Exodus 16 describes the Israelites grumbling about hunger in the wilderness of Sin, prompting God to graciously provide miraculous quail in the evening and manna ("bread from heaven") every morning to test their obedience and teach daily dependence.
After leaving Elim, the entire community of Israel enters the Wilderness of Sin and complains against Moses and Aaron, wishing they were back in Egypt where they had food. God hears their grumbling and appears in His glory, promising meat for the evening and bread for the morning. Quail arrive at twilight, and a fine, flake-like substance called manna appears on the ground after the dew lifts the next morning. God gives strict rules for gathering it: take only an omer per person for the day, leave none until morning, gather a double portion on the sixth day, and rest on the seventh-day Sabbath, when no manna falls. Some disobey by hoarding or looking for food on the Sabbath, but God's provision sustains them for 40 years until they reach Canaan.
Key Points by Verses
- The Grumbling (16:1–3): The Israelites travel to the Wilderness of Sin and complain that Moses and Aaron have brought them out to starve them to death, romanticizing their past slavery in Egypt for the sake of food.
- God’s Promise (16:4–8): God tells Moses He will rain bread from heaven to test the people’s obedience. Moses and Aaron point out that the people's murmuring is not against human leaders, but against God Himself, who will reveal His glory.
- Appearance of Glory (16:9–12): Moses tells Aaron to gather the congregation before the Lord, and the glory of the Lord appears in a cloud. God confirms He has heard the murmuring and will provide meat and bread.
- Quail and Manna Provided (16:13–15): Quail covers the camp in the evening. In the morning, a fine, round, frost-like layer appears on the desert floor. When the Israelites ask "What is it?", Moses tells them it is the bread the Lord has given them to eat.
- The Daily Rule (16:16–21): Each household is commanded to gather an omer per person. Those who hoard extra find that it breeds worms and rots by morning. It must be gathered fresh every morning because it melts when the sun grows hot.
- The Sabbath Principle (16:22–30): On the sixth day, the people gather a double portion (two omers per person). Unlike the other days, this stored food does not spoil. This institutes the weekly Sabbath: a day of complete rest where no manna appears on the ground, and some who go out anyway find nothing.
- Preservation of Manna (16:31–36): The people name the bread manna, which looks like coriander seed and tastes like honey wafers. Moses commands that an omer of it be preserved in a jar before the Testimony (Ark of the Covenant) to show future generations the food God fed them in the wilderness. The Israelites eat manna for 40 years until they reach the borders of Canaan.
Spiritual Implication
- The Drop from Gratitude to Complaint: The Israelites had just witnessed the miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery, yet at the first shortage of food they immediately grumbled and blamed their leaders. This rapid turn exposes a worldview centered on material satisfaction. It also reveals a spiritual tendency: to prefer familiar bondage over enduring the pain that accompanies the path of freedom walked by faith.
- The Spiritual Principle of Manna - A Daily Discipline: The scarcity of the wilderness was God's testing and stripping of natural life. God did not feed His people on the meat pots of Egypt; He gave them manna from heaven, training them in a life of faith marked by obedience, contentment, and daily dependence. The manna had to be gathered daily and could not be kept until the next morning. By allowing only one day's portion, God transformed anxious self-reliance into a rhythm of daily trust. This teaches believers that yesterday's spiritual food cannot sustain today; we must draw near to God and depend on Him every day, seeking His provision in both material and spiritual needs.
- The Test of the Sabbath: On the sixth day the people gathered a double portion, and on the seventh day, the Sabbath, no manna fell. The Sabbath rhythm was introduced before the Ten Commandments were formally given at Mount Sinai. It presents rest as a test of faith: do the people trust that God can provide all they need, so that they learn to cease their labor and rely on Him alone? Not worrying excessively about life, and not using human shrewdness to hoard manna that God has not permitted to be kept (the extra portion of the sixth day excepted), is what it means to enter the rest God gives. When people lay down their fleshly striving and obey, God is glorified in it.
- Christ, the Bread from Heaven: The manna of the Old Testament foreshadows Jesus Christ. In John 6, Jesus explicitly connects manna with Himself, declaring that He is the true "bread of life" that came down from heaven and gives eternal life. Those who ate the physical manna became hungry again and eventually died, but Jesus is the true spiritual bread who came down from heaven and gives eternal life (John 6:58).
