Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole congregation of Israel, ‘Come before the LORD, for He has heard your grumbling.’”
Moses summons them before God's tribunal to break their pride and expose their stupidity. They thought their murmurs went unheard, yet God's visible presence in the cloud was before their eyes; they had hardened themselves against His ordinary signs and needed an extraordinary one to shake them awake.
AI summary
They had bread for a month, and when it ran out, despair set in at once, as if the God who parted the Red Sea could not feed them in the desert. They charge Moses with malice when he acted by God's command for their good. The best actions get the worst colors put upon them, and people wish themselves back in bondage rather than trust the invisible hand that saved them.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 16:1-12
Aaron was Moses' prophet, the voice to the people. The Lord heard every murmuring, I repeat it because you must feel the weight of it, and He took notice of their evil, yet answered them with such grace that it should have silenced all complaint.
AI summary