WHAT “MANNA” OF MAN?

Time with Jesus - 30 Aug 2013

Hi all,

After my return to Christ in 1981, Christian music provided one of my chief sources of information. In those days, Scripture in Song was very popular. Furthermore, because the words went with the music, it was not long before I realised that no matter how badly I could sing the song, the words of Scripture were much easier to recall when the song was sung. 

What is it? - MANNA

A good example of this is from Psalm 1. ¹ Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. ² But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. ³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:1-3 NIV 

God's People fed on Manna

It wasn’t very long before I could “sing” it better than I could quote it. On a couple of occasions I sang it – badly!

Pot of Manna

Another popular occurrence during Praise and Worship was singing “rounds”. The men would sing the first part followed by the second part. Then as the men started singing the second part, the ladies would sing the first part. The biggest problem was knowing when to stop! One of the very best “rounds” came from 1 John 3. ¹ Behold what manner of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 1Jn 3:1 MKJV. The men sang “Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us”. The second half was “that we should be called sons of God!” Phyllida and I miss this sort of singing. Every time we sang the word “manner”, we were reminded of the word “manna”. The only real connection between them was the sound.

Manna from Heaven

Manna was the food God provided miraculously for the Israelites in the wilderness during their Exodus. As long as the Hebrew people wandered in the Sinai Peninsula, they were able to gather manna from the ground each morning. They ate the manna for 40 years, “until they came to the border of the land of Canaan” The manna didn’t stop until the Israelites had crossed the Jordan, kept the Passover, and “had eaten the produce of the land.”

“What is it?” This question, led to the name “manna” being applied to the “small round substance as fine as frost” It looked “like white coriander seed.” It tasted like “wafers made with honey” or “pastry prepared with oil”.

The manna appeared with the morning dew. The Hebrews were instructed to gather only what was needed for one day, because any surplus would breed tiny worms and be spoiled. On the sixth day, however, the Israelites were permitted to gather enough for two days; they were forbidden to gather any manna on the Sabbath. Miraculously, the two days' supply of food gathered on the sixth day did not spoil. It could be baked, boiled, ground, beaten, cooked in pans, and made into cakes. Moses commanded Aaron to put a pot of manna in the Ark of the Covenant so future generations might see the “bread of heaven” on which their ancestors had fed. It was a visible reminder to the Hebrews of God's providential care for His people. (Courtesy e-Sword)

I’m fascinated to read that it always tasted exactly what you would like to taste; a sort of multi-flavour food all in one. I can’t vouch for this but I like the idea. It has a “Divine” touch that people would not state if they hadn’t experienced it personally!

Jesus stated in John 6 that He is the bread of life. ⁴⁸ I am the Bread of Life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna bread in the desert and died. ⁵⁰ But now here is Bread that truly comes down out of heaven. Anyone eating this Bread will not die, ever. ⁵¹ I am the Bread--living Bread!--who came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this Bread will live--and forever! The Bread that I present to the world so that it can eat and live is myself, this flesh-and-blood self." John 6:48-51 MSG

