Why Did the Israelites Need Manna?

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Short Summary
The discourse explores why the Israelites needed manna despite having livestock and other natural resources during their wilderness journey, emphasizing that manna was a miraculous, balanced food provided daily to sustain them and test their faith. It highlights that while the Israelites supplemented their diet with available fruits, meat, and sacrifices, manna symbolized spiritual sustenance, representing Jesus as the “bread from heaven” and teaching reliance on God’s provision. The narrative also draws spiritual lessons on trust, patience, and God’s perfect timing in meeting needs.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary: Why Did the Israelites Need Manna?

Context and Question:
The discourse begins with a question raised at an Orlando meeting: If the Israelites had animals for sacrifices, why did they need manna in the wilderness? This prompts an exploration into the natural and spiritual reasons behind manna provision during the Exodus.

Brother Russell’s Observations (Reprint 4011):
– Travelers to the Sinai wilderness noted valleys with brushwood sufficient for livestock and abundant snails beneath trees.
– It is uncertain if the landscape during the Exodus was the same, but it indicates that the Israelites were not wandering in a completely barren desert.
– There was some vegetation and natural resources, which could sustain herds to some extent.
– Despite this, the Israelites’ daily food was very limited, leading to hardships and complaints.

Misconception About the Wilderness:
– The common belief that the Israelites wandered for 40 years in a barren desert is inaccurate.
– Much of the terrain had vegetation supporting livestock.
– Their journey was a test of faith, teaching dependence on God rather than on earthly abundance.

Initial Food and Livestock:
– At the Exodus, the Israelites took dough and kneading bowls with them (Exodus 12:38-39), and brought flocks and herds.
– They baked unleavened bread from this dough in haste.
– Estimates of the population range from 2 million (Brother Russell) to over 3 million (Adam Clark), underscoring the immense scale of provision needed.

Spiritual Lessons From the Journey:
– The Exodus foreshadows salvation through Jesus Christ, liberating from Adamic sin and death.
– The first need met was water, leading to the miracle at Marah where bitter water was made sweet (Exodus 15:22-25).
– Water symbolizes truth and spiritual sustenance (Reprint 4010).

Provision at Elim (Exodus 15:27):
– Israelites camped by 12 springs and 70 date palms—symbols of spiritual refreshment and public ministry (12 apostles, 70 sent out).
– Date palms could provide hundreds of thousands of dates, indicating natural food sources.

Israelites’ Grumbling About Hunger (Exodus 16:2-3):
– Despite natural provisions, they longed for Egypt’s “pots of meat and full bread.”
– This reflects human tendency to look back wistfully at past worldly comforts.
– God desires open communication about needs, but with humble hearts, to build faith through reliance on Him.

Manna – God’s Miraculous Provision:
– God provided manna daily, a miraculous bread from heaven (Exodus 16).
– Manna resembled coriander seed, white, tasted like honey and oil, and was preserved by morning dew.
– Each person collected one omer; it could be baked or boiled (Exodus 16:23).
– Psalm 78:25 describes it as “bread of angels.”
– Manna contained nutrients comparable to meat, explaining spoilage and worms, indicating it was highly nutritious and balanced.

Provision of Meat – Quail:
– God also provided quail at twilight, supplementing manna (Exodus 16:12-13).
– Despite livestock, complaints about meat persisted, possibly due to concerns about herd sustainability.
– Quail was provided on at least two occasions (Exodus 16; Numbers 11:31-34).
– Excessive complaining led to judgment, showing the need for faith and gratitude.

Livestock and Sacrificial Food:
– Livestock were abundant; water was provided for herds (Exodus 17:2-6).
– Examples of meat consumption include offerings by Moses and Jethro (Exodus 18:12).
– Priests and families ate portions of sacrifices.
– Passover included lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs, showing variety in diet.
– Numbers 7 records extensive animal sacrifices by tribal leaders, indicating plentiful livestock.

