Moses said, “This is the thing which Yahweh 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.’ ” Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before Yahweh, to be kept throughout your generations.” As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
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Exodus 16:32-34 sits inside this longer paragraph.
The house of Israel called its name “Manna”, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey. Moses said, “This is the thing which Yahweh 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.’ ” Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before Yahweh, to be kept throughout your generations.” As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 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. Now an omer is one tenth of an ephah.
Parallel Translations
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Moses said, “This is the thing which Yahweh 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.’ ”
Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before Yahweh, to be kept throughout your generations.”
As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
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And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.
And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.
As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
Show all 3 translations
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And Moses said: 'This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded: Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.'
And Moses said unto Aaron: 'Take a jar, and put an omerful of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept throughout your generations.'
As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
Cross-references (19)
- Exodus 25:16 (v34) You shall put the covenant which I shall give you into the ark.
- Exodus 25:21 (v34) You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the covenant that I will give you.
- Exodus 27:21 (v34) In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the covenant, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning…
- Hebrews 9:4 (v33) having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna,…
- Exodus 40:20 (v34) He took and put the covenant into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above on the ark.
Show all 19 cross-references
- Numbers 17:10 (v34) Yahweh said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the covenant, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that you…
- Psalms 105:5 (v32) Remember his marvelous works that he has done: his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,
- Exodus 30:6 (v34) You shall put it before the veil that is by the ark of the covenant, before the mercy seat that is over the covenant, where I will meet…
- Exodus 30:36 (v34) You shall beat some of it very small, and put some of it before the covenant in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall…
- Exodus 31:18 (v34) When he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses the two tablets of the covenant, stone tablets, written with God’s finger.
- Deuteronomy 10:5 (v34) I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are as Yahweh commanded me.
- Psalms 111:4-5 (v32) He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered. Yahweh is gracious and merciful. He has given food to those who fear him. He always…
- Luke 22:19 (v32) He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in…
- Exodus 38:21 (v34) These are the amounts of materials used for the tabernacle, even the Tabernacle of the Testimony, as they were counted, according to the…
- Numbers 1:50 (v34) but appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They shall…
- Numbers 1:53 (v34) But the Levites shall encamp around the Tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of…
- 1 Kings 8:9 (v34) There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the children of…
- Psalms 103:1-2 (v32) Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name! Praise Yahweh, my soul, and don’t forget all his benefits,
- Hebrews 2:1 (v32) Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv33–34 Of this vessel, read Heb. 9:4.
Of this vessel, read Heb. 9:4.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv32–34 Exo 16:32 And Moses said, This [is] the thing…
Exo 16:32 And Moses said, This [is] the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.
Ver. 32. Fill an omer.] Monuments and memorials of God’s great mercies are to be set up, lest, as it fares with children, eaten bread be soon forgotten.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv33–34 In the tabernacle, and by the ark, when they…
In the tabernacle, and by the ark, when they shall be built, and at present in the place where you meet for the solemn worship of God.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v32 God having provided manna to be his people's food…
God having provided manna to be his people's food in the wilderness, and to be to them a continual feast, we are here told, 1. How the memory of it was preserved. An omer of this manna was laid up in a golden pot, as we are told (Heb 9:4), and kept before the testimony, or the ark, when it was afterwards made, Exo 16:32-34. The preservation of this manna from waste and corruption was a standing miracle, and therefore the more proper memorial of this miraculous food. "Posterity shall see the bread," says God, "wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness," see what sort of food it was, and how much each man's daily proportion of it was, that it may appear they were neither kept to hard fare nor to short allowance, and then judge between God and Israel, whether they had any cause given them to murmur and find fault with their provisions, and whether they and their seed after them had not a great deal of reason gratefully to won God's goodness to them. Note, Eaten bread must not be forgotten. God's miracles and mercies are to be had in everlasting remembrance, for our encouragement to trust in him at all times. 2. How the mercy of it was continued as long as they had occasion for it. The manna never ceased till they came to the borders of Canaan, where there was bread enough and to spare, Exo 16:35. See how constant the care of Providence is; seedtime and harvest fail not, while the earth remains. Israel was very provoking in the wilderness, yet the manna never failed them: thus still God causes his rain to fall on the just and unjust. The manna is called spiritual meat (Co1 10:3), because it was typical of spiritual blessings in heavenly things. Christ himself is the true manna, the bread of life, of which this was a figure, Joh 6:49-51. The word of God is the manna by which our souls are nourished, Mat 4:4. The comforts of the Spirit are hidden manna, Rev 2:17. These come from heaven, as the manna did, and are the support and comfort of the divine life in the soul, while we are in the wilderness of this world. It is food for Israelites, for those only that follow the pillar of cloud and fire. It is to be gathered; Christ in the word is to be applied to the soul, and the means of grace are to be used. We must every one of us gather for ourselves, and gather in the morning of our opportunities, which if we let slip, it may be too late to gather. The manna they gathered must not be hoarded up, but eaten; those that have received Christ must by faith live upon him, and not receive his grace in vain. There was manna enough for all, enough for each, and none had too much; so in Christ there is a complete sufficiency, and no superfluity. But those that did eat manna hungered again, died at last, and with many of them God was not well-pleased; whereas those that feed on Christ by faith shall never hunger, and shall die no more, and with them God will be for ever well pleased. The Lord evermore give us this bread!
