10 ... the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the Lord in the cloud.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old Testament: Heaven Sent, Quails And Manna.
Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old
Testament: Heaven Sent, Quails And Manna.
Occasion: Miraculous Food For
The Israelites.
Location: The Wilderness.
Bible Text:
Exodus 16:1-36 NLT
1 Then the whole community of Israel
set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between
Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the
second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt.
2 There, too, the whole community of
Israel complained about Moses and Aaron.
3 “If only the Lord had killed us
back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled
with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought
us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses,
“Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day
the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that
day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow
My instructions.
5 On the sixth day they will gather
food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as
usual.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the
people of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the Lord who
brought you out of the land of Egypt.
7 In the morning you will see the
glory of the Lord, because He has heard your complaints, which are
against Him, not against us. What have we done that you should
complain about us?”
8 Then Moses added, “The Lord will
give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the
morning, for He has heard all your complaints against Him. What have
we done? Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron,
“Announce this to the entire community of Israel: ‘Present
yourselves before the Lord, for He has heard your complaining.’”
10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole
community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There
they could see the awesome glory of the Lord in the cloud.
11 Then the Lord said to Moses,
12 “I have heard the Israelites’
complaints. Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to
eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then
you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 That evening vast numbers of
quail flew in and covered the camp. And the next morning the area
around the camp was wet with dew.
14 When the dew evaporated, a flaky
substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground.
15 The Israelites were puzzled when
they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. They had no
idea what it was. And Moses told them, “It is the food the Lord has
given you to eat.
16 These are the Lord’s
instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick
up two quarts for each person in your tent.”
17 So the people of Israel did as
they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little.
18 But when they measured it out,
everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left
over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family
had just what it needed.
19 Then Moses told them, “Do not
keep any of it until morning.”
20 But some of them didn’t listen
and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots
and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.
21 After this the people gathered
the food morning by morning, each family according to its need. And
as the sun became hot, the flakes they had not picked up melted and
disappeared.
22 On the sixth day, they gathered
twice as much as usual—four quarts for each person instead of two.
Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an
explanation.
23 He told them, “This is what the
Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy
Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you
want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.”
24 So they put some aside until
morning, just as Moses had commanded. And in the morning the leftover
food was wholesome and good, without maggots or odor.
25 Moses said, “Eat this food
today, for today is a Sabbath day dedicated to the Lord. There will
be no food on the ground today.
26 You may gather the food for six
days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on
the ground that day.”
27 Some of the people went out
anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food.
28 The Lord asked Moses, “How long
will these people refuse to obey My commands and instructions?
29 They must realize that the
Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a
two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two
days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go
out to pick up food on the seventh day.”
30 So the people did not gather any
food on the seventh day.
31 The Israelites called the food
manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey
wafers.
32 Then Moses said, “This is what
the Lord has commanded: Fill a two-quart container with manna to
preserve it for your descendants. Then later generations will be able
to see the food I gave you in the wilderness when I set you free from
Egypt.”
33 Moses said to Aaron, “Get a jar
and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then put it in a sacred place
before the Lord to preserve it for all future generations.”
34 Aaron did just as the Lord had
commanded Moses. He eventually placed it in the Ark of the
Covenant—in front of the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of
the covenant.
35 So the people of Israel ate manna
for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would
settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of
Canaan.
36 The container used to measure the
manna was an omer, which was one-tenth of an ephah; it held about two
quarts.
You would think that a people, who had
just come from witnessing 10 miraculous plagues in Egypt, and the
miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, would have faith in their God, to
provide for them!
But that was not, the case. Instead as
they marched down from Elim to Mount Sinai, they murmered and
complained.
Exodus 16:7-12 KJV
7 In the morning you will see the
glory of the Lord, because He has heard your complaints, which
are against Him, not against us. What have we done that you
should complain about us?”
8 Then Moses added, “The Lord will
give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the
morning, for He has heard all your complaints against Him.
What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the Lord,
not against us.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron,
“Announce this to the entire community of Israel: ‘Present
yourselves before the Lord, for He has heard your complaining.’”
10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole
community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There
they could see the awesome glory of the Lord in the cloud.
11 Then the Lord said to Moses,
12 “I have heard the
Israelites’ complaints. Now tell them, ‘In the evening
you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have
all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the Lord your
God.’”
God hears when we murmur and complain.
What does God's Word, say regarding
murmering (complaining)?
John 6:43 KJV
Jesus therefore answered and said
unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
I Corinthians 10:10,11 KJV
10 And don’t grumble as some of
them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death.
11 These things happened to them as
examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the
end of the age.
Philippians 2:14 NLT
Do everything without complaining
and arguing,
I Thessalonians 5:18 KJV
In every thing give thanks: for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
The Israelites, could just as easily
have prayed to the God, who was so close to them!
Exodus 16:10 KJV
10 ... the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the Lord in the cloud.
10 ... the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the Lord in the cloud.
A lesson to the rest of us.
As Christian people may we always
be a people of faith, and prayer.
Jeremiah 33:3 KJV
Call unto Me, and I will answer
thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Isaiah 65:24 KJV (Can
God?)
And it shall come to pass, that
before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet
speaking, I will hear.
I Peter 5:7 KJV
Casting all your care upon Him; for
He careth for you.
Our Lord once asked an old man of some
99 years....
Genesis 18:14 KJV
Is any thing too hard for the Lord?
The answer was, no, for a year later
Abraham (100), and Sarah (90) his wife, became a father and mother.
Luke 18:1 KJV
And He spake a parable unto them to
this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
For forty years God provided for the
Israelites.
Deuteronomy 2:7 KJV
For the Lord thy God hath blessed
thee in all the works of thy hand: He knoweth thy walking through
this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been
with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
Isaiah 41:10 KJV
Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea,
I
will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My
righteousness.
Isaiah 46:4 KJV
And even to your old age I am He;
and even to hoar (Grey) hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will
bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Luke 12:30-31 NLT
29 “And don’t be concerned about
what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things.
30 These things dominate the
thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already
knows your needs. 31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and He
will give you everything you need.
Philippians 4:19 KJV
But my God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Brothers and sisters as we march forward, may we be a people
of thanksgiving, always having faith, always praying and believing,
that the faithful, loving God who we serve will meet our needs above
all we ask or think!
Ephesians 3:20,21 KJV (Apostle
Paul)
20 Now unto Him that is able to do
exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the
power that worketh in us,
21 Unto Him be glory in the church
by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.