3 Kinds of Manna: From Exodus to Revelation

Introduction

In Exodus 16, God rains down an unknown food from heaven for a people of nearly two million, every morning, for forty years. The word manna comes from the Hebrew man hu, which literally means "what is it?" This bread from heaven has no name because it has no equal: it is raw, unexplainable, daily grace.

Samuel Mabboux, pastor of the church in Nice l'Ariane, takes the time to open up this chapter to show you that the Bible doesn't speak of just one manna, but three. Three kinds of blessings God wants to give you today, tomorrow, and for the generations to come. Three ways to learn to depend on him.

Sermon Outline

1. Daily manna (Exodus 16:13-21): step out of your tent this morning

The first kind of manna is the one God gives every morning. A fresh portion, for one day. "Let no one leave any of it until morning" (Exodus 16:19). Those who tried to save some found their manna bred worms and stank.

This is the school of faith. If you had a forty-year supply sitting in your cupboards, there would be no more room for faith. Faith is believing that the Lord will be faithful tomorrow, even though you haven't seen tomorrow's manna yet.

This daily manna is the grace you take for granted: the breath of life that wakes you up this morning, your health, a full fridge, a roof over your head, hot water. It's also the spiritual graces: your local church, the Bible in your own language for a couple of dollars, the Holy Spirit available to you, the ministries that feed you. None of these things is normal. A blessing is never normal, it's always an undeserved gift.

Step out of your tent every morning. Go gather your manna. Not your spouse's, not your pastor's, not some YouTube preacher's whom you barely know. Yours. As Lamentations 3:22-23 puts it: "It is because of Yahweh's loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn't fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness."

2. Double manna for the Sabbath (Exodus 16:22-30): God provides for tomorrow

On the sixth day, God gives a double portion: two omers, about two gallons per person. And that manna, unusually, keeps overnight without going bad, because the seventh day is set apart for Yahweh.

God isn't disconnected from your calendar. He knows what tomorrow holds for you. He knows the day you'll be in need, the trial that's coming, the difficulty that's brewing. And the day before, he gives you more. He equips you for what tomorrow is about to bring into your life.

Samuel Mabboux tells the story of a restaurant owner from his home church. Sunday was his busiest day. When God asked him to set that day apart, he didn't calculate, he obeyed. In the weeks that followed, his Saturday revenue miraculously doubled. He was earning more than before, plus the savings from Sunday, when he no longer had to pay double wages.

When you set apart a day, a portion, a tithe for the Lord (of your time, your finances, your prayer), you lose nothing. You learn that the Lord is Yahweh-Jireh, "the LORD will provide" (Genesis 22:14). Proverbs 27:1 puts it this way: "Don't boast about tomorrow, for you don't know what a day may bring." But God knows.

3. Manna kept for the generations (Exodus 16:32-34; Revelation 2:17): pass on the faith

Finally, God commands Moses to keep an omer of manna in the ark of the covenant, alongside the tablets of the law and Aaron's budding staff. This manna doesn't spoil. It travels through the decades to remind future generations of what God has done.

God's greatest fear in the Old Testament is that his people would forget. Forgetting and idolatry always walk hand in hand. So God sets up three feasts, a memorial of manna in the ark, a book handed down from generation to generation.

You, as a parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, older brother or sister: you carry a responsibility. To pass on the faith and the blessing. The time to wake up isn't at fourteen or sixteen, when your child heads down a path that leaves you weeping in the pastor's office. It starts at age four, when a little nephew or niece tells you the story of Noah, or David facing Goliath.

Psalm 78:4 is clear: "We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done." If God has done great things for you, you cannot hide it from your children. Write down what God has done in your life. Put it in your Bible. Tell the story.

And this preserved manna points to something even greater. In Revelation 2:17, Jesus tells the one who overcomes: "I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it." There is still hidden manna today for each one of us.

Key Takeaways

• Recognize your daily graces. Breath, health, food, church, the Bible, the Holy Spirit: none of it is normal.
• Step out of your tent every morning. Go gather the fresh manna of the day. Not yesterday's, not someone else's.
• Trust God for tomorrow. He knows your calendar. He provides ahead of the trials he sees coming.
• Set apart time for the Lord. A day, a tithe, a prayer: what you give him, you never end up missing.
• Pass on the faith. Tell your children, your grandchildren, what God has done in your life. The manna of memory travels through the generations.

Personal Application

1. When was your last fresh manna? What recent testimony can you share of something God just did for you?
2. Do you take time, every morning, to "step out of your tent" before starting the day?
3. Is there an area (time, money, Sunday) where you're holding back what should be set apart for God, out of fear of lacking?
4. What testimony of God's faithfulness can you pass on this week to a child, a nephew, a niece?
5. Facing what current trial is God inviting you to believe that tomorrow's manna will be there?

Scriptures Referenced

• Exodus 16:13-35 · The full account of the manna in the wilderness.
• Lamentations 3:22-23 · Yahweh's compassions are new every morning.
• Matthew 6:33-34 · Seek first the Kingdom of God.
• Proverbs 27:1 · Don't boast about tomorrow.
• 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 · The spiritual rock that followed them was Christ.
• Numbers 11:4-6 · The people grow weary of the manna.
• Psalm 78:4 · We will tell the generation to come the praises of Yahweh.
• Revelation 2:17 · I will give him some of the hidden manna.
• John 6:32-35 · Jesus, the true bread that came down from heaven.

FAQ

What does the word "manna" mean?

The word comes from the Hebrew man hu, meaning "what is it?" When the Israelites first see this substance on the ground, they don't know what to call it. This name reminds us that God's grace is by nature unexplainable and doesn't fit into any of our categories.

Why didn't the manna keep from one day to the next?

Because God wanted to teach his people to depend on him every single day. Stockpiling would have killed their faith. In Matthew 6, Jesus picks up this same principle: "Don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself." The Sabbath manna, on the other hand, kept for two days, because the seventh day is set apart for rest.

How can you receive the "hidden manna" of Revelation 2:17 today?

This promise is addressed to the one who overcomes. It points to full communion with Christ in eternity, but it also has a present-day dimension: every morning, as you set yourself apart to pray, read the Word, and listen to the Holy Spirit, you go and gather a manna that God has prepared for you alone. Close the door, put on some worship, and seek.