The Promise: Manna from Heaven!

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 – “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?

 

 

 What the Gospel Is (Pasche, F.E.)

"I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Rom,. 1:16.

What is the Gospel? The Gospel is the glad tidings of the grace of God in Christ Jesus. The Gospel is the joyful message that the God of heaven had compassion on us, His fallen creatures, and sent a Savior to save us from our sins. The Gospel is the won­ derful story of Jesus Christ, telling us who He is, how He came into this world, what He did and taught, for what purpose He suffered and died, and how He rose again and ascended to heaven. The Gospel tells us that the Son of God suffered the punishment which we had deserved on account of our sins, that He won for us forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God, and that God the Father accepted the work of His beloved Son by raising Him from the dead and crowning Him with honor and majesty. The Gospel tells us that Jesus Christ merited the righteousness for us which avails in the sight of God and that He prepared everlasting man­ sions in heaven for us, and it invites, yea, urges us to look to Him and be saved by Him. The Gospel says: “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” The Gospel tells us: “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have ever­ lasting life.”

So the Gospel brings Christ and His salvation nigh unto us. Christ has earned eternal salvation for us, the Gospel brings it to us, and faith receives and holds it ■—•surely a plain, simple, and direct way to heaven!

Come, then, to Christ just as you are, with all your sins. Forgiveness, pardon, grace, His eternal kingdom with all its riches, is yours free of charge, without money and without price. Is not that the sweetest story ever told? What message is sweeter to the prisoner than the news of his pardon and freedom? We verily have a glorious Gospel, and we may well say with St. Paul: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.”

Prayer.

Merciful God, with a solemn oath Thou hast promised and said: “As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” I take comfort in Thine only-begotten Son, mine only Redeemer, Justifier, and Mediator, who by virtue of His obedience, suffering, and death has regained Thy favor for me and has given me, who believes in Him, power to be and remain Thy child and an heir of salvation. He is the Water of Life, which alone can give health to my soul. Amen.

I heard, the voice of Jesus say, Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one, Stoop down and drink and live. I came to Jesus, and I drank Of that life-giving stream;

My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,

And now I live in Him.

DAILY READINGS IN LIFE OF CHRIST - J.R. Miller

March 11. Give Me a drink

"There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drinkr." John 4:7

This illustrates to us how full the world's common walks are of Christ. This woman went out from her home on a very ordinary and commonplace errand, to draw a little water from the public well, and before she returned — she had met the Messiah and He had revealed Himself to her soul as her Savior! She was not seeking for Christ, except as the unsatisfied yearning of her heart was a faint cry for Him whom she knew not. We never know when we are to meet Christ. He often meets us in all the paths of life. She was in the way of simple duty, when he met her.

The way of duty is always the surest place to come upon Christ. No one ever yet found Him in the path of disobedience. This woman was unaware of the glory of the presence beside her. Jesus met her in the form of a weary and way-worn man — and won His way to her conscience and heart, before he revealed to her the glory of His personality. Christ continually comes in unrecognized ways, getting near to us and drawing out our love and trust — and before we know that it is Christ — we are loving and trusting Him; then He drops the veil — and shows us His blessed face.

There is another suggestion here: Jesus began His ministry of blessing to this woman — by asking a simple favor of her. "Give me a drink," He said. Thus He continually stands before us in some disguise, asking some service. He Himself has told us that in the least of His little ones who appeal to us for bread in their hunger, or relief in their distress — He Himself comes; and that what we do for these — we do for Him. So we never know when it is Christ who stands before us, in some suppliant or needy one, with a timid request for help. We should be careful how we treat the lowliest person, lest some day we deny a cup of water to the blessed glorious Christ.