February 23, 2025
Exodus 16:1-36
“Grumbling and Grace”
Service Overview: Exodus 16:1-36 highlights God’s faithful provision through manna and quail in the wilderness, despite Israel’s grumbling. In this account, God meets their needs and attempts to teach the Israelites to depend on him alone. This text challenges its hearers us to trust God, embrace His sufficiency, and cultivate gratitude over grumbling as we journey through life’s wilderness seasons.
Memory Verse for the Week:
Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’ (John 6:35)
Background, Contextual, and Technical Insights:
- This section of Exodus reports the next stage of the Israelites’ trek away from Egypt. Their journey into the Sinai Peninsula brings them into an arid region where fresh water and food are not readily available. As they journey by stages through this region, God uses the harsh conditions to train the people to trust and obey him. By presenting the people with various challenges, God intentionally prepares them so that they will understand the consequences of entering into a covenant relationship with him at Mount Sinai. (T. Desmond Alexander, Exodus, 133)
- The leading of Israel into the Wilderness of Sin brings out the strength of Moses’ faith. Here, for the first time, the full privation of desert life stared the people fully in the face. Every step they took was now leading them farther away from the inhabited countries and conducting them deeper into the land of desolation and death. The isolation of the wilderness was complete, and the courage and faith of their leader in bringing a multitude of at least two million people into such a howling waste, demonstrates his firm confidence in the Lord God. (Arthur Pink, Gleanings in Exodus, 4101)
- The wilderness of Sin lay on the eastern shore of the Red Sea and must not be confused with the wilderness of Zin that lay south of Palestine and east of Edom (Num. 13:21; 33:11–12). The word Sin should not be interpreted in its English meaning, as though Israel were traveling through a “sinful” place. The word Sin is related to Sinai, but the meaning is uncertain. (Warren Wiersbe, Be Delivered: Exodus, 94)
- The Hebrew term “Sin” is unrelated to the English word “sin.” This is one of seven wildernesses mentioned in connection with the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Canaan. They probably arrive at this location two and a half months (or 70 days—28+28+14) after the Passover. (T. Desmond Alexander, Exodus, 135)
- An omer was a Hebrew dry measure equivalent to about two quarts. The manna was especially nutritious because eating it sustained an adult for a day’s march in the wilderness. (Warren Wiersbe, Be Delivered: Exodus, 97)
Why was the grumbling of the Israelites such a horrible offense to God?
- Because their grumbling was a sure sign they thought they knew better than God.
(vv. 2-3 | Job 38:4-5; Ps. 147:5; Is. 55:8-9; Jer. 10:12; Rom. 11:33; 1 Cor. 1:25; 2:1)
Again they grumble (v 2, 7-8). “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat round 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” (v 3). It’s a stinging complaint—a horrendous claim. They are saying that they were better off in Egypt—that the exodus has actually made things worse. The people are effectively telling God, “We wish you hadn’t bothered rescuing us. We wish you’d left us as we were.” (Tim Chester, Exodus for You, 117)
There is also an element of challenge to God, demanding that he prove his worth all over again: if, against all probabilities, he gets us out of this mess, then we will consider believing, but in the meantime we will suspend both faith and obedience. For these reasons ‘testing’ – or in the older translations ‘tempting’ – God is deeply sinful. (J. Alec Motyer, The Message of Exodus, 173)
- Because their grumbling forced a fixation on the problem, not the problem Solver.
(v. 3 | Psalm 78:17-19; 95:8-9; Prov. 17:14; Mat. 4:7; 2 Cor. 7:1; Phil. 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7)
Complaining doesn’t solve problems, and if we try to run away from a difficult situation (“Back to Egypt!”), we’ll meet the same problems in the new place and still have to solve them. Of course, the heart of every problem is the problem in the heart, and the hearts of many of the Jews were not right with God. They remembered the food they ate in Egypt but forgot the wonders God had performed (Ps. 106:7), and some of them had begun to worship the gods of Egypt that Jehovah had humiliated and judged (Josh. 24:14; Ezek. 20:6–9; 23:8). Imagine worshipping idols and then complaining to God about your problems! (Wiersbe, Exodus, 93)
- Because their grumbling revealed a fundamental distrust in God and the leaders He ordained to lead them.
(vv. 6-7 | Psalm 78:17-19; Acts 7:51; 1 Corinthians 10:9-10; Hebrews 3:8-9; 3:12-13; 13:17; James 5:9; Jude 1:16)
The attitude that we take toward our difficulties determines which direction life will go, for what life does to us depends on what life finds in us. If we trust God and obey His Word, we’ll pass the test and grow, but if in unbelief we complain and disobey the Lord, we’ll fail the test and remain immature (James 1:12–18; Heb. 12:1–11). (Warren Wiersbe, Be Delivered: Exodus, 92)
As long as a man is alive and out of hell, he cannot have any cause to complain. (C. H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon at His Best, 129)
Conclusion… How does this encounter challenge us when it comes to our own proclivity to grumble?
- Stay humble — Remind yourself that God knows how to do his job.