出埃及記第 16 章記載了以色列人在「汛的曠野」因飢餓而發怨言，促使神施恩，在傍晚賜下神蹟般的鵪鶉，並在每天清晨降下嗎哪（即「從天而降的食物」），以此考驗他們的順服並教導他們每日仰賴神。
以色列全會眾離開以琳後，進入了汛的曠野，並向摩西和亞倫發怨言，懷念在埃及有充足食物的日子。神聽到了他們的抱怨，便在榮耀中顯現，應許在傍晚賜予肉食，在早晨賜予糧食。黃昏時分，鵪鶉飛來；隔天清晨，露水散去後，地上出現了被稱為「嗎哪」的細小薄片狀物質。神對收集嗎哪制定了嚴格的規定：每人每天只取一俄梅珥，不可留到隔天早晨；第六天要收集雙倍的份量；第七天是安息日，不降嗎哪，百姓須停止勞作。儘管有人違背規定，試圖囤積或在安息日外出尋食，但神的供應始終支撐著他們，直到他們抵達迦南，歷時四十年之久。
本章經文要點
- 抱怨 (16:1–3): 以色列人來到汛的曠野，抱怨摩西和亞倫把他們帶出來是為了讓他們餓死；為了有食物吃，他們甚至美化了自己在埃及為奴的往事。
- 神的應許 (16:4–8): 神告訴摩西，祂將從天降下食物，以試驗百姓的順服。摩西和亞倫指出，百姓的怨言並非針對屬人的領袖，而是針對神自己；神將顯明祂的榮耀。
- 榮耀顯現 (16:9–12): 摩西吩咐亞倫召集會眾來到耶和華面前，耶和華的榮耀在雲中顯現。神確認祂聽見了百姓的怨言，並應許將賜予肉和餅。
- 賜下鵪鶉與嗎哪 (16:13–15): 傍晚，鵪鶉遮蓋了營地。隔天清晨，沙漠地面上出現了一層細小、圓形、狀如霜雪之物。當以色列人問「這是什麼？」時，摩西告訴他們，這就是耶和華賜給他們吃的食物。
- 每日的規矩 (16:16–21): 每戶人家都要按人頭收集一俄梅珥。若有人多囤積，到了隔天早晨，那些食物便會生蟲腐爛。必須每天清晨現收，因為太陽一熱，它就會融化。
- 安息日的原則 (16:22–30): 在第六天，百姓會收集雙倍的份量（每人兩俄梅珥）。與其他日子不同，這些儲存起來的食物並不會變質。這確立了每週一次的安息日：這是完全安息的一天，地上不會降下嗎哪，即便有人執意外出尋找，也一無所獲。
- 嗎哪的保存 (16:31–36): 百姓稱這種食物為「嗎哪」；它外形像芫荽子，味道像加了蜜的薄餅。摩西吩咐要將一俄梅珥嗎哪裝在罐子裡，存放在「法櫃」（即約櫃）前，好讓後代子孫看見神在曠野供養他們的食物。以色列人吃嗎哪長達四十年，直到抵達迦南邊界。
屬靈意義
- 從感恩到抱怨的落差: 以色列人才剛見證脫離埃及奴役的神蹟，一遇到食物短缺，就立刻怨聲載道、埋怨領袖。這種迅速的轉變，暴露了以物質飽足為中心的人生觀，也顯出一種屬靈傾向：寧願選擇熟悉的奴役，也不願經歷那條充滿信心的自由之路所伴隨的痛苦。
- 嗎哪的屬靈律例 – 每天的操練: 曠野的缺乏，是神對人天然生命的試驗與剝奪。神不用埃及的肉鍋餵養屬靈的子民，而是賜下天降的嗎哪，操練他們過「順服、知足、天天仰望」的信心生活。嗎哪必須天天收取，不能存留到次日；神只容許以色列人收集一天的份量，藉此把焦慮的自我倚靠，轉變為每日信靠的節奏。這也教導信徒：不能靠昨天的靈糧過今天的日子，必須天天親近神、倚靠神，在物質與靈性上都尋求祂的供應。
- 安息日的試驗: 第六天要拾取雙倍，第七天則沒有嗎哪降下。早在西乃山正式頒布十誡之前，安息日的節律就已經引入。安息是被視為對信心的考驗：是否能信靠神有能力供應充足的所需，而學會停止勞碌、單單仰賴祂?不為生活過度憂慮，也不用人的精明去囤積神不允許的嗎哪（第六天多收的份量除外），這就是進入神所賜的安息。人放下肉體的掙扎、聽命而行，神就在其中得著榮耀。
- 基督是從天上降下的靈糧: 舊約的嗎哪預表耶穌基督。在約翰福音第六章，耶穌明確地將嗎哪與自己連結，宣告祂就是從天上降下、賜人永生的真正「生命之糧」。吃了肉身的嗎哪，人還會再餓，也終究會死；但耶穌是從天而降、賜人永生的真靈糧（約翰福音 6:58）。
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