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Manna
The Meaning of
Manna
What Is Manna?
by Jack Zavada
Manna was the supernatural food God gave to the
Israelites during their 40-year wandering in the desert.
The word manna means "What is it?" in
Hebrew.
Manna is also known as bread of heaven, corn of
heaven, angel's food, spiritual meat.
History and Origin
Not long after the Jewish people had escaped Egypt
and crossed the Red Sea, they ran out of the food they had brought with them.
They began to grumble, recalling the tasty meals they
had enjoyed when they were slaves.
God told Moses He
would rain down bread from heaven for the people.
That evening quail came and covered the camp. The
people killed the birds and ate their meat.
The next morning, when the dew evaporated, a white
substance covered the ground.
The Bible describes manna as white like coriander seed
and tasting like wafers made with honey.
Moses instructed the people to gather an omer, or
about two quarts' worth, for each person each day.
When some of the people tried to save extra, it became
wormy and spoiled.
Manna appeared for six days in a row. On Fridays, the
Hebrews were to gather a double portion, because it did not appear on the next
day, the Sabbath.
And yet, the portion they saved for the Sabbath did
not spoil.
Skeptics have tried to explain manna as a natural
substance, such as a resin left behind by insects or a product of the tamarisk
tree.
However, the tamarisk substance appears only in June
and July and does not spoil overnight.
God told Moses to save a jar of manna so future
generations could see how the Lord provided for his people in the desert.
Aaron filled
a jar with an omer of manna and put it in the Ark of the Covenant, in front of the tablets of the Ten Commandments.
Exodus says
the Jews ate manna every day for 40 years.
Miraculously, when Joshua and
the people came to the border of Canaan and ate the food of the Promised Land, manna stopped the next day and was never seen again.
Bread in the Bible
In one form or another, bread is a recurring symbol of
life in the Bible because it was the staple food of ancient times.
Manna could be ground into flour and baked into bread;
it was also called the bread of heaven.
More than 1,000 years later, Jesus Christ repeated
the miracle of manna in the Feeding of the 5,000.
The crowd following Him was in the
"wilderness" and he multiplied a few loaves of bread until everyone
had eaten their fill.
Some scholars believe that Jesus'
phrase, "Give us this day our daily
bread" in the Lord's Prayer,
is a reference to manna, meaning that we are to trust God to supply our
physical needs one day at a time, as the Jews did in the desert.
Christ frequently referred to Himself
as bread: "the true Bread from
heaven" (John 6:32), "the Bread
of God" (John 6:33), "the
Bread of life" (John 6:35, 48), and John 6:51:
"I
am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of
the world." (NIV)
Today, most Christian churches celebrate a communion service
or Lord's Supper, in which the participants eat some form of bread, as Jesus
commanded his followers to do at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26).
The final mention of manna occurs
in Revelation 2:17, "To him who
overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna..."
One interpretation of this verse is that Christ
supplies spiritual nourishment (hidden manna) as we wander through the
wilderness of this world.
Jack Zavada
Updated
August 12, 2018
Introduction
Former
newspaper reporter, technical editor for the U.S. Department of Defense, and
public relations director.
Author
of Hope for Hurting Singles: A Christian Guide to Overcoming Life's
Challenges.
Owner
of Christian website inspiration-for-singles.com.
Experience
Jack is
a freelance writer who concentrates on Christian topics. During his 45 year
career, he has written thousands of newspaper and magazine articles covering
areas from sports and business to the Bible and theology. His Christian website
for singles, founded in 2005, receives thousands of visitors every month from
over 150 countries.
Jack
worked as a newspaper reporter and Associated Press wire editor, then served as
a technical editor at the United States Construction Engineering Research
Laboratory (USA-CERL), operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. He also worked
as publications editor for an Illinois utility company and as communications
director for a national nonprofit organization. He has written about
Christianity for the Dotdash/About.com network since 2008.
Education
Jack
earned his master's degree in English Composition at Illinois State University
in 1982. He concentrated on teaching writing in the community college and
served an internship teaching technical writing. He also received a B.Sc. in
English Literature from ISU in 1973.
Publications
Hope for Hurting Singles: A Christian Guide to Overcoming Life's Challenges,
(2017, Pine Cone Press).
Single and Sure, (2008, ebook).
How to Master Your Money, (2009, ebook).
Outsmarting Loneliness, (2010, ebook).
Mr.
Lincoln for the Defense, (2011, ebook).
Killers
on my Trail, (2012, ebook).
The Jesus Comic Book, writer and illustrator, (2016, ebook).
Rebel
Town, (1976, Ace Books).
The
Wolfer, (1978, Ace Books).
Penwhistle's Prize,
(1980, Ace Books)
West of
the Pecos, pen name James Calder Boone, (1988, Ballantine Books).
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