What The Heck Is It? Series

Back in the 60s there was a sit-com called “F Troop.” It was the story of a bunch of guys in the Calvary stationed in the western frontier. They were made up of misfits and con men. Even the Indians were part of some schemes.

The Indian tribe was called the Hekawi. On one episode Chief Wild Eagle explains how the tribe got its name: "Many moons ago tribe move west because Pilgrims ruin neighborhood. Tribe travel west, over country and mountains and wild streams, then come big day... tribe fall over cliff, that when Hekawi get name. Medicine man say to my ancestor, "I think we lost. Where the heck are we?" "Where the heck are we?" became "We're the Hekawi"

This story is similar to what the children of Israel experienced. It only took one month from the time they were set free from Egypt before the people started complaining. The word says they moaned about the pots filled with meat and all the bread they wanted that they had left behind. Now they were starving for the good life. Strange how quick they had forgotten about their oppression.

So God decided if they want meat, He would send them meat. He sent quail in to the camp and covered it. Plus He decided if they wanted all the bread they could eat He would do that also.

So the next morning when they awoke the area around the camp was wet with dew. When the dew evaporated a flakey substance blanketed the ground. The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it and said “What the heck is it?” Since they did not speak English but rather Hebrew they actually said “Manna.”

Moses answered “It is the food the Lord has given you to eat. Now gather what you need for just today. There will be plenty more tomorrow.” And the people did as they were instructed. It tasted like honey wafers.

Then Moses told Aaron, his assistant, to gather up two quarts of manna and put it in a sacred place for future generations. Which brings us to our sermon today.

Revelation 2:17 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.”

Last week we studied what it meant to be victorious and what we had victory over. Since we are victorious we are now offered the hidden manna that has been hidden away in heaven. Now I have been a Christian for 34 years and I have never walked outside and discovered a flaky white substance that tasted like honey wafers ready for me to eat. So manna; what is it?

Look at Deuteronomy 8:3 “Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Jesus would repeat this statement. “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

John describes Jesus as the word that became flesh. Also in the book of John, Jesus reveals himself to be the bread of life. Jesus is the bread, the manna, and Jesus is the word, the scripture. So it’s safe to say that the word of God is the hidden manna that is now offered to us.

Jeremiah said “When I discovered your words, I devoured them.” The psalmist wrote “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Personally I love honey wafers. I can taste them and know they are good. So good that I devour them. And so it is with God’s word.

There are four points that I want us to discover about manna. First it was hidden. The first time the Israelites encountered manna it was hidden by the dew. God says his favor is like the dew. He says that each day, like the morning dew, our strength is renewed. And I love this picture painted in Deuteronomy 32:2 “Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like dew.

Let my words fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants.”

Hidden under this spiritual dew of favor, strength, and speech lies the sweet tasting manna. Jeremiah said he discovered the word. Therefore it was hidden. Revelation told us that the manna was hidden in the heavens.