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv32–33 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it…
As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the testimony, to be kept. That is, before the ark of the testimony; when that was made, as it was in a little time after this, called the testimony, because it contained in it the law, which was a testimony or testification of the mind and will of God unto Israel, see Exo 25:16 the apostle says, the pot of manna was in the ark, Heb 9:4 that is, on one side of it; see Gill on Heb 9:4.
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Exodus 16:35
exo 16:35
exo 16:35
exo 16:35And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years,.... Wanting thirty days, as Jarchi observes; reckoning from their coming out of Egypt, and the passover they kept there, to their coming to the borders of the land of Canaan to Gilgal, and keeping the passover there, when the manna ceased, were just forty years; but then they had been out of Egypt a month before the manna fell; but the round number is given, as is common: it was on the sixteenth of Ijar, the second month, the manna fell; and it was in the month of Nisan, about the sixteenth or seventeenth of the month, that it ceased, see Jos 5:10.
until they came to a land inhabited: where the ground was cultivated, and corn was produced to make bread of, which could not be had in a wilderness; and therefore God graciously provided for them every day, and fed them with manna till they came to such a place:
they did eat manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan; that is, Gilgal: the Targum of Jonathan is,"they ate manna forty years in the life of Moses, until they came unto the land of habitation; they ate manna forty days after his death, until they passed over Jordan, and entered the extremities of the land of Canaan:''some have thought this verse was not written by Moses, but Joshua, or some other hand after his death since he did not live quite to the cessation of the manna; which need not be much disputed or objected to; though it may be considered that Moses led Israel to the borders of the land of Canaan, though he did not go with them so far as Gilgal, and died before the manna ceased; yet, as he was assured of it, he could write this in certain faith of it, and especially by a spirit of prophecy: this signifies that the children of God are to live by faith upon Christ, while they are in the wilderness of this world; nor will this spiritual food be wanting to them while in it; but when they are come to Canaan's land, to the heavenly glory, they will no more walk and live by faith, but by sight: the word and ordinances will then cease; Christ will be no more held forth to them in that way, but they shall see him as he is, and behold his glory,
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v34 An omer of this manna was laid up in…
An omer of this manna was laid up in a golden pot as we are told, Heb. ix, 4, and kept before the testimony, or the ark, when it was afterwards made, The preservation of this manna from waste and corruption, was a standing miracle; and therefore the more proper memorial of this miraculous food. The manna is called spiritual meat, 1 Cor. x, 3, because it was typical of spiritual blessings. Christ himself is the true manna, the bread of life, of which that was a figure, John vi, 49-51. The word of God is the manna by which our souls are nourished, Matt. iv, 4. The comforts of the Spirit are hidden manna, Rev. ii, 17. These comforts from heaven as the manna did, are the support of the divine life in the soul while we are in the wilderness of this world: it is food for Israelites, for those only that follow the pillar of cloud and fire: it is to be gathered; Christ in the word is to be applied to the soul, and the means of grace used: we must every one of us gather for ourselves. There was manna enough for all, enough for each, and none had too much; so in Christ there is a compleat sufficiency, and no superfluity. But they that did eat manna hungered again, died at last, and with many of them God was not well pleased: whereas they that feed on Christ by faith shall never hunger, and shall die no more, and with them God will be forever well pleased. The Lord evermore give us this bread!
