Manna in the Morning: How God Feeds Us in the Desert (Exodus 16:1-36)
Have you ever felt like you were in a dry, difficult place—not knowing how your needs would be met? That’s exactly what the Israelites felt in Exodus 16. They had just left Egypt, where they were slaves, and now they were walking through a hot, empty desert with no food in sight.
And they were hungry.
Grumbling in the Wilderness
The Israelites started to complain. They told Moses and Aaron, “Why did you bring us out here to die? At least in Egypt, we had meat and bread. Now we have nothing!”
They were tired, worried, and unsure how they would survive. But instead of punishing them for complaining, God responded with grace.
Bread from Heaven
God told Moses, “I’m going to rain down bread from heaven for you.” This bread was called manna, which means “What is it?”—because when the people first saw it, they didn’t know what it was. It looked like small white flakes on the ground, kind of like frost, and it tasted sweet, like honey wafers.
Each morning, the manna appeared on the ground, and the people gathered it. But there were rules:
- They could only collect enough for one day.
- If they tried to save extra for the next day, it would spoil and stink, full of worms.
- On the sixth day, they were to gather twice as much, because the seventh day (the Sabbath) was a day of rest, and no manna would fall that day.
- The extra gathered for the Sabbath did not spoil—a miracle that showed God’s plan for rest.
Some people didn’t listen. They tried to hoard the manna, or went out looking for it on the Sabbath—but they found out the hard way that God meant what He said.
A Jar of Manna for the Future
God also told Moses to save a small jar of manna as a reminder for future generations. It was to be kept in a sacred place, eventually stored in the Ark of the Covenant. It was a sign that God provided for His people in the desert, day by day.
What Can We Learn from This Story?
- God Provides What We Need—One Day at a Time
Just like God gave the Israelites manna each morning, He gives us what we need for today—not always for tomorrow or next week. It’s a reminder to trust Him daily. - Gratitude Over Grumbling
The Israelites complained quickly, even after all God had done for them. This reminds us to be thankful—even in hard times—because God is still working. - Obedience Brings Blessing
When the people followed God’s instructions, everything went well. When they didn’t, things went wrong. Trusting and obeying God helps us live wisely. - Rest Is Part of God’s Design
God gave the Sabbath as a gift. He wanted His people to rest, recharge, and remember Him. We need rest too—not just for our bodies, but for our hearts and minds. - God Cares for the Journey
The Israelites still had a long way to go, but God didn’t leave them to figure it out alone. He was with them every step, providing in simple but powerful ways.
Final Thought:
God doesn’t always work the way we expect. Sometimes His answers are small and quiet—like flakes of bread on the ground. But He is always faithful. In your “desert” seasons, remember that God still sends manna in the morning—just enough for today.
Trust Him. Thank Him. Rest in Him.
Exodus 16:1-36 (WEB)
16:1 They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to 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. 2 The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; 3 and the children of Israel said to them, “We wish that we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we 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, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”6 Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening, you shall know that the LORD has brought you out from the land of Egypt. 7 In the morning, you shall see the LORD’s glory; because he hears your murmurings against the LORD. Who are we, that you murmur against us?” 8 Moses said, “Now the LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you, because the LORD hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.” 9 Moses said to Aaron, “Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come close to the LORD, for he has heard your murmurings.’ ” 10 As Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the LORD’s glory appeared in the cloud. 11 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’ ”13 In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp. 14 When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground. 15 When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, you shall take it, every man for those who are in his tent.’ ” 17 The children of Israel did so, and some gathered more, some less. 18 When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They each gathered according to his eating. 19 Moses said to them, “Let no one leave of it until the morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they didn’t listen to Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, so it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. 21 They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is that which the LORD has spoken, ‘Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.’ ” 24 They laid it up until the morning, as Moses ordered, and it didn’t become foul, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you shall not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none.” 27 On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. 28 The LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 Behold, because the LORD has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.31 The house of Israel called its name “Manna”, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, ‘Let an omer-full of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ” 33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35 The children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. 36 Now an omer is one tenth of an ephah.