Exodus 16:14, commentary and pictures

After the dew lifted there lay on the face of the wilderness around the tents a small round thing, fine and frostlike as hoarfrost on the ground. It was manna, the morning bread the Lord Himself gave Israel to eat, at first unknown to them until they were told. Each morning it lay fresh by a daily standing miracle of mercy, God's own provision and not man's, angels' food given to satisfy hunger and nourish body and soul. Its gathering was a test of walking in God's law, with a daily portion that melted in the sun and could not be kept, but a double portion on the sixth day kept pure for the holy Sabbath, a continuing sign of the Sabbath hallowed since Eden. The perishable bread points to the true living bread from heaven given through Christ, to be received as the Word that sustains spiritual life unto everlasting life.

Manna's Form and Gathering

After the dew that lay lifted, there lay on the face of the wilderness around the tents a small round thing, fine and frostlike as hoarfrost on the ground. It covered the ground in the morning where Israel encamped, a fine substance left exposed once the moisture went up.

It was manna, the morning bread the Lord gave Israel to eat. At first the people did not know what it was until told that this was the bread provided for them.

Every morning each person gathered according to eating, an omer for each one according to the numbers in the tents. He who gathered much had nothing over and he who gathered little had no lack. It melted when the sun grew hot and had to be gathered early. On ordinary days it could not be kept till morning, but bred worms and stank if left over.

It had to be gathered up and prepared to be eaten. That preparation included grinding or beating it and baking it into cakes, and baking and boiling.

Wilderness History and Leadership

The small round frost-like thing on the face of the wilderness belongs to the history of Israel after being freed from Egypt, following deliverance from Egyptian bondage and temptation, during forty years of guidance through the wilderness. It stands in the sequence of Exodus 13, 14, 15, and 16, given by miracle under divine leadership immediately after the passage through the Red Sea. It is recalled as heavenly food connected with Christ as the living bread from heaven.

Israel was led by Jesus Christ Himself, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, their mighty General and teacher. He had just brought more than a million people safely through the Red Sea with angels walking on either side so no harm could come to them. As their invisible Leader He worked wondrously for them and quieted their murmurings.

He worked miracles for them when in straitened places, giving manna when hungry and pure water from the rock when thirsty. With it belong defense against Pharaoh's army, springs of cool water from the Rock, preserving power, and manifestation of His glory as great light and precious opportunity to know God's will. These gave unmistakable evidence of being led and protected by divine power. The manna continued to fall, and God fed the Hebrews morning and evening by divine power even while Moses was absent.

Though fed by daily miracle of mercy as a token of love and care with food lying fresh upon the ground every morning, Israel hardened their hearts in unbelief. They dwelt on imaginary evils, distrusted the hand that led them, loathed the provision, said they had no bread, and accused Moses of killing them with hunger. The Lord had brought them into strait places to prove whether they would trust Him after such evidences of care, and when they still complained He withdrew His protecting hand and permitted death to come upon them to bring them to repentance and humiliation. Believing Satan's hostile suggestions against Moses and Aaron and against Joshua and Caleb after such signs passed the boundary of forbearance and patience and awakened anger to smite the rebellious with pestilence and disinherit them.

The sending of bread from heaven was a miraculous event to be remembered and taught to the children of Israel.

Sabbath Test and Law

The daily gathering of what appeared after the dew lifted was a test of whether Israel would walk in God's law. That test centered on keeping the Sabbath holy. On the sixth day twice as much was to be gathered as on other days. What was kept till morning then did not stink nor breed worms, while none was to be found in the field on the seventh day, because six days are given for gathering and the seventh is the rest of the holy Sabbath.

All preparation of the heaven-sent bread, including grinding or beating it and baking it into cakes, and baking and boiling, was to be done on the day before the Sabbath. That direction not to bake or boil food on that day stands as a continuing requirement. The manna is thus a continuing sign of the Sabbath commandment, which had been given in Eden before it was spoken at Sinai. The seventh day was hallowed and sanctified by God at creation, the miracle in the giving of the manna sustained its validity, and its sacredness was then proclaimed in the giving of the commandments on Mount Sinai in the very bosom of the Decalogue.

Strangers connected with Israel shared in that heavenly food when they met the stated conditions. Keeping God's Sabbath was among those conditions.

Miraculous Provision and Care

After the dew lifted there lay fresh upon the ground every morning food from heaven, a small round frostlike thing, given by a daily standing miracle of mercy and love. It was a work only divine power could perform, God's own provision for bodily need and not that of Moses or any human agent. It was angels' food, healthy food He designed to be eaten freely. It supplied plenty of palatable food to satisfy physical hunger. When the people were content with the daily portion they found it sweet and nourishing to body and soul.

