Why Did God Really Send the Manna in Exodus 16?

Family walk in Arizona

Food raining down from heaven might seem a bit out there.  But it happened and not just for a day, a week, or a month.  God sent enough manna to feed about 2 million people for 40 long years.  

When I read this chapter many years ago, I got that it was a picture of the Lord being our heavenly supply. Especially since the Lord in John 6 makes this point really clear.  But I saw in my reading that there's something more here. And Witness Lee brings out that it's about God using manna to reconstitute the Israelites for His dwelling place.  Before you go huh, keep reading because the excerpts below will explain this.

I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel; I speak unto them, saying, At evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread, and you shall know that I am Jehovah your God.  Exodus 6:12

After God spoke this, He sent quail to their camp, but it’s not like that was a good thing.  I learned from reading chapters 33 and 34 of the Life-Study of Exodus that it was to show the Israelites that what they were hungering for was actually what they were constituted with.  Here's some excerpts on pages 401, 405, 407, and 409 that helped me to understand why being reconstituted was such a big thing:

God's desire is to use His people as material for the building of His habitation on earth. However, although the people were no longer in Egypt, they were still Egyptian in their constitution.Their tissue was Egyptian….His aim is to eliminate every trace of the Egyptian constitution. Students of medicine know that a new diet causes our cells and fibers to be gradually changed….The point here is that whatever we desire, hunger, and thirst after is the diet according to which our being has been constituted….We need a change in our inward constitution, not merely a change in our outward behavior. If we would have such an inward change, we need to have a change of food supply, for the food we eat is the source of our constitution….By feeding on manna,  God's people eventually became manna….This picture shows that only those who have been

reconstituted with Christ are qualified to build up the church as God's dwelling place today…. This reveals that our constitution must be rearranged through the  eating of Christ. Christ must replace the Egyptian diet.… Remember that those who built the tabernacle had experienced a change of diet and had begun to be reconstituted with the element of manna….In fact, after being reconstituted, they themselves are the dwelling place of God.   (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Exodus.  Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1980, Print).   . 

There's about five chapters in this book on Exodus 16, and they are full of light and practical fellowship.  In chapter 34 he says that eating manna actually caused the Israelites to correspond with God. And it's neat to see that the same thing happens to us when we read the Bible and spend time with the Lord.

You can listen to excerpts of this life training and some outstanding commentary by listening to Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee on Exodus.

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Exodus:

Why Did God Use So Many Women in Exodus 1 & 2?
Taking a Closer Look at the Conflict Between God and Pharaoh in Exodus 5
What Does the Name Jehovah Mean in Exodus 6:2?
Why Did God Really Send the Manna in Exodus 6?
What is the Meaning of the Bitter Waters at Marah in Exodus 15:23?
How are the 10 Commandments Like God's Engagement Covenant in Exodus 20?
How Can You Keep the 10 Commandments?
Why Did the Israelites Build a Tabernacle in Exodus 25:8?
Taking Another Look at the Priesthood of the Believers in Exodus 19:6
Seeing God's Spiritual Building in Exodus 26 - Part 1 of 1
Seeing God's Spiritual Building in Exodus 26 - Part 2 of 2
Taking a Closer Look at the Tabernacle in Exodus 25 - The Ark
Taking a Closer Look at the Tabernacle in Exodus 25 - The Showbread Table & the Lampstand
Taking a Closer Look at the Tabernacle in Exodus 27 & 30 - The Bronze Altar & Laver
Taking a Closer Look at the Tabernacle in Exodus - The Golden Incense Altar

A Great Gluten Free Spring Salad - Salmon Salad With Quinoa & Black Beans

I like salmon, but who doesn't who lives in the Northwest?  You can do a lot with salmon besides just throwing it on the BBQ.  Whenever spring comes I start thinking of the different types of main dish salads I know about. I was visiting my father in April, and he is pretty health conscious and likes to make a green salad every day.  He had some  salmon in his pantry and that gave me an idea for lunch one day.  I thought about all the delicious things l like to put on a salad like quinoa and beans and thought I'm going to put it all together.   

Like many salads you can decide what types of vegetables you want to scatter across the top, but I'm listing the ones I like to use.  And, of course,  how much you need depends on how many you're feeding so I'm not giving you any amounts here.  We chopped up the vegetables and then arranged them into individual salad bowls.

Salmon Salad with Quinoa & Black Beans

1.  Vegetable Prep:

(1)  Wash an assortment of greens:  I like to use red lettuce, kale, and spinach.

(2)  Scrub and grate 1 carrot.

(3)  Slice green onions.

(4)  Sliced or chopped cucumber.

(5)  Slice cherry or grape tomatoes in half.

(6)  Cube avocado(s)

(6)  Drain a can of black beans.

2.  Prepare quinoa according to package directions. 

3.  Assemble salads - in individual salad bowls put:

(1)  Greens

(2)  Some spoonfuls of quinoa

(3)  Scatter vegetables across the top.

(4)  Spoon over a few tablespoons of black beans.

(5)  Then scatter canned salmon across the top.

4.  Balsamic Salad Dressing (This is my Italian son-in-law's own dressing):

(1)  Pour 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive into a dressing bottle.

(2)  Add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar.

(3)  Then add 1/2 of salt, pepper, and oregano.

(4)  Mince 2 cloves of garlic.

(5)  Taste and make any adjustments.  This dressing is everyone's favorite!!

List of Other Salads on this Blog:

Greens/cabbage:
Make it Yourself Thai Peanut Dressing for Mandarin Salad  (My friend Judi's recipe)
KFC Copycat Cole Slaw   (A friend shared this with me)
Belizean Coleslaw    (From Internet search)
Antioxidant Rich Kale Super Salad  (A copycat from a deli, dressing from Syre School Cookbook)

Main Dish Salads
Gluten Free Chinese Chicken Cabbage Salad   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Baja Salad with Black Beans & Quinoa  (A remake from something I ate at a restaurant)

Mexican Grilled Salmon & Mango Salad   (From a Betty Crocker summer cookbook)
Jackson Square Shrimp Salad   (From my Syre School cookbook)

Pasta & Quinoa:
Tasty Gluten Free Pasta Salad  (Something I picked up over 20 years ago!)
Vietnamese Vermicelli Salad Bowls   (From an Internet search)
Michelle's Greek Quinoa Salad   (My foodie daughter's own delicious creation!) Another Great Salad with Quinoa - Janah's  Original Quinoa, Cranberry & Feta Salad  (a recipe my daughter came up with)

Vegetable:
Jeremy D's Sensational Greek Salad   (My son-in-law's recipe)

Grandma's Perfect Potato Salad   (Family recipe)
Rose's Refreshing Cucumber Salad   (From a Chinese friend)
A Great BBQ side Salad - Curried Pea Salad  (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)

Dot's Easy Bean Salad  (Recipe from an  83 yr old friend of my father's)

Fruit:
Grandma Marilyn's Frozen Fruit Salad  (My mother-in-law's recipe)