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Series: Moses: Adventuring with God
God’s provision in the wilderness
Exodus 16 - February 23rd
Rev. Malcolm Raby
(Note for leaders: there is a lot to learn from this passage and many questions, please skip questions to do what is best for your group)
To get you thinking … people often look back at the “good old days”.
Q1 - Why do you think this is so? Were the “good old days” really that good?
There are a number of challenging issues in this chapter which scholars have argued over for many years.
Study
Q2 - How many Israelites left Egypt with Moses?
Hint: 600,000 men + women and children (Ex 12.37). “Men on foot” would only include able-bodied, military-age men. In the second year after leaving Egypt, Moses took a census of how many fighting men there were – 603,550 (Num 1.45-46). When the Israelites came to Egypt they numbered just 70 (Gen 46.27) but now some 430 years later … some scholars estimate 2-3 million, even more if you include the Egyptians who chose to join them (Ex 12.38). Think of the challenges facing such a huge number of people!
Q3 - How did the Israelites manage to obtain food for so many people?
Hint:
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They brought with them lots of animals, but feeding so many people!
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God provided them with MANNA throughout this period. What was it like? (Ex 16:31; Num 11.8).
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The land they were in was largely barren, but some experts say it would have produced at least fruits and herbs.
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The land was not totally uninhabited and they were able to buy food/water as they travelled (Deut 2.6).
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God provided quails, but it seems this was a “one-off”. Quails fly north in the springtime in immense numbers from Africa.
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Was this God’s miraculous provision for which there is no logical/scientific answer?
Please read verses 1-13 (God provides)
When the people departed from Elim (with its palm trees and springs of water) they went into the wilderness of Sin, a barren and desolate place. It appears that by now the supplies they had brought with them from Egypt had run out, and so…
Q4 – What could they do? Were they right to grumble?
Q5 - Why do you think they forgot about the miraculous way in which they had escaped from Egypt? What does this tell us about the nature of sin?
Q6 - What do you make of God’s response to their grumbling?
It seems that everyone joined in grumbling! It was directed towards Moses & Aaron, but really it was a lack of faith in God (8). We read in verse 4 that God wanted to test the people.
Q7 – What was the purpose of this testing? Does God still test Christians today?
Q8 - Can anyone give an example from their own life? Is there a difference between a test and a temptation?
Q9 – Can grumbling ever be justified? If “yes”, can you give an example?
Q10 – If we do grumble is it really grumbling against God? What lesson did God want to teach them as he provided for them?
Please read verses 13-21 (Rues for gathering the manna)
Q11 – Where di the manna come from? Can science explain it? Has there ever been such a phenomenon before or since? Why do you think this is so?
Q12 – What were the rules and what was the point of them? Were there lessons to learned? Why do you think some saves some of the manna for the next day?
Hint: This was really a huge lesson in faith. An omer (43oz) was enough for each person per day. Leftovers were not to be kept, so people had to believe that God would provide for them the next day too.
The manna was freely provided by God, but the people had to respond by collecting it. Since it was such a miraculous provision, God could just as easily have left the manna outside each tent!
Q13 – Is there an important biblical principle here?
READ verses 22-30 (Rules for manna and the Sabbath)
Q14 – How would the absence of manna on the Sabbath day act as an object lesson? Why do you think some people went out to gather on the Sabbath day? Do you think God’s Sabbath principle still applies to us today? If so, are we all guilty in the way we treat the Sabbath?
READ verses 31-35 (One jar of manna is preserved)
Q15 – Why do you think God commanded that a jar be kept?
Hint: There is a further miracle here in that the manna did not rot.Many scholars believe that the narrative was written at a later date, hence the reference to the TESTIMOMY in verse 34. Later (Ex 25.22) the ark and the tabernacle was called the “Testimony” so this may be a reference as to what later happened to the jar with the manna in it – a reminder of God’s faithfulness.
Also there is a reference to the Sabbath (verses 25ff) but this was not given until later (20.8). The commandment calls for “remembrance” so this suggests the Sabbath was already an ancient institution, a “creation ordinance”.
Q16 - Are there any applications that are relevant to our lives today?
At the start of the chapter the Israelites did what they did well – moaning and groaning. They looked only at the natural and forgot (time after time) God’s gracious and miraculous provision. They even exaggerated how wonderful life was back in Egypt when they were treated harshly as slaves. Lesson to learn? We should never forget God’s goodness; we should always be confident of his future grace and of his commitment to his promises.
Q17 - Do we see any “links” in the New Testament to Jesus? Read John 6.32-35. Jesus said he was the true bread from heaven; that he was God’s provision for the whole of mankind. Does Jesus fulfil Ex 16.4?
And note that the people were to gather the manna every day (except on the Sabbath). We need to “feed” on Jesus day by day if we are to be spiritually strengthened and upheld. The manna gave strength and nourishment for that day but not beyond. The strength we receive from Christ today may not be sufficient for the next day.
Note too verse 21 – they had to gather in the morning before the manna was melted by the hot sun.
Q18 - Is there a challenge here for us about starting the day with God? (Psalm 5.3; 59.16; 143.8)
And a final thought – the manna was a reminder of things to come. Everyday God gave them a small taste of what was to come; a small reminder of their true destination, the Promised Land. We may only see and experience Christ in part right now, but do remember that it is a taste of the wonderful things to come (1 Cor 13.12).
PRAYER
Because we live in a society where most of us have no issues about there being enough food for tomorrow, it perhaps is not too easy for us to feel we have to trust God. However, perhaps our focus could be:
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On those who really do depend on the Food Banks around us
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On those in many parts of the world where they really do only have enough food for the day (if at all)
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And perhaps end with a time of thanksgiving to God for his marvellous provision for us – and setting a challenge of how we might respond in a positive and loving way.
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Malcolm Raby, 06/02/2020
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