“I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” So it was that quail came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. So when the children 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, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.
Exodus 16:12-15
“What is it?” This is the question asked by the astonished Israelites when they saw the provisions provided by the Lord. This question led to the name “manna” being applied to the substance God provided the children of Israel after they murmured for something to eat during their wilderness wanderings. This portion of Scripture which is a small part of the children’s wanderings shows us how God in a miraculous way provides for His children. God provided for the people so that they could gather manna from the ground each morning for the whole forty years of their wanderings.
This wonder bread that God provided for His people rained down every morning, appearing with the morning dew. It was small and round and was as fine as frost and looked like white coriander seed. It tasted like wafers made with honey, and it could be made into a pastry prepared with oil. The people gathered the bread and ground it using mills and mortars so that it could be baked into cakes.
The wonder bread that God provided along with the quail of the evening gave the children of Israel all the nourishment they needed for the entire forty years of their journey. The bread had the amazing property of only lasting for one day, after which it began to stink and produce worms. And what is even more amazing is its ability to last for two days when gathered on Friday. We see how the bread from heaven that God provided had the ability to know the day of the week and last one day for any day other than Friday. And on Saturday it did not rain down. That is what I call wonder bread. The prophet Nehemiah spoke of God’s goodness in Nehemiah 9:15, 20.
You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to possess the land Which You had sworn to give them. ... You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst.
God’s goodness knows no bounds and just as He showed His love for the children of Israel by feeding them with bread from heaven, providing them with water from rocks and giving them a land of milk and honey; He loves to do so for you and me today. The Psalmist tells us in Psalm 105:40-41:
The people asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river.
Here is a story from a person named: Len Sullivan, who talks about God’s provisions in our present day:
In the mid-1980s my family moved to northern Saskatchewan to start a church. As a church planter, part of my support was funded by the local mission. Most months were financially difficult.
One week in April, when the ground was still frozen and snow covered, we were down to a few dollars in the bank. Our usual reaction was to look for our own solution. This time, however, in a stroke of faith, I went before God and told him that we needed eggs, bread, and milk. I would wait on him.
That afternoon a man came to my little fix-it shop with a leaky teakettle. He said, “I know I could get another, but it’s my favorite kettle. Please fix it.” In minutes the job was done, and I didn’t even charge him for it. But he pulled out a $10 bill and insisted that I take it. It was enough to buy a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, and a loaf of bread.
As he left, with a bit of pride in my faith decision, I thanked God, to which he replied, “Don’t you wish you had asked for half a beef?”
God being the same today, yesterday and tomorrow He will also bestow upon you bread from heaven, His daily bread that nourishes our souls…and it is available just for the asking. Just as the children of Israel cried out for food to eat, we too should cry out for the bread of heaven to come upon us and see us through our life eternal.
What a wondrous bread that God had given to His children so many thousand years ago. What a wondrous bread that God gave so that His children would know that He was the Lord their God. What a wondrous bread that God gave so that we could see in the pages of His Word of how good He is, and how much He cares for us.
So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3
This should be a lesson to us that we are helpless without the one true living God providing for us. Just like the children of Israel who wandered through the wilderness, we to are wandering in a foreign land waiting for our crossing of the Jordan into our promised land. This world is not our final home, but a rest stop along our way to live with Jesus.
We like the children of Israel are given bread from heaven because God gave us Jesus, and like the Israelites who existed on the wonder bread that God provided them, we too can enjoy God’s bread from heaven all by accepting the salvation that Jesus provides because Jesus tells in John 6:31-35:
Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
Through Christ Jesus we can enjoy the wonder bread that gives life. Unlike the wonder bread that the Israelites partook of in the wilderness they again were hunger the next day. But the wonder bread that Jesus provides He tells us that we will never again be hungry. The bread the Israelites eat was a foreshadow of the bread that God would provide for the salvation of the world. We today are able take of the true bread that is Christ Jesus everyday, bread that not only satisfies our hunger, but also satisfies our thirst. And it is ours for the asking. For Jesus tells us in John 6:47:
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
When we make a confession with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, we believe upon Him. This is that request for the bread of life. Through our public vocal confession of Lord Christ do we bring ourselves to the table and sup with Him. Through this simple act of faith, we can also take of the wonder bread from heaven.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ’
Revelation 2:17
For us today Christ Jesus is that hidden manna that by taking we are no longer part of the world, but part of a new and different kingdom, the kingdom of God. And with our acceptance of Jesus as our salvation in life we are given a white stone. This stone speaks of the custom of casting such a stone into a voter’s ballot with the name of a candidate, indicating the approval of the one casting the vote. With this stone we are partakers of the divine glory that is in Christ Jesus, because it was written by God, who has given us His approval.
