Exodus 16:6, commentary and pictures

Moses and Aaron spoke to all murmuring Israel in their complaint for flesh and bread to the full, declaring that at evening they would know that the Lord had brought them out of Egypt, a promise fulfilled by quail in the evening with manna and the glory of the Lord seen in the morning. The deliverance and the bread were not the work or wisdom of any man alone, but were given by God the Father through Moses from the pillar of cloud, for Christ enshrouded in cloud by day and fire by night was their leader and mighty General with His angels attending them. The bread given was angels' food, the best and most palatable food from heaven with the dew, given to test whether they would obey God's law and proving by the double portion on the sixth day and none on the seventh that the Sabbath hallowed at creation was still binding before Sinai. That feeding in the desert was repeated when Christ fed the multitude on the grass in the evening from five loaves and two fishes, showing the One who fed Israel was feeding them that day as the prophet Moses foretold, and picturing Himself as the true living bread from heaven on whom believers continually depend so they shall never hunger or thirst. The God who led Israel out of Egyptian bondage still lives and provides for the bodily necessities of His people so their bread and water will be sure in the time of trouble, and He used the wilderness experience to make them separate by reforming appetite to simple living without flesh meats from fruits and grains.

Evening Sign of Deliverance

At evening they were to know that the Lord had brought them out of Egypt, and that promise was to be fulfilled by the evening provision of quail. In the morning also manna and the glory of the Lord were to be seen. The words were spoken by Moses and Aaron to all Israel when the people murmured against Moses in adverse circumstances. They had complained about flesh and about eating bread to the full, and God condescended to give them bread from heaven to stop all their murmuring.

Though spoken through Moses and Aaron, the deliverance and the bread were not the work or wisdom of any person alone. The bread was given by God the Father, given through Moses from the pillar of cloud. The declaration that the Lord brought them out points to Christ, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, as their leader and teacher and mighty General. His angels attended Israel on either side so that no harm could come to them.

They were to learn from unmistakable evidence that the Lord Himself had brought them out of Egypt and that they were led and protected by divine power. That evidence included the miraculous passage through the Red Sea with the waters standing as walls and the overthrow of the Egyptians and Pharaoh's vast army. It included forty years of guidance through the wilderness. When brought into straitened places He worked miracles for them, giving pure and cool water flowing from the rock when thirsty and giving food when hungry, and manifesting His glory to them.

Manna, Sabbath and Christ

The bread given at evening and at morning was angels' food, the bread of heaven, the best food that could possibly be given to stop all murmuring after complaint about flesh and about eating bread to the full. It was given with the falling dew in plenty as palatable food to meet physical want, as one of the mighty miracles and standing miracles showing God's power and care. Though they had angels' food to eat, it did not satisfy them. God for the most part withheld meat and gave bread from heaven and water from the rock to test them, but when they rejected His provision and let appetite rule by hankering after the flesh pots of Egypt, He gave them meat and many died, showing His displeasure.

The instructions about manna tested whether the people would obey God's law. The provision was an act of mercy, while also requiring their cooperation as part of their moral discipline. The giving of the manna proves by miracle that the seventh day hallowed and sanctified by God at creation in Eden was still valid and binding before the law was spoken on Mount Sinai. There the same day was then proclaimed holy and placed in the heart of the Decalogue, and the continuing miracle testified to the commandment given in Eden before it was given at Sinai. The sixth-day double portion and the absence of manna on the seventh day preserved the Sabbath through the forty years of wilderness wandering. That miraculous escape and wonderful deliverance from bondage and oppression freed Israel to serve God and keep His Sabbaths.

The bread sent from heaven was a marked event never to be forgotten. It was to be preserved as a memorial in the home training school and told to children when they inquired about the memorials, as an exhibition of God's power, together with the water provided from the rock. God's feeding of Israel in the desert is repeated in the feeding of the multitude. Seated on the grassy plain in the twilight of the spring evening, all in the vast multitude shared the benefit of the food Christ provided from five barley loaves and two small fishes. His words came as the voice of God, His healings were works only divine power can perform, and the creation of food for thousands was a miracle no human power can do. The One who fed Israel then was feeding them that day, as the prophet Moses foretold who should come into the world.

Provision for Today

The evening promise belongs to the provision of manna in the wilderness, and that provision shows that the God who led Israel out of Egyptian bondage still lives and reigns and still guides and supplies His people. The manna shows God supplying the necessities of His people in the wilderness, caring for both bodily and spiritual needs, with Christ leading them in the cloud, giving statutes and laws and bestowing heaven's bounties. That same care proves He can sustain His people when ordinary food is unavailable, so that in the time of trouble their bread and water will be sure and they will not lack or hunger.

The miraculous giving of bread was an act of mercy and care for His people for their benefit, with their cooperation required as part of their moral discipline. It was a standing miracle meeting physical want with plenty of palatable food, proving God is not unmindful of bodily necessities and will provide food to satisfy them, and the bread was given by God the Father and not by Moses nor by the work or wisdom of any person alone. The unmistakable evidence that the Lord Himself had brought them out was their deliverance from Egyptian bondage and its temptations followed by forty years of guidance through the wilderness, with His preserving power going with them in the pillar of cloud and of fire under Christ as leader and teacher, working miracles in straitened places by giving pure and cool water from the rock when thirsty and manna, angels' food, when they hankered after the flesh pots of Egypt.

That wilderness experience was meant to make them a separate people and to reform their habits of eating. The same God will now give His people knowledge of how to provide food in a simple manner from fruits and grains, more simple and less expensive than costly preparations, so that those who cannot obtain expensive foods need not live upon an impoverished diet. This knowledge of diet reform is an essential part of the education to be given in schools and in new places, teaching simplicity of living, how to live without flesh meats, and lessons in hygienic cookery, while those who receive His blessings are expected to share them with others less favored.

The deliverance from Egypt and the provision of manna are recalled as grounds for praise, and they serve as a picture of spiritual deliverance in which God breaks the bondage of sin and provides heavenly bread in Christ, the living bread on whom believers continually depend. Temporal food is perishable and of far less consequence than the spiritual food that endures to everlasting life, which comes from no human agent but from God Himself through the gift of Christ, the true living bread from heaven who gives life to the world so that whoever comes to Him and believes shall never hunger or thirst. The manna from heaven is also an image of presenting fresh spiritual truth suited to the people's needs.

Israel had been given great light and precious opportunities to know the will of God as communicated by Christ Himself as their invisible leader enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, fulfilling the evening promise by providing food when hungry, defending them against Pharaoh's vast army, quieting their murmurings with springs of cool water from the rock, and manifesting His glory to them. Despite these wondrous works they were ever ready to turn away and believe Satan's suggestions against Moses and Aaron and against Joshua and Caleb, passing the boundary of God's forbearance and patience and awakening His anger against a rebellious people.