Imagine the faith that was required of the Israelites as they left Egypt after the 10th plague. They left their homes, most of their possessions and walked out of Egypt. No one really knew where they were going or where they would end up, but the people chose to have faith and follow God through the Red Sea into the wilderness.  

However, the people quickly began to question their decision. They couldn’t find good water to drink and so they started to think about going back to Egypt. But then God miraculously provided water for them. Then, they didn’t have food and they remembered, perhaps exaggerated, that they had plenty of food in Egypt. Once again, they thought about returning. It is at this point that God does an amazing miracle, one that stumps us and leaves us scratching our heads: He provides manna!

Now, what exactly is manna? That’s a great question and the answer is, “Uhhh…I don’t know.” The word literally means, “What is it?” The people would go outside their tents in the morning and they would gather the manna from the ground. It was a crumbly, bread-like food that God provided for them each day during their time in the wilderness. For 40 years, God miraculously provided this mystery food for the people to eat. We see that God provides for and takes care of His people even though they do not fully understand how.

Fast forward a couple thousand years, and we see Jesus interacting with the people of Israel. The people ask Jesus to give them a sign that He really is from God. In John 6:31, they say that in the wilderness, God sent the Israelites manna to feed them and so they ask for Jesus to do some miraculous signs to prove He is from God. Jesus, however, flips their request on its head and He proclaims that He is the bread that comes from heaven and gives life to the world. He declares, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry…” (John 6:35). Jesus is saying that He is the new manna—He is the bread from heaven that feeds the people of God and sustains us in our journey. Not necessarily in a physical way, but in a spiritual way. 

Remember back to the Christmas story when we meet a young, teenage virgin who was pregnant through the Holy Spirit? Even though she was about to give birth, she had to travel to her husband’s ancestral land for a census. While she was on this trip, it was time for the baby to be born; however, there was no room in the inn and so when the child was born, He was placed in a manger. A manger is a hay box, a feeding trough where they would put the food for the cattle. That is no place to put a baby! Or, perhaps, it’s the perfect place for the young Jesus to be. 

He is the bread of life! He is the Manna from heaven. What a beautiful picture to see the Bread of Life in a feeding bin. We may not fully understand what manna is and we may not fully understand Jesus’s incarnation, but we are able to receive the life and sustenance that comes from believing in Jesus.

• January 1– Luke 2:1-7
• January 2 – Exodus 16
• January 3 – Numbers 11:4-34
• January 4 – Deuteronomy 8:10-18
• January 5 – Joshua 5:10-12
• January 6 – John 6:1-15
• January 7 – Exodus 14:10-22
• January 8 – Matthew 14:13-21
• January 9 – Psalm 78:8-31
• January 10 – Exodus 15:22-27
• January 11 – John 6:25-40
• January 12 – Exodus 17:1-7
• January 13 – Numbers 14:1-4
• January 14 – Exodus 12:31-42
• January 15 – Matthew 15:29-39
• January 16 – John 6:41-59
• January 17 – Numbers 20:1-13
• January 18 – Matthew 16:1-4
• January 19 – Matthew 16:5-12
• January 20 – Matthew 26:17-30
• January 21 – Revelation 2:12-17
• January 22 – Mark 6:7-13
• January 23 – Mark 7:24-30
• January 24 – Hebrews 9:1-10
• January 25 – Luke 11:1-13
• January 26 – Matthew 4:1-4
• January 27 – John 21:1-14
• January 28 – Acts 2:42-47
• January 29 – Mark 14:22-26
• January 30 – 1 Corinthians 11:17-34
• January 31 – Hebrews 3:7-19