For 40 years the ancient Israelites lived in the Sinai desert. Manna was essential to their survival. They were only in the desert a few weeks before they began to grumble (Ex. 16:1-2). “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death” (Ex. 16:3).

The Lord, in His mercy, heard their complaint. In His love He provided for them. “Thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat’ ” (Ex. 16: 14-15). In Hebrew, the phrase “What is it?” is pronounced “Manna.” Thus, the special bread from heaven became known by that name.

This manna reminds us of our Lord, Jesus. As we journey to our promised land, He is essential to our survival. After He miraculously fed the 5,000 with just five small barley loaves and two small fish, he explained to them, “I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate manna in the desert, yet they died . . . 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 . . . I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you . . . Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him” (John 6:48-56).

Just as manna came from heaven—so did Jesus (John 3:13). Just as manna filled the empty stomachs of the ancient Israelites, so also Jesus fills us when we hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt. 5:6). Yet, Jesus pointed out a vital difference. All the Israelites who ate manna in the desert eventually died. But all who partake of Jesus and receive Him into their lives through faith will live forever. Christ is our nourishment. Through faith we inwardly and spiritually digest Christ and receive all that he has accomplished for us. Only then can He remain in us and we in Him (John 15:5). Without faith in Christ, we spiritually starve and die.

In the Lord’s Supper, along with the bread and the wine, we also receive His body and His blood to eat and to drink. The Israelites took the manna and placed it into their mouths to eat. So also with the Lord’s body and blood in the sacrament. It is placed in our mouths to eat and to drink, to feed us with the very body of Christ, which was given up on the cross for us (1 Cor. 11:23-25). This is food that gives us eternal life. It is a foretaste of the feast in heaven when all Christians will gather at the table to partake of the wedding supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-9).

Prayer: O living bread from heaven, I crave the nourishment that only You can give. Feed me with Your body broken on the cross for me, until I feast at the heavenly banquet where I will hunger no more. Amen.

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Updated: Friday February 08, 2008