THE MANNA

"When the dew evaporated, there was something thin and flaky on the surface of the desert. What they saw was as delicate as frost. When the Israelites saw it, they didn't know what it was and asked each other, 'What is it?' [or, as the King James Version translates it, "It is manna."]SRme 1.515

"Moses said to them, 'This is the food that the Lord has given you to eat. The Lord has commanded that each of you is to gather as much of it as he needs, two quarts for each member of his household.'SRme 1.516

"The Israelites. . .[gathered the food], some gathering more, others less. When they measured it, those who had gathered more did not have too much, and those who had gathered less did not have too little. Each had gathered just what he needed.SRme 1.517

"Moses said to them, 'No one is to keep any of. . .[the manna] for tomorrow.' But some of them did not listen to Moses and saved part of it. The next morning. . .[the manna] was full of worms and smelled rotten, and Moses was angry with them.SRme 1.518

"Every morning each one gathered as much as he needed; and when the sun grew hot, what was left on the ground melted.SRme 1.519

"On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts for each person. [Moses told] all the leaders of the community. . .,'The Lord has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to Him. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow.'SRme 1.520

"As Moses had commanded, they kept what was left [of the manna] until the next day; it did not spoil nor get worms in it.SRme 1.521

"Moses said, 'Eat this today, because today is the Sabbath, a day of rest dedicated to the Lord, and you will not find any food outside the camp. You must gather food for six days, but on the seventh day, the day of rest, there will be none'" (Ex. l6:14-26, TEV).SRme 1.522

The Lord expects us to keep the Sabbath as sacredly now as when He gave Israel the directions about the manna. God required the Israelites to bake and boil their food on the sixth day. The sixth day is the preparation day before the Sabbath rest.SRme 1.523

God showed His great care and love for His people by sending them bread from heaven. They ate food given to them by the angels. In giving the Israelites manna, God did three miracles: First, twice as much manna fell on the sixth day as on other days; second, no manna fell on the seventh day; third, the manna kept fresh on the Sabbath, but the manna would spoil if it was saved for any other day. God did these miracles each week to help the Israelites realize that the Sabbath is a holy day.SRme 1.524

The Israelites had been given plenty of food. Now they felt ashamed of their unbelief and complaining. They promised to trust the Lord to take care of them in the future. But they soon forgot their promise. Their faith failed when they met the next difficulty.SRme 1.525