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THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, Cal. · Jun 25, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 26.

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THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

LESSON 1.—JULY 6.—THE GIVING OF THE MANNA.
Lesson Scripture, Ex. 16:4-15, R.V.
4 “THEN said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or no. And 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. 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. And Moses said unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord; for He hath 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 appeared in the cloud. And the Lord spake 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; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God. And it came to pass at even, that the quails came up, and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay round about the camp. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness a small round thing, small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, What is it? for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, It is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.”
Golden Text.—“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matt. 6:11.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

(1) In reply to the murmuring of the Israelites, what promise did the Lord make to Moses? Why did the Lord thus answer? Verse 4. Note 1. (2) What was to come to pass on the sixth day? Verse 5. Note 2. (3) Then what did Moses and Aaron say to the people? Verse 6. (4) What would they see in the morning? What estimate did these leaders place upon themselves? Verse 7. (5) What further promise did Moses make? Against whom were the people really murmuring? Verse 8. (6) Then what command was given to the people? Why? Verse 9. (7) As this command was given, what did the people see? Verse 10. (8) What did the Lord then say He had heard? What promise did He repeat? By this what were the people to know? (9) How was this promise fulfilled? Verse 13. (10) How is this “bread” described? Verse 14. Note 4. (11) What did the people say when they saw the manna? What did Moses say of it? Verse 15.

NOTES.

1. Proving the People.—The Lord had brought His people out of Egypt that they might have liberty to serve Him. Ex. 7:16; 9:1. Now comes the proof as to whether they will serve Him when they have the opportunity to do so. Serving Him meant then, as before and since, walking in His law. As this was some weeks previous to the audible speaking of the law on Sinai, it is evident that the law had a previous existence.
2. The specific test of faith lay in the recognition of the Sabbath. The double portion on the sixth day was a preparation for the Sabbath, that it might be observed as a holy rest-day. From this test we learn that previous to the experience at Sinai God regarded the observance of the Sabbath day as a special feature of His service.
3. Murmuring against the accredited servants of God is murmuring against God Himself. Jesus, when sending out His disciples, said to them, “He that heareth you heareth Me; and he that rejecteth you rejecteth Me; and he that rejecteth Me rejecteth Him that sent Me.” Luke 10:16.
4. The manna and its preparation are more fully described in Num. 11:7, 8: “The manna was as coriander seed, and the color thereof as the color of bdellium. 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.” David calls it the “corn of heaven” and “angels' food.” Ps. 78:24, 25.
Read, if possible, “Patriarchs and Prophets,” pp. 292-298.