Suggested reading: Exodus chapter 16 verses 1-21.

Not long after the children of Israel were freed from slavery in the wilderness, they began to complain to their leaders, Moses and Aaron. They looked back and remembered the seemingly pleasurable things of Egypt but too easily forgot their beatings at the hands of the slave-masters. They even wished they had died in Egypt; therefore, they blamed Moses and Aaron.

It is a dangerous thing for Christians to ‘look back’ to the life they led before they trusted Jesus Christ as their Saviour. The Christian pathway is not always easy and adverse circumstances can test us; however, God always has our spiritual well-being at heart.

As soon as the children of Israel began to complain, He met their need in the form of bread and quails. The quails satisfied their fleshly desires but they did not bring blessing; indeed, they brought barrenness into their souls. It is not surprising to discover that God sent the quails ‘UP FROM THE SEA in the evening (in judgment)’, which speaks of the wicked and restless nations around.

Thankfully, the MANNA was a distinct contrast. God sent it ‘DOWN (in blessing) from heaven in the morning’, Exodus chapter 16 verse 4. Unlike the quails, much more detail is given about it. Manna means either ‘What is it?’ or ‘gift’, which reminds us of God sending his Son, Jesus Christ, as His greatest gift of all to be our Saviour. We learn that it was ‘a small, round and white thing’, that fell silently on the dew in the night. It is a beautiful picture of the coming of Christ into the world, which is simply told in a Christmas Carol:

How silently, how silently, the wondrous GIFT is given!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still the dear Christ enters in.

Largely, unnoticed by mankind (small), Jesus, the eternal (round – no beginning or end), holy and sinless (white) Son of God entered this fallen world to bring mankind God’s salvation.