The History of the Old Testament Methodized, Chapter 4 · Section 9 – Section 12
SECT. IX.
THey came now on the fifteenth day of the ſecond month to the eighth place of their Encamping in the Wilderneſs of Sin, which lieth between Elim and Sinai, where, for want of Food, they murmured againſt Moſes and Aaron, and wiſhed in a deſperate diſcontent, That they had died by the Hand of the Lord in Egypt (where they ſat by the Fleſh-pots, (u)V. 2. Murmurabant] piſcibus in Aegypto, volatilibuſ que aſſueti. At unde Carnium inopia? Multa enim illis erant pecora: niſi p…perciſſe dicantur, vel quia minus foecunda ab inopiam paſcuorum; vel quod in ſacrificia ſervarent. Sed veriſimile eſt alias eos Carnes deſideraſſe; Quales in Aegypto habere poterant. Unde Deus noſcens quid deſiderarent, to genere Carnium eos ſatiat. Aug. quaeſt. Exod. 62. They had Cattel in the Deſart, but if they ſhould have eaten of them, they might ſoon have killed them all up. 'Tis probable they longed not for ſuch kind of Fleſh as they had at hand, but for the Fleſh of Fowls, ſuch as they uſed to eat in Egypt, and wanted now. Willet.and did eat bread to the full,) rather than that they had been brought into that Wilderneſs to die there by hunger. The Lord took notice of theſe their murmurings, and was highly offended at them. Therefore he ſaid to Moſes, I have heard the murmurings of the Children of Iſrael; I will yet prove them, whether they will walk in my Law or no; and therefore tell them, at the Evening I will give them Quails, and they ſhall eat Fleſh; and in the Morning I will rain Bread from Heaven for them, and they ſhall ſee that glorious Work of mine which I will work for them. [See Joh. 11.40. Numb. 14.21, 22.] Moſes and Aaron acquaint the people herewith, and tell them, They ſhall now ſee that it was the Lord that brought them out of the Land of Egypt, and that He and Aaron were but his Inſtruments, and had not done it of their own heads, but did only what He commanded them; and therefore their murmurings againſt them were indeed againſt the Lord Himſelf. Then the Congregation of the Children of Iſrael being charged to come near before the Lord, and there being at that time (before the Tabernacle was built) no nother viſible ſign of his Preſence among them, but only the Pillar of Cloud, which was now in the front of their Army, leading them towards the Wilderneſs, they turned their faces towards that, and perceived that God did in a more glorious manner than ordinary manifeſt the brightneſs of his Preſence: For from thence the Lord tells Moſes, That He had heard the murmurings of the people, and might juſtly Chaſtize them for it; however he would give them Quails (x)Here God gave them Quails for that one time only; but at Kibroth-Hattavah, Numb. 11.31. they had them for a whole month together.in the Evening, and Manna in the Morning. And accordingly at Even the Quails came and covered their Camp, and in the Morning the dew lay round about their Camp, and when the dew was gone, there lay a ſmall round thing, as ſmall as the Hoar-Froſt, (y)Unde patet fuiſſe Manna inſtar grani grandinis vel ſacchari minuti.on the ground. It was a ſubſtance ſo ſolid, that it would endure grinding in a Mill, or pounding in a Mortar, yet ſo friable and brittle, that it melted at the riſing of the Sun. It was little and round like Coliander-ſeed, but of a whitiſh colour like bdellium, *Quod eſt genus gummi pellucidi.Numb. 11.7, 8. It was ready meat to eat when gathered, and ſo eaten, the taſt of it was like Wafers made with Honey, (z)It was a different thing from foreign, or the honey-dew called Manna at this day by the Apothecaries which is not Food but Phyſick. The Book Of Wiſdom ſaith, Ch. 16.20, 21. That it was able to content every mans pallat, and agreed to every taſt; and tempered it ſelf to every mans liking. But if God had given this miraculous Bread ſuch an extraordinary gift to ſatisfie every appetite, and to reliſh according to every mans deſire, and to taſt like any meat they longed for, why did the Iſraelites murmur againſt Moſes that they had no Fleſh? and repine becauſe they had not the Cucumbers, and Melons, and Leeks, and Onions, and Garlick of Egypt, Numb. 11.4, 5.verſ. 31. but if they baked it in Pans, the taſt of it was like freſh Oil.
But to return, In the Morning when the Iſraelites ſaw it lying on the ground, they ſaid one to another, Man-hu, (a)Man pro Mah dialecto Aegyptiacâ, vel Man ipſum, hoc eſt praeparatum a foreign praeparare, ſcil. cibus praeparatus à Deo, vel quod cibus in ſ…ipſo praeparatus fuit non indigens alia praeparatione; fuit enim in ſcipſo bonus, & eſui aptus. Vatablus.What is this? as if they ſhould have ſaid, this is a ſtrange Food prepared and given us from above, but we know not particularly what it is, or what to name it. Moſes tells them, It is the Bread that God had given them to eat; It is Man, that is, a prepared portion. Then Moſes gives them ſome Commands from God concerning it.
