Have you ever taken something or a situation for granted, not expressing the appreciation it is due? Or, has this something or situation become a boring routine to you? Could they, then, have become despised by you?
This could be the same situation or something that starts out being taken for granted, then becoming boring, then, finally, despised, OR, you might have just experienced one or two of these responses. It doesn’t really matter whether all responses were involved or not, because just one of these responses, alone, can put our attitude and spiritual life in danger. Any one of these responses can negatively affect an appropriate and holy relationship with our Father in Heaven and our Lord, Jesus Christ.
With these responses in mind, lack of appreciation, unwanted routine, and despising, I would like to bring up the topic of “manna”.
Exo 16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.
Exo 16:12 "I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.' "
Exo 16:13 So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp.
Exo 16:14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
Exo 16:15 So when the children of Israel saw it ,they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.
In this short stretch of verses, we learn that this manna is a miraculous gift from the LORD, Himself, this “bread” being something nutritious to sustain Israel in the wilderness.
It even continued to be miraculous after being gathered by the people. If we had time to read all of chapter 16 and the first several verses of Numbers 11, we would read that, if they kept any of this manna over to the next day on day 2 through 6, it would rot, becoming stinky and loaded with worms. Meanwhile, if they collected double on the 6th day, preparing two days’ worth, it would not rot on the 7th day. Finally, as described in the Book of Numbers, a measure of it was collected to be placed in the Ark of the Covenant, and it would not ever go bad.
Continuing Exodus 16, in verse 31...
Exo 16:31 And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
Further described in Numbers…
Num 11:7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium.
Num 11:8 The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil.
So, even though Moses had answered Israel’s question that this substance was food from the LORD, they adopted the question, “What is it?,” and not the answer, “Food from God.” We also learn that it was shaped like coriander and had a color like bdellium, so it was novel. It was also diverse in that it tasted one way, like honey, when eaten raw, but another when prepared; like pastry made with oil.
With all this in mind, let us look back on my first questions and apply them to Israel in the wilderness. Did Israel appreciate what they were given, did they look forward to it every day, and did they cherish this provision from God?
Num 11:4 Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: "Who will give us meat to eat?
Num 11:5 We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;
Num 11:6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!"
So Israel did not appreciate, look forward to, and cherish this miraculous, unusual, and nutritious food provided directly by the LORD, Himself!
We need to go to Deuteronomy, now, as a transition from this physical bread of life…
Deu 8:2 And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
Deu 8:3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
This manna reflected God’s provision and was part of how God tested Israel’s belief and trust in Him. Would they believe and obey His word; every word?
Jesus is identified as the Word of God…
Joh 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
And, Jesus identifies HIMSELF as food from God, or “manna”…
Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
Joh 6:34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."
Joh 6:35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
Not that one doesn’t hunger and thirst, but that hunger and thirst will always be satisfied.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
It is Christ who is our sole sustenance every day of our lives. The Spirit of God, representing Jesus and our Father dwelling with us, is that food that feeds us the mind, character, and power of God.
Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
Joh 6:54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
Joh 6:58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."
We will be partaking of the symbols of Jesus’ body and blood very soon at Passover, but this food from Heaven is something we must appreciate, hunger for, and cherish every day of our lives. Our Christ’s IMAGE is not the focus of eating His flesh and blood, but it is everything that God stands for, every word that proceeds from His mouth, every spiritual application of that word (ex. adultery, murder, honor).
Do you and I deeply value the things God gives us? Do we value, for instance, God’s provision of the Sabbath command? Do we value, for instance, God’s command to assemble on the Sabbath. Do we hunger for His instruction no matter if we’ve heard the same thing a million times? How much do we value the easy availability of a Bible to read? Is all that God has given us like precious gold for us to possess and not trade, let’s say, for lentil soup?
Just what can this world and its wisdom offer us that provides eternal life? Well, of course, the answer is, “Nothing.” Jesus was the Word made flesh. Jesus is the Bread from Heaven given to us by our Father to, day in and day out, provide us eternal life. God speed the day of His coming!
