When we read the book of Exodus we may have a high appreciation for God delivering His people out of Egypt, the changing of bitter water into sweet, the law was given at Mount Sinai, etc but we may not appreciate the manna too much. But throughout their journey in the wilderness toward the good land, the people of Israel daily ate one thing only: the heavenly food, the manna.
Every morning, when the dew lifted, there upon the surface of the wilderness were fine round flakes, fine as the frost on the earth. When the children of Israel saw it, they asked one another, What is it? Then Moses told them, It is the bread which Jehovah has given you to eat. God caused food from heaven to fall down for His people to eat, and all of them ate the manna daily for forty years.
God only commanded that they would gather of it each one according to his eating – some gathered much and some gathered little, each according to his eating. The manna came early in the morning, and they had to wake up and gather it, since when the sun came out, the manna melted. Also, the people of Israel could cook it (grind it and boil it) and eat it, but the manna could not stay until the next day.
In John 6 the Lord applied the matter of manna to Himself; He clearly said that Moses didn’t give Israel the real bread out of heaven, but He Himself, the Christ of God, is the bread coming down out of heaven so that His people would eat Him and live forever.
Looking at the many details of the manna in the first five books of the Bible, we can apply at least sixteen aspects of manna to Christ. We need to see and experience the characteristics of Christ as our unique food, our daily manna, for our metabolic transformation.
First we need to see the characteristics of Christ as our daily manna, and then we need to daily enjoy Him and experience Him as our unique food for our metabolic transformation.
We need to See and Experience the Characteristics of Christ as our Daily Manna, our Unique Food
There are at least sixteen aspects of manna that show us the characteristics of Christ as our daily manna, and many of them are unpacked, unveiled, and developed in the Life-Study of Exodus (see msg. 35) by our dear brother Witness Lee. Praise the Lord for such a rich Christ – so real, so sweet, so available, so refreshing, so nourishing, and so wonderful!
The manna is a mystery. When the children of Israel saw manna, they asked, What is it? (Exo. 16:15), and the name of the manna derives from this. Christ is the mystery of God, yet He is so wonderful (Col. 2:2; Isa. 9:6; Eph. 3:4; John 3:8). Christ is wonderful – He is incomprehensible; He is a miracle, since He came as God becoming man to be our food, and we can feed on Him.
The fact that we can feed on this One is a mystery, and because we eat of Him every day makes us mysterious; by eating Christ as our daily manna we become the mystery of Christ, the church.
Others may see us and recognize us, but we are beyond understanding to them since we enjoy Christ and are becoming the same as He is. Just as we cannot analyze and explain manna, so we cannot analyze and explain the Lord Jesus; to us, Christ is the real manna, the real, “What is it?” and when we eat Him, we become the church as the mystery of Christ.
Manna is a long-term miracle. God sent manna every morning for forty years, and it had to be gathered by the children of Israel every morning. It is a miracle that we as men can eat God: somehow God became a man and then became the Spirit to be edible, good for food; daily we can eat God – what a miracle!
We cannot “store” the supply of Christ for later; rather, morning by morning and day by day we need to experience Christ as our life supply, and He will last for eternity (Exo. 16:4, 21; cf. Matt. 6:34). We should not worry about tomorrow but just enjoy the Lord today; in the world we may have trouble and affliction, but we can daily enjoy Christ as our real manna, our food supply. How amazing it is that daily we can eat God! This is really a long-term lifelong miracle, and it will continue for eternity!
Manna is from heaven. Day by day manna came from heaven for the food supply of the children of Israel. In John 6:32-33 and 51 we see that Christ is the bread out of heaven and the bread of God. On the one hand, Christ is the bread coming from heaven for our food supply, and on the other hand, He is the bread of God, God Himself coming to us in the form of food, bringing God into us. Our time with the Lord in His word day by day nourishes us with heavenly food, the bread of God.
Manna comes with the dew. When the dew lifted, manna was there (Exo. 16:13-14; Num. 11:9). This means that daily the Lord’s refreshing and watering grace is brought in by His fresh compassions (see Psa. 133:3; Lam. 3:22-23; Psa. 110:3). If we don’t have the dew in our time with the Lord, we don’t get the manna; but when we open to the Lord morning by morning to enjoy His fresh compassions and be refreshed by Him, we enjoy God as grace refreshing us and watering us.
We can come forward with boldness to the throne of grace day by day to enjoy mercy and find grace, enjoying the compassionate God every morning to be refreshed, supplied, and nourished (Heb. 4:16).
Manna comes in the morning. This means that if the children of Israel woke up late, they missed the manna and they had no food to eat for the day. Every morning we need to wake up a bit earlier to enjoy Christ as the heavenly manna. Every morning we need a new beginning; when we wake up it is good to tell the Lord,
Lord Jesus, I love You! I am ready for a new turn today. I don’t want to live the same as in the past. i want to have a new beginning with You!
If we contact the Lord in a living way every morning, coming to Him as we read the word of God, we will enjoy Him as the real manna see Exo. 16:21; cf. S.S. 1:6b; 7:12; John 5:39-40; Rom. 6:4; 7:6). May we not just “search the Scriptures”, reading the Bible for knowledge, but come to the Lord daily to have a new beginning with the fresh supply of life! May we not just “read the prescription” in the Bible but “take the medicine” in the word of God by having a living contact with the Lord!
Manna is small. It was small and fine, like coriander seeds upon the face of the earth. On the one hand, the Lord Jesus is Great: He is God. On the other hand, He is small enough for us to eat. Christ was born in a manger (a lowly place), and He was raised in the home of a carpenter in a small, despised town; this indicates that the Lord didn’t make a display of His greatness but preferred to be small in the eyes of man (see Exo. 16:14; Luke 2:12; John 6:35; cf. Judg. 9:9, 11, 13; Matt. 13:31-32).
