Imagine discovering that despite the trials we’ve experienced, God not only has a plan for our immediate rescue, and for our future, but God also has made provisions for us. It’s not our imagination. It is our reality. That was the reality the Children of Israel (now referred to as the ‘_House of Israel_’) were obliged to come to grips with after centuries of enslavement. Siblings, this challenge is hard for many of us to accept today, more so, the House of Israel.
As formerly enslaved people, the House was not accustomed to anything being done by a sovereign without negative motives. It may explain why they were reluctant to accept God’s actions and gifts at face value. It may explain their questions about the bread rained down from Heaven. At this point, we don’t know much about the bread, beyond the required daily allowance and directions for collection. Today’s Holy Nougat offers us some more details.
Exodus 16:31 AFV
[31] And the house of Israel called the name of it Manna. And it was like coriander seed, white. And the taste of it was like wafers with honey.
What Is It?
In verse 14, when the Children of Israel saw the flakes that looked like hoar frost covering the ground, their immediate question to Moses was ‘What is it?’, that is, ‘_manna_’? Manna seems to have been known to Bedouins, the Children of Israel were not familiar with it. They had not been familiar with life in the wilderness, or of total dependence on YHWH. So Moses revealed that it was the bread from Heaven God had promised. After a week of personally experiencing God’s provision of bread, and providing extra on the Sabbath, the House of Israel determined to call this bread, by the name of their question: ‘manna’. Strong’s Bible Concordance refers to the name as ‘the ‘_Whatness_’, a play on their original question.
Self- Check
Are there questions we have asked of God that were redundant (i.e., unnecessary), because God’s already told us what would happen? Why did we ask?
Application
It is interesting to note that like Adam in Genesis 2, the Children of Israel were authorised to name that which was newly created. Unlike Adam, whose relationship with God in Eden was direct, the Children of Israel had not fully come into the fullness of their relationship with God. Our Nougat however, indicates that there was a subtle shift in the relationship. No longer were they asking questions about what God had provided. They accepted God’s provision and named it. It was the dawn of a new era.
Inasmuch as the Children of Israel came to terms with God’s rule in their lives (despite sinning thereafter), God honoured the shift. Their acceptance of the Sabbath resulted in a subtle name shift.
Strong’s Bible Concordance indicates that ‘Children’ derives from the word ‘son’. The Topical Lexicon explains,
‘_while the core sense is “son,” the term embraces biological, legal, covenantal, royal, communal, and prophetic dimensions, each enriching the unfolding revelation of God’s redemptive program_
_The phrase “sons of Israel” (over 600 occurrences) binds twelve tribes into one covenant family, reinforcing solidarity and shared destiny_.’
Additionally, the ‘Topical Lexicon reveals that the Hebrew expression ‘house’, ‘_carries the rich idea of a place prepared, protected, and ordered by God for His purposes and people. Whether denoting a tent, a palace, the temple, or an entire lineage, the term repeatedly anchors Israel’s experience of covenant, worship, and identity_.
The shift signifies their acceptance that they were prepared, protected and ordered by God for God’s purpose, namely: covenant worship and identity. Yes siblings, the naming represented their acceptance of YHWH as sovereign over their lives.
We also have access to manna that results in a name shift. Our manna is Y’shua, Jesus, our Messiah (Christ). He Himself assures us in John 6:35, that He is our Bread of Life on which we ought to feed constantly. By eating of Him, we also gain access to the Land of Promise, Heaven, after we complete our Wilderness Wanderings. Receiving the Living Bread, invites Jesus to make that subtle shift in our lives.
Eating of our Manna results in our becoming what Peter termed ‘… _a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light_…’ (1 Peter 2:9).
It corroborates with YHWH’s exhortation to the House of Israel on the sundry laws in Deuteronomy 14:2 – ‘_For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a specially treasured people to Himself, above all the nations that are on the earth_.’ This is not about domination and abuse of other people groups. It says that _*unlike*_ the House of Israel, other nations were not specially called by God. We find our new, ‘peculiar’ (read ‘unique’) identity in our Living Bread. As often as we eat, we discover more about our Living Bread.
Point to Ponder
Do we know our Living Bread, or are we busy asking, ‘What is it’? May we find our identity in our eating of the Living Bread.
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May all we seek be found in Christ
