an Omer, he that gathered much, had nothing over, and he that gathered little, had no lack All that was gathered by the members of one Family was put into an heap, and then distributed to each person an Omer, neither more nor less: To which St. Paul alludes 2 Cor. 8. 13, &c.: they gathered every man according to his eating.

And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning viz. For the provision of the next day, as distrusting Gods care and goodness in giving them more. Not that every one was bound to eat all of it, which certainly many of their stomachs could not bear, but that they were to dissolve it, or burn it as they did the remains of some sacrifices, Exod. 12. 10. and 29. 34. or consume it some other way..

Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto Moses, but some of them left of it Either distrusting Gods providence for their future provisions: Or, out of curiosity to learn the nature of this Manna, and what they might do when occasion required. until the morning, and it bred worms and stank Not so much from its own nature, which was pure and durable, as from Gods judgement.: and Moses was worth with them.

And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted To wit, as much of it as was left upon the ground. This was not from its own nature, which was so solid that it could indure the fire and was bruised by a pestel, but from Gods wise providence, partly that it might not be corrupted or trodden under foot or otherwise abused and so despised, partly that it might not remain there to tempt any of them, to gather more of it than they should; and partly that all their stock of provision being wasted, they might be obliged to the more entire dependence upon God. And this is here mentioned as a reason why they gathered it in the morning..

And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread Considering Gods present providence in causing it to fall in double proportion, and remembring that the next day was the Sabbath day which God had blessed and sanctified to his own immediate service, Gen. 2. 3. and therefore was not to be employed in servile works, such as the gathering of Manna was, they rightly concluded, that Gods commands delivered ver. 16. 19. reached only to ordinary days, and must in all reason give place to the more antient and necessary Law of the Sabbath., two Omers for one man: and all the rulers of the Congregation came and told Moses Either to acquaint him with this increase of the miracle, or to take his direction for their practise, because they found two commands seemingly clashing together, and therefore needed and desired his advice..

And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD has said Either to Moses by inspiration: or to the former Patriarks upon like occasions; this practise is agreeable to the former word and law of God, concerning the Sabbath, as it follows., to morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the LORD: bake The Manna was dressed these two ways, Numb. 11. 8. that which you will bake, to day These words, to day, are not in the original, and possibly are better left out than taken in, or, if they be taken in, they do not seem to me, as they do to many others, to prove, that they were commanded to bake or seethe on the sixth day all that they were to eat both that day and upon the following Sabbath, or that they were forbidden to bake or seethe it upon the Sabbath day; for there is not a word here to that purpose, and it is apparent from the whole context, that the rest of the Sabbath is not opposed to their baking or seething of it, but to their going out into the field to gather it. Nay the contrary is here implyed, because after they had baken and sodden what they intended to bake or seethe, part of the Manna did, as is here expresly added, remain over and was reserved for the Sabbath days provision, and that unbaken and unsodden, otherwise it would not have been noted as a miraculous thing, that it did not stink nor breed worms, ver. 24., and seethe k that ye will seethe, and that which remaineth over, lay up for you to be kept until the morning What you do not eat this day keep for the next days provision..

And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein As there was before, ver. 20. So great a difference there is between the doing of a thing upon Gods command and with his blessing, and the doing of the same thing, against his will and with his curse..

And Moses said, Eat that to day These words were spoken upon the morning of the Sabbath day, as appears from the foregoing verse., for to day is a Sabbath unto the LORD (i. e.) Wholly consecrated to his service, and therefore not to be employed in servile works.: to day ye shall not find it in the field.

Six days ye shall gather it, but on the seventh day which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.

And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.

And the LORD said unto Moses That he might speak it to the people., How long He signifies that this was an old disease in them, to disobey Gods precepts, and to pollute his Sabbaths. refuse ye to keep my Commandments, and my laws?

See, for that the LORD has given you the Sabbath Has given to you and to your fathers that great command and priviledge of the Sabbath., therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days: abide ye every man in his place: let no man go out of his place Out of his house or tent into the field to gather Manna, as appears from the occasion and reason of the law here before mentioned. For otherwise they might and ought to go out of their houses to the publick assemblies, as appears from Lev. 23. 3. Act. 15. 21. and to lead their cattle to watering, Luk. 13. 15. or to help them out of a pit, Mat. 12. 11. And a Sabbath-days journey was permitted, Act. 1. 12., on the seventh day.

So the people rested Or ceased, to wit, from gathering Manna, by comparing this with ver. 27. and consequently from all works of that nature. on the seventh day.

And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like Coriander seed In shape and figure, but not in colour, for that is dark-coloured, but this white, as it follows here, like Bdellium, &c. Numb. 11. 7., white: and the tast of it When it was raw: but when it was drest, it was like fresh oil, Numb. 11. 8. was like wafers made with honey.

And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth; Fill an Omer of it to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.

And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an Omer full of Manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD In the tabernacle and by the ark, when they shall be built, and at present in the place where you meet for the solemn worship of God., to be kept for your generations.

As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony (i. e.) Before the ark, which is called, the ark of the testimony, Exod. 25. 16. and here, by way of abbreviation, the testimony or witness, because in it were the tables of the covenant, or the law of God, which was a testimony of Gods authority and will, and of mans subjection and duty, or of the covenant made between God and man. See Deut. 10. 5. and 31. 26. Quest. How could this be laid up before the Ark when the Ark was not yet built? Ans. This text only tells us that Aaron did lay it up, but it does not determine the time nor affirm that it was done at this instant, but rather intimates the contrary and that it was done afterwards when the testimony, i. e. the ark, was built. As the next verse also speaks of what was done in' the following forty years., to be kept.

And the children of Israel did eat Manna fourty years, untill they came to a land inhabited: they did eat Manna, untill they came to the borders of the land of Canaan This Moses might well write: for though he did not go in to Canaan, yet he came to the borders of Canaan. And though he did not see the cessation of the Manna, yet he sufficiently knew both from the nature of the thing, and by revelation from God, that it would forthwith cease upon their entrance into Canaan..

Now an Omer is the tenth part of an Ephah.