He had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven, had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them of the bread of heaven. Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to the full. (Psalm 78:23-25)
In the previous devotion we addressed the fact that, upon first seeing the manna, the people said to one another, “What is it?” In Hebrew, the phrase is מן הוא man hu. As we discussed, the giving of their daily bread was not only an act of provision in temporal means but was intended to awaken them to a greater principle — the need for spiritual sustenance and the growth that comes when we heed every word God declares (Deuteronomy 8:3). There is yet one other point the manna was meant to address but one that would not be so obvious until centuries later.
In John’s Gospel it is recorded that some who wished to verify Yeshua’s legitimacy asked Him to perform a sign on the same scale as the manna given in the desert. To this request He replied, “My Father 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” (John 6:32-33). When they inquired as to where they might obtain this bread He said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst … I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:35, 51).
As you continue to read this account you will see that His words were not received well at all. In fact the common response was, “Isn’t this Yeshua, the son of Joseph?“ In other words, “Who does He think He is?“ Not only did they scoff, but of those who had followed Him to that point, many decided not to follow Him any more. They couldn’t receive the bread God offered them much like their ancestors grew to loathe the manna that was provided for them in the wilderness. Remember they asked, almost sarcastically, מן הוא man hu — “What is it?” Interestingly, the word הוא hu also means “he”; in other words, they were unwittingly asking the same questions their descendants would ask in regard to Messiah, “Who is He?”
All of this is to say that those of us who have received Him — the Bread of Life that comes from Heaven — will never truly hunger. Of course, we may experience an occasional grumble in our belly but if we have embraced the true bread of God, our souls will remain satisfied and our lives be filled with abundance and blessing. Let us then pray for those who are still asking the question, “Who is He?,” for their eyes to be opened and their understanding be enlightened that they may taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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