Manna
The second and fourth books of the Pentateuch, Exodus and Numbers, highlight the story of the deliverance of the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians. We find details therein of the battles won by the people, the difficulties encountered in their relationship with God and the divine aid provided during their long trek through the desert. The Bible tells us about the manna from the sky as the main food eaten during the people’s journey in the desert. Here are a few Bible verses about manna in both the Old Testament and the New Testament!
What is Manna?
After Moses left Egypt, the Lord brought him and the Israelites through the desert. The people started to complain of hunger. Then, “the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.” (Exodus 16:4). This supernational gift was the main food for the people during their entire time in the desert. “The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.” (Exodus 16:31)
Manna in the Old Testament
Manna in the desert
“But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!’ The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And it tasted like something made with olive oil.” (Numbers 11:6-8)
A person cannot live on bread alone
“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors 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.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
No manna after the people entered Canaan
“The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.” (Joshua 5:12)
Manna from the sky
“Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens; he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven. Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.” (Psalms 78:23-25)
Manna in the New Testament
The bread of life
“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:48-51)
Hidden manna
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” (Revelations 2:17)
