Manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16) - Part 2

Note: The Exodus became an important hermeneutical principle as Israel went through its later crises of diminishment and restoration. Even in the New Testament, the Exodus is an important paradigm. Every aspect of Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised Land thus establishes a rhythm by which Scripture invites the future reader/hearer to behold a story in which he/she also has a part to play. To call the Church the redeemed of God is to recognise that it exists in continuity with Israel, whom God had elected and covenanted with irrevocably.[1] Israel’s historical journey must then still have theological implications for us today.

From the exegetical study in PART 1, understanding Israel’s wilderness within a ritual and symbolic context suggests a spiritual journey within a physical journey, whereby bread was a major figure which evoked a sense of pilgrimage and formed the new community that was advancing into the Promised Land. As Christian re-readers, we are reminded that our sense of pilgrimage and community founded on Christ should not be unlike that of Israel, whom He delivered from Egypt. PART 2 starts the ball rolling in discussing some ways manna may help us to make sense of the journey we undertake as sojourners of this world who await the consummation of God’s eternal Kingdom.

PART 2: Manna and Knowing God

Manna pointed beyond itself to God’s nature. It brought Israel to know God. God is evidently the unchanging deliverer who hears the cries of His people and responds in His time – consistent with how He was introduced to the Israelites in Egypt (Ex 6:6-8). God is interested in the formation of His people; and as His ways run counter-cultural to those of the world of which Pharaoh’s Egypt was a symbol, God’s people experience wilderness which is intended to renew lifestyles, subvert old worldviews and strengthen their faith in Him. However challenging wilderness may be in human terms, hope is not lost. Manna has proven that God provides critical orientation for every step in the journey. It is in such wilderness that God’s people also meet His gracious provisions and thus, may see His tests in light of loving grace – as the means of establishing, rather than controlling His people. God’s glory, of which manna was to be a visual sign (Ex 16:7), encompasses His faithful presence with His people, one of the comforts to be cherished in the challenges of wilderness. The other comfort is the fact that God desires to give rest – something to be anticipated, entered and enjoyed; however the depth of rest depends on the people’s faith in God. The concept of eating and knowing found in the context of manna is not new. At the very beginning, Adam (and later Eve) were to know God in the context of eating (Gen 2:16-17). Eating came with a commandment/prohibition that established their rest - and yet the necessity to trust and obey God if life was to be truly fulfilling.

Christians, like Israel in the wilderness, are to be a people of bread. 

Christ portrayed Himself as the Bread of life (Jn 6:33, 47-51, 53-58) which nourishes and in fact, gives eternal life unlike manna (Jn 6:49-50). God does not only provide bread; He now becomes Bread Himself. Manna intimates that the ultimate goal of our lives as the redeemed of God is to know God. Indeed, the Bread of life, having fulfilled the proclaimed word, reveals to us the gracious Word Himself; and thus, borrowing Crichton’s statement, “If one cannot live by bread alone, neither can one live by word alone.”[2] This enfleshment of the Word cannot be taken for granted for it is the means of truly knowing Him. Bread, the life of Christ through the work, guidance, testimony and intercession of the Spirit in believers, will give us hope in our trials and tribulations. As we grow in our dependence on this Bread, we may find rest despite our sufferings. 

Such theological implications also takes us, Christians, to look at consumerism from a different perspective. Rather than consuming for the sake of consuming, all consuming and consumption should draw us closer to God and thus, bring us to know Him better. Something close to home is our tendency to complain bitterly or even jump to a different pasture when features of our churches (worship styles, people, leaders, sermons and ministries) do not meet our standards or expectations. The truth is this: there is no perfect church. I am not saying that we should just stay put if we cannot fit into the congregation at all. I recognise that people (as well as denominations) are as diverse as can be - and we are wired the way we are to fit into a particular part of the Body and play our respective roles. By all means, find a church where you can be rooted in well, grow up in Christ and serve in peace. However, we can be too idealistic (and I often am). It is then pertinent that we reflect on how we should immerse ourselves into the life of our churches so that the good and even the imperfections bring us to know God - rather than allow the imperfections to breed discontent and murmuring. 

Stay tuned for PART 3: Manna and Spiritual Disciplines

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[1] Contra supersessionism, i.e. the view which says that the Church supersedes Israel as the covenant people of God in order to fulfill the instrumental purpose that Israel had failed to carry out (bringing redemption to the world). 
[2] Crichton, “A Theology of Worship”, p.23.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 
Crichton, J. D. “A Theology of Worship” in A Study of Liturgy, rev. ed., ed. Cheslyn Jones et al. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1992.