manna: more than bread

SHORTLY AFTER THE LORD set them free from Pharaoh, the Israelites started to grumble against Moses in the desert, saying, “What shall we drink?” for the water was bitter. God told Moses to throw a log into the water, and instantly the water became sweet (see Exo. 15:22). People then complained of having nothing to eat, saying, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Exo. 16:2-3).

Manna is a white coriander type of seed that tastes like wafers and honey. The word manna means, “What is that?”

God heard the grumblings of the Israelites and said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not” (Exo. 16:4). In the morning, dew lay around the camp. When it dried, there was a fine, flake-like frosting on the ground, which the Hebrews called manna, literally meaning, “What is that?” They survived on manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan, the land of promise.

Although manna was a physical manifestation, it is also meant to remind us that God is the source of all our needs. Manna is about receiving provision from God. The instruction to gather enough manna for each day was meant to build trust in God for provision and care. If a person tried to collect more than needed or to store the manna for the future, it would grow wormy and foul (see Exo 16:20).

In speaking about the manna God provided from heaven, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:32-33). He added, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (6:35). Jesus is the living bread. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Jesus said, “And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (6:51).

Steven Barto, BS Psy, ThM

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references contained herein are from the English Standard Version (ESV).