Cap. 15:27 And they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees; and they pitched there by the waters etc.
Cap. 16:2, 3 And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and said unto them: Would to God that we had died in the land of Egypt by the hand of the Lord, when we sat by the fleshpots, and had abundance of bread to eat. For this cause ye carried us out into this wilderness, that ye should cause all this congregation to die of hunger.
(1) We have heard the text of the sixteenth chapter of the second book of Moses, how the children of Israel went from the Red Sea to the wilderness of Sin, and how they came first to Elim, but abode not long there, when they found twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees. From the same place they came into the wilderness of Sin, when this great deed was done, which follows. After that they came to Raphidiin, where the people again had nothing to drink; from there they came to Mount Sinai.
Now it is reported here that they found twelve wells, that they had no need of the water that God had given them through a miracle; after that they also found seventy palm trees. And it may well be that by God's special providence this well water was thus divided into twelve different springs, so that the people of Israel would have water enough, as God had done before.
3 So God provides them with food and drink, that they must have bodily sustenance, to drink in exile and in the wilderness, and to
He brings them here to a fun place where they can refresh themselves and enjoy themselves again. Palm trees have a sweet fruit, the date; they have eaten it and drunk the water of the well; perhaps they will have kept some of the raw dough. Because they traveled only fifteen days from Egypt to the desert of Sin, no doubt everyone would have taken a bushel or two of flour for bread with him on the way for his house, and would have had some provisions. From this we have also recently learned that God is our shepherd and keeper, who feeds us and gives us enough; as the 23rd Psalm, v. 1, also teaches.
(4) But when the flour is out of the sack and there is no more dough, then the idol, Squire Belly, stirs up and says that he cannot wait for our Lord God's delay. For this people murmurs against God that they have no bread to eat, just as they murmured above because there was a lack of water to drink. In truth, the children of Israel were a wicked people, who soon forgot God's miracles and good deeds and grew weary of their profession, despairing of God's grace and mercy. They blaspheme Moses and Aaron, as if they wanted to let the people die of hunger; yes, they blaspheme God Himself, as if He had not let Moses lead them out of Egypt. Therefore judge what a herb this people is, how they doubt God's command that Moses should lead them out of Egypt into the land of Canaan, item, despair of God's help.
(5) And we are of the same kind; such ungodly beings also look out of our eyes. If
If there is no longer any supply, our faith will also cease. They have not gone more than fifteen days' journey, and they say: Moses has well directed it, we cannot go back, for we would die of hunger; nor can we go further, nor break out to the side, because of the desolation and wilderness; 1) the devil has led us into the wilderness.
(6) According to reason they have cause enough against Moses, because they have nothing to eat or drink. Think ye yourselves, if thou wert in the wilderness fifteen days and fifteen nights, and couldst not come out, think ye yourselves also that thou shouldest die of hunger. This cause have they had, that all the people murmur against Moses, saying, Give us meat; why didst thou send us forth out of Egypt, that thou shouldest cause us, our children, and our cattle to die of hunger?
(7) What mocking, scornful and blasphemous words are these? It is a deep unbelief that they thus fall back, abandon God's word and promise, no longer remember the previous miracles and help of God; and yet the boys want to be pious people, to be unpunished by God, and yet they want all the devils to take Aaron and Moses away. For they say here: The Lord knows nothing about it. They say: There, in Egypt, we would have been blessed people, but here in the desert we must die of hunger. A hundred devils have brought us here. Is this why you brought us out, so that all the people would die of hunger?
008 And after they have all murmured and spoken one to another against Moses and Aaron, the pants of both of them should have fairly stunk; but they stand like heroes, their heart full of God, and they beat out this blasphemy, which they must hear, saying, Ye are companions that have carried us out, and have acted as the wicked; should God have commanded you such things? There the miracles are all gone, which they have seen and felt before, yes, praised and extolled in the previous hymn of praise, since they have been completely convinced and convicted that this execution from Egypt is no man's work.
1) Cislebensche: Gewildniß.
work or fraud. Well, it does not go differently; where the Abgott belly comes, and the stomach begins to burst, there it is all gone. A noble, tender fruit is the man, if he is left to himself.
(9) But we had better strike it out, that we may see who we are against God. For we curse, blaspheme, even persecute his messengers and servants, and bring his miracles to shame. Here a whole congregation falls, with six times an hundred thousand men, many excellent, great people. Joshua, Caleb and others are now all going away with the multitude and rulers of the people, and 2) only these two remain steadfast; they still keep their color and do not retreat. Why should we be surprised that some are now staggering and tumbling away from the gospel, because so many people are falling away here, all of whom are being devoured by the devil? And this alone is the cause of the belly's concern and brings them to this horrible apostasy [Matth. 6, 25].
