Chapter 11.11
Manna
Sinai Manna Tree – Locust Tree - Manna Bugs – The
Golden Jar – Quail
Angel Food Cake – Pastry – Aaron’s Rod – Battle
Cry of Moses - Gluttony
First Word
Setting the stage: The
Israelites had just been supernaturally delivered from Egypt and were now in the desert of Sin which is located
between Elim and Sinai and were COMPLAINING to Moses[1]
that their supplies had run out having now only wild honey and wild olives[2]
and that they were going to die from hunger in the desert. Now this complaint was actually against God
who was their supply.[3]
There was much unbelief in Israel, and God was constantly
seeking to root it out. They did not TRUST God to provide
for them even though they had just experienced the SUPERNATURAL Passover
of the death angel, the pillar of fire, the pillar of smoke and the parting of the
Red Sea.
God heard their murmurings and said; “I will rain bread from heaven”.[4]
Manna
Manna means “What is it?”
Manna in Hebrew means “man,” like; “Man; what is this stuff”? [5]
Manna is kin to the Egyptian word mennu which means “food;”
Josephus the Jewish Historian suggests that it’s a question; “Is it food”?
Manna was a 40 year temporary food of supernatural
origin specifically for the
chosen people Israel. It was a visible
reminder to the Hebrews of God’s providential care for His people.
Supernatural
–
1) Fell from the sky – 2) Fell
every morning - 3) Didn’t fall on the Sabbath - 4) Fell for forty years – 5) Rotted after one day except for the sixth/seventh
day. - 6) Did
not rot or stink when stored in the golden jar in the Ark of the Covenant.
Until this event,
even though the
Sabbath was known it was not observed in any special way.
How they got it
It was flakes that rained down
like frost (hoarfrost) on the ground
every morning, sparkling like pearls and fed them for all the 40 years of their
wandering. In appearance; it was small
thin white round and hard like sweet gum or resin and looked similar to the
white coriander seed. The
coriander plant belongs to the parsley family; the seed when dried is pleasant
to taste and is used for medicine and to flavor soups and salads. The dew fell the night before to cool the
ground so the manna would not melt.[6]
They were told to collect only what was needed for one day; an omer per person and NO MORE; and on the sixth day to collect twice as much;
two omers per person so they could observe the
Sabbath.[7] Note: Some students
of the word say that the manna was NOT supernaturally preserved on the Sabbath
because it had been cooked it into cakes the day before. It should be noted; although God provided the
manna; man had to do his part and go and gather it, prepare it and cook
it. What God graciously gives; we must
industriously gather; if man does not work, he does not eat.[8]
The manna was congealed in the cool of the night, but in the heat of the
day, it melted.[9]
To diminish the supernatural melting;
some scholars say it didn’t melt at all; it was ants that ate it.
Some Israelites did not heed Moses’ instructions and got more than was
needed; the next day it had maggots in it.[10] Again, scholar’s think that this probably was also
the work of ants that would seek out what was stored. However in my Belief System;
the ants must have been good Jews and observed the Sabbath too and didn’t
bother the manna on that day; to me in my BS, this is even more SUPERNATURAL.
Manna
Bugs
Some authorities suggest that manna is no more than a natural phenomenon
occurring in NATURE; some scaled
insects feed on the sap of the Tamarisk plant which
sap is very rich in carbohydrates, but poor in nitrogen. The excess
carbohydrate ingested to get the nitrogen is excreted as honeydew.
The honeydew
is rich in sugar and pectin. The dry
desert air evaporates most of the moisture from the honeydew leaving sticky
droplets on the plants and ground. When
the ground warms from the sun the ants swarm to seek it out for food.
My BS
disagrees with this NATURAL cause because
it does not fulfill all the Biblical requirements for manna; the Tamarisk is seasonal and
not predictable therefore it certainly could not sustain millions of people
every day for forty years, and besides that, it
could not be made into cakes.
