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| 1 And they journeyed from Elim, and the whole assembly of the children of Israel came into the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure out of the land of Egypt. |
Wilderness of Sin – Typical of the Christian journey through the wilderness of sin to the heavenly Canaan. A221
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| 2 And the whole assembly of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness. |
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| 3 And the children of Israel said to them, Would that we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we ate bread to the full; for ye have brought us out into this wilderness, to kill this whole congregation with hunger! |
The flesh pots – The world's theories. R5307:1
Bread to the full – How apt are all to remember the pleasures of the sinful condition and to forget its burdens and disappointments. R3036:3
With hunger – Having learned of their need they were able to appreciate the provision and its miraculous source. So with spiritual Israelites, they are permitted to feel their needs, and to ask, that they may receive. R3036:1
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| 4 Then said Jehovah to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather the daily need on its day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not. |
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| 5 And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare what they have brought in; and it shall be twice as much as they shall gather daily. |
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| 6 And Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, In the evening, then shall ye know that Jehovah has brought you out from the land of Egypt; |
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| 7 and in the morning, then shall ye see the glory of Jehovah; for he has heard your murmurings against Jehovah; --and what are we, that ye murmur against us? |
What are we – Spiritual Israelites are to keep in mind that the real leader is the Lord and not men. R3036:2
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| 8 And Moses said, When Jehovah gives you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for Jehovah hears your murmurings which ye murmur against him...and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against Jehovah. |
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| 9 And Moses spoke to Aaron, Say to all the assembly of the children of Israel, Come near into the presence of Jehovah; for he has heard your murmurings. |
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| 10 And it came to pass, when Aaron spoke to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, that they turned toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of Jehovah appeared in the cloud. |
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| 11 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, |
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| 12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak to them, saying, Between the two evenings ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God. |
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| 13 And it came to pass in the evening, that quails came up, and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay round the camp. |
Quails came up – In the spring. They often come in great flocks and, wearied with their long flight across the water, fly low, and thus are easily caught. R4012:3, R3036:4
Corresponding to the invasion of Darwinism among God's people. Evolution gives the people worldly doctrines for religious food. R5267:3*
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| 14 And when the dew that lay round it was gone up, behold, on the face of the wilderness there was something fine, granular, fine as hoar-frost, on the ground. |
A small round thing – Evidently deposited in, or from, the dew by some power of God working in harmony with the natural laws of chemistry not yet thoroughly understood. R3036:4
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| 15 And the children of Israel saw it, and said one to another, What is it? for they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, This is the bread which Jehovah has given you to eat. |
It is manna – Nothing of the kind was known to the Israelites, and they asked, "What is it?" and this became its name--"What is it?"--or, "that manna." R5279:4
A symbol of our Lord's flesh, the bread from heaven. B130; T122; R5279:4
The grains were small and white, required painstaking labor to gather, and had to be boiled or baked before using. R3036:4
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| 16 This is the thing which Jehovah has commanded: Gather of it every man according to what he can eat, an omer a poll, according to the number of your persons: ye shall take every man for those that are in his tent. |
Gather of it – To obtain the bread from heaven requires some effort on the part of him who would partake. R3036:6, R5279:4
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| 17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some much, some little. |
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| 18 And they measured with the omer: then he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little wanted nothing: they had gathered every man according to the measure of his eating. |
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| 19 And Moses said to them, Let no man leave any of it until the morning. |
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| 20 But they did not hearken to Moses; and some men left of it until the morning; then worms bred in it and it stank. And Moses was wroth with them. |
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| 21 And they gathered it every morning, every man as much as he could eat; and when the sun became hot, it melted. |
Every morning – So it will be necessary for the world ever to seek supplies of life and grace if they would live everlastingly. T123
Our own supply of grace in Christ needs to be gathered daily; it will not keep over for succeeding days. R4012:5
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| 22 And it came to pass on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one; and all the princes of the assembly came and told Moses. |
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| 23 And he said to them, This is what Jehovah has said: To-morrow is the rest, the holy sabbath, of Jehovah: bake what ye will bake, and cook what ye will cook; and lay up for yourselves all that remains over, to be kept for the morning. |
To morrow is the rest – That the Sabbath was something new to the Israelites is evident by its explanation to them. R971:6
The holy sabbath – Type of the Millennial age. B40
There was no mention of the keeping of a sabbath prior to Israel's arriving at the Wilderness of Sin, of which Mt. Sinai is the center. R3039:2
Inaugurated as a memorial of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, in which they had no rest from their taskmasters. R1731:2
The Sabbath day was instituted about two weeks before the formal giving of the Law. R1731:2
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| 24 And they laid it up for the morning, as Moses had commanded; and it did not stink, neither was there any worm in it. |
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| 25 And Moses said, Eat it to-day; for to-day is sabbath to Jehovah: to-day ye shall not find it in the field. |
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| 26 Six days shall ye gather it; but on the seventh day is sabbath: on it there shall be none. |
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| 27 And it came to pass on the seventh day that there went out some from the people to gather it, and they found none. |
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| 28 And Jehovah said to Moses, How long do ye refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? |
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| 29 See, for Jehovah hath given you the sabbath; therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread for two days. Abide every man in his place: let no man go from his place on the seventh day. |
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| 30 And the people rested on the seventh day. |
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| 31 And the house of Israel called its name Manna; and it was like coriander-seed, white; and the taste of it was like cake with honey. |
Wafers made with honey – Suggesting that the wafers on the Day of Atonement may have had a mixture of honey; but the prohibition of the burning of honey may imply otherwise. R4045:4
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| 32 And Moses said, This is the thing which Jehovah has commanded: Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread that I gave you to eat in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt. |
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| 33 And Moses said to Aaron, Take a pot, and put in it an omer full of manna, and deposit it before Jehovah, to be kept for your generations. |
To be kept – Symbolizing that our Lord's flesh did not see corruption and is possibly preserved as an everlasting testimony of infinite love and perfect obedience. B130
Illustrating the immortal, incorruptible condition promised to all members of the Church. "To him that overcometh will I grant to eat of the hidden manna." (Rev. 2:17) T122
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| 34 As Jehovah had commanded Moses, so Aaron deposited it before the Testimony, to be kept. |
To be kept – In the Ark of the covenant. T121
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| 35 And the children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came into an inhabited land: they ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. |
Forty years – Just as at the first advent they rejected him who was the antitype of Moses and Aaron and therefore did not enter into rest; instead, another long and wearisome journey in the wilderness for nearly 1900 years. R3064:4
The land of Canaan – Representing the Millennial Kingdom condition. R3064:3
Representing the rest promised to God's children who hear his call: "Come unto me, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28) Have we the faith to ente T25
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| 36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah. |
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