Other Natural Foods and Feasts:
– Israelites likely gathered fruits, nuts, olives, and salt during travels—used in sacrifices and preservation.
– They celebrated three national feasts annually (Exodus 23:14):
1. Feast of Unleavened Bread (spring, barley harvest) – symbolizing Jesus’ sinless life.
2. Feast of First Fruits – Jesus as the firstborn from the dead.
3. Feast of Ingathering (wheat harvest) – symbolizing the final application of Christ’s blood and gospel outreach.

God’s Unlimited Power:
– Numbers 11:22-23 shows God’s power to supply meat and fish beyond natural limits, affirming divine provision.
– The possibility of fishing in streams is noted as a food supplement.

Summary of Natural and Spiritual Provision:
– Manna was the staple sustaining physical life, supplemented by natural resources and meat by God’s grace.
– Spiritual lessons include:
1. Manna as a type of Christ, the true bread from heaven (John 6:47, 51).
2. Dependence on God’s daily provision fosters faith and trust.
– Meat provision parallels “meat in due season” for spiritual growth in the new creation.

Key Bible Verses Cited:
– Exodus 12:38-39 – Israelites took dough and livestock.
– Exodus 15:27 – Elim, 12 springs and 70 palm trees.
– Exodus 16:2-3, 12-13, 23, 31 – Israelites’ grumbling and manna provision.
– Psalm 78:25 – “Man did eat the bread of angels.”
– Exodus 17:2 – Water for people and livestock.
– Exodus 18:12 – Meat eaten after sacrifice.
– Numbers 7 – Details of sacrifices.
– Numbers 11:22-23, 31-34 – God’s provision of meat/quail.
– Exodus 23:14 – National feasts.
– John 6:47, 51 – Jesus as the bread of life.
– Philippians 4:19-20 – God supplies all needs.

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Overall, the discourse reveals that manna was necessary despite livestock and natural resources because it was a direct divine provision sustaining the Israelites physically and spiritually during their wilderness journey. It symbolized Jesus Christ, taught faith and dependence on God, and was supplemented by natural foods and meat as circumstances allowed.

Transcript

Why did the Israelites need Manna? In one of the Orlando question meetings, someone submitted that following question. If the Israelites had animals to use for sacrifices, why did they need manna in the wilderness? I was assigned this question, so I wanted to share my studies with you. Let’s begin with some observations from Brother Russell.

In reprint 4011Brother Russell recounted conversations with travelers who had ventured to the Sinai wilderness. These travelers described valleys lined with brushwood providing food for livestock. They also noted that the ground beneath the trees and shrubs was abundant with snails. However, it remains uncertain if the landscape was the same during the Israelites exodus. Brother Russell emphasizes the challenges faced by such a vast group whose daily meals were extremely limited.

He noted that recognizing these hardships allows us to understand their complaints better, especially when they longed for the abundance they remembered in Egypt. But God was disappointed with their lack of faith in him as their provider. So a common misconception is that the Israelites wandered for 40 years in a barren desert. In reality, although they encountered some desert conditions, much of the terrain had sufficient vegetation to sustain the herds. This indicates that the Israelites were not entirely without resources during their journey.

Why then did the Israelites need manna? Reviewing the foods available to them as they began their journey provides some insight. When the Egyptians urged the Israelites to leave, they took dough and kneading bowls as stated in Exodus 12, 38 and 39. The Israelites also brought flocks, herds, and much livestock. In their haste, they baked the unleavened bread from the dough they brought out of Egypt.

Now let’s talk about the number of people. Brother Russell suggests 2 million or more Israelites. Commentator Adam Clark suggested that there were more than 3 million. The first lesson of the journey for the Israelites was to teach that the people had much to learn about faith and trust. We can glean spiritual lessons from their experiences of better things to come.

