MANNA FROM HEAVEN
I’m sure you’ve noticed that many of the Old Testament stories have their counterpart or sequel in the New Testament. This isn’t surprising because the Old Testament is supremely a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. It consistently bears witness to him. “These are the Scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39).
We must read the Old Testament with “Jesus glasses”, interpreting it in the light of he who it foreshadows and constantly bears witness to. That’s the key to understanding the Scriptures, and by using it the wonder of God’s self-revelation will be unfolded. There’s a definite confirmation of this in the story of the two disciples walking to Emmaus, deep in gloom following the crucifixion of Jesus and unconfirmed rumours of his resurrection. As they made their weary way to Emmaus a stranger fell alongside them. It was going to be one of the most wonderful walks of history! The stranger was Jesus. He gave them the greatest Old Testament exposition in history – to a congregation of two!
We’re told, “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was in the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). It was then that the jigsaw of the types, shadows and symbols of the Old Testament revelation came together. What a pity they didn’t write it up and reproduce it as a book! But it established the principle of how we can and must interpret the Old Testament stories. We, in the 21st century, have the advantage of reading the Bible backwards! What do I mean by that? We can go back through the New to the Old Testament and interpret it in the subsequent light of the life and ministry of Jesus. With this background, let’s think about the stories we heard of in our readings (Exodus 16:1-20 and John 6:47-58). We see first:
THE PILGRIMAGE BEGUN
The Israelites were God’s chosen people. They had been redeemed from certain death on obeying God’s command in sheltering under the protection of the Passover sacrificial blood on their houses. They were freed from the slavery of their Egyptian taskmasters. They were the people of God, the “church” of the Old Testament, the equivalent of New Testament believers in Jesus although still waiting the promised Messiah. But did they move directly to Canaan, the land given to their forefather Abraham? O no! We’re told that “the Israelite community … came to the Desert of Sin”. The way forward led through a wilderness of clay – an inhospitable, lonely place, which symbolises this world through which we must travel.
The Israelites, although chosen by Jehovah to be his people, were far from perfection. Redeemed, yes, but righteous, no! Some may delude themselves that they are sinless. C H Spurgeon came across such a person. He invited the man to his home for dinner. After hearing the claims of perfection again at the dinner table, he picked up his glass of water and threw it in the man’s face. Understandably, the visitor was highly indignant and expressed himself very forcefully to the preacher about his lack of courtesy. Spurgeon replied, “Ah, you see, the old man within you is not dead. He had simply fainted and could be revived with a glass of water!”
If we’re honest with ourselves, we might very well come to the conclusion that we share many of the Israelites’ characteristics. Within a very short time from their miraculous deliverance from certain death by the hand of God, what do we find? The old nature began to reassert itself; they began to grumble about the harshness of life in the wilderness. What was God doing to them, they thought? Had he suddenly abandoned them, so soon after releasing them from slavery? Why, O why? This was part of Jehovah’s permissive plan to put his chosen people to the test. Let’s think about:
THE PRESSURES FACED
It’s one of God’s rules for the spiritual life that testing comes before resting! God has never promised that his people will pass into victory via a rose-strewn path. When God took the nation of Israel through the desert, the people were absolutely dependent on God. They couldn’t provide for themselves. They couldn’t plant. They couldn’t harvest. They couldn’t manufacture. It was a place where nothing but complete dependence was the rule. But did they face up to the pressure? No. The first thing they did was to complain about the quality of the water. And now it was the food! Such is the perversity of human nature! “If only we had died … in Egypt! There we … ate all the food we wanted!” they wailed. In their problems they had forgotten that they were now Jehovah’s responsibility and that he had promised to take them to the promised land of Canaan.
Someone once said, ”It’s a very common experience that the joy of conversion, of a living contact with Christ, often turns to deep disappointment as unexpected difficulties are encountered.” Life is made up of "highs" and "lows". Difficulties and setbacks come with amazing regularity after blessing. We’re caught off our guard and a moment of gladness changes to gloom. We feel disappointed and discouraged when life’s broad highway suddenly peters out into a stony pathway.
Well, we ask ourselves, what’s the reason for this about- turn of circumstances? In a word, it’s "discipline" - God’s discipline; it’s part of our soul’s education and equipment. It’s part of God’s training programme for our continued spiritual development. It’s a sign that God loves us. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews contrasts the discipline of human parents which, although given with the best of motives, may be imperfect, with God’s discipline which is "for our good, that we may share in his holiness" (12:10). This has been the story of God’s people down the ages - we cannot be exempted.
Submission to discipline isn’t easy. The natural reaction is to become resentful or even rebellious when life takes a hard turn. The spiritual way is to have an attitude of submission to God’s will and patient perseverance. We must look beyond the circumstances that we have to face and beyond the "second causes" whose helpless and even unfair victims we may appear to be, looking to the sovereign God whose mind and heart control our affairs. It’s not even a matter of resentfully resigning ourselves to our unwelcome lot, but rather to be in willing subjection to our heavenly Father, refusing to let depression get us down. Of course, it’s easier said than done.
The nation of Israel had experienced a wonderful deliverance from their Egyptian masters and it seems they began to take God for granted, assuming that they would be swept into the Promised Land, promptly and painlessly. The fact that God was fully able to meet their needs by remarkable and miraculous deeds wasn’t intended to imply that he wouldn’t sometimes severely test their faith in order to bring them to maturity. The sad thing was that they found it difficult to cope with a temporary food crisis. They immediately yearned for the fleshpots of Egypt but it’s hard to believe that they enjoyed a rich menu when under Pharaoh’s brutal taskmasters! Anyway, they were in no danger of starvation because they had their flocks of sheep and goats and herds of cattle with them. This discontent and murmuring was a symptom of their lack of faith in Jehovah. It was in danger of completely wrecking their discipleship. How often is this true of us? We’ve looked at the Pressures They Faced and will go on to see:
THE PROVISION RECEIVED
How gracious is our God! He might have severely disciplined them, but instead took no notice of their complaints and promised them a speedy, sufficient and constant supply of food. There’s a saying that "Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity." It certainly was true in this situation. He meets man’s need through a typically implausible means, telling Moses, “I will rain bread from heaven for you.” It came in the form of “manna”.
