Exodus 14–18: Lesson 47

Exodus 16

Daily Bread

After the Lord delivered His people from Egypt, they encountered new challenges and opportunities for growth. The Israelites could no longer rely on the Egyptians to provide necessities like food and water. They needed to learn to rely on the Lord for their daily needs. This lesson can help students rely on the Lord daily.

Student preparation: Invite students to look for evidence of the Lord’s power in their lives between now and the next class. Encourage them to take time in their personal or family prayers to thank Heavenly Father for His help.

Possible Learning Activities

The need for daily nourishment

Consider beginning class by discussing things our bodies need every day. For example, you could display some bread. Invite a student who is hungry to come to the front of the class and eat some of the bread. As the student eats, ask him or her the following questions:

• When did you last eat?

• If you recently ate, why are you hungry now?

• Why do we have to eat regularly?

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles compared feeding our physical bodies to caring for our spirits:

We all recognize the need for physical sustenance. Hunger and thirst remind us very strongly if we forget. But the spiritual need for sustenance is equally strong. (“Daily Bread: Pattern,” Gospel Library)

• Why do you think the need to feed our spirits is as important as caring for our bodies?

• Why can it be easy to overlook our spiritual needs?

Take some time to ponder the following questions. Consider recording your thoughts in your study journal:

• Do you feel the same desire to care for your spirit every day as you do for your body? Why or why not?

• What do you feel Heavenly Father would have you do each day to care for your spirit?

Seek inspiration to know what you can continue to do, or what you can change, to provide your spirit with the daily strength from the Lord that it needs.

Relying on the Lord daily

After crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites “believed the Lord, and his servant Moses” (Exodus 14:31). They sang and danced to praise the Lord for delivering them (see Exodus 15:1–21). However, the Israelites’ praise of the Lord did not last long. While Moses led them toward Mount Sinai, they faced various problems, and their faith was tested.

Read Exodus 16:2–4, 11–15, looking for how the Lord provided for the Israelites’ needs.

• What did you find?

Consider inviting students to mark the word “manna” in Exodus 16:15 and to cross-reference or link it to John 6:47–51.

Read John 6:31–35, 47–51, looking for what Jesus taught about manna.

• In what ways is manna similar to Jesus Christ?

• How is what Jesus offers us infinitely better than manna?

Encourage students to focus on Jesus Christ as they study about manna. One way to do this is to provide students with the handout titled “Bread from Heaven.” Students could complete the handout individually or in small groups.

Alternatively, you could invite small groups of students to read Exodus 16:14–31, 35 and to create a quiz about manna. They could write 3–4 questions that could be answered by reading the verses. Groups could then exchange quizzes with another group.

Share the correct answers after students have finished: 1. True; 2. False; 3. False; 4. True; 5. True; 6. False; 7. True; 8. False.

• How might these details about manna apply to our need for spiritual nourishment?

• What can these details about manna teach you about receiving the spiritual nourishment from Jesus Christ?

Students may have discovered many valuable truths. They could share why they feel the truths they identified are important. You could also ask other follow-up questions. The rest of this lesson will focus on the following truth: when we rely on the Lord daily, He will bless us with the spiritual nourishment we need. (Note: Students will reflect on their desire to rely on the Lord in Lesson 55: “Assess Your Learning 3.” If you feel impressed to focus on a different truth for the remainder of this lesson, be sure to make corresponding adaptations when you teach Lesson 55.)

To deepen students’ understanding of our daily need for Jesus Christ, you could share the following statement or watch “Daily Bread: Pattern” (2:51), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Elder Christofferson spoke of our need for daily spiritual nourishment from the Lord:

We ought not to think that we can go weeks and months without spiritual sustenance and not suffer and not have a deadening influence in our spiritual life. Acknowledging the reality of our need for a daily spiritual administration, or manna, helps us increase in our courage to do the right thing and to serve others more than we would have if we ignored God. (“Daily Bread: Pattern,” Gospel Library)

• Why is relying on the Lord each day better than occasional, powerful spiritual experiences?

Daily bread

Provide the following instructions. In addition to the suggested scripture passages, students could look for statements from Church leaders by searching words or phrases such as “daily” or “each day” in the Gospel Library.

In your study journal, label a page “Daily Bread: Jesus Christ.” In the middle of the page, draw a loaf of bread. Study the following scriptures, looking for things we can do every day to rely on the Lord and receive spiritual nourishment. Write what you find around your drawing of bread.

