Exodus 16:11-2111And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 12I 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. 13And 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. 14And 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. 15And 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. 16This 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. 17And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. 18And 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. 19And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 20Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. 21And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. (Exodus 16:11‑21)
“AND THE LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 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.”
God would have His people know that He could indeed feed so great a multitude in the barren wilderness, and so He sent that very evening innumerable quails, covering the entire camp, and they ate of these until they were filled. The quails have no special teaching connected with them; they were given to satisfy the desire of the people, but brought no blessing. The people longed again for the fleshpots of Egypt, and God did send them flesh. “He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” Psalms 106:1515And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul. (Psalm 106:15). God may hear the cry of His people, even in their unbelief, and grant them their desire, but for discipline rather than for present blessing. Thus many a believer, forgetting his true portion in Christ, has desired the things of the world, and God has allowed him to attain his object. But the result has been barrenness of soul, and sorrow in the end.
But the manna God was to pride in the morning, was a striking type of the Lord Jesus. The quails were only sent on two occasions, whereas the manna was to be their daily food — God sent it down for them each morning day by day.
“And in the morning the dew lay round about the host. 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. And... they said one another, It is manna: for they not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.”
“And the children of Israel d’ so, and gathered, some more, so less. And... he that gathered inn had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.” We all have as much of Christ as we desire — no more, and no less. “And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.”
The manna had to be gathered, early or it melted away with the heat of the sun. No doubt there is a lesson for us in this. The way we can “gather the manna” now is by reading the Word of God, which brings Christ before us, and therefore we ought to read it every morning. If we put it off until the cares of the day overtake us, like the ring sun in the wilderness, we shall find that it is too late, and we shall not get the same good from it. It will have “melted away.”
Furthermore we cannot expect to read enough of the Word of God today to last for tomorrow as well. We need a fresh portion each day. When some of the children of Israel thought to keep some of the manna over until the next day they found it spoiled and offensive to all. God will have Christ enjoyed and proclaimed in all the freshness of the Spirit. How unpleasant to listen to one speaking about truth learned some time ago but which he is not in the good of at the present time.
ML-09/14/1969