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Manna is fine, indicating that Christ is even and balanced and that He became small enough for us to eat—Exo. 16:14; John 6:12.
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Manna is round, indicating that as our food, Christ is eternal, perfect, and full, without shortage or defect—Exo. 16:14; John 8:58.
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Manna is white, showing that Christ is clean and pure, without any mixture—Exo. 16:31; Psa. 12:6; 119:140; 2 Cor. 11:3b.
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Manna is like frost, signifying that Christ not only cools and refreshes us but also kills the negative things within us—Exo. 16:14; Prov. 17:27.
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Manna is like coriander seed, indicating that Christ is full of life that grows in us and multiplies—Num. 11:7; Luke 8:11.
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Manna is solid (implied in the fact that the people”ground it between two millstones or beat it in a mortar, then they boiled it in pots”—Num. 11:8), signifying that after gathering Christ as manna, we must prepare Him for our eating by”grinding, beating, and boiling” Him in the situations and circumstances of our daily living—cf. 2 Cor. 1:4; Eph. 6:18.
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Manna's appearance is like that of bdellium, indicating the brightness and transparency of Christ—Num. 11:7; Rev. 4:6, 8; Ezek. 1:18.
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Manna's taste is like that of cakes baked in oil, signifying the fragrance of the Holy Spirit in the taste of Christ—Num. 11:8; Psa. 92:10.
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Manna's taste is like that of wafers made with honey, signifying the sweetness of the taste of Christ—Exo. 16:31; Psa. 119:103.
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Manna is good for making cakes, indicating that Christ is like fine cakes good for nourishment—Num. 11:8; 1 Tim. 4:6.
Morning Nourishment
Exo. 16:14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there upon the surface of the wilderness were fine round flakes, fine as the frost on the earth.John 6:35 Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall by no means hunger…
Psa. 119:140 Your word is very pure, and Your servant loves it.
Contrary to the human concept, manna was something small (Exo 16:14b). People usually appreciate something that is great, and we often praise the Lord for His greatness. However, where can you find hymns of praise for the smallness of Christ? We have looked through many hymnals, but have not found any hymns on Christ's smallness. Building materials may be very large, but food must be small enough to fit into our mouth. The food taken in by us must be small enough to eat. If we want to eat a large piece of meat, we need to first cut it into small pieces.
Many regard the four Gospels as the record of the life of a great person. Actually the Gospels do not emphasize Christ's greatness. Yes, the Lord Jesus was a descendant of David, a descendant of a royal family. However, He was born in a manger, and He was raised in the home of a carpenter in a small, despised town. This indicates that the Lord did not make a display of His greatness. On the contrary, He preferred to be small in the eyes of man. According to John 6, the crowd wanted to enthrone the Lord Jesus as a king, but He fled from such an exaltation of Himself. The next day He returned and presented Himself as the bread of life (John 6:35)…. Instead of being great, the Lord wanted to be small in order to be food for us. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 435-436)
Today's Reading
Manna was very fine and even [Exo 16:14a]….Even in virtues such as kindness or humility, we may be rough and unbalanced….When we take the Lord Jesus as our food, enjoying His word as our life supply, we are balanced. We become fine and even.Exodus 16:31 indicates that manna was white. It was clean and pure, without any kind of mixture….Only Christ and His word are pure. The more we feast on Christ and eat His word, the more we are purified and saved from every kind of mixture. If we come daily to the Lord Jesus and take Him into us and feed on His word, we shall undergo a process of purification that makes us more and more pure. Those who feed on Christ eventually become simple and pure. Most people are complicated…. The only way to be simplified is to eat the Lord Jesus. The more we eat Him and receive His word, the more we are simplified. In this way we become single and pure. As we partake of Christ as our manna, we are not only purified and simplified, but we also become white. To be white means to be without stain….Although we may be good in certain respects, we may not be white. For example, our love and humility may have a certain natural color. Actually, none of our human virtues is white. But the more we take in Christ as our life supply, the more our natural color is eliminated, and the whiter we become.
The manna was also like frost (16:14). Frost is something between dew and snow. Both dew and frost are refreshing. But although dew refreshes, it does not kill germs. Frost, however, does kill germs. As manna, not only does Christ refresh us; He also kills the negative things within us. Whenever we experience Christ as the life supply, we are watered and refreshed, and the negative things within us, such as our negative attitudes, are put to death. We experience both the refreshing of the frost and its killing. All the worldly people are too hot in their pursuit of sinful pleasures and worldly amusements. Many of today's Christians are also too hot, too feverish; they need to be cooled down… We all need the experience of frost. Because we are so hot in certain matters, we need to become cool and sober…. As we partake of Christ and His word, we are cooled down and refreshed by the frost. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 438-440)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1969, vol. 2,”The Crucial Revelation of Life in the Scriptures,” ch. 3