Manna: What is that?

“Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you.” Exodus 16:4

Elohim saw his children - even as they “grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,” complaining that he “brought [them] out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:2-3)

The Lord extended sustenance to them, and they called it “manna.”

Manna in Hebrew literally translates to “What is this?”

In reality… manna was near-overlooked provision to the calloused and weary heart.

Centuries later, Yeshua had a comparable interaction.

“Jesus then said to them, ’Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave 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.’… But the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven’.” (John 6:32-33, 41)

Christ was treated like manna, not bread. He was unrecognized, misidentified, disregarded, deferred.

It’s interesting that the same word - “grumbling” - appears in both stories. They grumbled for valid reasons: angst, suffering, weariness, uncertainty, trauma. Yet grumbling never appears as a healthy or fruitful response.

Grumbling is devoid of curiosity and imagination. It’s complaint rather than request.

When we let disillusionment coagulate into hopelessness, we dissociate from our desires and elude risk for fear of disappointment.

Rather than inhibiting oneself of noticing Elohim’s activity and presence, here we see Yeshua - the Bread of Life - inviting us into a chronic awareness of his engagement and grace.

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