Manna – God’s Provision
Ah, Bread. It is often said to be the staff of life. And a universal mainstay in our diets.
But it is so much more than bread alone.
While wandering in the desert the Israeliltes complained bitterly. They forgot how they were delivered from slavery in Egypt as soon as their stomachs became empty. They had no faith and weak memories.
So God supplied food for the people. Manna. The word manna comes from the Hebrew word, man hu which literally means “What is it?”
This manna appeared every morning on the ground as dew, and the people collected it every morning. This supply lasted for 4o years until the people were finally secured and had entered into the promised land under Joshua. This manna had to be gathered, and there was only a day’s provision. It would spoil by the next day. Therefore a level of faith was being taught at this time. Only enough could be gathered for the day so that they would learn to expect God to provide for them the very next morning. Double could be collected only on the day before the Sabbath as they could not toil on this day.
What does this teach us? Do we gather God’s Word daily? Do we ingest the Word and obey it?
The people began to complain again. All they had to eat was this bread. They began to hunger for something more. They craved meat. How often are we discontent with what we have? How are we just like the Israelites who had been supplied with all they needed? God supplied them with bread, water from the rock, their clothes and shoes never wore out, yet they grumbled.
Their discontent was more than just about food. They complained against God and we also complain against God when are unhappy with our circumstances. It is in this way that we are just like the Israelites, never satisfied with what God has provided for us and the current situation we may find ourselves in.
God sent the people meat in the form of quail. These quail came knee-deep and when the people ate them…they were struck with a plague. This gives new meaning to the saying, “be careful for what you ask for.”
Jesus teaches us that He is the bread of life. “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty…I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world…Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me…he who feeds on this bread will live forever”
John 6:32-33, 35, 48-51, 57-58
Jesus offers us eternal live if we feast on His Word. He offers spiritual food instead of temporal food. He tests us causing us to hunger and feeds us the Word to instruct us that we do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deut. 8:2-3)
Do you take in manna every day in the form of Bible study? Do you ingest the Word of God and truly live it? Will you set aside time each morning to collect God’s Word and hide it in your heart?
ko