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv32, 34 Verse 32. To be kept for your generations] See…
Verse 32. To be kept for your generations] See Clarke on Ex 16:9.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v33 Exo 16:33-34. Take a pot — A golden pot,…
Exo 16:33-34. Take a pot — A golden pot, Heb 9:4. For all the vessels of the sanctuary were of gold. Lay it up before the Lord — That is, in the tabernacle, and by the ark, when they should be built: Before the testimony — The ark of the testimony, or witness, because in it were the tables of the covenant, or the law of God, which was a testimony of God’s authority and will, and of man’s subjection and duty, or of the covenant made between God and man. The preservation of this pot of manna from waste and corruption, was a standing miracle; and, therefore, the more proper memorial of this miraculous food. The manna is called spiritual meat, (1Co 10:3,) because it was typical of spiritual blessings. Christ himself is the true manna, the bread of life, of which that was a figure, Joh 6:49-51. The word of God is the manna by which our souls are nourished, Mat 4:4. The comforts of the Spirit are hidden manna, Rev 2:17. These comforts come from heaven, as the manna did, and are the support of the divine life in the soul, while we are in the wilderness of this world: it is food for Israelites, for those only that follow the pillar of cloud and fire: it is to be gathered; Christ in the word is to be applied to the soul, and the means of grace must be used: we must every one of us gather for ourselves. There was manna enough for all, enough for each, and none had too much; so in Christ there is a complete sufficiency, and no superfluity. But they that did eat manna hungered again, died at last, and with many of them God was not well pleased: whereas they that feed on Christ by faith shall never hunger, and shall die no more, and with them God will be for ever well pleased. The Lord evermore give us this bread!
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv33–34 A pot - The word here used occurs in…
A pot - The word here used occurs in no other passage. It corresponds in form and use to the Egyptian for a casket or vase in which oblations were presented.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v33 A vessel, "a golden urn," as the Septuagint and…
A vessel, "a golden urn," as the Septuagint and St. Paul (Hebrews ix. 4,) express it. This was placed in the tabernacle, where the Hebrews met to pray, till the ark was made. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v32 Fill an omer of it to be kept for…
Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations--The mere fact of such a multitude being fed for forty years in the wilderness, where no food of any kind is to be obtained, will show the utter impossibility of their subsisting on a natural production of the kind and quantity as this tarfa-gum [see on Exo 16:13]; and, as if for the purpose of removing all such groundless speculations, Aaron was commanded to put a sample of it in a pot--a golden pot (Heb 9:4) --to be laid before the Testimony, to be kept for future generations, that they might see the bread on which the Lord fed their fathers in the wilderness. But we have the bread of which that was merely typical (Co1 10:3; Joh 6:32).
Next: Exodus Chapter 17
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv32, 34 AN OMER OF MANNA. LAID UP BEFORE JEHOVAH, Exo_16:32-36.
AN OMER OF MANNA. LAID UP BEFORE JEHOVAH, Exo_16:32-36.
32-36. This passage is valuable as giving us an insight into the manner in which the book was written. It is plain that this account of the manna laid… up before the Testimony was composed after the ark of Testimony was made and the tabernacle set up; and the thirty-fifth verse was written after the forty years’ sojourn was ended. While Moses doubtless wrote down the events of the desert life, especially the Divine commands, at the time of their occurrence, he also, at the end of his long career in the plains of Moab, wove these events into a regular treatise, with comments and connecting paragraphs. At the end of this chapter, wherein the manna is first mentioned and fully described, was the appropriate place to finish the account of it, and hence he here adds the command for its preservation and the time of its continuance.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv32–34 32. be kept] Heb. be for a keeping (cf.…
32. be kept] Heb. be for a keeping (cf. on v. 26). Comp. esp. Num_17:10.
for your generations] See on Exo_12:14.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv32–33 (32-35) And Moses said . . . Fill an…
(32-35) And Moses said . . . Fill an omer.—This narrative, which must belong to a later date than any other part of Exodus, since it assumes that the Tabernacle is set up (Exo_16:34), seems to have been placed here on account of its subject-matter. The writer wishes to conclude the history of the manna, and has two further points to note concerning it: (1) the preservation of an omer of it as a perpetual memorial (Exo_16:32-34); and (2) the fact of its continuance until the Israelites reached the borders of Canaan. The passage is probably an addition to the original “Book,” but contains nothing that may not have been written by Moses.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv32–34 And Moses said. Not at the moment, but some…
And Moses said. Not at the moment, but some time subsequently. See the introductory paragraph. Fill an omer. In the original it is "the omer," and so the LXX; but the reason for the introduction of the article is obscure. For your generationsi.e. , "for your descendants.
Vers. 32-34. Memorials of mercies.
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It is indicative of the weakness and imperfection of human nature, that memorials of mercies should be needed. But frail humanity cannot do without them; and God in his goodness, knowing this, sanctions them. As he had the rod of Aaron, which budded, (Num_17:10) and the pot of manna, made permanent portions of the furniture of the tabernacle for memorials, so he had memorial days established, Sabbath, and Passover, and Pentecost, and memorial seasons, as the feasts of unleavened bread and tabernacles, that the children of Israel might keep his mercies in perpetual remembrance. We Christians have no such material memorials as the tables of stone, the rod, and the manna; for the "True Cross" is historically untrustworthy, and the "Holy Coat" could not have been a Jewish garment. We have, however, memorials of mercies.