This is just another attempt to
remove the SUPERNATURAL from the Bible.
How they cooked it
Manna looked like a coriander
seed [11]and
was considered “corn”
or “grain”
from heaven[12]
and was boiled in pots like a potage; a
soup, or stew or similar to grits; and for variety it was beaten, crushed
or ground in a mortar into meal and baked into cakes; the cakes were called “the bread
of angels”;[13] Angel Bread
Cake and they made it into sweet pastry
wafers with honey and olive oil.[14]
On the 6th day they were to bake the cakes that were to be eaten on the
Sabbath. Interestingly; the mill used
to make bread was deemed of such importance that no one was allowed to take it
as collateral for a loan; it was a man’s livelihood.[15]
Big Quail Hunt
When the supernatural becomes
normal, we begin to take it for granted and demand that we deserve
more; the provision becomes about us and not about Him. At some point the Israelites wanted more variety
in their food and in their arrogant lust begin to complain to Moses for some
The manna was given as a TEST to see if they
would follow His instructions. The principal ISSUE here was not
really about more food; but it was the DESPISING of God’s provision.[17] The rejection
of His gracious gift of manna was extremely evil in the sight of the Lord.[18]
So along with the Manna, God SUPERNATURALLY brought forth a
wind that blew quail into the camp for two days and one night.[19] (The common brown quail was seven inches long).
With 3,000,000 adults; each
person caught 10 homers or 105 bushels; there were 64 dressed quail to a
bushel; so each
person had 6,720 quail giving us
a total of 20,160,000,000
quail caught in two days. They
spread the quail in the sun to dehydrate them. Quail Jerky.[20]
Some students of the Word Belief System says
the exhausted migratory quail was piled up three feet high on the ground,
others BS say
they were flying about three feet off the ground; Anyway they got’em.
They had put God to the TEST[21] saying “Can God spread a table in the desert”? [22] And He answered their complaining in anger saying; “Is the LORD's arm too short”?[23] While the meat was still in their mouth,[24] He sent a plague
that killed THE FATTEST of them.[25] This speaks volumes to me as I am 40 pounds
overweight. Scripture calls it GREED.[26]
Proverbs: You should cut your throat if you are a glutton.[27] GOOD GRIEF
“Kibroth
Hattaavah” which means the “Graves of Craving” is the name of the place
where they buried all the DEAD FAT PEOPLE.[28]
Battle
Cry of Moses
You can’t get the full impact
of what the people wanted until you hear the deep passions of lament by Moses
as he bowed before God known as “The Battle Cry of Moses”.
Moses’ deep depression; his burden was just too much for him; he
wanted to die.
If you will; Moses was serving as a mirror of the feelings of God.
What if the Lord were to die to these
people; to no longer be their God? You
must read Moses’
Battle Cry.
God was already angry with the people and said He would give them so
much meat, it would come out their nose[29]
and they would come to loathe the meat.
NOTE: If the
manna hadn’t fallen and the quail hadn’t come, Moses would have been declared a
FALSE PROPHET, because he had
already said that they would.
Numbers 11:10-15 – Moses laments to God; the
Battle Cry of Moses
10 Moses heard
the people of every family WAILING, each at the
entrance to his tent.
The LORD became exceedingly angry,
and Moses was troubled.
11 He asked the
LORD,
"Why have you brought this trouble
on your servant?
What have I done to displease you that
you put the BURDEN
of all these people on me?
12 Did I conceive
all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my
arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land YOU
PROMISED on oath to their forefathers?
13 Where can I get MEAT for all these people?
They keep WAILING to me, `GIVE US MEAT TO EAT!'
14 I cannot carry all these people by myself;
the BURDEN is too
heavy for me.
15 If this is
how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now—
IF I HAVE FOUND FAVOR IN YOUR EYES
DO NOT LET ME FACE MY OWN RUIN.