(10) It is a wonderful thing about a Christian who stands by when there is need. Nevertheless, such people are not held in high esteem in the world and are not much in demand. But our nature is such, as Solomon says of it: "When one has a thing, it is evil, and is not esteemed, and is good for nothing; but when it is gone, it is esteemed. So it also goes: If God gives enough, we still do not have enough, and nowhere is good enough, gawking at the lack, and we leave the abundance and provision of God, which is available, until we come to it. O! then it has been very good.
(11) I will interpret it still better, that it may be heard. Take before you a husband and one who lives outside of marriage, or a poor man and a rich man, of whom the saying goes, "Good makes you strong, but poverty hurts. He who suffers poverty in marriage does not see what will become of him, and tolerates poverty with unwillingness; all his eyes, thoughts and senses look at the lack; but that he does not die in hunger, and has a secure, cheerful courage to it, even lives without worries, that is what gives him the right to live.
2) Eislebensche: remained.
God, and is the poor man's special advantage and benefit. 1) He does not worry because he knows that nothing is stolen from him, he can sleep in peace; on the other hand, that he has a house full of children is nothing in his eyes, he does not count any goods [Ps. 128, 3. ff. Ps. 127, 3. 4.]. If you were to weigh this on a scale, you would see how far such goods surpass all poverty. [So he goes and needs of heaven and earth.
(12) On the other hand, a rich man, if he has many goods, must also feed many mouths. He must take care that his goods and wealth are not stolen from him, and he is always thinking how he will grow and increase in goods; he does not have enough, but is always thinking: If only I had this in addition. So he never has a secure and cheerful mind, the property makes him uneasy; moreover, he has neither peace nor rest. Again, the poor man only looks at the rich man's goods; but he does not consider that he has any advantage over him, as indicated just before, which the rich man completely lacks. Cause, it is said, as Augustine says: Divitias invenisti, requiem perdidisti [Riches you have found, peace you have lost^.
(13) So now the evangelical peasants also lack nothing, only that they see how they should give interest and bullets, also tithes and other righteousness to the authorities, who do not do wrong by demanding their tribute (Rom. 13:1 ff.); there alone they turn their eyes. But they do not see that their fields and meadows, their houses and farms are in good peace; the authorities give them this security, otherwise they could not sleep safely for an hour in their houses. This security and such great good is not seen. A drink of well tastes better to such a one than boiled and roasted food 2): nor does he gape and look around at the great Hansen, who trot along on beautiful stallions and are resplendent in golden chains. Ah! this fool thinks, God would that I should sit there in his place! and everything that is in his house must stink to him; but he sees and does not know what burden, danger and displeasure clings to and follows this position.
1) Previously -- Preference.
2) Cislebensche: boiled and fried.
(14) So does one who lives outside the married state; he considers his being a vain misery, and makes himself believe that the married state is only a rose garden, and does not see the advantage that he has only a belly or a mouth to feed. Again, he who is in the conjugal state does not see the goods that are given to him, namely, that the man and the woman are created and ordained together by God; item, that they have children and goods are given to them; this makes him dream that the single state is a paradise.
(15) The goods and gifts of God in every state are ten times greater than the harm and lack that one feels in them. If you were to count your neighbor's goods as your lack, and his lack as your goods, you would also do as the sages have written: If it were possible for a man to take his goods and his misfortune in one heap and distribute them at the same time, each would say, "Dear man, give me your goods," and would not want to have the misfortune in addition.
Thus the pagan poet Horatius said to indicate this very thing, that no one is sufficient for him in his status: Optat ephippia bos piger, optat arare caballus, the ox would like to be a horse, and the horse would like to plow like the ox etc., so that no one should make it better nor order it differently than God has made it.
The peasants will also be like this. If it were not against God, I would wish out of anger for the rebellious peasants to be princes for only one year, to read letters. If I were angry with the rebellious peasants, I would wish for them to be princes for a year, to read letters, to hear complaints, to carry out and decide on disputes, to write letters, and to do other things that are necessary in this state; then one of them would so soon tire of them that he would say: "Keep your precious spurs, silver sword, golden chains, coats of mail, spear and armor, beautiful horses and hung chariots; I want to remain the same as I was before.
018 So are we all one with another: and our brethren the children of Israel in the wilderness do not long remember the manna, or the bread of heaven. Just as in Egypt they did not remember the meat and the bread they had in excess, but they howl and
cry out only because they were burdened and oppressed with joyful services and other things. They did not consider their good, which God had given them, but only saw the misfortune and the evil. But in this place, having come out of want, and having obtained the good, they run back. So our eye is a mischievous one, and God Himself cannot do it justice.