I IN OUR HOLY DAYS. Our Sunday is a perpetual memorial and reminder of the great mercy of Christ"s Resurrection, the earnest, and efficient cause, of our own. Christmas-day, Good Friday, Ascension-day, are memorials of the same kind; not so universally acknowledged, but useful memorials, where they are established and observed. Christianity commands that no man shall judge another in respect of such observances; but it would be an ill day for Christendom, if they were universally given up. Thousands find them great helps to devotion, great stimulants to gratitude and love.
II IN OUR HOLY EMBLEMS. The Cross, the Lamb, the Eagle, the Crown of Thorns, the Vine, the Rose, the Lily of the Valley, wherever we behold them, are memorials of divine mercies, never sufficiently remembered, most useful in recalling to our minds the acts, events, persons, wherewith they are scripturally connected. Some minds are so constituted as not to require such reminders. But to the mass of men they are of inexpressible value, waking up (as they do) twenty times a day holy thoughts that might otherwise have slumbered, and stirring the heart to devotions that might otherwise have been unthought of.
III IN OUR HOLY BUILDINGS. What the entire tabernacle was to the Israelites in the wilderness, what the temple, so long as it stood, was to the Israelite nation, such to Christians are their cathedrals, abbeys, churches, chapels, oratories, perpetual reminders of holy things, memorials pointing heavenwards, and bringing to mind all that God has done for us. That they are also intended for practical use as places where we may worship in common, and be taught in common, does not prevent their being at the same time memorials. It is as memorials that they lift themselves up so high, ascending in tier over tier of useless pinnacle, and high-pitched roof, and spire-crowned tower. They aim at catching our attention, forcing us to look at them, and making us think of God"s mercies.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR Vers. 32-34. The pot of manna.
Aaron was ordered to take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for future generations. The pot of manna is alluded to in Hebrews, where it is described as "golden," and as laid up in the ark. (Heb_9:4) It may be questioned how so corruptible a substance admitted of preservation. But it is not so plain that the manna had in itself any tendency to corrupt, so that the miracle is perhaps to be looked for, not in the keeping fresh of the portion laid up in the ark, but in the smiting with corruption of any portions sinfully hoarded by the Israelites (ver. 20). We are taught
I THAT THE GREATER MERCIES OF GOD OUGHT SPECIALLY TO BE REMEMBERED BY US. It is fitting, even in the Church, to appoint memorials of them.
II THAT THE PECULIAR LESSONS OF THE MANNA OUGHT SPECIALLY TO BE KEPT IN REMEMBRANCE. Among these note the following:
1. "Man doth not live by bread alone," etc. (cf. Deu_8:4; Mat_4:4)
2. The lesson of dependence on God for supply of daily wants. (Mat_6:2)
3. Typical lessons. The manna reminds us of Christ, our Bread of Life, inheaven. "Your life is hid with Christ in God". (Col_3:3) The "hidden manna" in Rev_2:17, would seem to indicate the spiritual nourishment in communion with God and Christ which will maintain soul and body for ever in the possession of an incorruptible life life undecaying, self-renewing, everlasting.
III THE INDISSOLUBLE UNION OF LAW AND GRACE IN GOD"S DEALINGS WITH HIS CHURCH. The pot of manna was laid up (after the ark was made) "before the testimony, to be kept" (ver. 34). The law is the stern background, but near it is the golden pot, filled with the manna which told of God"s goodness and grace to a people whom mere law would have condemned. God can be thus gracious to his Church, not because his law has been set aside, but because it has been magnified and made honourable by Christ, whose blood pleads at the mercy-seat for the transgressor. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v32 Put an omer full of manna therein.
Exo_16:32-36
Put an omer full of manna therein.
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An instructive memorial
I. By whom the memorial was enjoined. The Lord. We have need to set up memorials in our lives which shall call upon our souls to remember the benefits of the Lord. It is the will of heaven that its gifts should be held in constant remembrance.
II. In what the memorial consisted. Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations.
1. This memorial was reasonable.
2. Expressive.
3. Instructive.
4. Valuable. Golden pot (Heb_9:2).
And the memorials of the soul should not find expression in valueless things, but in the richest treasures of man. God is worthy our best offerings.
III. Where the memorial was deposited. And lay it up before the Lord. So Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. And so this memorial was laid up before the Lord, in the ark of the covenant. Thus we must keep the memorials of the soul in devout spirit, and with a constant trust in the mediatorial work of Christ.
