Exodus 16:4-8

"Then said Jehovah 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 not. 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 Jehovah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt; and in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of Jehovah; for that he heareth your murmuring against Jehovah: and what are we, that ye murmur against us? And Moses said, This shall be, when Jehovah shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that Jehovah heareth your murmuring which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against Jehovah."

"Bread from heaven for you ..." Our Lord Jesus Christ utilized this passage in his magnificent announcement that, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35), and in his words that, "I am the bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:41). How is Jesus the Bread of Life?

He came from heaven, like the manna.

He gives life (spiritually) as the manna did physically.

He is the only hope of eternal life; manna was the only hope for Israel in the wilderness.

He is for ALL people, as the manna was for all Israel.

He was not recognized by Israel; neither did they know the manna.

He was a test for ALL people; this manna was a test for Israel.

"Know that Jehovah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt ..." (Exodus 16:6). This contrasts with the complaint of Israel to Moses and Aaron that, "Ye have brought us forth into this wilderness" (Exodus 16:3).

"At even ... and in the morning ... ye shall see the glory of Jehovah ..." Some understand this as reference to a visible display of some glory, as of fire, standing over the wilderness, or seen in the cloud. There was such a glory mentioned in Exodus 16:10. In his comment on that Dummelow said, "Here a special radiance is meant ... as with an appearance of fire."[7] It appears that Keil's view on the glory here is correct:

Here, seeing the glory of Jehovah did not consist in the sight of the glory of the Lord which appeared in the cloud, as mentioned in Exodus 16:10, but in their perception or experience of that glory in the miraculous gift of flesh and bread.[8]

The Jewish understanding of this place is like that of Keil's. "In Exodus 16:7, the [~kabowd] (glory) manifested itself by the miraculous gift of manna."[9]

"Gather a day's portion every day ..." (Exodus 16:4). it is believed by some that this is the O.T. root of that line in the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread."[10] By providing only one day's rations at a time, God would prove, or test, Israel to find out if they would really trust in God and walk according to his rules.

Here also is the first of a number of rules concerning the manna which were to be faithfully observed by Israel:

1. THE LAW AS TO QUANTITY. Only one day's portion to be gathered at a time. The same amount for each person.

2. THE LAW AS TO TIME. To be gathered only in the mornings. None to be gathered on the seventh day.

3. THE LAW AS TO USE. None of it to be left until the next day. A lesson against hoarding.

It would be wonderful if it could be reported that Israel observed these rules regarding the manna, but the truth is:

They failed at each point. They tried to hoard (Exodus 16:20).

They went out to gather on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:27). They showed both disobedience and unbelief, for it had been distinctly said of the seventh day, "in it there shall be none" (Exodus 16:26) ... God had miraculously supplied their wants, yet so little sensible were they of his goodness, that they declined to obey even the few simple rules which God had laid down for the reception and use of his benefits.[11]

In these observations, of course, there appears the manna as a type of the Gospel of Christ, which is: (1) from heaven, not from earth; (2) which must be gathered early, heeded early in life; (3) which must be gathered daily (one cannot store up enough gospel to last for the future); (4) if hoarded (not shared with others) it becomes foul; and (5) it must be eaten (Revelation 10:1-11). (We cannot observe communion for a month, or a year, on one particular Sunday).

"On the sixth day ..." "The sixth day here probably means the sixth day after the appearance of the manna,"[12] and it has no connection with a certain day of the week, nor with a sabbath, the latter having nowhere been mentioned at this point in the entire O.T.

"Ye murmur against him (Jehovah) ..." (Exodus 16:8). Here is established a principle which holds throughout all dispensations of the grace of God, including our own. Murmuring against those men whom God has called to teach his Word is actually murmuring against God. An apostle has warned us, "Neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured and perished by the destroyer" (1 Corinthians 10:10).