(19) Shall we suffer nothing at all? shall we suffer nothing here? In heaven we shall not lack nor be afflicted; but in this life we must (willingly or unwillingly) have affliction and want among us. If you are poor, if you have no house or other goods, you also have infirmities: but why do you not think that you have a healthy body, healthy eyes and other senses, you have your strength, children and other things? etc. But your infirmity, which you have beside, is very little and small.
020 But they must begin to blaspheme and desecrate because of a small and little affliction. Just as the dear sons, the children of Israel, do here; when they are full and filled with meat and bread, they go away and despise the bread of heaven, because they cried out to God before. Many say that God is angry and displeases us and sends us sickness, but we keep quiet about it, so that we deserve it. Let him attack it as he wills, but it is no good to us anywhere; should he not strike us? If we were God, we would not hold on to ourselves for so long that we would not quickly strike at it with clubs; but he is much too patient. Since what he gives us is present, we despise it; when it comes away, we praise it, and will by no means "first consider" how good it is. Because a man's wife is still alive, he does not see what use she is to him; but when she dies, he thinks, "O God, if I still had my wife!
21 Thus, if the sun were to stay out one day and not shine, we would all be saddened; but because it shines daily, we are accustomed to God's goods and do not think otherwise than that it should shine for us; but because it always shines, we do not thank our Lord God for it. When the children of Israel were captives in Egypt
and servile, they longed for freedom; and now that they have freedom, they despise freedom. So it goes: As God makes and cooks it with us, so we will not bite it; nor does he bear it. Therefore St. Paul speaks in the stories of the apostles [Cap. 13, 18]: God tolerated and bore their ways and customs in the desert; and that is truly so, he can well suffer and bear [2 Mos. 34, 6. Ps. 103, 8].
(22) It is such a shameful evil in us that we are ungrateful for the present gifts and goods, and consider only a small infirmity. And each one may go home and count the goods he has, and he will find many more goods than lack, and thank God for them. What do you want more than a healthy body? Item, your possessions and goods, and that you have beautiful children?
23. But how shall we help him? Solomon says [Ecclesiastes 7:15]: In die malorum memor esto bonorum, et econtra: In die bonorum, memor sis malorum [on the good day be of good cheer, and the evil day also take for good]. If you feel evil, turn your eyes to the good, and remember, as godly hearts do, to turn your eyes away from misfortune and turn them toward greater happiness. So let them comfort themselves, or else they will make their lives miserable and do nothing with their sorrow.
(24) We read of St. Martino, a citizen of Rome, when all his goods were taken from him and he was driven into exile for the sake of the Christian faith, that he said: 1) Even though they have taken everything from me, they have not taken Christ from me. If my wife and child, my property, house and farm, my good friends, my honor, dignity and glory are gone, I still have the Lord Christ. So a Christian looks with his eyes even more at the present happiness and good than at the misfortune and evil that befalls him.
(25) But our nature cannot do it; it does as these wretched people do here. Nevertheless, our Lord God presents Himself as a God who has great patience, and who can keep it for them, and says: "Well, I will
1) Eislebensche: had.
atone for your lust; although it is wrong that God should bow down to the will of this people. God gave them a promise above [Cap. 15, 26] that they should obey His voice, so He would be their physician; therefore He gives them bread from heaven, so that they should not die of hunger; but they do not remember the promise here. Now he tries the very last thing, whether they would obey him, that they should bring in manna for six days, but on the Sabbath day they should stay in their tents and not go out, so God gave them manna twice, for the sixth day and also for the seventh day. God is a good steward, he gives the daily bread and does not give more to each person than he can eat.
26 Then they began to believe again, and to think, Is not this a fine floor of grain, or granary, that every morning the air and the clouds give as much bread, or manna, as much as we can eat? [When the first evening came, when the manna fell in the morning, there was nothing left; then many of them thought, What will we have in the morning? So they thought, "Lord, give us our bread today, and we will not provide for the morrow," just as he proved at that time.
Thus God provides for us, that He may take away the miracles of the belly. For the belly always smites our Lord God's word and miracle; but once, according to the teaching of St. Paul, one must dig the belly and food under the earth. Therefore, live in such a way, and rely 1) on the fatherly faithfulness of God, that one may be uncertain what one may bring in tomorrow. And if even this great Lord with his words should not be valid, oh! then one may believe the devil. As experience shows, unfortunately, all too many are unfaithful to God and become addicted to the wretched devil only because of his nasty stomach.
Then the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven upon you, and the people shall go forth, and gather daily the things which they have need of, that I may try them, whether they walk in my law, or not: and on the sixth day they shall send themselves to bring in twofold the things which they gather daily.
1) control - support.
Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "In the evening you will know that the Lord has brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord. For he has heard your murmurings. What are we, that ye murmur against us? And Moses said, The Lord will give you meat to eat at even, and in the morning he will give you bread in abundance: because the Lord hath heard your murmurings, because ye have murmured against him. For what are we? Your murmuring is not against us, but against the Lord.
