Free Bible lesson for kids · The Exodus
Bread from Heaven
In the wilderness the people complained that they were hungry. God sent quails in the evening and, in the morning, small white bread called manna on the ground. They gathered it every day, and twice as much before the sabbath.
- Bible passage
- Exodus 16:1–36
- Big idea
- God gives us what we need, day by day.
- Memory verse
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.
Exodus 16:4 (KJV)- Ages
- Preschool to preteen (3 to 12), with tips for each age
- Time
- About 45 minutes
- Included, free
- Animated story film, coloring page, class sheet, teacher guide, questions and answers, a game
The story
In the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron. They said they would die of hunger (Exodus 16:1–3). The LORD said, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you,” and He promised meat in the evening and bread in the morning (Exodus 16:4, 12). That evening quails came up and covered the camp (Exodus 16:13).
In the morning, when the dew was gone, a small round thing lay on the ground. Moses said, “This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat” (Exodus 16:14–15). The people called it manna. It was white, and it tasted like wafers made with honey (Exodus 16:31). They gathered it every morning, and on the sixth day they gathered twice as much so they could rest on the sabbath (Exodus 16:21–23, 30). God fed them manna for forty years (Exodus 16:35).
Read it in the Bible: Exodus 16:1–36 (KJV)
1And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. 2And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: 3And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. 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. 22And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 24And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. 25And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. 26Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 27And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 28And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 29See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. 30So the people rested on the seventh day. 31And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 33And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. 34As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. 36Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
Questions to ask
What came in the evening?
Quails.
What did the manna taste like?
Wafers made with honey.
How often did they gather it?
Every morning, and a double portion on the sixth day.
What this story teaches
- God hears us, even when we grumble and complain (Exodus 16:12).
- God tested His people to see if they would obey (Exodus 16:4).
- The bread they ate was a gift from the LORD (Exodus 16:15).
- God gave His people just what they needed each day (Exodus 16:18).
- God gave His people a day of rest (Exodus 16:29–30).
Jesus Is the Living Bread
Manna fed Israel in the wilderness for a time. Jesus is the living bread from heaven, and everyone who believes on Him has everlasting life.
John 6:47–51
A 45-minute lesson plan
| 5 min | Welcome and pray. Greet each child by name and pray: Thank God for our daily bread. |
|---|---|
| 10 min | The story. Play the story film: each verse appears on screen in the King James Version while the scene plays. Pause to ask what happens next. |
| 10 min | Talk about it. Ask the three questions below. Then ask: “God gives us what we need, day by day.” What does that mean for us? |
| 5 min | Memory verse. Say Exodus 16:4 together, covering one word at a time until the children can say it alone. |
| 10 min | Activity. Younger children color the coloring page while you retell the story; older children do the class sheet (memory-verse fill-in, word search and questions). |
| 5 min | Pray and send home. Pray together and send the sheet home so families can talk about the first question this week. |
- Preschool: keep it short and physical. Act out the story, use a simple prop, and repeat the big idea in one sentence.
- Elementary: let children find the passage in their own Bibles. Ask “who, what, where” questions first, then “why.”
- Preteens: read the verses before and after the passage, and ask how this story fits the whole story of the Bible.
Game time
For kids · game · indoors or out · about 10 minutes
Gather the Manna
You need: Cotton balls or white paper scraps, a cup for each child
- Scatter the “manna” across the floor while the kids hide their eyes.
- Call “Morning!” Each child gathers manna into a cup, but only six pieces each: just enough for today.
- Count together. Then call “The sixth day!” and everyone gathers twice as much, for the sabbath.
- Scatter it again for another morning.
God gave His people bread from heaven every morning. He gives us what we need, every day.
For youth group · activity · indoors · about 45 minutes
Daily Bread Bake
You need: Simple flatbread or quick-bread ingredients, a kitchen, an adult cook
- Bake bread together.
- While it cooks, read Exodus 16 and Matthew 6:11.
- Eat it together and talk: what do you need to trust God for each day?
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” We depend on Him every day.
Pray
Thank God for our daily bread.