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God
gave manna and quail to the Israelites
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2
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[Exodus 16:31]
The
people of Israel called the bread manna.
It
was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.
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3
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The Israelites who became free men from the
slavery of Egypt by God's grace were heading toward the Promised Land,
Canaan. When they first left from Egypt, the Israelites were so glad.
However, they gradually started to complain. They changed theirs mind that
God could leave from Egypt.
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4
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When they came to the Desert of Sin, they
grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
"There we sat around pots of meat and ate
all the food we wanted. If only we had died by the LORD'S hand in
Egypt!"
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5
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¡°Why have you brought us out into this desert to
starve this entire assembly to death?
Tell me why?" The people strongly complained
to Moses.
The Israelites did not believe in God sincerely
and made complaints about the food.
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6
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God said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you."
God answered their demands by giving the
Israelites miraculous food from heaven.
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7
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However, God gave them specific instructions on
how to manage the food. "The people are to go out
each day and gather enough for that day. On the sixth day they are to prepare
what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the
other days."
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8
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Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites,
"In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out
of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD."
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9
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In the evening, a surprising thing happened.
Quail came and covered the camp.
The Israelites ate all the meat that they
wanted.
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10
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The next morning, an even more surprising thing
happened.
They could not believe their eyes, because there
was something like thin white flakes of frost on the ground.
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11
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Moses said to the Israelites, "God has
given you this food. You will receive it everyday.
Each one is to gather as much as you need. You
should eat all that you gather."
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12
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But some of them did not listen to Moses.
"This food may not come down tomorrow morning. I will prepare tomorrow's
food, too." So they gathered twice as much food for the next day.
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13
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They kept part of it until morning, but when they
saw it they were surprised that it was all full of maggots and had begun to
smell. So Moses was angry with them.
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14
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From that time on, the people gathered only enough for that day. Manna came down everyday as God said and they
brought as much as they needed. The people who gathered it for a day as Moses
commanded, did not stink or get maggots in it.
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15
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Moses said, "Tomorrow is a Sabbath to the
LORD. You will not find any of the manna on the ground. Gather twice as much
as usual and keep it at home for you."
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16
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The people did as Moses' said.
So they saved it until morning, as Moses
commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. They could eat it on
the Sabbath.
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17
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However, some did not believe in Moses and
thought that the food would come down the next day. Nevertheless, some of the
people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. So they could not eat all day long.
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18
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The people of Israel called the bread manna.
They realized that they had been foolish to think
that God would not provide for them.
After that God gave them manna for 40 years.
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19
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How many of you are grumblers or disobedient to what God's Word tells us
to do? God can give us his mighty power. Therefore, we should not doubt or
have a disobedient wrong attitude like the Israelites. We have to keep
obeying God's words and become his faithful people.
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