In yesterday's passage the people said to Moses and Aaron, "You have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." In grumbling against these two men the people are grumbling against the Lord. In today's study the Lord makes clear His intentions to provide for the Israelites in the desert.
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow My instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.'" (Exodus 16:4-5) I'm going to say something here that I've said many times before and will probably say many times again: the test is for the student, not the teacher. Tests are intended for the benefit of the student to demonstrate how much or how little progress the student is making. If a student fails a pop quiz then he knows he hasn't been paying much attention in class lately. If he passes but only by the skin of his teeth then he knows he needs to work at least a little harder. If he passes with flying colors then he knows he's devoting the proper amount of time to his coursework. Whether or not the Israelites are able to follow the Lord's instructions regarding the gathering of the bread is intended to show them where they currently stand in their faith. If they have enough faith in the Lord to believe He'll continue to supply food each day, they will only gather as much as they need for each day except on the day before the Sabbath when they'll need to gather enough for two days. If they don't yet trust Him to provide what they need each day, they'll take more than they need.
To use a very recent example of taking more than a person needs, the overgathering and hoarding of things from the grocery store during the Covid-19 pandemic displays a lack of faith in the Lord. On the surface this hoarding may appear to be only a lack of faith in one's fellow man or a lack of confidence in the food supply chain, but at heart it's saying, "God might let me run out of food." I just want to tell you that if God could rain down bread from heaven for the Israelites in the desert then He can certainly supply us with food from our modern and efficient food chain. As far as that goes, God can still rain down bread from heaven if that's what it takes to keep us fed!
Moses and Aaron call the people together. "So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, 'In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because He has heard your grumbling against Him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?'" (Exodus 16:6-7) These two men say, "The Lord is going to supply food for you both morning and evening. If there are any doubts in your minds that it was Almighty God who delivered you from Egypt---the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob---then surely what He's about to do will be all the proof you need to place your trust in Him. Who else but the Lord could do such things as you have already seen? No one; there is no other God! And this God has heard you grumbling against Him and accusing Him of bringing you into the desert to die. Yes, Aaron and I know your complaints were spoken toward us but the one you were really complaining against was God, for who are Aaron and I? Were we the ones who rescued you from Egypt and who parted the Red Sea for you? Of course not; we are mere men! It was God who brought you this far and it was God against whom you grumbled. Prepare yourselves to behold the glorious things He is about to do!"
"Moses also said, 'You will know that it was the Lord when He gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because He has heard your grumbling against Him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us but against the Lord.'" (Exodus 16:8) The people's problem isn't with Moses and Aaron, not really. Naturally the people know Moses and Aaron aren't capable of obtaining enough food to feed possibly as many as 2,000,000 in the wilderness. But these two men are the visible human spokespersons for the Lord, and since the people can't see God face to face they take out their fears and frustrations on Moses and Aaron.
"Then Moses told Aaron, 'Say to the entire Israelite community, 'Come before the Lord, for He has heard your grumbling.' While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud." (Exodus 16:9-10) Aaron will later become the first high priest of Israel and he is already taking on the role of chief spiritual adviser. This is why Moses turns the meeting over to him in verses 9 and 10. We don't know what Aaron says to the assembly but I like to think he preaches a sermon on faith. While he's still speaking, the glory of the Lord appears in the pillar of cloud that is always visible to the people during the daytime. (You'll recall that the constant presence of the Lord with the people was manifested in a pillar of cloud in the daytime and a pillar of fire in the nighttime.) The Lord is doing everything possible to help the people's faith in Him grow and flourish, and in this moment while Aaron preaches a sermon the Lord provides them with an extra and very visible proof of His presence.
If we want to look at it this way, the Lord is adding His "amen" to Aaron's message. If Aaron is saying, "The Lord is with us and will faithfully provide everything we need," the appearance of the glory of the Lord in the cloud is Him saying, "Yes, amen! I am with you and will help you." The Lord does a similar thing in our own day when we are sitting in church and the pastor is preaching from the Bible and suddenly our spirits are overwhelmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit who is saying to our hearts, "Yes, amen! This is the truth! You can believe what the Holy Bible is saying and what the pastor is saying about the Lord. I am testifying to the truth of what is being said and that is why you feel My presence so strongly in this moment."
In tomorrow's passage the Lord is going to do exactly what He's said He's going to do. Many of the people will follow His instructions regarding the gathering of the food. Some will not. This test will show each person where he stands in regard to the strength of his faith at this time.
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