What Is It?: Exodus 15:22-16:36

Exodus 15:22-16:36: "15:22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, 'What shall we drink?' 25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them, 26 and said, 'If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.' 27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.

"16:1 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. 2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 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.' 4 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. 5 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.' 6 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. 7 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?' 8 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.' 9 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, 'Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, "Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your complaints."' 10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 'I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, "At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God."' 13 So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, 'What is it?' For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, 'This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: "Let every man gather it according to each one's need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent."' 17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. 18 So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one's need. 19 And Moses said, 'Let no one leave any of it till morning.' 20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted. 22 And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 Then he said to them, 'This is what the LORD has said: "Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning."' 24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. 25 Then Moses said, 'Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none.' 27 Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. 28 And the LORD said to Moses, 'How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? 29 See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.' 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. 31 And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32 Then Moses said, 'This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: "Fill an omer with it, to be kept for 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."' 33 And Moses said to Aaron, 'Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.' 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35 And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah."

What is it? It is manna. Of course this is what "manna" means, "what is it?" We learn from this pericope that for forty years this is what the Israelites ate. There was not much variety in their diet. This text comes to us as we prepare for the fast. It is a reminder to us who may complain about having to fast, or give up certain food items, that for forty years the Israelites ate nothing but something that tasted like bread made with honey. It probably tasted good, but even after forty days it would seem boring, not to mention forty years. Of course, for us, the fast is something regulated by Christian freedom, that is, one can fast has ascetic as one wants, or not at all. However, this text serves as an encouragement to those who desire to fast. For consider what the Israelites ate for forty years, but also consider the amount. They were allowed an omer a day of manna. Now, we are told an omer is 1/10 of an ephah. An ephah is equal to a bath. A bath was about 6 gallons or, more precisely, 22 liters. That means that an omer, being 1/10 of an ephah, would be 2.2 liters, or about 2 quarts. If one considers there are three meals in a day, that would work out to about a little over 21 ounces of manna per meal. That works out to about 1 2/3 lb. of food per meal. Not knowing how many ounces the average American meal is, that seems like a pretty substantial amount. So, they were not going hungry, but they could only eat one thing for forty years.

In the Early Christian Church, during the time of Lent, the time leading up to Easter, Christians were encouraged to go without food or drink, except water, for forty days. These forty days represented two things, one, the sojourn of the Israelites for forty years in the wilderness, in which they fasted by necessity. And, two, the fasting of our Lord Jesus for forty days in the wilderness, in which He neither ate nor drank anything, but water, for forty days and nights, being tempted by the devil. This fasting of our Lord, also represented the fasting of the Israelites for forty years. Therefore, our Lord Jesus placed Himself into the condition of His people, taking on their burdens.

In this gift of manna from our Lord God, we also see our Lord God providing another meal for His people. Before the manna, He sent quail, and so in the evening before the manna was given, they got to eat the meat of quail. The quail and the bread is a picture of the Lord's Supper, for in that meal there is both flesh and bread. And in the flesh is blood, therefore, we have prefigured the meal that our Lord Jesus instituted for us Christians to eat and drink. This of course, also directs our eyes to the cross, where our Lord won for us forgiveness, life and salvation. The gifts that He bestows through this Blessed Sacrament.

This is why the book of Exodus is read during this time of Pre-Lent, for it prepares us for the fast, and directs our eyes to the meal that was given to us, on account of our Lord's death and burial, which gives us forgiveness of sins. And as we fast, as a spiritual exercise of our humility over our sin, which we reflect upon during Lent, we are prepared to hear of the cross of our Lord, for it is in the cross where our sins are destroyed, and it is in the cross where our fasting ends, for on the third day after His cross He rose again to eternal life, and we too, are granted this eternal life by Him. Therefore during Easter, there has never been fasting until after Pentecost, in the whole of the history of the Church. This is a witness to our resurrection from the dead, which our Lord won for us by His resurrection.

Therefore, during this coming Lenten season, as we fast and reflect upon our sins, humbling ourselves before our Lord God, let us also remember the sojourn of the Israelites in the wilderness, and of our Lord Jesus who also sojourned in the wilderness after His Holy Baptism. For all Christians are only sojourning in this life, heading towards the promised land. Therefore, in the fast we learn to shed the props of this life, and look to, and hope in the eternal life that waits us.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas