Exodus 16:4
“Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Hungry and complaining in the wilderness, Israel receives God's promise of manna, the bread He will send from heaven.
What Does Exodus 16:4 Mean?
This verse means that God promises to provide for His people day by day, and that this daily provision is also a test of their trust and obedience. When Israel grumbles about hunger in the wilderness, God answers with astonishing generosity: He will rain bread from heaven. Yet there is a condition built into the gift -- the people must gather only a daily portion, "a certain rate every day." The manna is both a mercy and a means of teaching them to depend on God one day at a time.
By limiting what they could store, God taught Israel to look to Him each morning rather than to their own stockpiles. The test was simple but searching: would they trust His word about how much to gather, or try to secure tomorrow on their own terms? This rhythm of daily bread shaped a nation to live by reliance rather than anxiety. Centuries later, Jesus would teach His followers to pray for daily bread and would call Himself the true bread from heaven. The lesson endures: God gives enough for today, and asks us to trust Him for tomorrow.
In the Original Language
The word "bread" is the Hebrew lechem; the people later named the substance man, the root of "manna," from their question "what is it?"
Cross References
“And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna... that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only.”
- Deuteronomy 8:3
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
- Matthew 6:11
“Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
- John 6:31
Application
Trust God to supply what you need today, and let daily dependence on Him quiet your worry about tomorrow.