Have you ever been asked the question: “If you could travel back to any time in history, when and where would you go?” Well chances are, if you had asked me that question over the last few weeks, I may have answered with something along the lines of going back to the wilderness with the people of ancient Israel. Why? To experience one thing: manna.
What’s so special about manna? As a kid it was one of those Sunday school Bible stories that stuck with me. This bread-like substance would appear 6 days a week. If you took more than you needed, it would get super gross, but on the 6th day, you had to take double so that you wouldn’t have to do anything on the Sabbath. And besides some quail and water, manna was the only thing the people of Israel ate for a REALLY long time.
Cool story, but again, what’s so special about manna? Like some things that may have found themselves rooted in childhood, manna is one of those things that as come to have a more significant meaning in adulthood. And recently I’ve listened to two songs that have had manna as part of the lyrics, which have sent me on this little journey. Both are included at the bottom.
The foundation is this: Manna was tangible evidence of the Lord’s provision. It was a symbol of complete dependence upon Him for living. But strikingly, it was His provision in response to a complaint – a sweet provision in response to a complaint.
Manna invites us to understand the intentional care and goodness of God’s character.
Immediately I am confronted with how starkly that contrasts with my natural responses. When people complain, I tend to become frustrated. Yet when Israel complained, God had compassion. If I had been in charge of the food option for Israel, my flesh would have absolutely settled for something that probably would have made most people’s top 10 hated foods list. But not only did God miraculously give them something to eat, He offered them something sweet and something that satisfied. What grace!
I wonder what the people of Israel must have thought as they awoke that first morning to manna on the ground. In my mind, I imagine it would be something similar to seeing a season’s first snowfall, a site I’m used to, but still never got over when it occurred every year. Wonder. Awe. Excitement. Perhaps there were tears of joy in knowing that God had heard them. He had seen them. But then I also think about some who perhaps may have even felt guilty or unworthy of this gift post complaint, because I too have questioned God’s goodness, just to see Him intervene in incredible ways. If only I could travel back, watching their response would be study enough.
But Exodus 16 provides the whole narrative of this miraculous provision, and it’s quite interesting to zoom in and out of the details that were far beyond what my mind could have captured as a child. Here are just a few snippets that stuck out to me.
Manna had to be collected with intentionality.
In verse 21, we find out that the people had to collect in the morning because once the sun grew hot, the manna melted away. Collecting manna wasn’t something that could be delayed, nor was it something that you could just run back out to mid-day and grab a quick snack. It had to be a priority for each day or else you went without.
Manna required trust and obedience.
This is the part where I wish I could just sit and watch Moses. He was faithful to tell the people all they needed to know. He told them what it would be, when to find it, and why this was going to occur. He also made sure they knew God’s directions. #1. Don’t try to save leftovers for tomorrow. And yet the people didn’t listen. Cue the maggots and Moses’ frustration. #2. Don’t try to collect on the Sabbath. And yet, some went out to try and collect. Cue the lack of manna and Moses’ building frustration. If only Moses could have sung the age old hymn “Trust and Obey” to the people. Seriously though, the people that had been gloriously rescued out of a life of enslavement still grappled with trusting their Rescuer fully, and Moses was tasked with leading them, not just physically through a desert, but spiritually toward the Lord their Rescuer. Not an easy task.
Manna reveals how God’s provision gives us exactly what we need.
I love verses 17 and 18 of this chapter and perhaps this is my favorite morsel that has been uncovered. “17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.”
Now perhaps there are a couple different thoughts that could come to mind when you read that some collected a little while others a lot. Was there some injustice occurring that kept some from being able to gather? Or is it possible that some were being lazy while others worked hard? I personally don’t feel that either of those really fit what’s going on here, and the reality here is way more awesome than that. The picture here is that the community went out to gather. However there was no instruction to bring it back to one spot where it would be measured then divided properly. Note that there is also zero verbiage instructing the people to take a particular sized container so that they knew when to stop collecting.
They simply gathered. Then they measured. And it was ALWAYS exactly enough.
I’m sure that as time went on, the people got really good at knowing the amount they needed, but I can’t get over what I’m sure they experienced that first collection day, when no family came up short of what they needed, and no family exceeded what they needed. Simply and exactly enough.
