Topical Bible: Manna: Given for Forty Years

◄ Manna: Given for Forty Years ►

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Introduction

Manna, often referred to as "bread from heaven," is a miraculous provision from God to the Israelites during their 40-year journey in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. This divine sustenance is a significant symbol of God's provision and care for His people, illustrating His faithfulness and the importance of reliance on Him.

Biblical Account

The account of manna is primarily found in the Book of Exodus and the Book of Numbers. In Exodus 16, the Israelites, having left Egypt, find themselves in the Desert of Sin, grumbling against Moses and Aaron due to a lack of food. In response, God promises to rain down bread from heaven for them. Exodus 16:4 states, "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test whether or not they will follow My instructions.'"

Description and Instructions

Manna is described as being like coriander seed, white, and tasting like wafers made with honey (Exodus 16:31). The Israelites were instructed to gather only as much as needed for each day, with a double portion to be collected on the sixth day to prepare for the Sabbath, when no manna would fall. This daily gathering was a test of obedience and trust in God's provision.

Duration and Significance

The provision of manna lasted for the entire 40 years of the Israelites' wilderness journey, ceasing only when they reached the border of Canaan. Joshua 5:12 records, "And the manna ceased the day after they ate from the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna, for they ate from the produce of the land of Canaan that year."

Manna served not only as physical sustenance but also as a spiritual lesson. It taught the Israelites to depend on God daily and to trust in His provision. Deuteronomy 8:3 reflects on this, stating, "He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."

New Testament Reference

In the New Testament, Jesus refers to manna in John 6:31-35 during His discourse on being the Bread of Life. He contrasts the temporary physical sustenance of manna with the eternal spiritual sustenance He provides: "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who 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.'"

Conclusion

The account of manna is a profound testament to God's provision and a foreshadowing of the ultimate provision through Christ. It remains a powerful reminder of the necessity of faith and reliance on God for both physical and spiritual sustenance.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Nehemiah 9:21
Yes, forty years did you sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Out of and Into
... care and goodness, like that of the ancient people of God, who had the pillar to
guide them, and the manna given them every day for forty years; Moses and ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/murray/the deeper christian life/iv out of and into.htm

The Exodus.
... when Moses had gone up to the mount, and was staying there forty days, the ... and the
sea parted and passed over by them on foot, manna also given to them ...
/.../unknown/recognitions of clement /chapter xxxv the exodus.htm

God's Training
... all the powers of mind that God has given him ... fed the Jews in the wilderness with
manna, to show ... doth his foot swell, through all his forty years' wandering in ...
/.../kingsley/discipline and other sermons/sermon iv gods training.htm

Grace for Living.
... You remember the Israelites used to gather the manna fresh every ... the bank in your
name, and had given you a ... and had lain there on his bed for some forty years. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/moody/sovereign grace/chapter vi grace for living.htm

A Nation that was Born in a Day.
... grain and the fruits of the land, and the manna fell no ... Forty years they were on
the journey, and all this time they were ... for the Lord hath given you the city ...
/.../lathbury/childs story of the bible/chapter xiv a nation that.htm

Discourse on Spiritual Food and True Discipleship. Peter's ...
... as such by the works which he had given him to ... wrought by Jesus with the fall of
manna in the ... reason thus: "Moses fed many millions for forty years with bread ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxiv discourse on spiritual food.htm

From Egypt to Sinai.
... The list is given in Numbers, Chapter thirty-three ... and here God gave them the manna
from heaven ... to them continuously until they reached Canaan forty years later ...
/.../tidwell/the bible period by period/chapter v from egypt to.htm

The Temptation
... Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the ... sustenance failed, God sent His people
manna from heaven; and a sufficient and constant supply was given. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/the desire of ages/chapter 12 the temptation.htm

Of Circumcision and the Supercession of the Old Law.
... procession of a new law (not such as He had already given to the ... through the Red
Sea, and who in the desert, fed forty years with manna, was wrought to ...
/.../tertullian/an answer to the jews/chapter iii of circumcision and the.htm

He Replies to the Cavil that the one who is Born must be of one ...
... said before: or you may conceive that the answer given to this ... Again whence came
that heavenly food which for forty years fell on the ... Did manna produce manna? ...
/.../cassian/the seven books of john cassian /chapter iii he replies to.htm