Exodus 16:14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. 17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
This passage of scripture describes for us the way in which the literal bread from heaven was provided to all the hosts of Israel on a daily basis for forty years. The Manna, as it was called, fell softly during the night, and lay there on the ground, available to all who were to eat of it as a daily requirement for the sustenance of physical life. No man could eat for another, but everyone were to partake individually, for the nutrition of one could not offset the lack thereof in another. Another point to note is that the Manna evaporated after the burning rays of the sun melted it, and so those Israelites who were not careful to procure their temporal food whilst it was available, went through the entire day without the nutritious bread that sustained life.
There are great spiritual lessons to be gleaned from this experience of the Hebrews, for there are very glaring similarities that cannot be avoided without spiritual loss. Christ is the bread that comes down from heaven, and just as the Hebrews were required to partake of the temporal bread, so we in our own experience are required to partake of the spiritual bread, without which we will suffer from spiritual malnutrition, a condition which ultimately leads to spiritual starvation, if left unchecked. And just as each person needed to eat for themselves, just so we are to partake of Christ daily for ourselves, for none can eat for another. This sacred truth is what the Lord portrayed when speaking of Himself as the Manna which comes down from heaven. Let's read:
John 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 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. 48 I am that bread of life. 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Many of us go through our daily routine without stopping to partake of this life-giving bread, and many of us also wait until the the rays of the sun, melt the manna away, so that the cares and responsibilities of life overtake us before we have time to seek God. When we rush ahead with our daily regimen without first partaking of the heavenly Manna, we make ourselves vulnerable to the assaults of satan, who specializes in hunting down those who are spiritually starved, and without the life-giving nutrients of the word of God, of faith, and the presence of the Holy Ghost, we succumb to temptation, not even realizing that they were temptations. Hence the reason why the efforts of the evil one are targeted at the gathering of Manna, for if he can get us to despise or postpone our eating, then he is assured of our eventual overthrow.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which reminds us of our most urgent need, that of feasting on Christ daily through a study of His word and character, so that the necessary changes can be made in us through the renewing power of His holy Spirit. Let's read:
John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
May we begin to put in place the necessary reforms to our spiritual eating habits so that the life-giving power of God may rest upon us, both now and forevermore. God bless!