Manna Collection

“He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” – Deuteronomy 8:3 (NRSV)

There is a lot that we can learn from the Israelites’ quest to reach the Promised Land, and this particular verse is a lesson for us today as it was for the sojourning Israelites then. We have an advantage over them though since we have the benefit of looking at what has already happened.

On their trek through the unforgiving wilderness, the Israelites experienced extreme hunger, for there was no food in this barren and desolate place, so they were absolutely dependant upon God, Who provided them with something called manna.

Each day they were responsible for collecting enough manna to satisfy their need for that day.

Deuteronomy 8:3 tells us that manna was something which neither they nor their ancestors had ever known about. And, this daily manna collection, would have been a brand-new concept for them to get used to.

We must understand that these Israelites, long enslaved in Egypt, would have had Egyptian habits and culture ingrained within them, for some that was all they knew. God had not only taken them out of Egypt but now had to take Egypt out of them. Getting people to change their ways is a hard nut to crack and so it was with these Israelites.

Lessons in humility were necessary, and starvation is a mighty effective tool in bringing persons to their knees.

From this verse, we see that manna is a metaphor for “the word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”. It represents the Rhema or spoken word of God, and their dependence on a daily ration of manna was a lesson for them as it is for us.

A daily dose of life-saving manna was their necessary food, and a daily dose of God’s Word is our lifesaver. We need to rely on His Word, it is our vital supply.  

Every Israelite had a responsibility to collect their own bit of manna every day and each one of us is responsible for our own manna collection, “every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”, daily. 

Job 23:12 (NIV)

"I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread."

Understand that we cannot move into the spiritual promises of God on yesterday’s manna, so as we too move into our Promised Land, let us make it a habit to seek Him first every day to receive our food from heaven.

Our greatest need is spiritual food.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Manna Collection” © February 14, 2025