Neville Goddard on Exodus 16:4-21 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Exodus 16 in context

Scripture Focus

4Then 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.

5And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

6And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:

7And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?

8And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.

9And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.

10And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

11And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

12I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.

13And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

14And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.

15And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.

16This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.

17And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.

18And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.

19And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.

20Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.

21And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

Exodus 16:4-21

Biblical Context

The Lord rains bread from heaven to test their faith; they must gather daily, with a double portion on the sixth day, and their murmuring shows where they are in relation to God's provision.

Neville's Inner Vision

In this scene, the bread from heaven is not bread at all but your own shifting state of awareness. The supply that appears at evening and the dew by morning are the signals your I AM casts into your imagination to prove what you believe about yourself. The people gathering according to their eating mirrors how attention should be given to the pictures you entertain: some gather abundantly, some too little, and all is measured by the alignment of desire with faith. The murmuring is not against Moses or the Lord but against the sense of lack within you. When you realize the Lord has heard your murmurings, you begin to see that every lack is a misperception of your own consciousness. The double portion on the sixth day foreshadows a resting in awareness—an inner Sabbath where you trust your state, not the external appearance. The wilderness is your current mental desert; the quails and manna are the ideas your imagination brings to support your life, as you walk by faith, not by sight.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: In the next breath, assume, 'I am the bread of life; I am supplied now.' Feel the letting in of fullness, and carry that sense through the day, returning to it each time you notice want.