Christendom is like the transmuted mustard seed growing into a big tree; the church of God is like a small herb to feed people. May we know Christ and experience Him in His smallness, enjoying Him “bite-size” as the One who became small enough for us to eat.
Manna is fine. Christ was not only small enough for us to eat but He was even and balanced in everything (John 6:12). After feeding the 5000 with the fish and the bread, the Lord asked His disciples to pick up the remains – 12 baskets full. He was so fine and so balanced; when we eat Christ as the fine daily manna, we become fine God-men, balanced believers who express Christ.
Manna is round. In the spiritual significance, the fact that manna was round shows that as our food Christ is eternal, perfect, and full, without any shortage or defect (John 8:58). He is the great I AM: He is eternal; He is perfect and full, without shortage or defect, and when we eat Him we also live because of Him. When we eat Christ as the “round” daily manna, our shortages are made up and covered by Him, and He makes us the same as He is.
Manna is white (Exo. 16:31). This indicates that Christ as the real manna is clean and pure, without any mixture. Christ as the Word of God is like silver refined by fire, very pure (see Psa. 12:6; 119:140). When we eat Christ’s pure words by exercising our spirit, we become pure and simple toward Christ (see 2 Cor. 11:3b). By eating Christ as the pure One in His word, we become pure in heart, we are cleansed, and we are purified from any mixture.
Manna is like frost (Exo. 16:14). The frost cools and refreshes the earth, at the same time killing the negative elements. On the one hand we need to be burning in spirit toward the Lord for God’s interest, and on the other hand we need to be “cool in spirit” in our sober understanding of God’s economy (Rom. 12:11; Prov. 17:27).
When we eat Christ as the manna, He cools us, refreshes us, and kills the negative things within us. When we really eat the manna, it will be difficult for us to lose our temper, fall into lusts and temptations, or have selfish ambition.
Manna is like coriander seed (Exo. 16:31; Num. 11:7). This indicates that Christ is full of life that grows in us and multiplies; the seed is the word of God (which is Christ Himself) coming into us to be sown in us, grow in us, and bear fruit in us for God’s expression in glory (see Luke 8:11). When we eat Christ as manna, we grow in life and bear fruit for God.
Manna is solid; this is implied in the fact that the people could ground it between two millstones or beat it in a mortar, then they boiled it and put it in pots (Num. 11:8). After gathering Christ as manna, we must “prepare Him” for our eating by “grinding, beating, and boiling” Him in the situations and circumstances of our daily living.
This means that this solid Christ is being “cooked” and prepared by us in our daily living through all the situations and things we encounter so that He may become our constitution and experience (see 2 Cor. 1:4; Eph. 6:18).
Mann’s appearance is like that of bdellium (Num. 11:7). This shows us the brightness and transparency of Christ. On the one hand Christ is bright, shining with God as light within Him; on the other hand, He is “full of eyes”, full of sight and visions (Ezek. 1:18). When we eat Christ every day as manna we become full of the heavenly visions of God’s economy.
Manna’s taste is like that of cakes baked in oil (Num. 11:8). This signifies that in the taste of Christ (the manna) we have the fragrance of the Holy Spirit (the oil). Hallelujah, our Christ is so tasty: He tastes like cakes baked in oil, being anointed with fresh oil for our enjoyment and experience day by day (Psa. 92:10).
Manna’s taste is like that of wafers made with honey (Exo. 16:31). This signifies the sweetness of the taste of Christ. When we eat Christ in His word, His words are sweet to our taste (Psa. 119:103) and they become the gladness and joy of our heart. Just taste and see that the Lord is good: He is so rich, so sweet, and so full!
Manna is good for making cakes (Num. 11:8). This indicates that Christ is like fine cakes good for nourishment. When we are nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching of God’s economy, we are able to feed others also with Christ as “fine cakes” for their enjoyment, supply, satisfaction, and nourishment (1 Tim. 4:6).
Wow, so many rich aspects of Christ as the real manna for us to enjoy day by day in our Christian life to be reconstituted with Him metabolically and be qualified to build up the church as the house of God!
Lord Jesus, we want to have a new beginning every morning by enjoying You and eating You as the real manna. Lord, we don’t want to live as in the past but rather eat You, enjoy You, and allow You to be digested and assimilated into us to refresh us, nourish us, and reconstitute us metabolically with God. Lord Jesus, You are our unique food, our daily manna, for our enjoyment and supply to be metabolically transformed. Thank You for becoming small enough for us to eat. Lord, You are so fine, so pure, so refreshing, so solid, and so sweet and lovely to our taste!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Ed Marks’ sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Exodus, msgs. 35 and 37, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Exodus (1), week 9 / msg 9, The Change of Diet to the Heavenly Christ as the Unique Food for God’s People.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Unique this manna is, / It comes with morning dew; / The visit of God’s grace it is, / Forever fresh and new. / God is majestic, high, / And greater than us all; / But that we may partake of Him, / In Christ, He’s fine and small. (Hymns #1147)
# Once again a new beginning, / Yesterday I’ve put behind, / To You Lord I come in seeking, / For Your Words, bring them to mind. / Oh Lord, grant me Your rich speaking, / Cause my spirit filled to be, / Lord, my heart and thoughts transforming, / That my life I live by Thee. (Song on Having a New Beginning)
# Teach me to exercise my spirit, Lord, / Thy Word to study, so to contact Thee, / That Thou, the living Word, with Scripture, too, / As one my daily manna e’er may be. (Hymns #801)
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