Then
Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law, or not. It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”
Exodus 16:4-5
Exodus 16 [1.] They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; and the children of Israel said to them, “We wish that we had died by Yahweh’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Exodus 16 [4.] Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law, or not. It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”
Exodus 16 [6.] Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening, then you shall know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt; and in the morning, then you shall see Yahweh’s glory; because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?” Moses said, “Now Yahweh shall give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you; because Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh.” Moses said to Aaron, “Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before Yahweh, for he has heard your murmurings.’” As Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, Yahweh’s glory appeared in the cloud. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread: and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God.’”
Meaning:
A month after leaving Egypt, Israel reached the wilderness of Sin, and the food they had carried out of Egypt was running low. The whole congregation “murmured against Moses and against Aaron,” wishing they had died in Egypt “by the meat pots” (Exodus 16:2-3). God’s answer to their complaint was not punishment but provision. These verses announce the manna, the daily bread that fed Israel for forty years, and explain what God meant to teach through it.
- “I will rain bread from the sky for you”
The wilderness could not supply bread, so it would come from above. When the people first saw the small round flakes on the ground they asked, “What is it?”, and Moses told them, “It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat” (Exodus 16:15). A psalm later celebrated the same gift: “He rained down manna on them to eat, and gave them food from the sky” (Psalm 78:24).
- “gather a day’s portion every day”
The manna came each morning, and each household was to gather only what it needed for that day. When some tried to keep it overnight, it “bred worms, and became foul” (see Exodus 16:15 and the verses that follow). Israel had to trust God for tomorrow’s bread tomorrow. Jesus taught his disciples to pray in the same spirit: “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).
- “that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law, or not”
The manna was a gift and also a test, revealing what was in the people’s hearts. Moses later explained the purpose: God “allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna… that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth” (Deuteronomy 8:3). Each day’s gathering was a small act of obedience.
- “on the sixth day… it shall be twice as much”
On the sixth day the people were to gather a double portion and prepare it, because no manna would fall on the seventh. Here Israel is taught the Sabbath rest even before the commandments were given at Sinai, and the double portion did not spoil overnight. Even so, some went out on the seventh day to gather and found none. Rest itself became an act of faith.
The Significance of Exodus 16:4-5
- God meets complaint with grace
Israel’s grumbling was ungrateful and faithless, yet God answered it by feeding them. Paul reminded believers that their fathers “all ate the same spiritual food” (1 Corinthians 10:3).
- The true bread from heaven
In the synagogue at Capernaum, the crowd quoted the manna story to Jesus: “He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.” Jesus answered that his Father now gives “the true bread out of heaven” (John 6:30-33). The manna kept Israel alive for a time, but “your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died” (John 6:49). Jesus is the bread that gives eternal life to all who come to him (John 6:58).
Cross-References:
Exodus 16:15: "It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat." Moses explains the manna.
Deuteronomy 8:3: "man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth." The lesson of the manna.
John 6:32: "it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven." Jesus is the true bread.
Conclusion: When Israel murmured for food in the wilderness, God promised to rain bread from the sky, a day’s portion each day and a double portion on the sixth day so that the Sabbath could be kept. The manna was both a gift and a test, teaching Israel to trust God daily and to live by his word. Jesus later pointed to it as a sign of himself, the true bread from heaven who gives life to the world.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible