Topical Bible: Mill: Manna Ground In

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In biblical times, the mill was an essential tool for daily life, used primarily for grinding grain into flour. The process of milling was labor-intensive and typically performed by women. Mills were often hand-operated, consisting of two circular stones: the lower stone, or "nether stone," was stationary, while the upper stone, or "rider," was turned to grind the grain.

The concept of milling is notably referenced in the context of manna, the miraculous food provided by God to the Israelites during their 40-year journey in the wilderness. Manna, described as small, round, and white like coriander seed, was a divine provision that appeared each morning with the dew. The Israelites were instructed to gather it daily, except on the Sabbath, and it could be prepared in various ways.

Numbers 11:7-8 provides insight into the preparation of manna: "Now the manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of gum resin. The people walked around gathering it, and they ground it on a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes, and it tasted like the flavor of fresh oil."

This passage highlights the use of a hand mill in the preparation of manna, emphasizing the adaptability of this heavenly sustenance. The grinding of manna into flour-like consistency allowed the Israelites to create different forms of nourishment, such as cakes, which were then cooked or baked. The taste of manna, described as having the flavor of fresh oil, suggests a pleasant and sustaining quality, suitable for the long journey through the desert.

The act of grinding manna in a mill symbolizes the human effort required to transform God's provision into a usable form. It reflects the partnership between divine providence and human responsibility. The daily gathering and preparation of manna served as a constant reminder of God's faithfulness and the need for reliance on His provision.

In a broader biblical context, the mill and the process of grinding grain are often used metaphorically to represent the labor and toil of life, as well as the transformative power of God's word and provision. The imagery of the millstone is also employed in various scriptural passages to convey judgment and the consequences of sin, as seen in Matthew 18:6 : "But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."

Thus, the mill, particularly in the context of manna, serves as a rich symbol of God's sustenance, the diligence required in spiritual and physical life, and the transformative process of divine grace.

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Numbers 11:8
And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
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Library

Letter vi. In My Last Two Letters I have Given the State of the ...
... this doctrine to the proposals and publications of Kennicot, Mill, Bentley, and ... read;
when they came to it as to a ground covered with manna, even the ...
/.../coleridge/confessions of an inquiring spirit etc/letter vi in my last.htm

The Cry for Bread
... room away at one end of your mill; here is ... always puts benevolence and liberality
on the ground of their ... As with the manna fresh gathered every morning, so all ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/the cry for bread.htm

God Alone the Salvation of his People
... What is that manna, but Jesus Christ himself incarnate, whose body ... two stools thou
wilt come to the ground, and a ... take thee out to grind at the mill, till thy ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 2 1856/god alone the salvation of.htm

The Ancestral Home
... now curled out from a house at Mill stone, now ... plowing amid the aggravations of a
'new ground,' serving writs ... desert, but every morning had its manna, and every ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/fagg/forty years in south china/i the ancestral home.htm

How Can I Obtain Faith?
... the reaper to the thresher, and from the thresher to the mill, and we ... is as much
a gift from heaven as the manna which dropped ... All other ground is sinking sand ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 18 1872/how can i obtain faith.htm

Here Next Followeth the History of Moses
... of them, wherefore they fell down low to the ground and worshipped our ... begotten son
of the handmaid that sitteth at the mill, and all ... And it was called Manna. ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/here next followeth the history.htm

A Treatise to Prove that no one Can Harm the Man who Does not ...
... furrows nor drag a plough, nor harrow the ground, nor cast ... grain from the chaff,
they turned no mill-stone, they ... For such was the nature of the manna; it was ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/a treatise to prove that.htm

A Voice from the Hartley Colliery
... and not by sight, and be fed with manna from heaven ... remember, it were better for
you that a mill-stone were ... Above ground once for all, ay and above the skies too ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 8 1863/a voice from the hartley.htm

The Vanguard and Rereward of the Church
... trodden; Jehovah marches in front, and scatters manna with both ... he may be compelled
this day to ground his arms ... the very leavings of the devil's mill Christ is ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/the vanguard and rereward of.htm