Exodus Types: 3. The Manna, A Type of God’s Provision Through Christ and the Word

(Exodus 16) The children of Israel needed the manna in the wilderness as Gods children need the Bible every day. "I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day" (Exodus 16:4). In the wilderness this great people needed a supply of bread from Heaven, and they needed it every single day. "And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them" (Exodus 16:19, 20). We need a fresh study of God Word every day. Yesterday’s experience becomes stale today The prophet learned to feast on the Word: "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart" (Jeremiah 15:16). Israel gathered manna in the early morning; and the best time for Bible reading is early in the day. "And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted" (Exodus 16:21). If Israel did not gather the manna early in the morning, by the time the sun became hot, it melted. Similarly, if the Word is not read early in the morning, other things crowding in will be apt to melt away the opportunity. "The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned [taught ones] that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned [taught ones]" (Isaiah 50:4). We are taught from the Word in order that we may help others who are in need of help. Israel used the manna during their entire wilderness experience; and we must depend upon the Word during all of life’s pilgrimage. "And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan" (Exodus 16:35). Even so Christians need the Bible through all of the experiences of life up to Heaven’s portals. "Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end" (Psalm 119:33). The Lord Jesus Christ is the antitype of the manna that came down from Heaven. "Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you" (Exodus 16:4). Jesus Christ Himself claimed to be the fulfillment of the manna which came down from Heaven. "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world" (John 6:32, 33). The manna satisfied the hunger of the Israelites; and Christ satisfies the hungry hearts of men who trust Him. Exodus 16:3 tells of Israel’s hunger: "For ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger." Verse 4 tells how the hunger was satisfied: "I will rain bread from heaven for you." And Jesus claimed to do the same thing for the hearts of men, "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). The manna was mysterious in character; and so is the salvation of Jesus in some respects. "And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna [i.e., "What is it?"], for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat" (Exodus 16:15). And even as the manna was mysterious in its character and origin, so the Lord Jesus indicated that His salvation was likewise mysterious. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). In some respects the wind is mysterious, and so the work of the Spirit of God in the New Birth is unseen and mysterious, but nonetheless real. The manna came down to where the people were; and the salvation of Jesus is available to all who will take it. "And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground" (Exodus 16:14). The manna lay where it was easy to reach and gather. And so the Gospel of our salvation is easy of access. "But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach" (Romans 10:6-8). The manna had to be gathered by individuals, and so salvation today must be appropriated by each individual person for himself. "This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man" (Exodus 16:16). Individual faith in Christ is required: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life" (John 3:36). The manna was despised by some of the Israelites, as the salvation of Jesus is despised by some men today. "And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic: but now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes" (Numbers 11:4-6). They were making light of that upon which their sustenance depended. How like many in modern times who are doing nothing about the salvation of their immortal souls! "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation" (Hebrews 2:3) [Old Testament Types - FHW]