Manna was meant to reveal God to the people in a deeper way.
Verses 6 and 7 lay out God’s purpose in all of this. The provision of the quail was meant to bolster Israel’s understanding that He is still taking care of them post Egypt! And in the morning they would be reminded of His unmistakable glory! Absolutely, God could have just spoken to them. He could have had Moses and Aaron speak to them. He could have told them in this moment to eat from the animals that had come with them from Egypt. All of those would have been logical and acceptable in the “God to humanf” interaction. But instead, He invited them, His chosen people, into an experience. Because He knows that more than words, we were created for experiences. He knows that often times, more than words, it is our experiences and encounters with His character and glory that leave us transformed.
And so they partook in this manna experience for 40 years. 40 years of depending daily on God for literal sustenance. 40 years of a daily miracle. But as incredible as that is, I think we could all agree that eating the same thing day after day for 40 years does sound not the best. And we see from an account in Numbers 11 that eventually they did complain about manna. But the complaint in that passage stems from the focus being removed from the miracle. Perhaps forgotten. Perhaps routine. Both are human. We are so prone to losing focus at times, and when we aren’t careful to guard that, we can also complain about the provision, the intervening, the blessings, the gifts, the goodness of God.
I will never be able to go back in time to experience what those people experienced. And as cool as it would be, it’s really ok; however, I’m holding out for a taste test of manna one day in heaven. I also think it would be so totally epic if the Ark of the Covenant were found in modern day and the manna that Aaron collected was still in tact. But processing through these meanings of manna have delivered a sweeter sense of what it means to partake in something, rather someone better…Jesus: Our Eternal Manna.
Our Eternal Manna
In the latter part of John 6, Jesus compares Himself to manna. And while manna was truly a miraculous gift, we see that the fulfillment that Jesus brings is always better. Because unlike manna which faded in the heat of the day, we can turn to Jesus throughout our day as we experience our need. Unlike manna which appeared for six days but did not appear for one day, we can encounter Jesus EVERY day. Unlike manna, which was about physical nourishment, Jesus provides ultimate nourishment for our whole being – body, mind, and soul. Unlike the miracle of manna which only brought about physical salvation from starvation, Jesus brought us the miracle of salvation from our sin, which results in the far better reward of eternal life! He is infinitely better.
But like manna, the reality of Jesus compels our trust. We must trust Him for our salvation. We must trust that He will provide. We must trust that He remains. And like manna, with each encounter of Jesus, it is meant to take us into a deeper understanding of who He is. A Savior acquainted with our every sorrow, struggle, and pain. An Intercessor on our behalf. The most faithful Friend. And still in those likenesses, He still prevails the best.
The people of Israel may have lost the wonder of manna. I don’t blame them, nor can I judge them. Because I know that it’s all too easy for me to lose the same wonder. But this deeper dive into manna reminded that we are indeed invited daily to partake of the Eternal Manna. That invitation is about our daily need, but it’s also about knowing Jesus in new and refreshing ways. It’s an invitation that comes with limitless ways to experience Him. The Word. Prayer. Music. Sunsets. Walks. Silence. The list goes on in ways that we can truly encounter Jesus and find satisfaction in Him.
We so often tend to create expectations on how much we think is enough. When we think we’ve brought enough, we limit ourselves from the vastness He has to give. When we think we’ve failed to bring enough, we sometimes get too caught up on our failure to fully embrace His grace. But like the people went out daily, our Eternal Manna simply wants us to obediently gather. Whether we feel that we are able to gather only a little some days or more on others, I imagine Jesus waiting for us to come to Him so that He can measure. And friend, His response will never be, “I’m sorry, that’s not enough”. He will never tell us we’ve “overdone it.” No, He measures so that we can experience how He makes our gathering exactly enough to satisfy the need that He alone is able to fill. He wants us to know that He fully satisfies beyond our effort, and He continues to allow us to understand the Psalmist’s invitation to “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
And so, the invitation is mine. The invitation is yours. Will you partake in our Eternal Manna? He is our portion.
The Unwithered Leaf 