Manna.
The bread of angels.
Normally I wouldn’t go straight to the New Testament but in this case, Jesus identifies Himself as the Bread of Life, the Manna that came down from heaven – John. 6:22-59.
A Few Facts About Manna:
- It was collected from the ground – you had to lower (humble) yourself and probably get on your knees.
- The #1 rule about manna was that it had to be gathered in the MORNING, and you could only collect the set ration for that day. It could NOT BE STOCKPILED.
- The very nature of manna was that it was DAILY.
Take just a moment to re-read that and reflect on those things as they relate to you being nourished by Christ. 🧐
John chapter 6 begins with the feeding of the 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Jesus walks on the water that night, then the next day the crowd from the big picnic found Jesus. They were looking for more food. Jesus’ response was a whole teaching on Him being the bread of life. “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘Give us that bread every day of our lives.’”
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In The Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our DAILY BREAD” is asking for manna. The nature of manna is that it is daily bread. The scholars sometimes translate it as “needful” or “necessary.” The basic idea is having just enough for today. That was the situation with manna. They could only gather what was needed for that day.
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you, Matthew 6:31-33.”
Christ Himself- His kingdom and righteousness- are the real manna to seek.
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Manna Stats from Exodus 16:
v4 – the Lord initiates and sends, people must go out & get it each day, but only what they need, not what they want, manna-gathering is a test in following instructions
v5 – on the 6th day they gather twice as much, 2 days rations, (the daily ration was 1 omer per person: about 2 liters)
v16-18 – God sent just enough for everyone to have 2 liters per day
v19 – it was not to be kept overnight, if they did it would rot, be crawling with maggots & stink. (Sorry, Preppers. No hoarding buckets of this in a bunker.)
v21 – if it was not gathered in the morning, it melted as the sun grew hot
v22-30 – the day before the Sabbath the LORD supplied 4 liters per person, only at the end of the 6th day could it be kept overnight without spoiling, manna did not come down on the 7th day, they were to rest
v31 – it was called literally “what is it?” (they didn’t have a name for it). It was sweet.
- “Manna” in Hebrew is 2 letters: Mem, Nun/Nachash
- Mem – waters, lift up, the unknown, many
- Nun/Nachash – serpent, reflective/shiny, spiritual, God-given
- unknown + God-given, or maybe, unknown shiny stuff
v32-34 – they kept one ration (2 liters) as a memorial in the ark (which hasn’t even been made yet). It did not spoil. Ever.
v35 – this diet sustained them for 40 years, it was complete nutrition
There was a purpose in the manna and the way God gave it. Moses tells them what it is many years later:
“And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know: that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 8:3 ESV
This is the first scripture that Jesus quoted to Satan in the temptation to turn stones into bread.
God gives them supernatural bread- bread that exists by the Word of the Lord- to teach them that physical sustenance alone is not enough for man to truly live. It is the Word of God (Christ Himself) Who gives the real life- spiritual, eternal life.
You may remember that WAY back in my post about the Creation week, I suggested that the 7 days of creation could be a prophetic outline for all of human history. If that is the case, we are very near the end of the 6th day. In fact, as of March 2025, we are about a month from the beginning of the year 6950 by the Essene Calendar.
What happened with the manna on the 6th day?
Who is the manna?
Might we expect to see a double-portion of manna (life in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit) on the 6th day? What has transpired during the past 1000 years? In that time period we have seen the Protestant Reformation, the 1st & 2nd Great Awakenings, the golden age of global evangelism and church-planting, the restoration of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, the explosion of Bible translation, revival in Latin America, the underground Church in China and the middle east, and now, even in America, a noticeable uptick in Christian faith in Gen Z. I believe this is very likely the double portion of the 6th day – the last of the manna that will be given to humanity. Men will not gather the manna of Christ when He reigns on the 7th day. All nations will be taught by Him but the unique privilege of eating the bread of life and having His life within belongs to His obedient saints alone.
Just some – uh – food for thought. 🍞
I’ll leave you to your manna-gathering. 🥐
To The Reader 