Wonder Bread

“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.