The
Promise: Manna from Heaven!
Perhaps a
fitting introduction to this chapter would include a discussion of Manna and
its nature.
1. Manna was the bread which was
salvation for the children of Israel in their Wilderness wanderings in a dry
and thirsty land where food was not available. That bread was given by God.
2. Manna came down from Heaven as
the dew. Like dew, Manna could not be seen in its distillation upon the ground,
and it came – as the Holy Ghost – silently, and it came during the hours of
darkness. I am reminded of the words of that famous carol by Phillips
Brooks (1835–1893), an Episcopal priest, of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia – “How
silently, how silently, the Wondrous Gift is given!” – from ‘O Little Town
of Bethlehem.’
3. Manna was white, representing
purity. The Bread of Heaven possesses no impurities at all – no leaven, no
additives or chemicals. It is PURE, and that Bread from Heaven represents the
Lord Jesus Christ! “For the bread of God is
he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then
said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall
never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (John
6:33-35) Jesus is
both the Bread of Life and the Water of Life as well.
4.
Manna
could not be stored up in basins. It had to be gathered daily (except the day
before the Sabbath Day on which two measures were gathered so that no labor be
done on the Sabbath). If more than necessary for daily bread were gathered, it
would sour the second day. The Words we study of Holy Scripture sour as well
without daily reinforcement for it is our nature to forget the depth of meaning
and to begin to dilute the Word with our own thoughts and ideas. The Word of
God is our Manna for that Word is Jesus Christ. We must eat daily to sustain
our physical bodies, and we must eat the Bread of Heaven daily to sustain our
spiritual souls. We say we love Jesus, yet we do not visit Him daily in His
Word as true love should dictate. We may lean upon the crutch of Sunday
attendance at Church, hear one sermon preached by another mortal, say good-bye
to Jesus at the foyer of the church, lock the door and not visit Christ again
for another seven days. In the meantime, our souls have grown weak and
unhealthy. The flesh takes power over that famished soul that is so
malnourished of the Word of God.
The forty years of the Wilderness Wanderings might be compared to this earthly
life. We wander from pillar to post, and those who know Christ, travel as
pilgrims seeking a better land (Heaven). “These all died in faith, not
having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded
of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a
country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they
came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire
a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be
called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” (Heb
11:13-16) The
Promised Land of God lies just ahead, beyond Jordan Banks.
Manna is a type of Christ, and if a type, then Christ is the antitype. He is
the TRUE Bread that comes down from Heaven. “Your
fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which
cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the
living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he
shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will
give for the life of the world.” (John
6:49-51) The Manna
of Heaven is Christ and all of His graces.
Let us examine some of the ways that Manna is a vivid type
of Christ. By the way, a type never possesses the power and beauty of that
which it typifies. So in what ways does Manna typify Christ? Here are some
points given by Benjamin Keach:
1.
Both Manna and
the Lord Jesus Christ came down from God the Father.
2.
Manna was a strange
thing to Israel. They asked, “What is it?” (Ex 16:15). When
Christ came to the world, they did not know Him. “He was in the world, and the
world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” (John
1:10)
3.
Manna was not of this
world, but was prepared by God. “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he
saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared
me.” (Heb 10:5)
4.
Manna came down from
Heaven. So did our Lord Jesus Christ.
5.
Manna was pure and
white. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for
us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who
did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.” (1
Peter 2:21-22)
6.
Manna was round in form
and figure. Christ is perfect in all aspects of His Being and, like a round
globe has no beginning or end in every dimension.
7.
Manna came to Israel
freely – as a free gift. So was Christ given freely. “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith
to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have
given thee living water.” (John 4:10) “For
if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ.)” (Romans 5:17)
8.
Manna
was given to all who would receive it – rich, poor, palsied, commoners as well
as royalty. In the same way, Christ makes no distinction as to station, race,
nationality or tribe. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond
nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise.” (Gal 3:28-29)
9.
Manna was
sweet in taste. So is Christ to the believer. “O taste and see that the LORD
is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” (Psalms
34:8)
10.
Manna nourished well and was
inexhaustible in its supply. So is Christ. He was offered a full and sufficient
sacrifice for all. “My grace is sufficient for
thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2
Cor 12:9)
11.
Manna was to be bruised in a mill to
make it more useful for food. Christ, too, was bruised for us. “Yet it
pleased the LORD to bruise him.” (Isaiah 53:10)
12.
Manna was given in equal measure to
each Israelite. None got more, or less, than another. Christ is given in full
measure to all who are His. None are given a small portion while another is
given a larger one.
13.
Manna came down with the dew and was
hidden thereby until the Sun arose upon it. Christ, too, came down from God and
was hidden as by the dew of the Holy Ghost until the Sun of Righteousness
arises and the Light of the World gleams forth. Christ is the “Hidden Manna.”
(Rev. 2:17)
14.
Manna was not given to the Israelites while
they were still in Egypt. Christ sets the captives free and His Manna is not
given to those who remain in bondage to sin.
15.
Manna fell only in and around the camp
of Israel and no other place. The graces of Christ fall only within and around
His Church. “As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the
mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for
evermore.” (Psalms 133:3) “And
in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed
with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.”
(Rev 1:13) Just one more reason Reformed
Anglicans use a Gospel-side and an Epistle-side Candle on our Lord’s Table!
Manna was given to Israel in the
Wilderness. They had no other food that would profit. Christ is our only food
in this world whereby our souls can be nourished. He is our Spiritual Manna.
There are a great many more comparisons that could be made to the likeness of
Manna to our Lord but I am sure the reader will pursue a further study to show
himself approved of God in handling that perfect Word of Truth.
There is one significant
disparity between Manna and Christ. Manna would corrupt in a day, but Christ
never corrupts. Christ is the “same yesterday, today, and forever.” He
is always fresh and pure. He abideth forever. Another disparity is that Manna
was eaten by all in Israel, but some did not believe – in fact, many! Those who
ate Manna in the Wilderness did die, but those who eat the Bread that Christ
gives shall “never die!”
Have you had your Heavenly Manna
today?
