Exodus 16:20 Komentář

This chapter gives us an account of the victualling of the camp of Israel. I. Their complaint for want of bread (Exo 16:1-3). II. The notice God gave them beforehand of the provision he intended to make for them (Exo 16:4-12). III. The sending of the manna (Exo 16:13-15). IV. The laws and orders concerning the manna. 1. That they should gather it daily for their daily bread (Exo 16:16-21). 2. That they should gather a double portion on the sixth day (Exo 16:22-26). 3. That they should expect none on the seventh day (Exo 16:27-31). 4. That they should preserve a pot of it for a memorial (Exo 16:32, etc.).

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 16 This chapter begins with an account of the journeying of the children of Israel from Elim to the wilderness of Sin, where they murmured for want of bread, Exo 16:1, when the Lord told Moses that he would rain bread from heaven for them, which Moses informed them of; and withal, that the Lord took notice of their murmurings, Exo 16:4 which promise the Lord fulfilled; and a description of the bread, and the name of it, are given, Exo 16:13, and some instructions are delivered out concerning the quantity of it to be gathered, Exo 16:16, the time of gathering and keeping it, Exo 16:19, the gathering a double quantity on the sixth day for that and the seventh day, with the reason of it, Exo 16:22 and a further description of it, Exo 16:31, and an order to preserve an omer of it in a pot, to be kept for generations to come, that it might be seen by them, Exo 16:32, and the chapter is concluded with observing, that this bread was ate by the Israelites forty years, even till they came to the borders of the land of Canaan, and the quantity they ate every day is observed what it was, Exo 16:35.

And they gathered it every morning,.... From the time the morning began, during four hours, or to the fourth hour, as the Targum of Jonathan; that is, till ten o'clock in the morning: this was a very wonderful thing that bread should be provided and rained every morning about the camp of Israel, in such plenty as to be sufficient to feed such a vast body of people; and that for forty years together: every man according to his eating; according to the number of persons he had in his family to eat of it, and as much as everyone could eat; there never was any lack or scarcity of it, but every morning there it was for them, and they gathered it, an omer for everyone: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted; and so what was left ungathered, being exhaled by the sun and laid up in the clouds, generated and increased, and became a provision to be let down the next morning; it being the will of God that it should not be trampled upon or exposed; and that the Israelites might be diligent, and not neglect the time of gathering it: and the Targum of Jonathan says, from the fourth hour, or ten o'clock and onward, the sun was hot upon it and melted it, which is the time of day when the sun is hottest: and some things, we may observe, are hardened by the sun, and others are softened, as the manna was, even to a liquefaction; though otherwise it was of so hard a nature as to be beaten in a mortar and ground in a mill, Num 11:8.

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.

The Israelites journey from Elim, and come to the wilderness of Sin, Exo 16:1. They murmur for lack of bread, Exo 16:2, Exo 16:3. God promises to rain bread from heaven for them, Exo 16:4, of which they were to collect a double portion on the sixth day, Exo 16:5. A miraculous supply of flesh in the evening and bread in the morning, promised, Exo 16:6-9. The glory of the Lord appears in the cloud, Exo 16:10. Flesh and bread promised as a proof of God's care over them, Exo 16:11, Exo 16:12. Quails come and cover the whole camp, Exo 16:13. And a dew fell which left a small round substance on the ground, which Moses tells them was the bread which God had sent, Exo 16:14, Exo 16:15. Directions for gathering it, Exo 16:16. The Israelites gather each an omer, Exo 16:17, Exo 16:18. They are directed to leave none of it till the next day, Exo 16:19; which some neglecting, it become putrid, Exo 16:20. They gather it every morning, because it melted when the sun waxed hot, Exo 16:21. Each person gathers two omers on the sixth day, Exo 16:22. Moses commands them to keep the seventh as a Sabbath to the Lord, Exo 16:23. What was laid up for the Sabbath did not putrefy, Exo 16:24. Nothing of it fell on that day, hence the strict observance of the Sabbath was enjoined, Exo 16:25-30. The Israelites name the substance that fell with the dew manna; its appearance and taste described, Exo 16:31. An omer of the manna is commanded to be laid up for a memorial of Jehovah's kindness, Exo 16:32-34. The manna now sent continued daily for the space of forty years, Exo 16:35. How much an omer contained, Exo 16:36.

It bred worms - Their sinful curiosity and covetousness led them to make the trial; and they had a mass of the most loathsome putrefaction for their pains. How gracious is God! He is continually rendering disobedience and sin irksome to the transgressor; that finding his evil ways to be unprofitable, he may return to his Maker, and trust in God alone.

MURMURS FOR WANT OF BREAD. (Exo. 16:1-36) they took their journey from Elim--where they had remained several days. came unto the wilderness of Sin--It appears from Num. 32:1-42, that several stations are omitted in this historical notice of the journey. This passage represents the Israelites as advanced into the great plain, which, beginning near El-Murkah, extends with a greater or less breadth to almost the extremity of the peninsula. In its broadest part northward of Tur it is called El-Kaa, which is probably the desert of Sin [ROBINSON].