While the quail He sent would be temporary on this night and another to come, the bread would rain down for the next 40 years on every day, except on the Sabbaths. This “manna” was supernatural bread from heaven which God miraculously provided. It was unlike anything ever seen before or after. The Psalmist spoke of it as bread from heaven and of angels (Ps 78:24-25), and the apostle Paul called it spiritual food (1 Cor 10:3). The bread that God provided was sufficient as He gave them enough for each day with a double portion for the Sabbath. The bread was also sacred in the sense they were to keep some as a memorial of the Lord’s salvation and provision. Future generations would know what the Lord had done for Israel by this memorial! Lastly, the bread was sanctifying, as Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
These aspects of the manna point to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Bread of Life. Jesus who miraculously fed 5000 with bread, is Himself far more precious for men to feed upon than the manna they had continually in the wilderness. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35; 53-