After the miracle at the Red sea in Exodus 15, everyone rejoiced and sang over their deliverance. We understand that slavery represents Adamic sin and death that enslaves the whole human family. Brethren, when you were released by salvation through the precious blood of Jesus and gave your heart to God, did you sing and rejoice in your hearts for your freedom in Christ? I’m sure you did. The first need Israel faced was that of water.

After a three days journey, Moses led them to Marah, which means bitter. The people grumbled about their thirst because the water was undrinkable. God told Moses to throw a tree into the water and it became sweet crisis Diverted once again, God provides. Do we recognize the bitterness of life and helplessness before God gave us eyes to see and ears to hear? The water of the world is bitter, full of falsehood and error to the world.

Life feels unsatisfying, brethren. Do we still hunger and thirst for righteousness? Brother Russell reminds us in reprint 4010 that water is one of the most important elements for human sustenance and represents the truth, the message of God and hope of everlasting life. Next, God directed the Israelites to Elim, which means palm trees. We live in Florida and we see palm trees all around our house.

We often associate these trees with places of paradise. Let’s read Exodus 15:27. Then they came to Elim, where there were 12 springs of water and 70 date palms, and they camp there besides the waters. Well, the first natural source of food mentioned after their exodus is date palms.

Do you know that one date palm can produce up to 10 bunches of dates with up to a thousand dates per bunch? The Israelites camped by these 70 trees which would could have possibly had up to 700,000 dates. Now God provided food and fresh water along the journey, as he does for us. Brother Russell wrote in reprint 4011. The twelve springs remind us of the twelve apostles who have come with refreshment from the waters of life.

The 70 palm trees remind us of the 70 sent out to the public. They typified public service throughout the whole gospel age. Remember when the Israelites grumbled over hunger, and that was in Exodus 16:2 and 3. The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The sons of Israel said to them, would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full.

For you have brought us out into the wilderness to kill us this whole assembly with hunger. Do we ever look back and miss our past life and worldly pleasures? It’s important for us to learn the valuable lesson of waiting on the Lord. That begs the question, are all grumblings to the Lord wrong? I don’t think so.

Why? Because God wants us to share our needs with him so that we can witness his miraculous response to our prayers. This process is called total reliance and open communication. But our attitudes towards the Father should always come from a humble heart. Now, for the manna, God did for them what they could not do for themselves.

He provided the sustenance from which they might make their bread and distribute it daily, marks it as a great miracle. In Exodus 16:31, the manna was like coriander seed which the Israelites had to pick up in tiny quantities. It was white and tasted like honey and oil. Dew kept the ground cool in the morning under the manna to prevent spoiling. The amount to gather for every man was one omer per person according to the number of the people in their tents.

Manna was to either have been baked or boiled, and that’s found in Exodus 16:23. Listen to how manna is described in Psalm 78. 25. Man did eat the bread of angels. He sent them food in abundance.

I think the best way to describe manna is angel food cake.

Interestingly, manna contained elements comparable to meat, which explains why it could spoil and smell. When flesh rots, worms get into it, just like they did with the manna. Did manna contain protein like meat? If so, it must have been highly nutritious. Indeed, manna appears to have been a balanced food that miraculously sustained the Israelites daily.

Not only did God provide this bread from heaven, but he also provided meat, specifically quail. Exodus 16:12 at twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. But we might ask, if Israel had all these flocks, why did they need meat? Let’s continue their journey to verify this abundance of livestock. In Exodus 17:2, there were complaints about being thirsty.

This was after leaving Sinai. The Israelites said, if we didn’t have water, it will kill us and our livestock. So obviously livestock was abundant. Moses struck the rock to provide water for the Israelites and their herds. Here’s an example of when they did eat meat.

In Exodus 18:12, Moses, Father Jethro took a burnt offering and sacrificed to God. Aaron and all the elders came to eat the meal with Moses and his father in law. This was before the ten Commandments were given. So in this example, meat was eaten. It’s important to note that priests were sometimes permitted to eat portions of the sacrifices brought to the tabernacle.