(Ps. 95:8-9; Prov. 3:5-6; Isaiah 45:9; John 16:33; Romans 8:28; Philippians 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7)
chapters 13–18, taken as a visual aid of the pilgrim path of the redeemed, forewarn us that our faith will never remain untested, assure us that in the midst of troubles and trials that seem meaningless there are deep purposes of God at work, and call us to the obedience of faith. They also illustrate the comforting truth of a God of providential care, foreseeing our needs, planning ahead for our welfare, and awaiting us with his solutions and sufficiency. In a word, the trials of the pathway may take us by surprise, but never him. (J. Alec Motyer, The Message of Exodus, 175)
If you can’t rest—if you’re always busy with your work or your family or your ministry—it is because you’re not trusting God. You’re trying to secure your own future or create your own identity or provide your own justification. You can make excuses, but that’s all they are—excuses. (Tim Chester, Exodus for You, 118)
- Look up — When tempted to grumble or when grumblers abound.
(Proverbs 17:14; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Philippians 2:14-15; 4:8; 2 Timothy 31-5; Titus 3:10; Hebrews 4:11)
We think of grumbling as something other people do. What we do is make justified complaints or offer constructive criticism, but we don’t grumble. We make ourselves the exception—but the reality is that most of us grumble and some of us grumble most of the time. (Tim Chester, Exodus for You, 14)
- Reframe — Viewing hardship as opportunity for faith development.
(Deut. 8:2; John 16:33; Romans 8:28; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; James 1:2-3)
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. (Phillip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word: Exodus, 424)
When circumstances are difficult, we’re prone to pray, “Lord, how can I get out of this?” when we ought to be praying, “Lord, what can I get out of this?” (Warren Wiersbe, Be Delivered: Exodus, 95)
The Lord tests us to encourage spiritual growth and bring out the best in us, but the Devil tempts us to bring out the worst in us and to encourage spiritual immaturity. (Warren Wiersbe, Be Delivered: Exodus, 92)
Gospel Connection…
Just as God provided manna to sustain Israel physically, He sent Jesus, the Bread of Life, to satisfy our deepest spiritual need. The manna was temporary, but Christ offers eternal life to all who trust in Him.
(Matthew 4:4; John 3:16; 6:32-35; 6:47-50; 6:50-71; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 10:17)
The day after He fed more than five thousand people with five barley loaves and two small fish, Jesus preached a sermon about “the bread of life” to a crowd in the synagogue in Capernaum. They wanted Him to prove He was the Messiah by duplicating the miracle of the manna (vv. 30–31), but instead, He declared that He was “the true bread” that came down from heaven. The Old Testament manna was a type or picture of God’s Son, who came to give Himself as the Bread of Life for hungry sinners. (Warren Wiersbe, Be Delivered: Exodus, 96)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- The Israelites remembered the good but not the hardship of Egypt. How can believers keep a proper perspective about the past and the present?
- What is the difference between the Lord’s testing and the Devil’s tempting?
- To tempt God means to deliberately adopt a disobedient posture and dare Him to do anything about it. How did the Israelites do this and how might someone do this today?
- What challenging experiences are you now facing that will, hopefully, help you to mature and glorify God?
- Where might God be testing you for obedience as He tested the Israelites with the instructions about manna?
Quotes to note…
We can all too easily think of grumbling as harmless. But grumbling—all grumbling, including yours—is toxic. It’s toxic for two reasons: First, grumbling grows because it spreads to others. It’s infectious. Think how those grumbling conversations unfold. We spread discontent. We reinforce one another’s grumbles. This is why it’s so important to cut it off at the root. We need to challenge one another when we grumble. We need to say, “Stop. Don’t talk to me about it. Go and talk to the person concerned” or “Go and talk to God, since he’s sent the circumstance about which you are concerned.” (Tim Chester, Exodus, 120)
Israel’s attitude is a warning against the great sin of complaining. It is always wrong to make the worst of things or to make baseless accusations against good people. But when the Israelites complained to Moses, what they were really doing was grumbling against God. “They continued to sin against him,” wrote the psalmist, “rebelling in the desert against the Most High” (Ps. 78:17). Moses and Aaron recognized this. So rather than getting defensive, they helped the people see what they were really doing: “Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” “Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD” (Exod. 16:7b, 8b). (Phillip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word: Exodus, 424)
On the whole, it is in our natures to be provident, to lay up today what we will need tomorrow, and, equally on the whole, Scripture commends this (Prov. 6:6–8; 10:5; 20:4; 24:30–34). But in the case of the manna, the way in which it was sent to the people required them rather to rest on the assurance that God would provide and to gather each day only what was sufficient for that day (4, 18). To gather enough for the next day was neither allowed nor possible (19–20), and this arrangement was specifically a test of obedience (4). But into this scheme the Sabbath intruded, with its prohibition of work, and this meant that there could be no gathering of manna. Again, there was a command to obey (5), and the Lord who delights in an obedient people himself intervened to make obedience possible in this matter (23–24). The Lord safeguards what he has appointed. (J. Alec Motyer, The Message of Exodus, 175)
Uppermost in the minds of the Israelites wasn’t how to please God but “What shall we eat?” and “What shall we drink?” According to Jesus, these questions reveal an anxious heart, not a trusting heart (Matt. 6:21, 25–33), and this can lead to all kinds of problems. (Warren Wiersbe, Be Delivered: Exodus, 91)
(19–21) No one is to keep any of it until morning. Those who store manna overnight do not believe that God will provide fresh manna each day. Their action springs from a lack of confidence in him. (T. Desmond Alexander, Exodus, 136)
The Bible’s answers to the question ‘Why?’ are of a different order. They are true explanations, but they invite us not to think in terms of human logic, but to identify ourselves with God’s purposes for us and to trust the divine wisdom which has decreed this or that particular twist in our pathway. (J. Alec Motyer, The Message of Exodus, 170)