Jesus is the true bread of life and by Him we have salvation from eternal death and separation from our Father in heaven. Christ Jesus is our wonder bread that keeps us until the day of His coming. Christ Jesus is our wonder bread that strengthens us through our times of trouble and trials. Christ Jesus is our wonder bread that allows us to nourish others because Jesus tells us in John 7:38:
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
Jesus gives us his word that he will never leave us or forsake us. That is a faithful saying in which love abounds. God has, throughout the ages, has been faithful to his promise of a better world for those who love him.
We can rest assured that the Lord will care for us in his love, the love that caused him to create the world for us to live in it. God’s love for us is revealed in his creation: being made in his likeness, we show the same kind of love that he shows us. In his likeness, we, as man and woman, love each other and love our children that result from a godly union. This unconditional love is not created by man, but by God, embedded in us so that our acts of love towards one another shines forth the very greatness of God.
But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
1 John 2:5
From this godly union, we show in ourselves the faithfulness that God presents to us, and as scripture tells us, our love is perfected because we are in him. His faithfulness calls for us to remain in him, and if we remain in him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. God, day in and day out, shines his mercy upon each of us, keeping us the all the days that he has numbered for us.
From his word, we can read about his faithfulness, that he will always remain the same, for he does not change! God’s faithfulness is the same today as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow.
Through God’s faithfulness, we can see that his love is limitless and has no bounds. Can you say that you are that faithful and overflowing with exceeding love for mankind? God has said it, and he has proven it. Although we are born into sin, his everlasting love shines upon us in his mercy. We are undeserving of his faithfulness, but he gives it to us because of his love for us.
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”
Lamentations 3:22-24
Paul tells us in Romans that none are righteous and that we are all worthy of judgment by the Father. But by God’s grace, mercy, and love, he does not pour out his wrath upon us. The wording in Lamentations 3:22 is very strong— “consumed,” which is to say that his wrath will overwhelm us and devour us like fire does paper. But because of his love, we have another chance to get right before him.
How can we repay the Lord for his faithfulness? How can we show him that we love him? By lending yourself to praise him with whatever you have to give.
In Christ Jesus, we find the embodiment of God’s love. And in that love, we see that our Father in Heaven does not want us to live life in a dark and hopeless state. Because he loves us, he wants our lives to be better. In his love, we can find healing from our sin-ridden state. In his love, we can be made whole again
Sin desired to kill us, but the love of Christ keeps us safe. His love is so great that nothing can separate us from it. In his love, we find shelter from the harms of the world. In his love, we find rest from troubles. Who or what can separate us from his mighty love? Although we go through each day with the evil one trying to take us out, we have Christ as our protector, guardian, and guide, all because he loved us first.
We cry out to the Lord in our time of despair, feeling that he has forgotten or forsaken us. But no, his love keeps us close to his bosom and rescues us in our time of need. Isaiah 49:14-16 paints a beautiful picture of how God will no more forget us than a mother would forget to care for her infant child.
God’s love is so wonderful that he has engraved you upon the palms of his hands, your life continually watched by him. As a mother watches over her young, so God watches over us. His love never leaves and never forsakes.
Because we are partakers of the wonder bread that is Christ Jesus, we also become fountains that bring blessing to all that we encounter. That is indeed wondrous bread, the true bread of life that is Christ Jesus. Take time today and sup with Jesus. Let His Spirit nourish you and bring new life to you. Allow the bread of life come into your life so that you may reach eternal life and live forever with the Father in heaven. Eat of the wonder bread that gives life. Eat of the wonder bread that satisfies forever.
