God's people were in the desert. They were hungry, and they grumbled. God said, I will rain bread from the sky for you.
That evening, birds called quail came, and the people had meat. In the morning, there was something white and flaky on the ground. The people said, What is it? Moses said, It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat. They called it manna. It tasted like wafers with honey.
God said to gather just enough for each day. On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much. The seventh day was a day of rest. God fed His people with manna for forty years!
Memory Verse
“When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat.”
Exodus 16:15 (WEB)
Show What You Know
Circle the right answer, or write it on the lines.
Why did the people grumble?
They were hungryForty yearsWafers with honey
What birds came in the evening?
What is it?QuailThey were hungry
What did the people say when they saw the manna?
What is it?They were hungryQuail
What did manna taste like?
QuailWafers with honeyWhat is it?
How long did God feed them with manna?
What is it?Forty yearsWafers with honey
Word Search
Find and circle each word. Words go across and down.
MORNING
BASKET
BREAD
MANNA
BIRDS
BIRD
REST
FOOD
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for today's Bible story. Help me to . Amen.
In the Wilderness of Sin, the whole congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron: We wish that we had died by Yahweh's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread. Yahweh said, Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you. The people were to gather a day's portion every day, so God could test whether they would walk in his law. On the sixth day they would gather twice as much.
Moses said, Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh. The glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud. In the evening quail covered the camp. In the morning, when the dew lifted, there was a small round thing, as small as frost on the ground. They said, What is it? Moses said, It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat. Each gathered as much as he needed; he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack.
Moses said, Let no one leave of it until the morning. Some did, and it bred worms and stank. On the sixth day they gathered twice as much, and what was kept for the Sabbath did not spoil. Some went out on the seventh day and found none. So the people rested on the seventh day. They called it Manna; it was like coriander seed, white, tasting like wafers with honey. An omer of it was kept for future generations. Israel ate manna forty years.
Memory Verse
“Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.”
Exodus 16:4 (WEB)
Answer the Questions
What did the people wish when they murmured?
Why did God give a day's portion each day?
Who were the murmurings really against?
What happened to manna kept overnight on ordinary days?
What was different about the Sabbath?
Story Order
Write what happened in each box.
1
2
3
4
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for today's Bible story. Help me to . Amen.
Israel grumbled even after God had rescued them. Moses told them their complaints were really against God. Grumbling shows we doubt God's goodness.
God gave manna one day at a time. The people had to trust Him every morning. Those who tried to store extra found it spoiled. God wanted them to depend on Him daily.
God also gave the Sabbath, a day of rest. In the New Testament, Jesus teaches his followers to ask God for daily bread, and he calls himself the bread of life (John 6:35).
Show What You Know
Who were Israel's complaints really against?
Why did God give manna one day at a time?
What happened when people stored extra?
What did Jesus call Himself in John 6:35?
Word Bank Fill-In
Use the word bank to fill in each blank.
Godmannarestbreadmorning
Israel grumbled even after had rescued them.
God gave one day at a time.
The people had to trust Him every .
God also gave the Sabbath, a day of .
In the New Testament, Jesus teaches his followers to ask God for daily , and he calls himself the bread of life (John 6:35).
Think About It
How can you trust God one day at a time?
Jesus is the bread of life. How does He satisfy you more than food?
Memory Verse
“When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat.”
Exodus 16:15 (WEB)
Copy It
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for today's Bible story. Help me to . Amen.
About a month after leaving Egypt, the people complain that slavery with food was better than freedom in the wilderness. Their memory of Egypt has become distorted. Moses explains that their grumbling is aimed at God. Still, God responds with grace and with a test: daily manna would show whether they would walk in my law.
The manna teaches daily dependence. Everyone had enough: He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack, a verse Paul uses to encourage generosity (2 Corinthians 8:15). Hoarding failed; it bred worms. The Sabbath pattern also appears here, before the Ten Commandments are given at Sinai. God provides double on the sixth day so His people can rest.
Deuteronomy 8:3 explains the lesson: God fed them with manna to teach them that people do not live by bread only, but by every word that comes from God's mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3). In the New Testament, Jesus quoted this when tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:4). In the New Testament, in John 6, after feeding the 5,000, Jesus says that He is the true bread from heaven, who gives eternal life. A jar of manna was kept before the Testimony as a lasting reminder of God's faithful provision.
Show What You Know
How had Israel's memory of Egypt become distorted?
How does Paul use the manna in 2 Corinthians 8:15?
What happened when people hoarded manna?
What lesson does Deuteronomy 8:3 draw from the manna?
What does Jesus claim in John 6?
Word Bank Fill-In
Use the word bank to fill in each blank.
mannaGodrestbreadfood
About a month after leaving Egypt, the people complain that slavery with was better than freedom in the wilderness.
Moses explains that their grumbling is aimed at .
Still, God responds with grace and with a test: daily would show whether they would walk in my law.
God provides double on the sixth day so His people can .
In the New Testament, in John 6, after feeding the 5,000, Jesus says that He is the true from heaven, who gives eternal life.
Think About It
How can remembering the past wrongly lead us to complain?
Why do you think God built rest into the pattern of provision?
Memory Verse
“Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.”
Exodus 16:4 (WEB)
Copy It
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for today's Bible story. Help me to . Amen.