028 Here Moses and Aaron answer the blasphemy of the children of Israel, saying: Alas, that we had died in Egypt by the hand of God; that they might so much as give to understand: There we had a gracious God, the devil has brought you to us; and they say, Now you blaspheme God and murmur against Him; tomorrow you shall see a miracle, that ever God may be praised and glorified. We want you to feel it and grasp it, and also to experience that God will do it, and you will realize that it is not we, but he who has brought you out of Egypt; otherwise there will be no miracle or miraculous work tomorrow, but God will save and prove his glory with it.
29) With the mad mob one should act according to such grace and mercy. It is indeed insidious, 2) and they would rather have something better than this, namely, if they said and pretended to them: Do you think that we are the people who were able to bring you out of Egypt, and ask that you will not take revenge on us? But they apologized so well and so rightly. Moses said this and told Aaron to speak to them to their faces and to tell others, so that they would spread the word among the people. Aaron also took it from Moses' mouth, that he might speak it fearlessly, and tell them the very opinion against whom they had murmured and grunted.
V. 9 And Moses said unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come ye before the Lord: for he hath heard your murmurings.
2) certainly - spoken in a pointed way.
To come to the Lord is to gather together and hear the Word of God, for where His Word is, there the Lord is also. It was not yet the temple at that time. This is Aaron's ministry. He first punishes them and brings them to the realization of their sin, that they have murmured against God and have thrown all his previous miracles to the wind. Now the sermon begins, and in the middle of the sermon they turn away to the desert, because he did not preach this sermon in one day. And this happened under the sermon of Aaron, that God makes Himself specially seen in a cloud, He seems to be seen in a cloud, from which Moses alone heard this voice, and not other people. That is, people can carry. And as he preached, so it is done: but he let the word go before, as he was wont to do, and after that the work followed. Through this preaching they were converted again, and Moses and Aaron had great trouble and work with them to establish and strengthen their faith. Therefore, God also performs this miracle.
(31) What quails are called is still disputed among the teachers: some think that they are partridges, others that they are curlews; but it is certain that they were meat. More than a year later, God performed almost similar miracles, as we read in Numbers 11:31, 34, where it is indicated how high they flew in the air, namely, that they could be grasped with the hands, and no net was needed. But that the same place in the desert was called the grave of lust was because the lecherous people were buried there. Now one must not think that they are one story or history, but they are two histories. For here they have also manna or bread of heaven with the flesh; there they have flesh only. But this food came in a fine heap, so that everything lay full; so that it was not long before it was gathered together and taken up, so that it all lay fine together.
32. manna was almost like coriander; although coriander is still a small grain, like rice or millet with us; but manna was whiter and rounder, and tasted like honey mixed with bread, and
The bread or food is called manna, fine, sweet and clear like white-grained flour. The same bread or food is called manna, fine, beautiful and clear, like a white-grained flour.
V.13-15. And in the morning the dew lay round about the tents; and when the dew was fallen, behold, there was something in the wilderness thin and small, as the hoarfrost is in the land. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, This is Man; for they knew not what it was.
33. they say: It is something; for it has been a new miracle work, therefore it has no name, because it has still been a new food. It is called in Hebrew, cash, gift or offering. As if to say: It is God's gift, which God distributes among us. As if we were given a strange, unknown thing, which was good and apparent, and we called it manna. We Germans call it Himmelsbrod from the 6th chapter of John, v. 31, but they called it God's gift.
And Moses said unto them: This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.
(34) As if to say, Here you have it: God keeps His promise; now eat and be satisfied with it.
V. 19. thus. And Moses said to them: Let no one leave any of it until tomorrow. But they did not obey Moses. And some of them left it until tomorrow. Then worms grew in it, and it stank. And Moses was angry with them. 1)
(35) This is trying very hard and setting a goal for God, because they have tapped, grasped and felt God at once, and he has let himself be seen in a cloud. This is indeed God's temptation, which He has harshly forbidden, that one should not say, "Give it to me this way, or this hour; that I should present to God a person, place, way and space, by which, where, when and how He should help me; but I should present it to Him, and only ask for the need; which they have not done here.
1) These text words are missing in the editions, although the following is completely incomprehensible without them.
(36) So we have heard of a great miracle that God did with the manna, so that He fed the children of Israel forty years, and gave them manna every day, and gave them no more than they could eat. This seems to us to be a bad deed, but it was a great work. As such a blessing of God, with the manna, is praised everywhere in the holy scriptures.