IV. The design the memorial contemplated. That ye may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness. To be kept for your generations. Each generation leaves a moral deposit behind it, for good or evil. Lessons:
1. The soul must have a memorial of the Divine mercy.
2. The memorial of the soul must consist of the best thing it possesses.
3. The memorial of the soul will have respect to the redemptive work of Christ. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
An instructive memorial
One day when George Moore--now a man of wealth--was accompanying his friend, Colonel Henderson, through the Waver wood on a partridge-shooting expedition, a curious ramshackle object appeared before them. It seemed to be a sort of big dhrosky with a long, broad trunk at the back end. What is that? asked the colonel. Why, said George Moore, that is the trap which I have driven into every market town in Great Britain and Ireland! It was the carriage he had used whilst achieving such great success as a commercial traveller. (H. O. Mackey.)
Former mercies remembered
Mr. Kidd, minister of Queensferry, near Edinburgh, was one day very much depressed and discouraged. He sent a note to Mr. L--minister of Culross, a few miles off, informing him of his distress of mind, and desiring a visit as soon as possible. Mr. L--told the servant he was so busy that he could not wait upon his master, but desired him to tell Mr. Kidd to remember Torwood. When the servant returned, he said to his master, Mr. L--could not come, but he desired me to tell you to remember Torwood. This answer immediately struck Mr. Kidd, and he cried out, Yes, Lord! I will remember Thee, from the hill Mizar, and from the Hermonites! All his troubles and darkness vanished upon the recollection of a day which he had formerly spent in prayer along with Mr. L--in Torwood, where he had enjoyed eminent communion with God. (W. Baxendale.)
An expressive memorial
It was during the wars that raged from 1652 to 1660, between Frederick III. of Denmark, and Charles Gustavus, of Sweden, that after a battle in which the victory had remained with the Danes, a stout burgher of Flensburg was about to refresh himself, ere retiring to have his wounds dressed, with a draught of beer from a wooden bottle, when an imploring cry from a wounded Swede lying on the field made him turn, and, with the very words of Sidney--Thy need is greater than mine, he knelt down by the fallen enemy to pour the liquor into his mouth. His requital was a pistol-shot in the shoulder from the treacherous Swede. Rascal! he cried, I would have befriended you, and you would murder me in return! Now will I punish you. I would have given you the whole bottle, but now you shall only have half. And drinking off half himself, he gave the rest to the Swede. The king, hearing the story, sent for the burgher, and asked him how he came to spare the life of such a rascal. Sire, said the honest burgher, I could never kill a wounded enemy. Thou meritest to be a noble, the king said, and created him one immediately, giving him as armorial bearings a wooden bottle pierced with an arrow. The family only lately became extinct in the person of an old maiden lady.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v32 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_16:32-36
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_16:32-36
AN INSTRUCTIVE MEMORIAL
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I. By whom the memorial was enjoined. “This is the thing which the Lord commanded.” This memorial was not the outcome of superstitious feeling on the part of the Israelites, nor of their deep devotion of heart. They would not have thought of it of themselves. They were Divinely commanded to it. It does not readily occur to men to make memorials of the mercy of God. And yet there is eminent need of such memorials. Men are liable to forget the Divine goodness. They require something to continually remind them of it. The gifts we bestow upon others are long remembered; those we receive are soon forgotten. We have need to set up memorials in our lives, which shall call upon our souls to remember the benefits of the Lord. It is the will of heaven that its gifts should be held in constant remembrance.
II. In what the memorial consisted. “Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations.”
1. This memorial was reasonable. Thus the Israelites were required to fill an omer with the manna, and keep it as a memorial of the wondrous providence which had so long supplied their temporal need. What could have been more reasonable than such a memorial, which was eminently adapted to recall the circumstances it was designed to commemorate. The good must lay up a sacred deposit of their everyday experiences and mercies before the Lord. The memorials of the soul must consist of its own inner experiences.
2. This memorial was expressive. It was expressive of the great need of Israel, of the abundant and appropriate mercy of God. An omer of manna was preserved which showed that the heavenly supply was not scanty. The memorials of the soul must set forth the infinitude of the Divine compassion, and the riches of Divine grace.
3. This memorial was instructive. It not merely reminded the Israelites of the goodness of God to them, but it would give an instructive and encouraging view of the Divine character and providence to the generations of the future. The memorials of the parents should be such as to instruct and aid the children in their religious life.
4. This memorial was valuable. The manna was kept in a golden pot—(Heb_9:2). It was not put into a common vessel. And the memorials of the soul should not find expression in valueless things, but in the richest treasures of man. God is worthy our best offerings.