• Deuteronomy 8:3

• 1 Nephi 17:3

• 2 Nephi 32:3

• Alma 37:36–37

  Invite students to discuss what they discovered by asking questions such as the following. You could encourage students to add ideas to their study journals as they learn from their classmates.

• Which of these actions have helped you invite the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ, into your life daily? How has He nourished or strengthened you as a result?

• In addition to what you found in the scriptures, what other things do you try to do each day to rely on the Lord?

• What would you say to someone who feels they don’t need to do these things?

If time allows, consider singing a hymn with the class about our need for the Lord, such as “I Need Thee Every Hour” (Hymns, no. 98). Students could share lines from the hymn that are meaningful to them.

Look at the list that you wrote around the bread in your study journal. Circle one or two ideas you feel the Lord would have you start doing or do differently to better rely on Him each day. Then answer the following:

• When and where will you do this thing each day?

• What challenges will you need to overcome to make this habit a part of your daily routine? How will you overcome these challenges?

• How do you think doing this thing every day might affect your relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ over time?

Conclude by sharing your thoughts and feelings about our need to rely on the Lord each day. Look for opportunities in future lessons to follow up on students’ efforts. You could also periodically update your students on your daily efforts to rely on the Lord.

Additional Resources

How can I receive spiritual nourishment from the Lord each day?

President Russell M. Nelson testified:

With frightening speed, a testimony that is not nourished daily “by the good word of God” [Moroni 6:4] can crumble. Thus, the antidote to Satan’s scheme is clear: we need daily experiences worshipping the Lord and studying His gospel. (“The Power of Spiritual Momentum,” Liahona, May 2022, 99)

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

The children of Israel enjoyed the feast of quail in the wilderness, but what kept them alive was the small and simple miracle of manna—their daily bread [see Exodus 16].

Brothers and sisters, daily bread is best prepared and served at home. Faith and testimony are best fostered in normal and natural ways, one bite at a time, in small and simple moments, in the constant flow of daily living. (“Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Parents,” Liahona, May 2023, 57)

What else can we learn from the account of God providing the Israelites with daily manna?

Elder D. Todd Christofferson shared additional lessons in “Daily Bread: Experience” (3:12) and “Daily Bread: Change” (3:00).

Supplemental Learning Activities

Alternative beginning

Display two different food items: one with a long shelf life (such as rice) and one with a short shelf life (such as bread or fruit).

• How long do you think each of these foods will last before they spoil?

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency taught that “great faith has a short shelf life” (“Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2005, 39).

• What do you think President Eyring means?

Students might share that if we are not continually building our faith in Jesus Christ, that faith can weaken or disappear. As students study Exodus 16, invite them to think about ways they can strengthen their faith in the Lord daily, rather than relying only on past experiences.

The test of obedience

Invite students to cross-reference or link Exodus 16:4 with Abraham 3:25. Ask them to read each passage, looking for one of the reasons God gives us commandments.

• Why can it sometimes be difficult to obey the Lord?

• What can help us overcome these difficulties?

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Mortal life is a period of testing where we will be proven to see if we will do all things that the Lord our God shall command us. This will require unwavering faith in Christ even in times of great difficulty. It will require that we press forward with steadfast faith in Christ, being led by the Spirit and trusting that God will provide for our needs. (“Confide in God Unwaveringly,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 33)

• How has the Lord provided for your needs as you have tried to do as He commands?

Relying on the Lord versus other sources

Help students recognize the blessings of relying on the Lord compared to the possible problems from relying on other sources. You could remind students that before the Israelites entered the wilderness, Egypt provided them with food and water (see Exodus 16:2–3).

• Why was it better for Israel to rely on the Lord daily than for them to rely on Egypt?

Help students understand that while Egypt did provide food for Israel, they also kept Israel in bondage and exposed Israel to their false beliefs and traditions. Relying on the Lord gave Israel and their posterity freedom and the potential to progress. Israel would eventually enter the promised land.

• What are some sources we might be tempted to rely on rather than relying on the Lord?

• Why is relying on the Lord better for us than relying on other people or things?

The Sabbath day

As students study about manna, consider asking them to share principles they discover about the Sabbath day. They might point out that Israel worked extra on the sixth day so they could rest on the Sabbath. They might also recognize that the Lord provided extra for Israel on the sixth day so they could keep the Sabbath day holy. Help students discuss similarities to our lives by asking:

• What are some extra things we might need to do during the week so we can better keep the Sabbath day holy?

• How have Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ provided for you and your family temporally and spiritually as you have tried to keep the Sabbath day holy?