(37) And God did it first of all to make His glory seen against the unbelievers and blasphemers, that He alone was the true God. As Moses says: "In the evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord," etc., thus proving that by God's command Moses and Aaron brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. After that, God also wanted to indicate that He would feed and nourish His faithful who walk in their profession; as it is said in the 8th chapter of the 5th book of Moses, v. 3, 16: "God gave you manna, when you and your fathers did not know what kind of food it was, so that He might show you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. For God can also feed His own where there is no bread, as here in the wilderness, where there was neither field, grain, mill, bread, baker, nor any other supply; nevertheless, before they die of hunger, manna must be given them from heaven. Just as Elijah, at the time of the Theurung in Israel, was also miraculously fed and nourished at the brook Crith [1 Kings 17:5, 6]. And this promise is also given by the Lord Christ [Matth. 6, 33], if one "first seeks the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all the rest shall be added to us". The 37th Psalm, v. 25, also says: "I have been young, and I have been old; but I have never seen the righteous forsaken, neither have I seen his seed going after bread.
(38) But this miracle of the manna did little for them; because the manna fell daily, it was very common among them, and they did not regard it. Just as the sun rises daily for us, which is also a great miracle, that it does not rise for one day or two days, but for one day or two days.
It seems to be like this for many months, even every year; but it has now become a habit that we think it cannot be otherwise. It is no wonder to us that wine and grain grow every year. God should, as with these, so also with other daily miracles, encourage our faith; for that a grain of wheat or other growth should come out of the earth is as great a miracle as if God were still giving manna from heaven on this day; but it does not have the prestige, so it makes the ordinary contemptible.
39 So they have collected for each person or head of the day a Gomor 1). How much it was, one does not really know; for the pound, the cubits and the measure change; where one comes only over two or three miles, soon they do not agree any more. Just as the bushel, the language, the customs, and external ceremonies are not the same in the world. For many a country, many a custom, and many a measure is. The Gomor was so large that it was as much as they could eat in one day. Now it was a special miracle that the little one did not eat more than the big one, and the big one not more than the little one; one received as much as the other, the third or fourth just as much.
(40) It may also be understood that each one brought in a heap; one a handful, the other a bowl, the other a hatful, and afterward they divided it out at home by this common measure. After that one came, who brought little, he also got out of the Gomor, as much as another, that he had enough; as the text also reads thus. It may be of one mind that they have measured it out by this common measure. Item, it can also be that everyone has collected much or little, and when he has come home, he has received neither more nor less, it has been true with the measuring.
1) Ex. 16, 36: "A gomor is the tenth part of an ephah. One ephah is counted as 15 Berlin matzos. Therefore the Gomor would be 11 Berliner Metzen. (Karl von Räumer, "Der Zug der Israeliten aus Aegypten nach Canaan", p. 27).
(41) One also senses besides this, as is now said of sharing out, that they have been stingy and not to fulfill, and have not trusted God to give them bread, in that they have, contrary to God's prohibition, brought with them above the appointed measure. From which excess worms were made, so that God's word would be fulfilled. And because of this, that it did not continue with them, the noble food had to perish. There was a great army and a great multitude of people, so they ate up everything purely in the evening. In the morning God again had so much food for them. It did not melt from the heat of the day; they baked it, boiled it, and roasted it, and were not satisfied that it tasted like breadcrumbs, and as each one wanted, but they were allowed to make and seek other things out of it.
042 And this was a miracle unto them, that on the sixth day they found two Gomor: therefore they went in, and asked Moses, saying: How meanest thou that we should gather but one Gomor by day, or worms would grow out of it; yet have we two Gomors this day? What did he answer?
V. 22-24 All the rulers of the congregation came in and told Moses. And he said to them: This is it that the Lord hath said: Tomorrow is the Sabbath of the Lord's holy rest: bake that which ye will bake, and boil that which ye will boil: but let that which is left over remain, that it may be kept until the morning. And they left it till the morning, as Moses commanded; and it stank not, neither was there any worm in it.
43. Who kept it then, that it should not spoil? God commanded it, and gave his word concerning it, and kept it, that it should not become corrupt, nor stink. From this you see that the Sabbath was before the Law of Moses came, and has been from the beginning of the world [Genesis 2:2], especially that the pagans who had the true worship of God came together on that day and called upon God; from that time the same day was called the Sabbath,
And it was a holy day set apart from other days, that men and cattle might rest there. But afterward this commandment was given publicly from heaven by Moses, that they should rest on the seventh day, and cease from labor and other unholy things.
44 Finally they wanted to make it too much, so he also fell among them, as you will hear; therefore they also had to keep Gomor until their descendants [v. 33]. The Jews use this act of John in the sixth chapter, v. 31, to embarrass the Lord Christ's word, boasting: "Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, which came down from heaven." To this Christ answers masterfully, saying, v. 32, "Moses did not give it to you, but my Father gives you the right bread from heaven." And says further, v. 49, 50: "They are all dead which have eaten it: but whoso eateth this, dieth not."
