Have you ever eaten a dish that you described as “manna from heaven”? I remember a few in my time, and I’m guessing everyone reading this can think of one or two themselves.
While the phrasing is a part of our everyday vernacular, the origination of “manna from heaven” comes to us straight from Exodus 16. In this passage, the manna was a blessing sent from God, but by the time Numbers 11 rolls around, they’re sick of it. That’s tough for them since it’ll be part of their diet for the next forty years.
Manna from heaven is literally bread that came from the sky, sent directly by God to provide sustenance for His people. Sure, it tasted like “wafers with honey” (Exodus 16:31), but the real emphasis is on the fact that it came every single day (except the Sabbath). It fed them and kept them alive. That was its purpose.
Jesus talked about this manna during His temptation in Matthew 4:4, saying that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” God’s Word should be the thing that sustains us for the long haul, not simply bread. We’ll get hungry again, but those who feast on the Word of God will never go hungry.
Isn’t it sad that the Israelites never picked up on this metaphor? Jesus’ quote comes from Deuteronomy 8:3, which Moses says at the end of the forty years. God gave them food that they didn’t even have to work for; in return, they should remember Him and revere Him as holy.
That’s what daily Bible study does for us. In the exact same that the manna from heaven reminded the people of God’s provision for His people, daily time spent in God’s Word reminds us of all the things that God has done for us. That’s one reason I enjoy writing these devotionals so much—they force me to slow down, look at God’s Word, and think deeply on what He’s actually done.
This is a more active form of Bible study, rather than passively absorbing whatever it is the preacher says on Sunday morning. Instead of being fed, I’m trying to feed myself. Bible study does that for us, and it’s one of the many things I hope this devotional does for you.
At the end of the day, the point of everything is to remember God. Or, as Solomon says at the end of Ecclesiastes 12:13, “to fear God and keep His commandments.” This is, as he says, the whole duty of man.
