Exodus 16:21

19 And Moses said, “Let no one ^aleave any of it till morning.”

20 Notwithstanding they did not¹ 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 ^aa 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 ^astink, 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 ^aSix days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, 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 ^ado 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 name¹ Manna. And ^ait 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.’ ”

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Exodus 16:21 Mean?

Exodus 16:21

When did the Israelites gather manna? Exodus 16:21 shows that they had to gather their daily bread first thing in the morning, before the sun got hot, or their opportunity literally melted away. God's bread is best gathered early in the day, when we first arise, when we and the manna are at its freshest. This sounds like "seek first the kingdom of God. . . "! Sometimes, we intend to study later in the day, or in the evening, and what happens? Other things interfere and crowd out the Word of God—and an opportunity to show God He has first place in our life simply melts away, just like manna allowed to sit in the heat of the sun.

In this regard, fathers and mothers should teach their children by example to help them learn this habit. Teach them that the best time to study and pray is right after waking up. Ask them to make their beds and immediately kneel to talk to and worship their Father in heaven.

None of this works unless we get up in time to put God first, and that will not happen unless we go to bed early enough! To show God we are serious about putting Him first in our lives, perhaps we need to quit doing the things that eat up our time. God will not just slide into first place. We must consciously put Him there. We must make this decision every day of our lives. God will not accept second or third place in our lives.

Staff
Have You Had Your Manna Today?

**Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Exodus 16:21:**

Exodus 16:21
Exodus 31:12-17

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