The story tells us that manna “was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey”. There’s been speculation as to what it was and whether it was a natural phenomenon. For instance, some partial parallels are known. In the area of Sinai certain insects produce honeydew excretions on tamarisk twigs in summer, but the manna which God provided was way beyond this natural substance because it was an all year round provision and not only when the nation was near Sinai but all the way to Canaan! It was a miraculous provision, showing that God controls the world of nature he has made and is quite capable of amplifying existing sources at his choosing.
So what does this tell us? The picture speaks to us of Christ. Here we are travelling through the wilderness of this world. It can be a hard life with heartaches and difficulties. In our lives are sin and failure. When problems come we all too often forget God’s promises. We grumble as if there had been times when he appeared to have abandoned us without help. If we were given our just desserts, he would turn from us forever. But he doesn’t! Instead he says, ”I will rain down bread from heaven for you.” The heaven sent provision is Jesus, the Saviour of the world, in all his fullness. Here are Christ’s own words. “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives to the world” (John 6:32). This leads us to think of:
THE PURPOSE OF THE PROVISION
God had a dual purpose in the provision of manna. It was to test their obedience in their pilgrimage to the Promised Land and to reveal his glory to the young nation. We’ll turn the spotlight first of all on how the provision of manna was to:
TEST THEIR OBEDIENCE
The manna duly rained down. Moses was commanded by God to tell the people how to use this providential provision. If they failed to observe the conditions it wouldn’t meet their need. It was given on a daily basis. It had to be gathered and used on that day. It was no use trying to beat the regulation and getting in tomorrow’s supply in today because we’re told that when some sharp Israelite ate yesterday’s stored manna for today’s breakfast, he found “it was full of maggots and began to smell” (16:20). Perhaps rich in protein, but not very nice to eat! Doesn’t this highlight our need for a daily supply of spiritual nourishment from the means of grace – of prayer and Bible reading?
Like the Israelites of old, we believers in Jesus are pilgrims to the ultimate Promised Land of eternal life with God. This world and its possessions are unreliable. We can become uncertain of what lies in the future, often bewildered, rebellious, short of patience and trust. We want to be able to manage and control the good things of life so that we always have something to spare, be that financially or emotionally. But it doesn’t always work out that way. We sometimes have to experience life without such assurance. Perhaps, through loss of one kind or another, we find ourselves unable to see how we can cope with what life throws at us. Like the Israelites, we have to live off only our immediate spiritual resources. But this is how God planned it for us.
The essential Christian petition for God’s help asks simply, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matt 6:11). It’s not a prayer for caviar, cake or confectionery – those are life’s luxuries - but for bread, the universal basic food. A poem I heard many years ago put it like this, “O God, that flesh and blood should be so cheap, and bread should be so dear!” This is true both physically and spiritually, but God has and will provide.
The Purpose of the Provision of the manna was also to:
REVEAL GOD’S GLORY
Moses told the people that when they gathered the manna “you will see the glory of the Lord” because “You will know it was the Lord when he gives you … all the bread you want … Then you will know that I am the Lord your God” (7,8 and 12). God’s purpose in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt was to bring them into Canaan. The whole operation, of which the provision of manna was but a small part, was to demonstrate the glory of God.
The manna was but a means to an end. It was God’s reply to their questioning of God’s ability, quoted in a Psalm “Can God spread a table in the desert?” (Psa 78:19). It was the means by which the Children of Israel would be sustained in their journey to Canaan. It tasted like honey, but it wasn’t the honey they had been promised. It was given to sustain them until they reached their goal, but we know from the history of Israel that it didn’t always satisfy. The manna was a symbol, a type, looking forward to the real, the genuine “manna” that would come from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ.
After Jesus had miraculously fed the five thousand, the disciples became obsessed with miraculous signs as a means of believing in him. Jesus had given them physical food in abundance but they needed something beyond that. They quoted the story of the manna and asked Jesus, “What will you do?” (John 6:30). He had given them physical food in abundance but they needed something beyond that. Jesus replied that he was “the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” The manna in the desert could only preserve and support life, but Christ gives life to those who are dead in sin. The manna was given only for the life of the Israelites, but Christ is given for the life of the world.
Jesus continued to contrast the manna given to the Children of Israel with himself as the counterpart of the Old Testament provision. “Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died” (48). Jesus is anxious to make it clear that earthly, material things, even though provided by God, are not sufficient to gain eternal life. Even those who were given “angels food” died like other human beings. Many of them died for their unbelief and murmuring. It provided no ultimate security; this can only come from the “true manna”.
“I am the bread of life,” said Jesus, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If a man eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (35 and 51). Jesus was anticipating his death on the Cross. It’s only as we believe on him and his atoning sacrifice and, as it were, “eat of this bread” that we can receive eternal life. The initial act of receiving Jesus is the means of entering into eternal life. But that life will only be sustained as we feed on Jesus and made strong by the nourishment that fellowship with him provides. The true bread has now been given.
C H Spurgeon used to say that Christians and non-Christians were just the same - like beggars after bread - the only difference being that Christians have found the bakery! Why do we content ourselves with “fast-food” religion when a banquet from heaven has been prepared and our names are on the invitation list?
