Êxodo 16

Êxodo 16

Morgan - The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured. Ex. 16.2. What a startling change from the song of yesterday! Therein the human heart is revealed. It seems incredible that so soon they should have descended from the height of glorious song, to the level of mean murmuring. Yet so it was, and so often still it is. What had happened? Had God changed? Was He not still the glorious King? Or had they encountered some enemy more powerful than Pharaoh, some obstacle more impossible to overcome than the sea? No, none of these things had happened. They were hungry! That was all. It is very mean and unworthy. Had they forgotten God? No, not wholly, but they were allowing the near, and the trivial, to make them for the moment unmindful of Him. This is a very revealing story. Again and again, indeed almost invariably, when the people of God are found murmuring, it is over some experience through which they are called to pass, which is of the most trivial nature by comparison with the great things of life. This kind of thing spreads. Notice that the whole congregation joined in the unworthy business. Unanimity is not always proof of wisdom or of rightness. In an hour when the prevailing mood is that of dissatisfaction, it is a good thing if some lonely singer celebrates the Lord in song. We may at least be perfectly assured that unanimous murmuring, whenever we hear it, is wholly wrong. Therefore let each one refuse to join therein. If singing is impossible, let there at least be silence. That is always better than murmuring. The sequel shows how unnecessary the murmuring was. It always is. Question: "What is the Wilderness of Sin?" Answer: The Wilderness of Sin is a dry, sandy, wasteland in the southwestern part of the Sinai Peninsula—assuming that’s where Mount Sinai is located. The people of Israel entered the Wilderness of Sin not long after leaving Egypt on their journey to the Promised Land (Exodus 16:1). The Wilderness of Sin is one of six wildernesses through which the Israelites traveled on their way to Canaan. The wildernesses include Shur, Etham, Sin, Sinai, Paran, and Zin. The Wilderness of Sin is sometimes confused with the Wilderness of Zin, a region on the northwestern side of the Sinai Peninsula. The Israelites traversed the Wilderness of Sin at the beginning of the exodus, arriving at the Wilderness of Sin “on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt” (Exodus 16:1). They did not enter the Wilderness of Zin until a year later. Located between the oasis of Elim and Mount Sinai, the Wilderness of Sin is mentioned only four times in the Bible, all in connection with the exodus from Egypt. Immediately upon arrival in the desolate Wilderness of Sin, the whole community of Israelites began to grumble and complain to Moses and Aaron about the lack of food: “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death” (Exodus 16:3). God heard their murmurings, for it was in the Wilderness of Sin that He first provided “bread from heaven” in the form of manna. The manna appeared each morning after the dew dried as “thin flakes like frost on the ground” (Exodus 16:14). It was white and tasted like coriander seed (verse 31). Each person was to gather just what he or she needed for that day and a double portion on the day before the Sabbath (verses 16, 22). The manna could be baked into cakes or boiled in pots (verse 23). God also sent the Israelites quail in the Wilderness of Sin (verses 12–13). In Exodus 17:1, the people of Israel set out from the Wilderness of Sin in stages, arriving next in Rephidim, where there was no water to drink. The people complained again, and God brought water from the rock (verses 2–7). The only other mention of the Wilderness of Sin is in the book of Numbers as part of the journal Moses kept detailing the Israelite journey from Egypt to their campsite in Moab (Numbers 33:11–12). The Wilderness of Sin is also called the Desert of Sin. The name Sin has no relation to the English word sin. It is merely the name of the region, although its similarity to the name Sinai and its proximity to Sinai suggest a possible connection. The area may have derived its name from the ancient moon god Sin who was worshiped by desert dwellers. (Source: Gotquestions.org) Exodus 16:3 The sons of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the LORD'S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." Currid -= And the children of Israel said to them, ‘Would that we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full—because you have brought us forth to this wilderness to kill all this assembly with hunger.’ NET Exodus 16:3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this desert to kill this whole assembly with hunger!" NLT Exodus 16:3 "If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt," they moaned. "There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death." KJV Exodus 16:3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Would - Nu 20:3-5 De 28:67 Jos 7:7 2Sa 18:33 La 4:9 Ac 26:29 1Co 4:8 2Co 11:1 we had - Nu 11:15 14:2 Job 3:1,10,20 Jer 20:14-18 Jon 4:8,9 pots of meat - Ex 2:23 Nu 11:4,5 to kill - Ex 5:21 17:3 Nu 16:13,41 hunger - De 8:3 Jer 2:6 La 4:9 Exodus 16 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries MOSES AGAIN CHARGED WITH INTENT TO MURDER Moses had killed an Egyptians and was then accused of intent to murder a fellow Hebrew in Ex 2:14+, which resulted in him fleeing Egypt and spending 40 years as a shepherd. Now he is accused of murder again by his own people. Ryken - In verse 3 they complained about their meal plan. But what seems to have come first was the complaining itself, evidence of a grumbling spirit. Our complaints really are never caused by our outward circumstances. Instead they reveal the inward condition of our hearts. The Scripture says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). Our joy in the Lord should not be circumstantial but fundamental. (Ibid) The sons of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the LORD'S hand in the land of Egypt - NLT = "If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt," they moaned." What are they saying? It would have been better if we had died in Egypt!!! At least we would have died well-fed! Currid - The very hand that had destroyed the Egyptians (Ex 15:6, 12 - ED: THEY HAD JUST SUNG ABOUT HIS POWERFUL HAND DELIVERING AND NOW WANT TO DIE BY IT!) and that had delivered Israel is now blamed because it did not destroy Israel! Kaiser - Suddenly Egypt seemed all peaches and cream (actually pots of meat and all you could eat—in their idiom) rather than bondage and slave drivers. With a twisted piety and a condescending reference to Yahweh’s name, the Israelites pretended that they would have preferred being victims at God’s hand in Egypt to being the recipients of so many miracles—and all this hardship. (EBC) Steven