45 Otherwise, you will hear several times: All God's gifts and miracles, if they are not gathered together with or in the word of God, they are of no use. The water in baptism, if not accompanied by the word of God, is nothing. So, if the manna did not have God's word in it, it would not have the power. This is what the Lord Christ means in the preceding words: "Many have eaten it, and yet have died, because they have not eaten this appendix of the Word, therefore they have not been preserved. All creatures of God are like this; if they are received without the word of God, there is no life, power or strength in them, but it is a bodily thing.
Allegory of the manna.
46. by the manna God intended to signify the true manna, which is Christ Himself; as in the text of John [Cap. 6, 50. 58.] He thus interprets it, saying, "This is the bread," and points to the great manna, to Himself, as if to say, "There you will find the manna your fathers ate.
(47) But you know how and in what form Christ is the bread. It is not necessary to eat it in the way the Jews understood it, because they
said [John 6:52], "How can this man give us his flesh?" For they thought they must tear it with their teeth, and drink it with their mouth. But as it is spiritual food, so it is eaten spiritually. Eating here is believing; with faith one must receive the food that Christ's flesh was killed for us and his blood was shed for us. Christ says, "He who believes that I was sent by the Father to give my flesh and blood for you who are to be saved has the right manna and will not die. For this is our faith, that he who believes in Christ, who died for our sins, shall be saved; for one must believe in Christ, who died and rose from the dead. He who eats and drinks Christ's blood has eternal life. These are different words, but they are the same opinion. So it remains true, whoever eats the spiritual manna does not die. Your fathers did not eat this spiritual manna, that is, they did not believe in Christ, therefore they died.
(48) This text has been used by our adversaries, the sacramentalists, as an auxiliary and has been wrongly interpreted as referring to the sacrament. Although it is true that Christ's blood and flesh are present there, it is also received with the mouth; it is eaten and drunk bodily. But this food is not credited with bringing life. For many go to it, eat and drink, and yet die; they go to it for punishment and judgment, which is severely punished by St. Paul; therefore they have not life. And the sequence that is sung on the day corporis Christi: Manna datur patribus, is not right, it is sung falsely, and is a foolish sequence, but you should draw it on faith and on the divine word. The word is not received and eaten with the mouth, as the sacrament of the altar, but the word is taken with the heart; if one believes, and if one breathes it into the heart and faith, it is right. Thus the Lord Christ says in John: "The manna of the Jews has meant me, Christ.
(49) If it be said, How canst thou be bread, when men eat and drink? This is what happens when I am distributed. With what
Knife? To preach of Christ by mouth and tongue, and to declare that he shed his blood and died for us; then I set Christ before you, not on plates, but in the heart I put his flesh and blood, which was given for you. That is, put into the heart. If you receive it, eat it and drink it, that is, if you believe it, you are blessed [Revelation 19:9]. This is what the Lord Christ says, "He that eateth my flesh shall never die." Otherwise, it all goes away. In short, you are all lost unless you eat my flesh, that is, eat me with your heart and believe in me, and I am presented to you through the Word.
50 So you have the right manna, which God has signified through that. And recently to speak: Manna is for us at this time the sacrament and the gospel, that is, this sermon, wherein it is spoken that the body and blood of Christ is given for us for the remission of sins. Therefore, when you hear the gospel, it rains manna, and there you gather manna, which is then given to you from heaven. If then thou takest it, that is, believest, thou also eatest, and abidest for ever, even as the word of God also abideth for ever.
(51) So also the manna was white, like a dew, like a snow or a hoarfrost; that is, the gospel is not only a clean, fine, pure sermon, but also a sweet, sweet sermon. Moses is a bloody, red preacher, he carries red in his shield, he is a sharp, angry preacher, he kills a man; but the gospel is white, pure, and has no stain, it has the most beautiful color, and is closest to the light. For light is the most comforting color; but darkness is terrible. Just as in Oriental countries kings, princes and great lords are wont to put on white garments, and to wear white fans 1) around their hats. White is a cheerful color, lovely and comforting. And is the white color the best color, separated from all blackness, inclines closest to the light.
52Therefore she goeth nowhere, but unto Christ, not willing that any thing should be appropriated unto her: that is, He that preacheth thee
1) Fan (Fechel) -- tie, string around hats, boots and clothes. Cf. Col. 588.
Christ alone makes blessed, who lets the manna remain white and with its righteous color. The gospel is sweet and lovely, proclaiming the comfort, peace and forgiveness of sin that came to us through the death of Christ. As the Lord Christ says to the gout-broken man [Matth. 9, 2]: "Be of good cheer, my son, your sins are forgiven you"; item [Matth. 11, 28]: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" etc.