Today, people ask, “Who is this “Jesus” you keep talking about?” Their question could be rephrased, “What is it? The answer is, He is the Living “What is it?” He is the One who came down from heaven to feed His people. Symbolically, this happens every time we “Take Communion”. We also “drink His Blood” symbolically when we drink from the communion cup. But that’s another story and will have to wait for some time in the future.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 30 Aug 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	WHAT “MANNA” OF MAN?
It was 1957. I was in boarding school and the time had come for the youngsters to be confirmed in the Anglican Church; a bus ride from the school. It seemed a good idea to me at the time. It meant that once per week I could leave the school grounds legitimately and take the bus to the Church. There we would go through a Catechism of some sort in order to better understand what Holy Communion was all about. It’s now 2013 and I still don’t pretend to know everything about it. But it was fun. It seems to me that way back in 1957, the Lord was beginning to stir up things in my heart which would lead to what is taking place in Phyllida’s and my life today. I loved those classes. The final lesson was taken by the Bishop of Grahamstown. Why it had to be him, to this day I have no idea. Then, a couple of weeks later, I was confirmed into the Anglican Church. I can’t say that I was particularly excited by this. But from then on I would get up early on Sunday mornings and walk to the nearest Anglican Church to take communion. In some respects this was the highlight of the week. For some reason there was a feeling of being cleansed at these services. If I was to take a guess, I would say that in some way I still don’t understand; these were occasions when I felt close to Jesus. Don’t ask me how or why. It was an impression. No more; no less. It was a sensation I would not experience again until October 1960, in England, when I gave my life to Jesus. I remember some of the words from the Anglican Prayer Book which spoke something along the following lines: - “Feed on Him in your heart by faith”. Quickly I was able to associate the communion with Jesus as the bread of life! “Even now, all these years later I remember the expression, “The body of Christ, broken for you. Take and eat”. The words may not be the exact words from the prayer book; but they were exciting and life-giving. From then on and all through our “Charismatic” years, these words have rung in Phyllida’s and my heart. She made her commitment to Jesus in 1951. When we read the Old Testament about the Israelites eating “Manna” in the wilderness, it resonated with our experience. How do you “fall in love” with a person you don’t know and certainly don’t understand? Neither of us knew. But it happened to both of us, For Phyllida it was at a CSSM camp in Ceres. For me it was in Newcastle on Tyne in England. Since then we have followed Him to the best of our ability. Not always willingly or steadfastly. But He is our “manna”. The bread of heaven who came to earth for our salvation. Thank You Lord! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer; according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.'" 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over till the morning." 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted. Exodus 16:15-21 ESV	The people called it “Manna” and it was “heaven’s bread”. The food the Israelites all ate, while they were being led; Round and round the wilderness, by Moses and the Lord. For forty years they ate it and some of them were bored. Although Jewish historians, said that it tasted grand, They all had to collect it, each day as God had planned. They say that it would taste like whatever was desired. Boiled, or baked, cooked or raw, they shouldn’t have got tired. Whatever flavour that they liked was given them each day. I know it all sounds very strange, but that is what they say. They had to eat it quickly. It perished overnight. They said that it got full of worms; they couldn’t chew nor bite, Except upon the Sabbath. Then it would not go bad. And they would have to eat up all the “Manna” which they had. It’s very clear that this was something, only God can do. And if you didn’t like it. “I’m sorry friend for you”. They tell us that they lived on it, for almost 40 years. And only when in Canaan, the manna disappears. That’s more or less the end of it, as far as we all know. There is no further evidence of this nutritious “snow”. And that’s how it continued for fifteen hundred years. And then the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ appears. He didn’t look like manna. He looked like flesh and blood. A similar creation, to that made out of mud. He didn’t have a flavour; not one that you could eat. But when it came to “heaven’s bread”, He sure had manna beat. No, He would live forever. He was our promised food. You couldn’t have Him boiled, or baked, or fried, or even stewed. But even so, He told us, He is the bread of life. What kind of person could that be? Not even someone’s wife, Could ever be our Saviour! But first He had to die. He couldn’t be our living bread; and here’s the reason why. You cannot eat His body until His Spirit’s gone! He had to first be crucified, for us to feast upon. He is the “Bread of Heaven”, on which we can depend. He’s not some sort of “manna” that must come to an end. So when we take communion, a Christian can know, Forever He will feed us, no matter where we go. Jim Strickland Written 30th August 2012
			16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. 1 Timothy 3:16 ESV
			33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." John 6:33 ESV
			49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 ----- 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." John 6:49-51 ESV
			54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. John 6:54-55 ESV
			31 "So don't worry. Don't say, 'What will we eat?' Or, 'What will we drink?' Or, 'What will we wear?' 32 People who are ungodly run after all of those things. Your Father who is in heaven knows that you need them. 33 "But put God's kingdom first. Do what he wants you to do. Then all of those things will also be given to you. Matthew 6:31-33 NIrV