ALIASES FOR THE WORD

THE BIBLE AS MANNA

Manna




The bible is referred to as Manna from on high.  Manna, it must be remembered, was the miraculous food, which sustained Israel in the wilderness.  It was provided by God.  White in appearance, it is like coriander seed and tastes like wafers made with honey.


There was no doubt that the journey of the Israelis from Egypt to the Promised Land was a very hazardous undertaking.  They came against all sorts of hazards.  Among the many obstacles on their way to Canaan were the Red Sea, the wilderness itself, considering its unfriendly terrain and the various opposing armies of other nations.  Still, the journey to the Promised Land had to be made especially as God was willing and ready to deliver Israel from bondage.  The alternative was for those Jews to remain as slaves in Egypt.  Staying on in Egypt could hardly have been the preferred choice by the people after over four hundred years of servitude.  They were liberated so that they could make the journey to Canaan.


Fortunately, the One who led them out of bondage by the hand of Moses was faithful.  He neither left nor forsook them.  He took it upon Himself to provide for all their physical and spiritual needs while their journey lasted.  Part of these provisions was Manna, the food which the former slaves lived on throughout their time in the wilderness.

It was amazing that God Himself personally chose to be Israel's chef.  Considering the terrain of the wilderness and the urgency of their journey, it was certain that the people would not have been able to afford both the quantity and the quality of food needed on their way if they had been expected to find the food themselves.  It should not be forgotten that the Israeli contingent was made up of about three million people.  This again suggests that the food, Manna, must have been a very balanced diet.  It adequately sustained the people in the particularly rugged situation of the wilderness.


The analogy between the Word and Manna is apt, the bible being the spiritual Manna.  Just as God called the Israelis out of bondage leading them by the hand of Moses, His servant, to go and inherit the Promised Land, so also has the Almighty called the human race out of the bondage and slavery of sin. 

  
God has called all mankind to go to the Promised Land which, in this case, is the presence of the Lord.  According to the bible, the presence of God is a place of abundant life, a place of refuge, a place of victory, a place of joy, a place of fulfilment and a place of eternal rest.  We read in Psalm 16 verse 11, 'You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; and At Your right hand are pleasures forever.'  God desires to lead all mankind to this Promised Land by the hand of His Son, the one and only Jesus of Nazareth.  The Almighty sent the Lord Jesus Christ just as He sent Moses.  Moses himself had, in Deuteronomy 18 verse 15, prophesied, 'God will send you a prophet like me whom you must listen to.'  No wonder the lord Jesus Christ said in the book of Matthew chapter 11 verses 28, 29 and 30, ''Come unto Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.''


Moreover, the living Word who was the incarnate Word told the Jews in John 6 verses 32 and 33, ''Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.''  The Lord added in verse 35, ''I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.''

No one dare denies the fact that the world in which we live is a spiritual wilderness.  The same God who gave the Manna to Israel gave the His Word to the human race.  In the same way that the Israelis of old needed Manna to sustain them on their journey through the wilderness, so also do we need the spiritual Manna, the Word of God, to sustain us on our journeys through the wilderness of earthly life.