OVERVIEW:
Israel’s exodus out of Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea; the song of Moses and Israel; Manna from heaven.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
As the Passover clearly illustrates the Christian’s salvation through the blood of the Lamb, so the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan is a picture of the battles and blessings of the Christian life. Sadly, like Israel, many Christians after being delivered out of the bondage of Egypt, get lost in the wilderness of unbelief. That’s not to say they lose their salvation; they just never receive all the inheritance that God intends for them. (Note: Losing your salvation is not taught in precept in the New Testament for those who are a part of the body of Christ, and the picture is consistent in the Old Testament. Notice that in the picture painted through the Nation of Israel in Exodus 14:13, they never returned to Egypt!)
The crossing of the Red Sea is a picture of the believer’s identification with Christ. Israel was “baptized unto Moses” (1 Cor. 10:1–2) or, in other words, they followed their deliverer, Moses (a picture of Christ), identifying themselves with him as they went through the Red Sea. When they came up out of the parted waters and they closed behind them, it symbolized that they had left the old life in Egypt behind. We make our public identification with Christ at our water baptism, which symbolizes the spiritual identification with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection that was made when we called upon His name to save us, and symbolizes that we, too, are leaving the old life in Egypt (sin) behind!
Just as there is a law of gravity to which all are subjected, there is also a law of sowing and reaping to which all are subjected! (Gal. 6:7–8) Pharaoh reaped exactly what he had sown. In Exodus 1:22, he had been responsible for drowning many Jewish males; now the males in his army were drowned. (Ex. 14:26–28) Our God will not be mocked! (Gal. 6:7)
Notice also, that just as Moses and Israel sang a song praising God for their deliverance from their bondage in Egypt (Ex. 15), as believers in Christ, we, too, sing a song of deliverance praising God for our deliverance from Egypt (sin)! (Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19; Ps. 40:1-3)
As the children of Israel begin their journey through the wilderness in chapter 16, God feeds them with bread from heaven that is called “manna.” In John 6:31–35, Jesus let us know that the manna was actually a picture of Him!
Note at least eight ways the manna in Exodus 16 is a picture of Christ…
1. It was a mystery. Verse 15 says, “And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, it is manna: for they wist not what it was.” In fact, the word “manna” actually means “What is it?” And they called it that because they couldn’t explain it. It was a mystery to them. And this is exactly what Paul was talking about in 1 Timothy 3:16 that he called, “the mystery of godliness.” And what was the mystery? That “God was manifest in the flesh.” Manna is a picture of who Christ is—that incredible mystery that He is God, manifest in the flesh. Or, God in a human body.
2. It was small. Verse 14 says, it was “…as small as the hoar (or white) frost on the ground.” And, of course, “small” speaks of Christ’s humility. Though He was the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, Shekinah glory of the Godhead, He humbled Himself to be born into the world that He, Himself, had created—and He did so, as a “small” baby. Philippians 2:6–7 says that though Christ was equal with God, He made Himself of no reputation (He humbled Himself), by allowing Himself to be made in the likeness of men.
3. It was round. The middle of verse 14 says that it was “a small round thing.” And this speaks of Christ’s eternality— the fact that He had no beginning and has no end. In John 8:58, Jesus said, “Verily, verily I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” Notice that He didn’t say, “Before Abraham was, I WAS!” He clearly said, “Before Abraham was, I AM!” In other words, like something that is round, He had no beginning and has no end. In Revelation 1:8, Jesus said to the Apostle John, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which IS, and which WAS, and which IS TO COME, the Almighty.” Listen, God could have made the manna any shape He wanted to make it, but because it was a picture of Christ, He made it ROUND—having no beginning and no ending.
4. It was a gift. The middle of verse 15 says “…And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath GIVEN you to eat.” John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he GAVE…” Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
5. It was white. Verse 31 says, “And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: it was like coriander seed, WHITE…” And white, of course, speaks of His purity and righteousness. It speaks of the fact that He came into this world without sin and without a sin nature because He came by way of a virgin birth. (Matt. 1:20) Note that Romans 5:12 says that the curse of sin is passed through the man.
6. It was sweet. The end of verse 31 says, “…and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” Psalm 34:8 says, “O, taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 119:103 says, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” But, you see, if you are ever really going to know His sweetness, you must taste of the Lord; you must take Him in! It wasn’t enough for the children of Israel to admire the manna… or to respect it… or even to acknowledge that it was a gift from God; they had to eat it for themselves!
7. It was on the ground. So, you know what you had to do to get it? You had to bow… you had to bend… you had to stoop. In other words, you had to humble yourself to get it. Do you realize, that God could have put the manna anywhere He wanted? He could have suspended it in midair. He could have put it on the branches of the trees. He could have put it on the mountain tops. But you know what He did? He made it accessible to everyone! It came to where they were, but to get it, they had to stoop. And you know who could reach it best? Children! Because they don’t have as far to bend. Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus came to where we are, but to receive Him, we must humble ourselves.
8. It must be received early. Verse 21 says, “And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.” There was an urgency concerning the manna, because once the sun rose on the earth, the manna melted. The opportunity to receive it was gone! Interestingly enough, the Bible says in Malachi 4:1-2, that in the very near future, the “Sun of righteousness” (the Lord Jesus Christ) is going to arise on this planet, and He will burn up all His enemies. (Ps. 97:3) In 2 Thessalonians 1:7–9, Paul tells us that the day is coming “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire (like the sun!) taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” God’s message concerning the manna was to be sure to receive it before the sun came up! And likewise, God’s message to the people in the last days is to be sure to receive Christ before He rises in the eastern sky as the “Sun of righteousness” upon this planet! Isaiah 55:6 warns us, “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.”
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
- As MANNA from heaven – Exodus 16 (John 6:31–35)
(See Highlights & Insights above)