I am the LORD your God [Exodus 16]
11And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
12"I have heard the grumblings of the sons 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.'"
13So it came about at evening that the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
The people of Israel had been in the desert for a month and a half when the entire congregation of people grumbled at Moses and Aaron. The Hebrew definition for grumble is to stop, be obstinate and to complain. God used every opportunity to test them to see if they would walk in His instruction (Ex. 16:4). The people kept failing the tests and even with God's clear instructions through Moses and Aaron, some of the people still did not listen and obey them. However, God kept giving and giving and giving while they could only receive for themselves what God gave. God miraculously gave them what they needed so that they would know that He was their Lord and God.
When God gives something to someone who has nothing to offer Him, that is the definition of grace in the Old Testament. In Exodus 16, God graced and graced and graced the obstinate and complaining, disobedient people.
God's grace
v. 4 -Rained bread from heaven
v. 4 gave tests for them so they could see if they would obey (God already knew if they would)
v. 5 gave them freedom from Egyptian slavery
v. 7 showed them His glory
v. 9 gave them his listening ear and responded to their complaints
v. 10 manifest Himself to them as the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud
v. 13 gave them quails in the evening
v. 15 gave them the bread in the mornings
v. 17 gave each of them just the right amount to satisfy them
v. 19 gave them instructions for collecting bread
v. 29 gave them the sabbath rest
v. 33 gave them a way to remember the gift of the bread
v. 35 gave the the bread for 40 years until they reached the border of the land of Canaan
We praise you that You are the God of abundant and amazing grace. Keep us looking to You and receiving the grace You have for us. Cause us to know that You are the Lord our God.
Beth Warlick, 5/6/2010