1. Every man might gather according to his eating; that is, proportionably as he had more or fewer in his Family. The quantity of an Omer (the tenth part of an Epha, which is thought to be about a pottle of our meaſure) is allowed to every ſingle perſon as his proportion for a day. And the Children of Iſrael, according as their Families were, gathered ſome more, ſome leſs. And when they had brought home what they had gathered, the Head of the Family meaſured it out, and gave every one his Omer, *An Omer is the ten…h part of an Epha or Jewiſh buſhel containing about three of our pecks.as his ſhare and proportion, and no more. So that they that gathered much had but their Omer for their daily allowance, and the reſt 'tis like they gave to them that gathered leſs, that they might have their Omer alſo.(b)Hence it is that the Apoſtle by this Example of the Iſraelites helping one another, exhorts the Chriſtian Corinthians in like manner to ſupply the neceſſities of their Brethren, 2 Cor. 8.13.14, 15. And though every one had an Omer allowed him; which ſhews how liberal an allowance God did make them for their daily Food, yet it cannot be imagined that every one did eat their whole allowance every day; but though they did not, yet they might not reſerve any of it till next day, but what they left they were either to burn or caſt forth, God intending hereby that they ſhould live in daily dependance on his Providence, (ſee Mat. 6.11.) However ſome of them were ſo Diſobedient, that they reſerved ſome of it till next morning, and it bred Worms and ſtank; which Diſobedience of theirs much provoked Moſes to be angry with them.
2. They were to gather it in the morning betimes. For when the Sun waxed hot it melted.
3. On the ſixth day they were to gather twice as much as on other days; namely, two Omers for one perſon; which order, when the people obſerved, the Elders and Rulers came and told Moſes thereof, doubting whether they did well therein, ſeeing an Omer and no more was their fixed allowance for one day. Hereupon Moſes tells them, That the next day was an holy Sabbath to the Lord, and on that day(c)From whence ſome infer the antiquity and morality of the Sabbath, this happening before the giving the Law on Mount Sinai. no Mannah ſhould fall; and therefore on the ſixth day they had a double allowance, and on that day they were to bake or ſeeth of their Mannah what they thought fit to eat thereof that day, and to reſerve the remainder for the Sabbath-day, and though reſerved to that day it ſhould not ſtink or breed Worms, as one other days if kept it would do. Yet ſome of the people were ſo unbelieving and diſobedient, that they went out on the Sabbath-day to ſeek Mannah, but found none, for which God was angry with them, and charged them not to go out on the Sabbath-day any more to ſeek it, but to obſerve that day unto him, which the people accordingly did. On this kind of bread they lived afterwards by the ſpace of forty years, *Comederant Man 40 annis tanquam cibum ordinarium, cui non erat vetitum carnes, vel cibos alios adjungere ſi quos, vel venatu, vel emptione a vicinis gentibus conſequebantur, ut apparet ex Deut. 2.6. Janſon.even till they came to the borders of the Land of Canaan. And a Pot, containing the quantity of an Omer, was afterwards by Gods Command fill'd therewith, and reſerved by the Ark of Teſtimony, (d)Or Ark of the Teſtimony, becauſe in it were the Tables of Gods Law, which teſtified his Will to his people. See Heb. 9.4. See Apoſtolical Hiſtory, pag. 380.(viz. which teſtified Gods Preſence among them) to be kept as a Memorial of Gods goodneſs in thus miraculouſly feeding of them.
Exod. 16. whole Chapter.
SECT. X.
THeir ninth Remove was to Dophka, their Tenth to Aluſh, Numb. 33.12, 13, 14. and their Eleventh to Rephidim, a place in the Wilderneſs near Mount Horeb. Here they wanted water again, and this want drove a great many of them into an high diſcontent and murmuring, inſomuch as they ſaid, Is the Lord among us or not? verſ. 7. Thus they tempted the Lord, as the Pſalmiſt ſays, Pſal. 78.41. and limited the holy One of Iſrael. Then they fell a chiding with Moſes, ſaying, Give us water that we may drink; wherefore haſt thou brought us out of Egypt to kill us, and our Children, and our Cattel with thirſt? Moſes asked them, Why they chid with him? was it in his power to help them? why did they tempt the Lord by their diſtruſt and murmuring? And from this diſtruſtful murmuring of the People, the place was afterwards called Maſſa and Meriba, ſignifying Temptation and Chiding. Then Moſes cried unto the Lord, ſaying, What ſhall I do to this people? they are almoſt ready to ſtone me. God Commands him to take ſome of the Elders of the people with him, and to take his Rod in his hand (with which he commanded Aaron to ſtrike the River Nile, Ch. 7.20.) and to go to Mount Horeb (where he would appear to him in the Cloudy Pillar) and there to ſmite the Rock with his Rod, and it ſhould give forth water. Moſes and the Elders accordingly going to Horeb, He there in their ſight ſtruck the Rock and immediately the waters guſhed forth,*The Apoſtle ſays, 1 Cor. 10.4. The Rock followed them, and that Rock was Chriſt. ſee Pſal. 78.15, 16, 20. And the Streams iſſuing thence trailed after them thorow the Wilderneſs [ſee Pſal. 105.41. Deut. 9.21.] The Cloudy Pillar (it ſeems) conducting them in ſuch by-ways, in ſuch Levels and Vallies in that Mountainous Country, that the water might conveniently be derived after them.
