(Exodus) Exodus 16:1-13 — J. Vernon McGee

Manna in the Wilderness and Christ as the Bread of Life

Now we come here in chapter 16 to the wilderness of Zin, and here we have the manna and the quail, and we find that Christ is the Bread of Life. But now let me begin to read into this chapter here, and we're going to say something today about manna.

Israel Enters the Wilderness of Zin

They took their journey from Elam, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came into the wilderness of Zin, which is between Elam and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

Israel's Repeated Murmuring After Deliverance

And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Now they haven't been out there but about two and a half months since they left Egypt, and they started murmuring when they came to the Red Sea.

But when they crossed over, as they did, they sang the song of Moses. But it wasn't long now until they began to murmur, and you find they're going to sing the desert blues. Our commonplace word for it today is they griped, and I tell you they were a bunch of gripers.

Longing for Egypt's Flesh Pots

Now will you listen? 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 the whole assembly with hunger.

Now they don't mean a word of that, but they're griping. They wanted out of Egypt. They wanted to be delivered, but now that they've come out of Egypt and they've come out into that wilderness and they've run short of water, it's not plentiful, and they've run short now of food, and they began to complain.

And they remember those flesh pots down there in Egypt, how it was. How many folk have been saved out of sin? And you have wanted to go back, haven't you? I know that there are a great many that have had that temptation.

A man told me in Nashville, he said, I was a bootlegger, and I drank heavy. And he said, then I was converted. And he said, I knew wherever bootlegging joint in Nashville was. And he says, the first few months of my conversion, I wouldn't dare go by one of those places because I knew I'd go in.

And he said, I look back at those old flesh pots. But he said, thank God today I hate them. And there came a day, and these people hated those flesh pots of Egypt. Now will you notice verse 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 certain rate every day that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

God's Provision and the Testing of Obedience

God said, I'll take care of them. They're not going to starve to death. I'm going to lead them through the wilderness. 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, Add even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt. And in the morning, now notice this is verse 7 now, chapter 16.

God's Glory Revealed Amid Complaining

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? Moses and Aaron said, why do you murmur against us?

We're just human. We can't do anything. We can't provide for you. And God has heard your murmurings. And you will find out that the glory of God, friends, every time they murmured, the glory of God appeared.

That reveals the fact that God doesn't like griping Christians today either. How many people that are Christians and all you hear from them is a continual griping. They're complaining, fault finding. We have people in the church.

I know today a half a dozen preachers who have ulcers. And they have ulcers because they've got a few board members or the president of a missionary society or a choir director or somebody in a church that is nothing in the world but a murmurer, a griper, a complainer, a fault finder.

And may I say this to you very candidly, God doesn't like it, friends. If you have to murmur and complain and gripe in the church, get out and go somewhere else and give somebody else the ulcer where you go because you'll take ulcers wherever you go.

Complaining Against Church Leaders and Against God

There are a lot of folk like that today. And God made it very clear here He didn't like it. Now I read on in verse 8. 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 friends, you ought to be very careful when you begin to gripe about things in the church.

Are you really griping about that you don't like the way the preacher does? He's not as friendly as he should be, didn't shake hands with you last time, hadn't been around to visit you and you were murmuring about it.

Really isn't the reason that you're against him is because he teaches the Word of God and he represents God in your church? You're really murmuring, aren't you, against God? And may I say that sometimes we preachers murmur too.

And may be that for the same reason. We better be careful we're not murmuring against God. This is one thing that God just somehow or another doesn't like. And Moses spake unto Aaron, saying unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord, for he hath heard your murmurings.

The Glory of the Lord Appears in the Cloud

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 cap, and in the morning the dew lay round about the house.

God's Provision of Quail and Manna

Now, God gave them quail to eat, and quail on toast. Our quail on manna was mighty good eating, friends.