Exo 16:1-18  He that Gathered Much has Nothing Over, and He that Gathered Little had no Lack

[Study Aired July 4, 2022]

Exo 16:1  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. 
Exo 16:2  And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: 
Exo 16:3  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. 
Exo 16:4  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 no. 
Exo 16:5  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. 
Exo 16:6  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: 
Exo 16:7  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? 
Exo 16:8  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. 
Exo 16:9  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. 
Exo 16:10  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. 
Exo 16:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Exo 16:12  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. 
Exo 16:13  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. 
Exo 16:14  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. 
Exo 16:15  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.
Exo 16:16  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.
Exo 16:17  And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
Exo 16:18  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.

Chapter 16 focuses on what took place in the wilderness of Sin, which was between Elim and Sinai, when the Israelites left Egypt. As we indicated in the previous study, the Lord using the Israelites as an example, wanted to show us where we are to encamp in this world of wilderness – our final destination. He brings us to Elim where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees. Thus, the Lord shows us the end from the beginning. We get to Elim after going through famine of the word of the Lord as we sojourned in Babylon.

Exo 15:27  And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters. 

Isa 46:9  Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Isa 46:10  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Elim, therefore, represents the church of the elect where we have the pillar and ground of the truth!! That is where we are to encamp in this life. After leaving Elim, the Lord shows us our journey in this world which ultimately ends in Canaan, the land of promise, a type of Elim. The first place the Israelites encamped after leaving Elim was the wilderness of Sin, where they murmured against the Lord as a result of the famine they encountered. The Lord came to their aid by offering them bread from heaven which was manna and also gave them quails to satisfy their lust for meat. The study today goes into details what the manna and the quails represent spiritually and why they were given.

Exo 16:1  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. 

Our departure from the world (Egypt) as we come to serve the Lord starts in the wilderness of Sin. Sin means thorn or clay. This means that we start our walk with Christ being carnal or fleshly.

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Exo 16:2  And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
Exo 16:3  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.

The flesh is exposed when we are undernourished by the word of the Lord as we see the Israelites’ carnality exposed due to scarcity of food in the wilderness of Sin. Whenever we are not filled with the word of Christ, our fleshly or beastly nature is revealed. A key characteristic of being carnal or fleshly is murmuring, which means to complain. During this part of our walk, what we receive as the word of God is actually man’s wisdom and traditions of this world which make us worse off, causing us to complain about the difficulties we encounter in our walk. This is confirmed by the Israelites’ complaints that Moses and Aaron brought them into the wilderness to kill them with hunger. This hunger is the lack of the word of the Lord during our stay in Babylon.

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

The situation described in 2 Peter 2 above, is the same as our wound being healed and wondering after the beast within us.

Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it [the beast] were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

The Bread From Heaven – Manna

Exo 16:4  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 no. 
Exo 16:5  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. 

This bread from heaven, later called manna, was given to solve the fleshly needs of the people of Israel. Therefore, it represents the Lord’s provision for our existence in this world. In our carnal state, as we start our journey with the Lord, our focus is on the Lord’s physical blessings which are for our existence. Merely to exist, however, is vanity of vanities. Are we just here on this earth to make a living for our existence? If this is the case, it is vanity of vanities. As Jesus stated, the manna leads to spiritual death.

Ecc 1:2  Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. 
Ecc 1:3  What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? 

Joh 6:49  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

Deu 8:16  Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

The purpose of the Lord giving us manna is to bring us to understand that physical blessings of the Lord do not lead to godliness. However, godliness with contentment is what pleases the Lord. When we are content, we would not murmur against God. Yes, we do need the Lord’s physical blessings for our existence but only as a way to fulfill the Lord’s purpose for our lives.

1Ti 6:5  Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. 
1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain.

In John 6:58, Jesus Christ compared the bread from heaven to Himself, who is the word. This means that on a positive note, the manna represents Christ. The bread from heaven leads to death, but living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord leads to life. In our initial carnal walk, our focus is on manna, but through the Lord’s judgment we come to live by every word out of the mouth of the Lord.  In the bible, grace is simply God Himself coming to us to be our enjoyment. John 1:7 says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” As indicated, blessings (Manna) are for our existence, but grace is for the fulfillment of God’s purpose.

Joh 6:58  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Deu 8:3  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

Joh 1:16  And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

Exo 16:6  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: 
Exo 16:7  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? 
Exo 16:8  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.

The Lord’s provision is to make us aware of our deliverance from the world. Here in verse 7 and 8, we are made aware that murmuring against the Lord’s elect is murmuring against God. When we rise against the advice of the body, we are rising against the Lord.

Act 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 
Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 
Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Exo 16:9  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.
Exo 16:10  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.

The glory of the Lord has been mentioned several times in the Book of Exodus, so we need to know what it is. The following verse gives us insight into what the glory of the Lord is all about.

Deu 5:24:  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

This verse suggests that the glory of the Lord has to do with the hearing of the Lord’s voice out of the midst of the fire. The opening of our eyes to see and that of our ears to hear through the judgment of the Lord is what grants us the grace to see the glory of the Lord. In verse 10 here, we are told that the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. The cloud here refers to the elect who are the cloud of witnesses. This means that it is through the elect that the glory of the Lord is seen as shown in the following verses:

Act 1:9  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 
Act 1:10  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 
Act 1:11  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 

As indicated, on a positive note the bread of heaven refers to Christ and His words. One significant point to note is that the glory of the Lord is seen only in the congregation or the camp of Israel. It is when we have seen the glory of the Lord that the bread of heaven is given to us. This is to emphasize the point that it is through the church that we come to see the glory of the Lord.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Exo 16:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Exo 16:12  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.
Exo 16:13  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.

