Scripture: Exodus 16:2–15
2 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites: ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’ ” 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 The Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”
13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.
Questions
- What can we learn from the fact the Israelites are presented as complaining about food immediately after they have walked through the parted sea?
Background
Related Scriptures: Matthew 20:1-16; Acts 2:43-47
Chrysostom: If anyone cannot endure what I have said but still clings to the poverty of worldly things, snatching at the things which undergo diminution, let him call to mind the food of manna. Let him tremble at the example of that punishment. For what happened in that instance, this same result one may now also see in the case of covetous people. But what then happened to them? Worms were bred from their covetousness. This also now happens in their case. For the measure of the food is the same for all. You have but one stomach to fill. Only you who feed luxuriously have more to get rid of. Those who gathered in their houses more than the lawful quantity gathered not manna but more worms and rottenness. Just so both in luxury and in covetousness, the gluttonous and drunken gather not more delicacies but more corruption.[1]
Reflection
It is incredibly easy to disparage the Israelites who have just witnessed the sea parting, and are now complaining about a lack of food. Even someone reading through this the first time would be likely to think, “Didn’t God just provide you with a miraculous escape what makes you think you’ll die of hunger now?” But the Israelites are reflecting human nature. They are looking forward to the wilderness, a place that lacks food and fresh water and realizing they are not Bedouin, they are not prepared for such hardships. Sure they have herds of animals but those are their livelihood and slaughtering them for today’s food means there are fewer resources for tomorrow’s needs. Now, we can certainly fault the Israelites for how they complained but their fear is justified. And we know this in part because we have the same fears today. We look forward to uncertain and difficult futures wondering how we or are families are going to manage. We, like the Israelites, look at how comfortable our lives have been and want some assurance that we will experience some comfort in our lives. The Israelites were not simply ingrates who forgot the miracle that allowed them to escape Egypt, they were people with worries and concerns for the future. They were realists who saw hardships for themselves and their children. The temptation we face is to see the complaints in the wilderness as somehow insignificant or less grounded in reality than ours are. We note that God had just provided Israel a path through the sea, as if that entitles them to a greater degree of God’s provision than we are able to receive.
However, the lesson of the manna and quail is also one for us today. That lesson is that God will provide in the wilderness. God will provide for us the same way God provided for Israel. This is what led many early Christians (like the quote from Chrysostom above) to view this passage through the lens of greed and covetousness. The Israelite complaining was not simply rooted in a spiritual defect but also in their ability to understand the uncertainty of the future. They were concerned about what tomorrow was going to bring. The miracle of the manna was in part God saying to Israel I will provide for today, every day. The manna was helping to teach the Israelites to take only what they needed and to use the remaining time in their day to help provide for others in the community. The command God gave them was to only collect enough food for that day in the expectation that more food would be provided the next day. The story of the manna is not simply about God providing food for a group of complaining people. The story of the manna is teaching people to trust God for daily provision. It is about learning to be content with what you have if it meets your needs. And perhaps most importantly it is teaching them to be generous with the people around them. Consider how the manna going bad encourages generosity. If you can only collect enough food for the day, then you have time to be productive in helping your neighbor. If you are young and energetic you can collect your day’s food easily, and if you have extra time, you can help others who were not as fast as you. Manna was not a commodity that one could easily profit from, so the incentive is to help those who need it. The people knew they would be given enough food each day and so they were given reason to help one another, to give to one another, and to be generous with those in need. But all this results from the people first understanding that there is enough. The generosity begins with consciously admitting that God will provide for me and that I can help, I can give, because God will give me more. The Israelites complaints began from a place of worry and concern. They worried about the potential scarcity of resources and their inability to have enough. What God said to them is that they should not worry about the potential scarcity because God would ensure there is plenty. When they accepted this reality and lived it out, gathering only what they needed for the day, that opened the door for them to have greater generosity. The same is true of us, when we trust that God has provided for me in the past and will continue to do so, we unlock the potential to be more generous with what we have because God will continue to take care of my needs.
[1] Joseph T. Lienhard and Ronnie J. Rombs, eds., Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, ACCS 87–88.
Squinting in the Light 
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