Exodus 16:1–8 (NKJV)

And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt. And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we, that you complain against us?” Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.”

This sounds stupid, but it’s really just primitive and immature. The people of Israel are not used to knowing the LORD, or serving the LORD, or being delivered by the LORD. They’re getting tastes of these things (feasts!) but old habits die hard and they don’t have a believer’s perspective.

So, God decides to let them see the hand of the LORD daily. He will feed them supernaturally each day. At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt. And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD.

But this won’t work. Growing up in Egypt has so poisoned them that they just can’t seem to believe. God will end up waiting until they’re all dead (except for Joshua and Caleb).

Then He will bring a new generation into the Promised Land.

My old habits die hard too. I can’t shake the belief that clever arguments can win someone to Christ. This passage shows the folly of that. Our role in evangelism is limited.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have a commitment to excellence in trying to win people over. It’s just that we need to realize that we’re totally dependent. We want to help, and we get excited. That interferes with our listening.

We need to relax enough to hear the LORD’s direction. That takes an advanced skill – patience.

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies