What Is Manna? And Why Does It Matter?
“Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey” Exodus 16: 31.
Exodus 16 tells the story of the Israelites grumbling about hunger in the Desert of Sin, and God providing miraculous quail and manna. To read the text for context, click here.
Manna Represents the Word of God
I believe manna represents the Word or promises of God.
The Lord meets our needs in two ways: The first is with literal, physical “bread”. This is the physical provision that is concrete and literal and tangible.
The second is with His promises, while waiting for the physical provision. I believe this is the meaning of this verse.
Interestingly, Jesus spoke of this when He was in the wilderness (Mathew 4: 1-4). It’s there that the Lord meets our needs with His promises rather than physical provision.
In other words, God promises to strengthen and sustain and keep us until He provides the actual physical provision to meet our need. Or until the promise He’s given us is fulfilled.
This is what manna represents. It wasn’t earthly bread, but it was the “bread of heaven”.
Interestingly, manna has some of the same characteristics that God has ascribed to His Word. In our verse, it is referred to as seed. And we also know that the Word of God is seed (Luke 8:11).
And it tasted like honey. In Psalm 19: 10, David described the Word of God as being “. . . sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb”.
How Sweet Are Your Words!
And Psalm 119: 103 says “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth”!
These characteristics of manna further support the idea that it represents the word or promises of God.
To read another post related What Is Manna? And Why Does It Matter? to see The Goodness of the Lord to those who Wait.