(6) Matna and Quail

 

(6) Matna and Quail

Exodus 16:2-5 “The whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’ Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘See, I will rain bread from heaven for you. The people shall go out and gather a certain amount each day, so that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day they shall prepare what they gather; it shall be double what they gather each day.’”

"The whole congregation of the children of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness," but the Hebrew Bible says, "The whole congregation of the children of Israel stayed and stayed and stayed in the wilderness on the shoulders of Moses and Aaron." In the phrase "to stay" (run), rune means to spend the night. It means that the children of Israel stayed on Moses (the Law) and on Aaron (the Gospel) to receive the Gospel. Those who kept the Law well and lived out their lives achieved true spiritual life.

However, someone among them complains. Numbers 11:4 describes people who complained while eating matna: "And the mixed multitude that was among them began to crave, and the children of Israel wept again, saying, 'Who will give us meat to eat?'" The "who" has the same meaning as the mixed multitude that was among them.

Those who keep the letter of the law will find physical satisfaction through it, but they will remain spiritually hungry. God provides food to those who wish they had died in Egypt.

Those who die in Egypt realize that they are destined for death by the law. Those who keep the law inevitably complain. It speaks of a being who cannot survive on this physical diet and is destined for death.

"I will rain down bread from heaven." The Hebrew is Matir Lachem Lechem (מַמְטִ֥יר לָכֶ֛ם לֶ֖חֶם). This translation is "I will cause it to rain (Matir), bread (Matir: basic form is Matar) for you (Lachem)". This is a combination of bread and rain, changing the meaning into one. It is translated as "like rain" or "rain of bread." Matar means to rain, to cause rain. The meaning becomes clear only when we separate rain and bread, rather than combining rain and giving bread.

So, it's a symbolic sight of rain and bread falling simultaneously. Rain symbolizes water, representing the fish in the miracle of the five loaves and two fish, and the bread symbolizes the five barley loaves. The above words resemble the miracle of the five loaves and two fish.

In the two fish, the fish symbolize water, and the two represent the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament and the two commandments of the New Testament. The two commandments of the New Testament speak of life, which is the forgiveness of sins. They symbolize the blood of Jesus. The five loaves are five barley loaves, and the five symbolize the Law of the Pentateuch, signifying the fulfillment of the Law. The fulfillment of the Law is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, and the resurrection to come. The symbolism of the five loaves and two fish signifies dying on the cross with Jesus and being resurrected together.

God commanded them to double the bread on the sixth day. Giving them a double amount was a test from God. He gave them a double amount so they wouldn't have to go out the next day, which was the Sabbath. The promise of a double amount implies a promise of rest on the seventh day.

The word "double" signifies the time of the first Adam (death on the cross) and the last Adam (resurrection), who becomes the rest. The first Adam symbolizes the body of sin, and the last Adam (the second) symbolizes the body of resurrection.

Exodus 16:8- “Moses said, ‘In the evening the Lord will give you meat(basar) to eat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread, because the Lord has heard your murmurings, which you murmur against him. Who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.’”

Basar symbolizes Jesus Christ on the cross. Eating meat symbolizes uniting with Jesus Christ on the cross. Evening symbolizes darkness, that is, death. The bread eaten in the morning symbolizes resurrection. Morning comes after darkness. God, wanting to become like Him, shows those who have turned away from Him how to return. Complaints are not directed at Moses or Aaron, but at God. Therefore, God is listening. Complaints are about trying to do things on one's own, wanting to become like God.

Exodus 16:13-15 “And in the evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew on all around the camp. After the dew had dried up, there on the ground in the wilderness was something small, round, fine like frost. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ But they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.’”

Quail symbolizes evening, signifying sin and death. However, sherab signifies the transformation of mortality. It signifies the transformation that comes with death to sin into life. Romans 6:5 states, "For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his." Verse 7 says that the dead are freed from sin. Therefore, sherab signifies that when the Word is fulfilled in the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit comes to them.

In the morning, there is dew around Mahaneh, and when the lying dew rises, small, round things like frost appear in the wilderness. This reveals the word of grace. The dew is within the law of grace. The rising of the dew signifies resurrection. Thus, the word of the Father, the Son, and I becoming one becomes visible.

Food is a round, small, frost-like substance found in the wilderness. Later, it appears under the name of Matna. God commands men to gather food for their mouths. He tells them to gather food according to the number of men. An omer is a unit of measurement. Numbers 1:20 says, "Of the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, they numbered them by their clans and families, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war."