(53) After that, it was like coriander, small, like millet or rice; that is, the gospel is a small, bad sermon. Just as the Lord Christ himself [Matth. 13, 31] compares the gospel to a small grain of mustard seed. Thus the gospel is to be regarded as crushed and small; it is despised, blasphemed and desecrated by the world. Nevertheless, the gospel word that we preach has such great power that it saves; it has a divine power with it. Such a word of God, which is spoken and resounds from the mouth of man, is not received by reason, it has no outward adornment nor prestige; nor does it bring with it victory over death and the devil, hell and damnation, even forgiveness of sins, and makes us children of God, lords over heaven and earth [Rom. 1, 16. 2 Tim. 1, 8. 10.]. Such power we have in the word of God, which word is a bad thing; for it is to be done in a moment, then it is over [Ps. 147, 15]. Therefore it is not a beautiful or splendid thing, it has no appearance, and yet it is so powerful.
After that, it tastes like honey and bread, that is, it comforts and refreshes the soul. Others have fantasized here that honey and bread tastes so good is the divinity and humanity; the divinity must first come into the word, if it is to flourish and taste to our benefit. But they fall in with the vita contemplativa [with the contemplative life; Satan thus brings them down. No one will taste the divinity, for as it wants to be tasted, that is, that it be contemplated in the humanity of Christ; and if you do not find the divinity in this way, you will never have peace. Therefore, let them always speculate and speak of contemplation,
how everything is courting with God, giving a foretaste of eternal life, and how spiritual souls begin a tranquil life.
55) But if you do not know God in this way, let him be how great and mighty he is; but lift up all this and touch him, and say first of all: I know of no God but he who is given for me. So his majesty will be sweet to you, when you know that 1) you have such a God who is given for you, who has heaven and earth in his hand; then no creature will frighten you, nor this his majesty. For the fact that he is given for you is due to his mercy and love; here take hold of him, and there he is also soft and sweet [Gen. 32, 30. Deut. 5, 33, 2. 3. Jn. 20, 20].
Otherwise God is two things; as God in himself, since he is a Lord, and God in his incomprehensible essence. Then a God given for you, that God may be Lord over you and over all men. Moses preaches this, and he also wants everyone to believe that he is the Lord. But here everyone is afraid of this God, because he is too harsh and terrible. But it is a different thing when the gospel preaches the same God to you, and models him to you, and makes you delight and rejoice in him; namely, when it testifies and shows how he died for you and was given to you; then he is sweet and like honey.
(57) Sixthly, the manna was not made by the hands of men, nor did it grow out of the earth, but came down from heaven, as the dew falls. This is what the prophets saw when they prophesied or preached about the holy gospel. For the gospel is such a sermon, which is not invented by any man, as St. Peter also says in his [second] epistle [Cap. 1, 21.]: "No prophecy comes from human choice or devotion, but the saints of God have spoken, impelled by the Holy Spirit." Item, the Lord Christ says [Matth. 10, 20.]: "It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of my Father who is in you" etc. The gospel is also given because it comes from heaven.
1) Eislebensche: wissest.
because reason does not understand it, it does not know that God gave His Son for me, that the Son was sent into the world and became man for me and died. No one can preach this, no one can invent such a doctrine, because it comes from above, from a miraculous consecration, without human intervention [John 3:27]. This much is said: The gospel is a heavenly sermon, not a human word, it cannot be found on earth. Therefore, all other teachings are fictitious, false and doctrines of the devil, for they do not come from heaven.
(58) Manna also cometh in the morning, when the sun riseth: that is, the gospel is risen, and cometh in the time of grace, when Christendom began, and the Sun of righteousness, that is, the Lord Christ, is risen or ascended. For after the resurrection and ascension of the Lord Christ, the Holy Spirit comes, and this dew falls on the whole world. Therefore the gospel is food prepared by God without our doing. So we also have manna, the food of heaven, prepared and presented to us. So he gave us the gospel, it is our gift; we did not ask for it, nor did we seek it, but it comes by grace and is revealed to us.
59. but that the manna is gathered up in such a way that each gets as much as the other, and that it is measured according to the measure of Gomor, has this meaning, that one Christian is equal to another, and no one has more or less than the other, they all have One God, One Christ, One baptism, Spirit and faith etc. [This may well be that the Gomors were unequal, one stone, the other wood, the third copper or glass. So also among us some have a weak faith, others a strong faith, more or less teaching of the faith, yet such is all Christ. St. Peter has not a better Christ than I have, and as much as St. Peter has, so much have I also.
