The Israelites’ future looked bright. The Lord, through Moses, had rescued them from slavery in Egypt. He fought for them, displaying His power by parting the Red Sea and subsequently destroying Egypt’s army. God was working out His plan to bring the Israelites to the promised land, the land God promised to Abraham’s family.
But the journey from Egypt to Canaan was not direct. The Lord led His people into the wilderness. The Israelites’ bright future seemed to fade. Their dry mouths and rumbling, empty stomachs produced complaints and accusations. They doubted the Lord’s goodness.
The Israelites traveled three days into the wilderness and were unable to find water. When they found water at Marah, they must have rushed to it—only to find the water was too bitter to drink. The people grumbled to Moses. Of course, Moses had no power to change the water. But the Lord did. Moses cried out to the Lord, and He showed Moses a tree. Moses threw the tree into the water, and the water became drinkable.
Then the Israelites moved farther into the wilderness. Their hunger produced despair: “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt … Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to … die of hunger!” (Ex. 16:3).
Again, the Lord gave the Israelites what they needed. Moses and Aaron explained the purpose behind the Lord’s provision: “You will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (Ex. 16:6). God sent bread from heaven and quail for the Israelites to eat. They ate manna in the wilderness for 40 years.
As you talk to your children this week, remind them that the Lord is our Provider. In the New Testament, Jesus said that He is the Bread of life. (John 6:31-35) God provided manna from heaven for His people’s physical hunger, and later He provided His Son, Jesus, for our spiritual hunger. The Israelites needed bread to live for a little while, but whoever has Jesus will live forever!
Questions about manna
What is manna in the Bible? Manna was the bread God sent from heaven to feed the Israelites in the wilderness after he rescued them from Egypt (Exodus 16). Each morning it appeared on the ground as thin flakes, as fine as frost; it was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey (Exodus 16:14, 31). Along with quail, it was God’s answer to a hungry, grumbling people.
What does the word manna mean? In Hebrew, manna sounds like ‘What is it?’, the question the Israelites asked when they first saw the flakes on the ground. They asked one another, “What is it?” because they did not know what it was, and Moses told them it was the bread the LORD had given them to eat (Exodus 16:15). The house of Israel called the bread manna (Exodus 16:31).
How long did the Israelites eat manna? Forty years. The Israelites ate manna in the wilderness until they reached the border of Canaan (Exodus 16:35), and it stopped the day after they first ate food grown in the promised land (Joshua 5:12). The devotional’s point is that through all those years the Lord was their Provider, and he still is.
What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘I am the bread of life’? He meant that he is God’s true bread from heaven, given for our spiritual hunger the way manna was given for physical hunger. When the crowd mentioned the manna their ancestors ate, Jesus said his Father gives the true bread from heaven, the one who gives life to the world: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:31–35). Manna lasted a day; whoever has Jesus will live forever.
More Bible stories to read together: Family Devotionals