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International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Feb 18, 1889

FromThe Signs of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 7

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Old Testament History.

THE GIVING OF MANNA.

(Lesson 9, March 2, 1889.)
1. What inconvenience did the children of Israel suffer soon after they crossed the Red Sea?
“And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore the name of it was called Marah.” Ex. 15: 23.
2. How did they act?
“And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?” Verse 24.
3. How did the Lord give them relief?
“And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet; there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them.” Verse 25.
4. What promise did the Lord then give the people?
“And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord that healeth thee.” Verse 26.
5. When they came to the wilderness of Sin, what wicked charge did they bring against Moses and Aaron?
“And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto 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. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured 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 in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Ex. 16:1-3.
6. What did the Lord say he would do to satisfy their hunger?
“Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, thatI may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” Verse 4.
7. What test did he say this would be for them?—Ib.
8. When were they told that they should receive food?
“And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt; and in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord; and what are we, that ye murmur against us? And Moses said, This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him; and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.” “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; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.” Verses 6-8, 12.
9. What kind of flesh did they have at even?
“And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.” Verse 13.
10. In the morning when the dew was gone what did they find?
“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. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna; for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.” Verses 14, 15.
11. Describe the manna.
“And the manna was as coriander seed, and the color thereof as the color of bdellium.” Num. 11:7.
12. How did they prepare it, and how did it taste?
“And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.” Verse 8.
13. How much were they to gather for each person?
“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.” Ex. 16:16.
14. How was it if some gathered too much, or not enough?
“And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete 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.” Verses 17, 18.
15. What practical lesson does the apostle Paul draw from this?
“For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want; that there may be equality; as it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.” 2 Cor. 8:13-15.
16. What took place if they tried to keep the manna till the next day?
“And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 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.” Ex. 16:19, 20.
17. On the sixth day what did they do?
“And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.” Verse 22.
18. What instruction had they received on this point?
“And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” Verse 5.
19. What did Moses say to them on that day?
“And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, to-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord; bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.” Verse 23.
20. Did any manna fall on the Sabbath?
“Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.” Verse 26.
21. How were they provided with food on that day?
“And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade; and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.” “See, for that the Lord hath given you 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 on the seventh day.” Verses 23, 24, 29.
22. What did some of the people do on the seventh day?
“And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.” Verse 27.
23. What reproof did the Lord give them?
“And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?” Verse 28.
24. How long did the children of Israel eat the manna?
“And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.” Verse 35.
25. Show how they could not by any possibility have made a mistake in regard to the Sabbath in that time.
26. In giving the manna, what purpose did God effect besides supplying the children of Israel with food?
27. What does the psalmist say this manna was?
“And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat angels’ food; he sent them meat to the full.” Ps. 78:24, 25.
28. Of what was it a type?
“I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” “This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead; he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.” John 6:48-51, 58.