Exod. 17. from 1. to 8.
SECT. XI.
THe Amalekites (deſcended from Timnah, Concubine to Eliphaz, Eſau's eldeſt Son, Gen 36.12. whoſe Country lay hereabout) having an inveterate malice againſt Jacob and his Poſterity, fell now upon the Rear of the Iſraelites (they being much ſpent and tired with their long march) and ſlew ſome of the feebleſt (e)That is, of ſuch as were feeble thorow travel, not ſickneſs, ſee Pſal. 105.37.and hindermoſt of them, Deut. 25.17, 18, 19. Moſes hereupon ſends Joſhua with a choſen Party to fight with them in the Valley, and betakes himſelf to the top of Mount Horeb, where with the Rod of God in his hand, as a Signal to ſtrengthen the faith of the people in God's Power and Help, He lifts up his hands towards Heaven, earneſtly praying unto the Lord, and imploring his Aid and Aſſiſtance againſt their Enemies. And whilſt Moſes's hands were help up Iſrael prevailed, but when they flag'd, and fell down, Amalek prevailed. He therefore being weary with ſtanding ſo long, as well as with lifting up his hands, they put a ſtone under him to ſit on, and Aaron and Hur (f)See James 5.17. Quare precum comites adhibendi qui nos labantes fulciant.ſupported his hands, whereby they were ſteady to the going down of the Sun, and ſo they obtained a great Victory over the Amalekites. And God commanded Moſes to write (g)See Exod. 34.27.this for a Memorial in a Book; that is, in the Chronicles and Annals of time, that the wickedneſs of Amalek, in aſſaulting the people of God, may be remembred, and to Inculcate it in the ears of Joſhua, who was to ſucceed him, that He and all his Succeſſors, who ſhall be Generals to the Iſraelites at any time hereafter, may put this his Command in Execution, when He ſhall give them occaſion to do it. For (ſays God) I have determined utterly to put out the remembrance of Amalek from under Heaven; (h)Deut. 25.19. See this Command executed by Saul, 1 Sam. 15.3, &c.that is, I have determined that their Honour and Greatneſs ſhall be ſo broken and brought down, that they ſhall not be remembred or made mention of as a flouriſhing State or Kingdom any more. And Moſes, in thankfulneſs to God for this great Victory, built an Altar in that place, and call'd it Jehovah-Niſſi, as a Memorial to Poſterity, that there Jehovah had, as with a Banner diſplayed, gone forth and fought againſt the Enemies of his people. And becauſe Amalek had lifted up his hand againſt the Throne of the Lord, (i)V. 16. Quia manus Amalec fuit contra ſolium Domini. Sic Jun. Tremel. & Piſcator, reddunt hunc verſum.in fighting againſt his peculiar people (whoſe King and Soveraign he had undertaken to be) therefore the Lord would have his people maintain a truceleſs War with Amalek from Generation to Generation.
Exod. 17. from verſ. 8. to the end.
SECT. XII.
THis Story of Jethro, contain'd in the next Chapter, (viz. the 18th) ſeems not to lie in its proper place, but ought to come in between the 10th and 11th verſes of Numb. 10. For in Exod. 18. verſ. 12. 'Tis ſaid, Jethro took Burnt-Offerings and Sacrifices for God, whereas the Law for Burnt-Offerings and Sacrifices was not yet given. And verſ. 13. & 16. 'tis ſaid, Moſes ſat to judge the people, and to make them know the Statutes of God, and his Laws, whereas the Statutes and Laws of God were not yet given to Moſes. And further, the chuſing of Judges and Elders which was upon Jethro's Counſel, was not till after their departing from Sinai, Deut. 1, 7, 8, 9,See Lightfoot, pag. 95. &c. whereas 'tis here ſet as before their coming thither. Therefore we ſhall reſerve this Hiſtory till we come to the 10th of Numbers.