Exodus 16:11-18, 31-36

GOD spoke to Moses, “I’ve listened to the complaints of the Israelites. Now tell them: ‘At dusk you will eat meat and at dawn you’ll eat your fill of bread; and you’ll realize that I am GOD, your God.’” That evening quail flew in and covered the camp and in the morning there was a layer of dew all over the camp. When the layer of dew had lifted, there on the wilderness ground was a fine flaky something, fine as frost on the ground. The Israelites took one look and said to one another, man-hu (What is it?). They had no idea what it was. So Moses told them, “It’s the bread GOD has given you to eat. And these are GOD’s instructions: ‘Gather enough for each person, about two quarts per person; gather enough for everyone in your tent.’” The People of Israel went to work and started gathering, some more, some less, but when they measured out what they had gathered, those who gathered more had no extra and those who gathered less weren’t short—each person had gathered as much as was needed.

The Israelites named it manna (What is it?). It looked like coriander seed, whitish. And it tasted like a cracker with honey. Moses said, “This is GOD’s command: ‘Keep a two-quart jar of it, an omer, for future generations so they can see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness after I brought you out of Egypt.’” Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Place it before GOD, keeping it safe for future generations.” Aaron did what GOD commanded Moses. He set it aside before The Testimony to preserve it. The Israelites ate the manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle down. They ate manna until they reached the border into Canaan. According to ancient measurements, an omer is one-tenth of an ephah. * * *

Free Reading Plans and Devotionals related to Exodus 16:11-18, 31-36