NIV
Why Manna
God could have chosen a number
of ways to sustain His people, but He chose MANNA as a symbol
of bread
and that man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from
the mouth of GOD.[30] As the Israelites were humbled by God, it
caused them to finally realize their total reliance and dependence on Him.
It is written:
While Jesus was
in the wilderness, He used the same scripture about Manna to instruct Satan
when he tried to tempt Him to turn stones into bread.
Man
does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the
LORD.[31]
Symbolism
The manna or bread coming down
from heaven to feed them[32]
is symbolic of Christ coming down from heaven to feed us the Word
of God; the bread of life.[33] The difference was that those that ate the
manna in the desert all died and those that eat the manna or bread of Christ
will never die.[34]
The manna or bread is symbolic of His flesh which He gave for the
life of the world.[35]
Golden Jar
Moses directed Aaron
to place some Manna in a Golden Jar and to put it inside the Ark of the
Covenant with the Ten Commandments and Aarons Rod that had budded.[36] It was hidden
from view and no one saw it again… (That lived.)
NOTE: The Ark and the Tabernacle had not yet been
constructed when the manna was put in the gold jar; so it was either placed
there later or there was some kind of tabernacle before Moses had constructed
the tabernacle patterned after the one in heaven. Just saying. Some of
the hidden manna is promised to all the Believers at the resurrection; they
will receive the life giving bread.[37]
Manna is a hidden agent for “spiritual sustenance” for the risen saints.
God’s miracle of manna; this bread
should not be forgotten, His mercies are to be held in an everlasting
remembrance for our own encouragement to trust Him.
From the
Apocrypha – 2 Maccabees 2:4-8 – It is recorded that the Ark of the
Covenant with the Golden Jar of
Manna[38]
is still in the Ark
hidden in a cave until such time it should be disclosed by God Himself. Those that hid the Ark, went back to mark the way,
but God supernaturally kept them from even finding the path. The place is
supernaturally unknown until God discloses it.
2 Maccabees 2:4-8 – The
Golden Jar of Manna is hid in a mountain cave
4 It was also in
the writing that the prophet, in obedience to a revelation, gave orders that
the tent and the ark should accompany him, and that he went away to the
mountain where Moses went up and beheld God’s inheritance,
5 And Jeremiah
came and found a cave-dwelling, and he took the tent and the Ark and the
incense alter into it, and he blocked up the door.
6 some of those who followed him came up to mark the road, and THEY COULD NOT FIND IT.
7 But when
Jeremiah found it out, he blamed them and said, “THE
PLACE SHALL BE UNKNOWN UNTIL GOD GATHERS THE CONGREGATION OF HIS PEOPLE
TOGETHER AND SHOWS HIS MERCY”.
8 Then the Lord
will show where they are, and the glory of the Lord will appear, as
they were shown in the day of Moses, and when Solomon asked that the place
might be made very sacred.
Aaron’s
Rod – Rabbit Trail
I just felt a need to hitch
hike on Aaron’s rod also being in the ARK because it is
so fascinating. The ark was 62.5” long
so Aaron’s rod must have been about 5 feet long to fit inside the ark.
There was grumblings within the camp about NEPOTISM by Moses in selecting his brother Aaron to
be the high priest. Moses contended that
it was God that had chosen Aaron; which He did.
So Moses had every tribal leader bring his staff or rod with their tribal name written on it to the “Tent of the
Testimony” and that included Aaron and his rod.[39]
They put all the Twelve rods before
the Ark of
the Covenant and the next day
Aaron’s rod not only had budded, but it had leaves, blossoms and almonds
on it.[40]
After
that, the matter was settled and the grumbling stopped and Aaron’s rod was put
into the Ark.[41]
Pseudo Manna and Locust
From
the Apocrypha - Baruch
“Prepare a cereal offerings and offer them upon the alter
of the Lord our God”.
This command to offer the manna cereal
came long after the manna had stopped. However,
there is a tree called “Sinai manna” which exudes a gum-resin that
could be used to make this cereal. This
tree is also called the Alhagi maurorum tree or the Prickly Alhagi.