III. Where the memorial was deposited. “And lay it up before the Lord.” “So Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.” And so this memorial was laid up before the Lord, in the ark of the covenant. Thus we must keep the memorials of the soul in devout spirit, and with a constant trust in the mediatorial work of Christ. In celebrating the Divine providence, we must not be animated by a regard for a religious display, but by a desire to lay up a memorial of our best gratitude before the Lord. As Aaron laid up the pot of manna before the Testimony, so Christ alone can render our memorials acceptable to God.
IV. The design the memorial contemplated. “That ye may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness” “To be kept for your generations.” The Israelites would enter Canaan, and then would return to the produce of the field; hence they needed something to remind them of their wilderness condition. The mercy given in adversity must be remembered in prosperity. In heaven the soul will have memorials of the mercy which characterised its life on earth. This pot of manna was also designed to teach the generations to come the goodness and faithfulness of God. Every generation should seek to leave behind it new and encouraging revelations of the Divine character, which shall lead those who follow to see more clearly the merciful providence of God. Each generation leaves a moral deposit behind it, for good or evil. LESSONS:—
1. The soul must have a memorial of the Divine mercy.
2. The memorial of the soul must consist of the best things it possesses.
3. The memorial of the soul will have respect to the redemptive work of Christ.
AN INSTRUCTIVE MEMORIAL
Why was this “omer of manna” to be sacredly preserved from generation to generation? The only reason assigned is, “that your generations may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness.” Whatever God does or commands to be done is for wise and worthy reasons. Let us reverently seek to ascertain what was the Divine reason in arranging for succeeding generations of the Israelites to see this manna, with which He had fed their fathers in the wilderness. We suggest that it was this, Because the sight of it was calculated to promote their moral improvement by suggesting and impressing important truths. Without mentioning certain suggestions of the manna which have been noticed in the exposition of the previous verses, that which was contained in the pot for preservation would be an impressive memorial of
I. The infinite resources of God. Here are three millions of persons in the desert without food. That which they brought out of Egypt with them they have consumed. And, though they have flocks and herds with them, they are not to be eaten for food but kept for sacrifices. Whence shall they obtain food? The prospect seems to them exceedingly dark, and they utter loud and bitter complaints against their leaders. In this extremity, the Lord appears for them and provides the manna. This provision was undoubtedly miraculous. The writer of the article on “Manna,” in “Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible,” says, that “the natural products of the Arabian deserts and other Oriental regions which bear the name of manna, have not the qualities or uses ascribed to the manna of Scripture.” And, after pointing out many points of contrast, he says, “The manna of Scripture we therefore regard as wholly miraculous, and not in any respect a product of nature.” The resources of the Lord are infinite. No matter how dark and discouraging our circumstances and our prospects may be, if God be for us inexhaustible treasures are ours. He can spread our table in the barren wilderness, so that for forty years we shall lack no good thing. At His command the flinty rock shall pour forth copious streams, so that the dry and thirsty land shall become a land of refreshment and delight. If it were possible to exhaust the resources of the material universe, still the people of God are rich by reason of their interest in Him, whose resources are equal to all the needs of His vast universe,—whose resources are indeed infinite. We rejoice in “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” “He is able to do for us exceeding abundantly,” &c.
II. The great goodness of God. His goodness is strikingly exemplified in several things of which this manna would be a memorial.
1. The supply of manna was undeserved. These unbelieving, murmuring, rebellious Israelites merited no kindness from God. Had they received their deserts they would have been left to die of famine. “He has not dealt with us after our sins,” &c.
2. The supply was ample. There was sufficient for every one and for all. If any one lacked provisions it was not because of any deficiency in the supply. So the blessings of redemption and of providence are ample for all the needs of all men, everywhere, and in all ages.
3. The supply was free. All the Israelites might avail themselves of it. Every morning they would go out into the open wilderness and gather it. An illustration of the sufficiency and freeness of the provisions of Divine grace. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money,” &c.
4. The supply was pleasant. The taste of the manna was like fresh oil, and like wafers made with honey, equally agreeable to all palates. The provisions of Christianity are not only wholesome but pleasant also. The prophet Isaiah represents them as “a feast of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees, well refined.” Our Lord also compares them to a great feast. A feast of delightful experiences, exalted hopes, blessed fellowships, &c. Thus the manna would remind the generations of the great goodness of God to their ancestors.
III. The unvarying faithfulness of God. “The children of Israel did eat manna forty years until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.” During the forty years, the supply of manna never failed them. With undeviating regularity, God bestowed it upon them until they came to the borders of Canaan, where there was abundance of provisions. The Divine faithfulness is the more conspicuous when viewed in the light of the people’s conduct. God was invariably faithful to them and to His promise, notwitstanding their—
1. Inconstancy.
2. Ingratitude.
3. Oft-repeated rebellion. Notwithstanding the extreme provocation which He received from them, He continued to send them manna from heaven until they needed it no longer. “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself.” The manna would remind the generations of this unfailing faithfulness.