It shows God is mindful of physical wants and provides for bodily and spiritual needs. He keeps His eye upon His people every moment and feeds them by miracle in time of need when food can be obtained from no other source. He thereby provides a way to preserve life and supplies the necessities of the journey, as He provided for Joseph, Mary and Jesus in Egypt through the valuable offerings brought by the wise men from the East. His provision then remains an example of what He can do for His people now.

The same God still lives and reigns. He is able to guide His people and give them skill and understanding for their work. He is ready to give light and knowledge to those whose desire is to glorify Him, including skill and wisdom to make wholesome, palatable foods. He can provide food miraculously and will sustain His people in the time of trouble, even by sending manna from heaven if necessary.

The provision teaches trust in God for daily needs. Contentment with His provision is a blessing, while discontent is a curse, bringing worms in the manna. Those who receive His blessings should share them with people who are less favored. It shows God's mercy, yet He chose not to supply every need for religious service miraculously. In His wisdom He saw the moral discipline of His people depended upon their cooperating with Him, every one of them doing something, so as long as truth is progressive His claims are upon men to give of that which He has entrusted to them for that purpose.

Diet and Health Reform

When Israel hankered after the flesh pots of Egypt, God did not continue the flesh diet they craved but fed them with the bread of heaven, heaven-appointed food suited to their needs. It was a better provision than what many had grown accustomed to in Egypt, though He could have provided meat by a miracle. By it He meant to make Israel a separate people and to reform their habits of eating. Flesh of dead animals shortens life, and though once permitted, it was withheld to teach a better diet. Their murmuring for flesh and the death that followed excess meat eating make the experience a lesson to be studied and obeyed today by avoiding flesh meat and living simply without it.

Even in providing food God sought their highest good as part of an all-embracing education in all habits of life under divine care and law. The manna was of a nature to promote physical, mental and moral strength, so that despite wilderness hardships there was not a feeble one in all their tribes. The same God gives His people today knowledge of how to provide food simply from fruits and grains, more simple and less expensive than many preparations now obtained. Those who cannot obtain expensive preparations need not live on an impoverished diet. In different countries health foods suited to those countries are to be prepared, with skill and wisdom to make wholesome, palatable foods.

The giving benefited His people as an example of providing for the common good, not giving wisdom and skill to devise food to one person or a small group alone.

Christ and Spiritual Bread

God feeding Israel with manna in the desert was a work only divine power could perform, and Christ feeding thousands from five barley loaves and two small fishes repeats that same divine feeding in the desert. This repetition proves He is the One Moses foretold. The miracle appealed to everyone in the multitude because all shared in its benefit.

The manna was a standing miracle given to Israel in the wilderness, when man ate angels' food. It was God's own provision for bodily need, not given by Moses or any human agent, supplying His people with plenty of palatable food to satisfy physical hunger. This teaches that God is mindful of physical wants and will provide food for bodily necessities. Yet its greater meaning is spiritual, for temporal bread points to the true bread from heaven, the living bread that endures to everlasting life given by God through Christ. That living bread matters far more than perishable food and is to be sought with greater anxiety. As Israel was fed by manna, people are to keep receiving spiritual life from Christ, the living bread from heaven.

The heavenly manna is still eaten spiritually. Eating it means receiving the Word of God and speaking the words God gives, which feed hungry souls and sustain the speaker. It is more than meat and drink, giving freedom from feebleness and infirmity, bringing sustaining power and abiding peace in the heart. It produces a thankful heart full of continual praise, which once begun on the Sabbath from early morning through the day can continue day and night without ceasing.

Lessons for Today

The giving of manna, angels' food, came after deliverance from Egyptian bondage and temptation when Israel hankered after the flesh pots of Egypt. It came during forty years of guidance through the wilderness to make them a separate people and to reform their habits of eating. Christ was their leader and teacher, leading them by the pillar of cloud and of fire and working miracles for them such as pure water from the rock when thirsty, so Israel had unmistakable evidence of being led and protected by divine power. This provision is a lesson for those in the last days who separate from all idolatry to free themselves from all hindrances that confuse mind and conscience and lead into sin.

The manna from heaven is an example of something fresh to present as people's needs require. Ministers must present truth in the same way, with personal labor that removes the rubbish of error. That labor gives something fresh suited to people's wants as they require.