What was happening when God first sent manna to the Israelites?

This happened about one month after God brought Israel out of Egypt. They had left Elim and were in the wilderness of Sin, on the way to Sinai. Their food supplies were running low or gone, and the whole community started complaining against Moses and Aaron. They even said they wished they had died in Egypt where they remembered having plenty to eat. In that setting of fear, hunger, and grumbling, God spoke to Moses and promised to rain bread from heaven and give meat in the evening so the people would know He was their God.

Why did the Israelites murmur against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness?

The people were hungry and afraid. Instead of trusting the God who had just freed them and parted the sea, they focused on their empty stomachs and bleak surroundings. They exaggerated their life in Egypt, talking about sitting by pots of meat and having plenty of bread, and accused Moses and Aaron of bringing them into the wilderness to die. Moses pointed out that their complaints were really against the Lord, because He was the one who had led them and was caring for them through His chosen servants.

What is manna, and why did the Israelites ask, “What is it?”

When the dew lifted in the morning, the people saw a small round thing on the ground, like frost. They had never seen anything like it, so they said, “It is manna,” which sounds like, “What is it?” Moses told them plainly, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.” Manna was God’s special food from heaven that appeared each morning. It was enough for all of them, and it showed that God Himself was feeding His people in a dry land where there was no natural food supply.

Why did God tell the people to gather manna daily and not keep it overnight?

God told each person to gather a set amount of manna every morning, one omer per person, and not to leave any of it until the next day. This taught them to depend on God day by day instead of trying to secure their own future by hoarding. When some ignored the command and kept it overnight, it bred worms and smelled bad. That showed that disobedience ruins God’s good gifts, and that He wanted them to trust His promise to provide again the next morning, not live in fear and self-reliance.

What does this passage teach about God’s character when people complain?

In this story, the people complain bitterly and speak as if slavery in Egypt was better than following God. God could have judged them on the spot, but instead He answers with patience. He gives clear words through Moses, shows His glory in the cloud, and then sends quail in the evening and manna in the morning. At the same time, He does not ignore their unbelief, but uses the daily manna as a test of obedience. We see that God is gracious and generous, yet also cares that His people listen and trust Him.

Why did the manna melt when the sun grew hot?

The manna had to be gathered early in the morning. When the sun grew hot, it melted away. This pushed the people to act on God’s word and not delay. If they waited, the food would be gone. It reminded them that God’s provision comes in His timing and way, and that obedience is often tied to responding when He tells us, not when we feel like it. It also underlined again that this food was not ordinary; it behaved according to God’s purpose to train His people in daily trust.

How does the story of manna and quail apply to life today?

This story speaks to anyone who worries about daily needs or is tempted to complain when life feels dry and hard. God shows that He knows our needs and can provide in ways we do not expect. At the same time, He calls us to trust Him one day at a time, not to build our security on hoarding or looking back fondly on old sins. It encourages daily dependence on God’s care, thankful hearts instead of grumbling, and respect for the ways He leads us through deserts as well as comfortable places.

Exod.16.1

Exodus 16:1

Q: What is the meaning of “he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack”?

When the people gathered manna, some collected more and some less, but when it was measured by the omer, it evened out so that everyone had what they needed. No one had extra to store up, and no one went hungry. This shows that God’s provision was exact and fair. Each household received enough, not based on greed or fear, but on God’s care. It also hints at the way God wants His people to think of His gifts: as something to share and trust Him for, rather than something to grab and hoard.

KJV

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.

Manna and Quail from Heaven

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.

¶ 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, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

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.

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 spake 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, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

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.

¶ 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.

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.

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.

And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.