IV. The abiding presence of God with them. When the Israelites attempted to keep the manna in their tents from one day to another, “it bred worms and stank.” But in the manna which was kept by the command of God we have a perpetual miracle by which it was kept pure and sweet. And that perpetual miracle was a proof of the perpetual presence of God with them,—a proof that the faithful God was with them even as He was with their fathers.
And thus, the manna being such a memorial of the doings, character, and presence of God, it would be—
V. An encouragement to trust in God. “God’s miracles and mercies are to be had in everlasting remembrance, for our encouragement to trust in Him at all times.”
Conclusion. Ponder well two facts:—
1. The history of one generation may benefit all succeeding generations. History furnishes patterns and beacons, encouragements and warnings. Let us heed them.
2. The obligation of every generation to profit by the history of its predecessors. Every fresh generation enters upon its career with greater advantages and responsibilities than those which have gone before. We ought to be wiser, braver, holier than our fathers. But are we?—William Jones.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo_16:32-36. Mercies of old to His Church God would have known to succeeding generations.
Men may see that the best provision of God’s Church has been in its wilderness condition.
God confutes murmurers by His monuments, that He did not bring Israel out of Egypt to destroy them.
Wilderness mercies are contemporary with wilderness conditions.
God will carry His Israel through all wilderness trials unto their Canaan rest.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Israel’s Life-Food! Exo_16:35. The history of Israel is a typical history. The slavery in Egypt represented the bondage in which we are naturally held; while the deliverance by Moses is symbolic of our redemption by Christ. The wanderings in the desert pre-figure the Christian pilgrimage on earth; while the Canaan at which the host arrived over Jordan is emblematic of the rest that remaineth beyond the chill waters of the River of Death. And so with reference to the life-food of Israel. They had it in the wilderness, but no further. The sacraments cease in the Heavenly Canaan. There is no temple therein—no place for sacraments—no need for channels of grace. Christ will be all in all there; for the Lord God and the Lamb are the temple thereof. Not from ordinances shall we then draw our nutriment. The Redeemer will be all in all to our souls, and from Him alone and directly shall we draw the only material of everlasting happiness and ever-increasing goodness. It is under that apprehension of our Life-food here—
“That, feeding on His bounties, we shall our strengh renew,
And with untiring spirit our desert-way pursue.”
Memorial Gratitude! Exo_16:32. Bishop Hutton was once travelling between Wensleydale and Ingleton, when he suddenly dismounted, delivered his step to the care of one of his attendants, retired to a particular spot at some distance from the highway, and knelt down in prayer for some time. On his return, he was asked his reason for this action? His reply was significant, “When I was a poor boy, I travelled over that cold and black mountain without shoes or stockings. In my extremity, I disturbed a cow on the identical spot where I have just prayed, to obtain a little warmth from the spot where the animal was lying.” This good man felt grateful to God for all He had done for Him since that moment, and had knelt down by this memorial to praise God. Jehovah orders memorials of mercies to be set up—kept in view—held in remembrance, so that we may always be confident and contented.
“To remember, though gloomy the present may be,
That the Master is coming, and coming to me.”
—Patterson.
Memorial Mercies! Exo_16:33. “The Lord’s mercies are new every morning.” What an assurance this is to carry with us in all our wayfaring through this world! The future is always dark to us; but then there are the memorial-mercies of the past to be recalled. A veil hides the future from our sight, but the past has lights here and there—the mercies of times of adversity shining afar to cheer us—what is under the shadows in front of us—what is behind the veil suspended before us—what is advancing out of the imperious mist towards us, none of us can know, but we may all see the memorials of the past. Like clear, flaming letters on a black velvet background they stand out. “The Lord’s mercies are new every morning.” It is as though the Holy Spirit of God went before us and set up these memorial-mercies to cheer us whenever we halt in weakness—to encourage us whenever we hesitate in fearfulness, and to incite us to gratitude whenever we are disposed to unthankfulness.
“Thy mercies, Lord, are like the sun
Whose beams undo what sable night hath done!
Or, like those streams, the current of whose course,
Restrained awhile, run with a swifter force.”
—Quarles.
