I learned something today in my Bible study that I had never seen before in the Word of God. Of course, I am aware that Jesus is our Manna from Heaven, meaning our daily spiritual and earthly sustenance and provision, our very life, comes from Him and Him alone--which is why He tells us He is the bread that came down from Heaven. (John 6:41). However, I was not aware that when Manna was first introduced to Israel in the wilderness, it was pure white and tasted like wafers made with honey. I think of it being like miniature sweet cookies that melted in the mouth, giving all the sustenance needed for the day. No wonder medical science tells us that sweet is the first taste a baby recognizes and craves (and many of us never get over that craving!), because sweetness is a picture of Jesus.
But something happened later on in the wilderness that changed the color, texture, and taste of this Manna. In Numbers 11:4-9, the mixed multitude that had come out of Egypt with Israel began to lust over the things they had eaten while in Egypt. They grumbled and complained, saying "We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul [is] dried away: [there is] nothing at all, beside this manna, [before] our eyes." Numbers 11:5-6.
The sweet, honey-tasting Manna wasn't enough for them--the spiritual food of angels rained down from Heaven wasn't enough. They despised what God offered and desired the sustenance of the world--the rich, spicy, strong-tasting food of Egypt that the flesh craves. Immediately, we see that the description of the Manna changed. Numbers 11:7-8 says, And the manna [was] as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. [And] the people went about, and gathered [it], and ground [it] in mills, or beat [it] in a mortar, and baked [it] in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
Despite their grumbling, the Lord was merciful and continued to rain down Manna every day. But now the color was no longer white, but pearl-colored, and it was hard and had to be ground, beaten, and baked to be edible. And instead of tasting of honey, it tasted bland, like fresh oil. What does this mean? Why this change?
Well, I believe this is a picture of the church allowing the desires of the world into their hearts, convincing them that the sweet, honey-taste of their Savior isn't enough for all their needs. The church has been deceived into believing they must mix the world's spicy food into their palette, which ironically makes the Savior bland and tasteless. Basically, when God's people look to the world and lust after all it offers, the power of Jesus, the sweetness of His resurrection, seems to disappear and a mixture law/grace gospel is presented to the world. It is a gospel that says Jesus isn't enough and that what He did on the cross isn't sufficient to be right with God. It is a gospel that says we are still sinners even though we are born again, new creations in Christ Jesus--that we must grind, beat, bake, work, toil to receive anything from our heavenly Father, and then what we do receive from Him is devoid of power. It says we can't expect healing, prosperity, supernatural deliverance and miracles in our lives. It tells us that all this power passed away with the first century church.
I say, "Nonsense!" I have had to repent and remove the lusts of the world and Egypt from my life, acknowledging that Jesus and His sweetness is enough to sustain me, day by day. The power of His resurrection is sufficient for me to do all things He calls me to do. The power of His resurrection says "Yes" and "Amen" to all His promises. (2 Corinthians 1:20).
As the Old Testament reveals, eventually a new generation of Israelites entered the promised land under Joshua's leadership and ate from the fat of the land. The Lord has no problem with any of His children eating from the fat of the land He gives them, but He wants us to acknowledge and remember that we enjoy this goodness only because of Jesus, our savior, our true Manna from Heaven, and all He has done for us. It is not because of any works on our part--it is all because of Him!
Praise God for our Manna from Heaven! In that Manna is everything we need!
