Manna: The Heavenly Bread
(Exodus 16:1-36, John 6:32-35, 58)
1. GREEN BAY, Wis. - Brown County Sheriff Dennis Kocken didn’t have to write himself a ticket. But he says it was the right thing to do.
"As sheriff, I’m held to the highest standard in law enforcement. How can I hold officers accountable if I don’t hold myself accountable?" he said. "I’m satisfied I’m doing the right thing."
Kocken issued himself a ticket March 27 for an unsafe lane change, three weeks after he had rear-ended a suspected speeder after that driver slowed to turn. Neither the deputy who completed the accident report nor the Brown County district attorney’s office felt that Kocken deserved a citation.
"But it kept bothering me," said Kocken. "Finally I decided to write myself a ticket. I felt it was the right thing to do."
The ticket carries a $160.80 fine that Kocken said he fully intends to pay.
The 52-year-old sheriff told investigators he was trailing a vehicle to determine its speed when he had to swerve to avoid a snowblower wheel in his lane. He moved into the other driver’s lane and hit the car when the driver slowed.
2. I always love to see people in authority submit to the rules like everyone else.
3. Moses was such a man: he led the children out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, but He never puts himself above others…
4. Today we resume our series, The Desert of Discipline. So let’s review where we are.
Structure of "The Wilderness Journey" (Exodus 13:17-19:2)
a. introduction: departure from Egypt (13:17-22)
b. victory over the Egyptians a the Suph Sea (14:1-15:21)
• Moses lifts hand
• ends: two memorial songs
c. Yahweh provides the Israelites with water at Marah (15:22-27)
? d. CENTER: Yahweh provides manna and quail (16:1-36)
c’. Yahweh provides the Israelites with water at Rephidim (17:1-17)
b’. victory over the Amalekites (by the water) at Rephidim (17:8-16)
• Moses lifts his hands
• ends: two memorials
a. conclusion: arrival at Sinai (18:1-19:2)
Main Idea: The manna which fell from heaven teaches us much about the workings of our Father Who is in heaven!
Four spiritual lessons surface when we contemplate this text.
I. God PROVIDES for His Children (1-18, 31)
A. HUNGER
They were hungry but not to the point of starvation; they had flocks and herds, but wanted to save them for multiplication and milk. Throughout their wanderings, they probably would occasionally eat beef or lamb…
B. GRUMBLING
C. God’s Provisions Despite their ATTITUDE
1. Quail
2. Manna (man -- an exclamation surprise and na, a gift)
3. Described in vs. 31
Numbers 11:7-8 "The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a handmill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil.
James Hoffmeier writes: "Attempts have been made to explain manna as a natural substance, but these explanations fit only certain times of the year and apply to restricted areas. The provision of manna occurs throughout the forty-year period in the wilderness."
• perhaps 1,000 [10 cubic meter] dump truck loads a day (2,000 on Friday) for 40 years.
The manna which fell from heaven teaches us much about the workings of our Father Who is in heaven!
II. God TESTS His Children (19-30)
A. To reveal our condition to OURSELVES
B. To DEVELOP us
This sets the background for the Lord’s Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." Trusting God on a daily basis.
C. To Give us EXPERIENCE
God is at first patient with the murmurings of the children of Israel; He gives them time to learn that He can be trusted; in time, God’s patience is exhausted
Being negative and taking a complaining, sarcastic attitude toward life might be your starting point in the Christian life; but experience and growth need to convince you to get over it…
The manna which fell from heaven teaches us much about the workings of our Father Who is in heaven!
III. God Wants Us to REMEMBER His Works (32-36)
A. Preserved for FUTURE generations
B. Our concern needs to be LONG TERM
C. The two ORDINANCES fulfill this function
The manna which fell from heaven teaches us much about the workings of our Father Who is in heaven!
IV. God’s SON is Superior Manna (John 6:32-35, 58)
A. Jesus is also the bread from HEAVEN
• manna came to only Israel, Yeshua to the world
• many Jews believed that the manna was created at the beginning of creation and stored above for this time [see the Targum of Jonathan, Ex. 16]; the human nature of Jesus was planned before all of creation, thus His human nature is called the "firstborn of all creation"
B. But He fills us for ETERNITY
• manna kept people alive physically, Jesus spiritually
• the written Word is also God’s manna to us, helping us to stay healthy
The Targum of Jonathan reads: "…in the morning there was a fall of holy dew, prepared as a table, round about the camp: and the clouds ascended and caused manna to descend upon the dew; and there was upon the face of the desert a minute (substance) in lines,[5] minute as the hoar frost upon the ground…"
John Gill observes:
for it is certain from Nu 11:9, that there was a dew which fell first, and then the manna fell upon it; and from hence it is plain also, that there was a dew over the manna, which went up from it when the sun rose: and the design of this seems to be to keep this heavenly bread pure and clean for the Israelites, that it might neither partake of the dust nor sand of the wilderness where it fell, and that nothing might light upon it until the time of gathering it came. The Jews, in memory of this, will sometimes put bread upon the table between two table cloths {n}; and it is highly probable, that to this the allusion is of the "hidden manna" in Re 2:17, by which is meant our Lord Jesus Christ… the manna came with the dew, and was covered with it, and hid in it; Christ … lies hid to men in the glory of his person and the fullness of his grace, until revealed and made known."
Jesus says this in Revelation 2:17b: "To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna." Like bread between two cloths, Jesus is hidden to the unbeliever...
The manna which fell from heaven teaches us much about the workings of our Father Who is in heaven!
CONCLUSION
Every believer makes a choice in life: which manna will be my priority?
1. The earthly manna first -- this is our default setting; if we refuse to be revolutionary, this is where we will end up; we will parent by default, we will go for keeping up with the Joneses, we will let society or our background set the agenda; our spiritual walk will simply be an afterthought to make our lives better or teach our children right and wrong; we might fit in God, if we have space
2. The heavenly manna first -- we will seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first, as a priority. We will grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and order our lives under His direction…We fit in the rest of life around Him!
3. Which manna will you put first?