Memorials! Exo_16:33. In deepest rocks, which have withstood all the assailing influences of time, geologists find the outlines of ferns of former ages, lined with the most delicate tracery, or distinct impressions of the feet of birds and animals which are now lost to earth. They remove these choice specimens from their rocky beds and place them among collections which the learned pour over with thoughtful and profitable interest. Of all the abundance of living grace, verdure, and activity, which covered the earth through remote ages, only here and there, and that very rarely, some specimens like these speak. Such records of Nature’s workings are but seldom written in solid rock, but one line written there suggests forests of graceful waving fronds, with their bending shadows in clear waters, or a host of strange and now unknown animals which once animated the world. That line whispers of a great flood, in which this life was submerged—of sleepy eyes in which the moist bed where so much is written, changed to stern rock, holding securely a valuable historic record, which at last is given to those who grope for glowing facts among dull stones. Now, as the life, structure, and habits of myriads of plants and animals are suggestively unfolded through means of impressions in stone of comparatively few individual specimens; so history, culling comparatively few lives as representatives of the world’s thought, leaves untold the births, deeds, and deaths of the great mass of the children of the earth; and when death claims them, they go back to her receptive bosom, leaving no lasting record here. And it is from the memorials set up in the Arabian wilds that we not only syllable out the goodness of God in supplying Israel’s wants, and providing for their necessities, but also infer that many more mercies were their lot than the Bible leaves on record. It is by searching the plains of Holy Scripture that we come upon records of God’s providence designed to encourage us to look hopefully to our own future.
“The present is enough for common souls,
Who, never looking forward, are indeed
Mere clay, wherein the footprints of their age
Are petrified for ever.”
—Lowell.
Sufficiency! Exo_16:35. In the forests of Guiana grows the towering mora. Its topmost branch, when naked with age or dried by accident, is the favourite resort of the toncar. Many a time, says Waterton, has this singular bird felt the shot faintly strike him from the gun of the fowler below, and owed his life to the distance betwixt them. The wild fig-tree, as large as a common English apple-tree, often rears itself from one of the thick branches at the top of the mora, as when a man stands on the shoulders of another man, When its fruit is ripe, the birds resort to them for nourishment; and it was to an indigested seed passing through the body of a bird which had perched on the mora, that the fig-tree first owed its elevated station there. Thus, unconsciously, did some bird contribute, if not to its own future sustenance, certainly to the after-support and nutriment of its fellow birds or progeny. But how did this seed germinate into a fig-tree? The sap of the mora supplied it with growing powers, and raised it into full bearing; and now in its turn, it is doomed to contribute a portion of its own sap and juices towards the growth of different species of vines, the seeds of which also the birds deposited on its branches. These soon vegetate and bear fruit in great quantities, so that the mora has much to do to supply nourishment for such a profuse and prolific mass of vegetation. what with calls from vines and fig-tree, the mora is unable to support her charge, languishes—dies; whereupon, the fig-tree, with its usurping progeny of vines, receiving no more succour from their late foster-parent, droop and perish in their turn. How often is it so with churches of earthly growth. They spread, minds nestle in the branches, and leave behind them seeds which germinate, affording nutriment to succeeding generations of minds, who in turn leave germs of vines; but all this growth at last bows down the mother church, when foster-parents and progeny fall. Not so with Jesus Christ—He is that giant mora whose resources never fail. On Him millions of figs and vines grow, without lack of moisture, for it hath pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell; and He is the Fountain of Life.
“The Bread,
Given from His hands, feeds thousands and to spare.”
—Bickersteth.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v32 Manna Saved for a Memorial
Manna Saved for a Memorial
v. 32. And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commandeth, Fill an omer of it, a measure containing just that amount, to be kept for your generations, for all future times, that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.
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v. 33. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord to be kept for your generations, for all future descendants.
v. 34. As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the testimony, to be kept. The historian here anticipates an event of the future, for it was some time later that the Ark of the Covenant was made at God’s command, the receptacle of the tables of the testimony and also of the pot of manna, Exo 25:16; Exo 25:21; Heb 9:4.
v. 35. And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.
v. 36. Now, an omer is the tenth part of an ephah, as the author adds by way of explanation, an ephah at that time measuring almost three and one-fourth pecks. This closes the account concerning the manna for the present. The entire story reminds us of the gracious providence of God, which takes care of all our needs and bids us not to worry about the morrow, Mat 6:34. If we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then all the things which we need for this life will be added unto us.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v33 Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah
Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah
An omer and an ephah are both containers for measuring volume. The original readers would have known how much an ephah was. This sentence would help them know how much an omer was. For languages that do not use fractions, this can be reworded. AT: "Now ten omers equal one ephah" (See: Biblical Volume and Fractions)
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an omer
"two liters" (See: Biblical Volume)
translationWords
Aaron
generation
ark of the covenant
Canaan
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v32 16:32-36 The container of manna was to be preserved…
16:32-36 The container of manna was to be preserved as a reminder of God’s providential care for his people. He is powerful and deeply caring. Not only can he supply our needs, he wants to do so.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.