In other cases, the family offering the sacrifice could enjoy part of it themselves. We must also remember the Passover meal where they had lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs. So again, it seems as though they did have a variety of food and herbs to eat. In numbers 7, 87 and 88, the 12 leaders from the 12 tribes dedicated sacrifices to consecrate the tabernacle, and this is what each did.

And this lasted 12 days. The total number was 12 bulls, 12 rams, 12 one year old male lambs with grain offerings. So they had grain also 12 male goats for sin offerings, peace offerings consisting of 24 bulls, 60 rams, 60 male goats, 61 year old male lambs, all of these totaling 252 animals in 12 days. Why did the Israelites ask for meat? Were they running out of livestock?

Given the number of animals sacrificed, it’s possible that they had a real concern about sustaining their herds. Perhaps their livestock’s birth rate couldn’t keep up with the demand. Their complaints led God to provide them with quail again. That was Exodus 16:12,13. Some sources suggest that God provided quail only two separate occasions, once shortly after the Exodus, which we read, and again later in the wilderness found in Numbers 11:31, 34.

Though it is possible that there were additional instances in the account recorded in Numbers. Some Israelites, it said, lusted after quail, and those who complained excessively were struck with a plague or died while eating that quail. Again, we ask, if the Israelites had animals to use for sacrifice in crops of different grains, why did they need manna in the wilderness? Ultimately, manna served as the staple food for Israel throughout their 40 years in the wilderness. The Israelites supplemented it with natural resources as circumstances allowed.

I was thinking about other foods. As they moved from place to place, they more than likely came across fruit bearing trees and nut trees to gather food from. They gathered salt and olives, so they had these items to use for their ceremonies for sacrifice. Salt was also probably used for preserving meat. What other foods are mentioned in Exodus 23:14?

They celebrated national feasts three times a year. The first feast was the feast of the Unleavened bread, which lasted seven days. This was in the spring at the time of the barley harvest, the first grain harvest. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread pictures Jesus sinless life.

He is the bread of life that nourishes us and the whole world. The second was the feast of the harvest, or the feast of the first fruits, which was sown in the field. This illustrated Jesus as the first fruit from the dead.

This feast, celebrated on the 16th of Nisan, represented Jesus the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have preeminence. The third feast was the feast of the ingathering, the last wheat harvest of the year. In Brother Megison’s notes on page 77, he suggested that it represents the final application of of the blood for the world of mankind. God will send out the church to gather in all the world. So the Israelites had a variety of foods available.

Now let’s read numbers 1122 and 23 after the Israelites complained that they had left Egypt and had no meat to eat, God said, should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to be sufficient for them? And the Lord said to Moses, is the Lord’s power limited, brethren? This made me think of the miracle of the fish and loaves. No, God’s power is not limited because God mentioned fish.

I’m wondering if they could have also fished on the streams and rivers that they were near as they camped to supplement their meals. It seems plausible. In conclusion, from a natural standpoint, it seems that manna sustained them with proper nutrition as they supplemented a variety of foods along the way, all by God’s grace.

Now let’s look at a few spiritual lessons that can be drawn from these experiences. 1. The manna represents our Lord’s merit during both the Gospel age and the millennial age. This is why the Israelites were fed with manna in the wilderness. To illustrate this important type, perhaps the manna’s greatest significance lay not merely in sustaining Israel physically, but in what it symbolized Jesus himself, the true bread from heaven.

And number two. Manna provides a means to trust in God and His care rather than relying on oneself. The lesson here is that ultimate security lies in Jehovah, our God. This daily supernatural provision acted as a continual test of their faith and trust in God, just as it serves as a reminder for us to trust him daily. When God provided the quail for the Israelites, it made me think about meat in due season for the new creation.

We are given what we need and when we need it. God’s timing is always perfect. We will close with two final texts. John 6:47, 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.

Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever, and the bread also which I give for the life of the world is my flesh.

And finally, Philippians 4:19 20 and my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

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