(60) After the name of Christ, let no man be ashamed of another, nor let him think himself better than another; for the one Christ is given for me and for thee. I have given him so
I have confessed more than Mary, the prophets and all the saints have tasted; and because I believe in him, I have as much in him as another. We are equal, my measure has as much in it as the other; it is equal and as great as the other; although those who are weak in adversity and in temptation have a lesser measure, and the confessors 1) have a more apparent measure, yet, according to Christ, they are all quite equal, and have one good of faith, that is, they have the whole of Christ. This is a very comforting thing, that, reckoned by Christ, all saints and believers are equal.
(61) This we should know against the lumpen preachers, who have made a distinction between us and the saints, and have made idols of us out of the saints. But I am speaking here of the Christians, where one of them, though he submits to all and humbles himself toward everyone, is as great in the sight of God as Peter; though he does not have as great gifts and has gathered as much as others, yet he has gathered in the same measure, and also has the same measure as St. Peter, that is, the same Christ; therefore he may boast of nothing. But he does not make an outward likeness of it, he does not draw it into outward things. For that is not why they are called Christians.
62 The Lord Christ has one seed in the gospel, which is scattered in four different places. So all are called Christians, and all have the gospel; but the fourth part of the seed remains only good, and brings forth its fruit. Such a people of Christians I have never seen on earth, nor known; if they are divided among themselves and hold themselves high, it is false. A city should not call itself a Christian city unless it has the right proof of Christianity. Therefore give the fourth part, or the other part, and count as much as you like; I cannot count the persons, but this I can say: Where the gospel is, there are Christians. Item, I can say: Inwardly they are all equal, but outwardly very unequal, there one has collected more, and the other less.
1) "Confessors" here will probably be as much as martyrs (confessores). This meaning is missing in Dietz.
63 But what shall we say to the saying of St. Paul, 2 Cor. 8:13-15, when he refers to alms and charity, and begs and exhorts with strange words that one should help the poor and needy? However, he says that one should not give, so that they have enough, and others have to live in poverty and lack. As then lazy drops are wont to take out, and let others give in; the latter let it cost themselves much, the latter want to waste it with idleness and sloth. Now these are his words [2 Cor. 8:13-15]: "It is not that others should have rest, nor that ye should have affliction; but that it should be alike. So let your abundance minister to their lack for this dear season, that their abundance also may minister to your lack hereafter, and let it be done that is equal. As it is written, "He who gathered much did not have abundance, and he who gathered little did not have scarcity. How does this rhyme with almsgiving?
64 Answer: It is another to lead examples, and another to make spiritual interpretation. The example is drawn to the work, and the interpretation goes to faith. As: Christ died for us, and gave us an example, that we should die also hereafter; if I die, I do as Christ did. This is not a meaning, but an example and following. For this reason it should be called an example and not an allegory. So now St. Paul wants to say this much and teach them: I would like to make it so that it would be like the example that was there in the wilderness during the time of the Israelites, so that he who gathers little manna receives his portion just as much as he who has gathered much.
(65) It should be the same with temporal goods. You have spiritual goods in abundance, and not less than those; you have the gospel of God, the rich treasure that is distributed among you. Therefore, by God's will, you are now obliged to share the temporal with others. And now it is the same that he who has little has as much as he who has gathered much; he who has the spiritual treasure is equal to the others. Now you have not less than I, or the other apostles, though we have first had it, and you have
receive it from us. Therefore, whoever among you is rich and able in bodily food, share out of those who are needy, or [those] who have shared spiritual things with you, those who preach and are in battle, and increase your spiritual wealth, that you may be rich and receive the treasure; so give to them again, and feed them, that they may enjoy your temporal wealth, as you enjoy and share in their spiritual wealth.
66 Therefore he also says in the first epistle to the Corinthians, Cap. 9, 11: "If they sow spiritual things to you, is it a great thing if they reap temporal things again? They feed your souls, but you feed only our bodies; we serve you with the treasure of preaching the gospel to you, therefore you also should give entertainment and feed us. So one supports the other. Therefore this is not an allegory, but an example.
67 Now the text continues: What was left over became worms. For it was commanded by God that nothing should be left over for the morning, just as nothing had to be left over on the paschal lamb. According to history, it is because God does not want unbelief, that people do not trust Him or believe Him; therefore He punishes them, so that everything that is left over does not benefit them. That is, unbelief makes it rotten and stinking, and that it becomes an abomination; just as they were inside, even though outside the manna in front of their eyes they made themselves seem pious and holy in the eyes of God; therefore he will not let them remain because of unbelief.
68. but the spiritual meaning is that the Jews understood the law through the old manna, and that is how they interpreted it and wanted to draw it, which does not last beyond one day. They have yesterday's day, we have today's day; their law is finished, the gospel has now risen; therefore now the law becomes stinking and maggoty, it becomes abominable and reprehensible. Moses is angry with the Jews, that is, the law condemns them, but they do not ask anything about it. So you have the story of the manna.
1) "remain" put by us instead of: "suffer" in the editions.