Murmuring against the Lord is what we all have engaged in at a certain period of our walk. The murmuring of the people of Israel is what gave the Lord the occasion to bring the quails in the evening and bread from heaven (manna) in the morning. The coming of the bread of heaven and the quails was to prove the Israelites. In other words, when Christ comes (the bread of heaven), He comes with His judgment.

1Co 10:5  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 
1Co 10:6  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 

1Co 10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

It was after the glory of the Lord appeared to the people that He sent them the meat they lusted for in the form of quails. This is all to show them His sufficiency and also to discipline them. In verse 13, the Israelites had just left Egypt and so when they complained, the Lord did not punish them. However, after being in the wilderness for a significant period where they had seen the Lord’s provision and they complained in Numbers 11:19-20, 33-34, the lord came and disciplined them with the quails. This is to let us know that as a father, when we are young, the Lord sometimes ignores our mistakes. However, as we are maturing, He no longer tolerates our indiscipline.

Act 17:30  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Num 11:18  And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
Num 11:19  Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; 
Num 11:20  But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?

Num 11:33  And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague. Egypt? 

Psa 106:13  They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:
Psa 106:14  But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
Psa 106:15  And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

It is significant to note that the quail which satisfies our lust comes in the evenings of our lives when the sun has set, and darkness seems to dominate us. It is this period of our lives that we are prone to murmuring as we want to satisfy the lust of the flesh. That is when the Lord comes in to send quails to us to satisfy our flesh and at the same time destroy the flesh. In other words, our own sins shall correct us.

Jer 2:19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Exo 16:14  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.
Exo 16:15  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.

These verses give us the characteristics of the manna sent from heaven. They were small, round, resembling frost, came from heaven, fell on the ground and came in the morning with the dew. The manna which came from heaven is small. No matter how delicious a meal is, if it cannot be broken down into small pieces, it cannot be swallowed by the mouth.

It is the same with the word of the Lord which is signified by the manna, looking at it from a positive connotation. The smallness of the manna means that the word of the Lord must be broken down for us to understand and assimilate. Otherwise, there is no way we can apply it to our lives. That is why the Lord has given gifts to His church so that the word of the Lord can be broken down for us to understand. That is the manna coming in small sizes!!

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

The roundness of the manna is significant. As we have indicated, this manna is Christ, and therefore, the roundness signifies that Christ is eternal, without a beginning and an end – the alpha and omega. By feeding on Christ, we become eternal people, those who are beyond time. That was what the Lord was explaining to the woman at the well in Samaria during her dialogue with Christ.

Joh 4:13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Joh 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

The manna was also like frost. Frost is between dew and snow. They all represent the word of the Lord. Although dew refreshes, it does not destroy germs. Frost, on the other hand, is able to kill germs. The word of Christ both refreshes us and is able to destroy the negative things within us (the beast or the old man).

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth [manna, which represents Christ and His word], and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

The manna coming from heaven is to let us know that it is from the Lord. As we are aware, both good and evil comes from the Lord. Thus, the manna from a negative perspective brings death, while on a positive note brings life. This means that our wandering in the corridors of Babylon feeding on manna (polluted word of God), which brought death to us, is all the Lord’s design to bring us to an expected end!!

Exo 16:4  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 no.

The manna fell to the ground from heaven. We know from the scriptures that the ground represents mankind as we were made from dust which forms the ground.

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Gen 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 

Even though the manna came down from heaven, once it falls into human hands (falls to the ground), except the elect, it becomes the polluted word of the Lord. That is why the manna brought death instead of life. This polluted word of God comes in the form of excellency of speech, man’s wisdom and traditions.

1Co 2:1  And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 
1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Manna is always sent in the morning in contrast to quails that come in the evening. On a positive note, manna comes in the morning to refresh us at the beginning of the day where the sun of righteousness has risen in our lives. It is significant to note that manna comes with the dew. Both manna and dew represent the word of the Lord which comes to us as we behold the glory of the Lord.

Deu 32:2  My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

Deu 33:28  Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.

Exo 16:16  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.
Exo 16:17  And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. 
Exo 16:18  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.

These verses show us how we are to receive the word of the Lord. The gathering of the manna in verse 16 is done such that every man takes what he can eat. In other words, we all go through various stages of our understanding of the word of the Lord. As we mature in Christ through His judgment of our old man, we are able to take in more of the word of the Lord (manna). Verse 16 also says that our receiving of manna (word of God) is according to the number of persons which are in our tents or family. Our tents or our family is the church or assembly of the elect. Thus, those whom the Lord has gifted as apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors and evangelists are given the capacity to receive more of the word of the Lord in order to feed the family of the Lord. Thus, according to verse 17, some gather more and some gather less.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

The omer is an ancient Israelite unit of volume for grains and dry commodities. Spiritually, the omer represents Christ. We are all to measure to Christ’s standard. In verse 17, we are told that some gathered more and some less. However, as shown in verse 18, after they had measured the manna which had been gathered, “He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack.” In the sight of men, we can see that some are given more insight of the word of the Lord while the insight of others is limited. However, according to the Lord’s measurement, whether we gather more or less, it is exactly one omer in His sight. In other words, whether we gather more or less, at the end of the day, we are to measure up to the standard of Christ.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

May the Lord help us to measure up to the standard of Christ (Omer) as we gather manna from heaven!! Amen!!