When the Israelites fled from Egypt on their way to the Promised Land, they had no food as they traveled through the desert. So God sent them a white, wafer-like substance they called manna. Every morning, except the Sabbath, manna covered the ground like dew, and the people went out and gathered what they needed for that day. It would not last til the next day, except on the Sabbath--it had to be gathered every day. And so God fed His people in the wilderness. I'm sure they became very creative in preparing manna in different ways--grilled manna, baked manna, banana bread!
As we see in today's verse, the manna was a picture of Jesus. The manna was round--the circle is a symbol of completion and perfection and represents the perfection of Jesus. Manna was white--representing the purity of Jesus. Manna came down from heaven--so did Jesus. Manna was on the ground--representing Jesus, who is God, voluntarily humbling Himself to live on earth as man. Most importantly, manna, the bread of heaven, gave life. Jesus is the "bread of God" who "gives life to the world".
Every day when we read God's Word, spend time alone with Him and pray, we are feeding on manna from heaven that nourishes our soul. Yesterday's manna, yesterday's time with God, is not sufficient for today. Sporadic study and prayer leads to spiritual malnutrition. Feeding on manna from heaven needs to be done on a daily basis.
In this day of counting calories and fat grams, this is one area where dieting is hazardous to your health. Here we can feast! The more, the better. Have a banquet!
Becky
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