Just saying
Side Bar; One morning in 1932 a white tasteless and odorless
substance like manna covered the vegetation and grounds on a farm in South
Algeria and was eaten by the natives. Although this “find” was exciting and
interesting, the substance did not fit
This tree was more commonly called the LOCUST
It Stopped
The next morning after
the Israelites had crossed over into the borders of Canaan, camped in Gilgal, kept the
Passover and ate of the
vegetables of that land, the manna stopped.[42] God had provided the manna for some 40 years
until it was no longer needed.[43]
Jesus became the manna that came down from heaven and His body gave
life to the world.[44]
Other Food
Although
this study is about the manna, I don’t want to leave the reader
believing that all they had to eat was bread and water and
only once in 40 years, a one month supply of quail.
They also had meat from the sacrifices of
sheep and cattle; fish,[45] wild honey, wild olives, bitter herbs,
unleavened bread,[46]
milk and other by products from the goats.[47] They also kept the Passover meal which would include lamb, [48]
red wine, eggs, sweet vegetables, salad, nuts and sauces[49].
Passover
Food – Rabbit Trail
Water: A dish of salt water for washing the hands
represented the tears
of the slaves.
Red
Wine: As the feast
progressed, their cup would be refilled four times with RED wine representing
the blood.
The
Lamb: A
one year old male lamb without blemish, roasted and not boiled was to be eaten
without breaking a bone in his body. It
was called the “Paschal
Lamb” and was eaten with the bitter herbs. Jesus was the Lamb of God. Not a bone
in Jesus’ body was broken.
Bitter
herbs salad consisted of bitter lettuce, chicory or endive; Today, Jews use grated
horseradish or onion, parsley and watercress.
It was symbolic of how the Egyptians embittered their
live during captivity.
Haroset
sauce or
fruit pulp was grated apples, chopped nuts, sugar, cinnamon and sweet red wine
mashed together into a texture resembling mortar, making a thick dip. It represents the mortar of Pharaoh’s building
projects.
Unleavened
bread; Wrapped
in a napkin, there were three wafers of bread such as Matzos; which had a
texture like a cracker. Represented
their quick
flight out of bondage.
Other
dishes;
a hardboiled egg and sweet vegetables also for dipping.
Supernatural
Manna had never appeared with
the dew until God sent it and it was a fulfillment of His prophecy. It
was not known to man and had never happened before. If you add up the days of just the
Supernatural manna for 40 years you would have 12,480 miracles. The miracle of manna was to prove that God was
the provider; the giver.
The bread of heaven came down six days a week; skipping the seventh, for
the forty years that they wandered in the wilderness; it
was Angel’s food. It
melted daily except on the Sabbath and it rotted every day except for the
Sabbath.
There were 2,080
Sabbaths that supernaturally the manna did not rot or stink
There is no other natural plant, or a phenomenon in nature that exist
that meets
The quail
supernaturally came every evening at the exact time and place just as Moses
said. In all their complaining, they did
not fuss about WATER, because it was also supernaturally provided.
Prayer, Praise, Plan
God provides Daily Bread;
our daily food,[50]
and when we have eaten and are full we should offer up a prayer of praise and
gratitude to Him for sustaining us. God
lives within us when we are praising Him in prayer.[51] We are to gather the manna of God’s word
every morning of our days.[52]
When we miss a day that day’s opportunity is gone. We are not to hoard it, but to digest it and
share it within our sphere of influence.
Don’t worry about tomorrow’s bread; enjoy today’s bread; plan and trust
God for tomorrow. Don’t boast about what
you are going to do tomorrow; just “plan your work” and say “If it is God’s will”[53]
you will “work
your plan”. Get God involved;
seek Godly council[54]…
God promises to order your steps according to His purpose and to make your
plans succeed[55]…
God has plans for you. He will take what you have and multiply it. [56] Pray and Praise then Plan your work then Work your plan
[1] Exodus 16:1-3 - They
murmured and complained against Moses saying we are going to die
[2] Deuteronomy 32:13 – They
had Wild honey and wild
olives to eat
[3] Exodus 16:7 – The murmurings and complaining were against God
[4] Exodus 16:4 – God said I
will rain bread from heaven
[5] Exodus 16:14-15 Manna
means “What is it” – Thin flakes -- Psalm
78:24-25 – It rained down the bread of angels;
food in abundance.
[6] Numbers 11:9 – The manna
came down with the dew.
[7] Exodus 16:4-5 – Collect
twice as much on the sixth day, enough for the Sabbath too
[8] 2 Thessalonians 3:10 –
Israelites had to labor to get the manna; "If a
man will not work, he shall not eat’
[9] Exodus 16:21-22 – The Manna melted as the sun came up
[10] Exodus 16:20 – Leftovers filled up with maggots and began to smell.
[11] Numbers 11:7-8 – The Manna looked like a coriander seed
[12] Psalm 78:24 – The Manna
was the Corn of heaven
[13] Psalm 78: 24- 25 – Angel’s bread, He sent them all the food they
could eat
[14] Exodus 16:31 – The Manna
was made into pastry like honey wafers
[15] Deuteronomy 24:6 – Do not
take the mill for security of a debt because that would be taking a man's
livelihood as security
[16] Numbers 11:6 – WE ARE TIRED
OF THIS MANNA
[17] Numbers 11:20 – This was not about food; but the rejection of God
[18] Psalm 10:3 – The greedy
cravings revile the Lord
[19] Exodus 16:13 – Quail covered the camp -- Psalm 105:40 – He satisfied them with quail
[20] Numbers 11:31-32 – A wind drove in quail and they made some JERKY
[22] Psalm 78:18-19 –They
willfully put God to the TEST
Can God spread a table in the desert?
[23] Numbers 11:23 - Is the Lord’s arm too short to feed you?
[24] Numbers 11:33 – God sent
a severe plague while the meat was still in
their mouth
[25] Psalm 78:30-31 – God slew the FATTEST of them.
[26] Psalm 78:29 – Their
craving turned to LUST
of bodily appetite
[27] Proverbs 23:2 – You
should just cut your throat if you are a glutton
[28] Numbers 11:34 – They
named the Grave Yard was called Kibroth
Hattaavah there they buried the people who had craved other food.
[29] Numbers
[30] Deuteronomy 8:3 – To
teach them about the Word of God
[31] Luke 4:3-4 – It is Written; Man does
not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of
the Father.
[32] John
[33] John
[34] John 6:49-50 – The
Believer eats the living bread of Christ and cannot die
[35] John
[36] Exodus
[37] Revelation 2:17 – The
Believer will receive some of the hidden manna and a white stone with a new
name written on it.
[38] Hebrews 9:3-4 – This ark contained the GOLD JAR OF MANNA, Aaron's
staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant
[39] Numbers 17:2-5 – Write the Tribal names on the Twelve Rods
[40] Numbers 17:8 – Buds, Leaves, Blossoms and Almonds on Aaron’s Rod
[41] Numbers 17:10 – Put Aaron’s rod in the Ark of the Covenant
[42] Exodus 16:35 – They ate
Manna until they came into the land of Canaan
[43] Joshua
[44] John 6:30-33 – Jesus Christ became the manna from heaven
[45] Numbers
[46] Leviticus
[47] Deuteronomy
[48] Exodus 32:6 – Meat of the
sacrifices
[49] Numbers
[50] Psalm 111:5 – God will
provide food for the believer
[51] Deuteronomy
[52] Matthew
[53] James
[54] Proverbs
[55] Proverbs
[56] Jeremiah 29:10-11 – God
has plans for you; For I know the plans I have for you," "plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future -- John
6:9-10 – Two sardines and five small barley loaves fed five thousand.
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