Yes, God provided manna to feed the Israelites in the desert and to test whether they would follow His law.
Scripture records that the Israelites murmured for food after leaving Egypt, and God promised to rain bread from heaven. This daily provision met their physical needs and served as a test of obedience. Les Feldick emphasizes that manna also symbolized spiritual sustenance, pointing to Christ as the bread of life.
Exodus 16:4 — God explicitly states He will rain bread from heaven to test whether Israel walks in His law.
In Exodus 16, after leaving Egypt, the Israelites complained to Moses and Aaron, longing for the fleshpots and bread of Egypt. God responded by promising to rain bread from heaven for them. He instructed them to gather a daily portion, and on the sixth day they were to gather twice as much, for on the seventh day was a Sabbath of rest. This manna continued for forty years until they entered Canaan, where it ceased as they ate the old corn of the land. The New Testament later identifies manna as spiritual food, and Jesus refers to Himself as the bread of life.
Les Feldick teaches that the manna was a literal provision for Israel's physical needs as they journeyed through the desert. He explains that God used the daily gathering to test their obedience to His law, with the Sabbath exception. He also draws a spiritual parallel, noting that manna was a type of Christ, the bread from heaven. Additionally, he points out that manna ceased when Israel entered the Promised Land, symbolizing a transition from wilderness wandering to their inheritance.
The Bible records that the people were to gather a certain amount each day, and on the sixth day, they were to gather twice as much to prepare for the Sabbath. Les Feldick emphasizes that this tested their trust and obedience, as they had to follow God's instructions exactly.
Les Feldick teaches that manna was a type of Christ, the spiritual bread that came down from heaven. He draws a parallel to John's Gospel where Jesus calls Himself the bread of life. This connection shows that the physical provision foreshadowed a greater spiritual reality.
Les Feldick explains that once Israel crossed the Jordan and partook of the produce of the land, the manna ceased. This marked the end of their wilderness journey and the beginning of their inheritance, signifying a change from dependence on miraculous provision to receiving the land's bounty.
Manna from Heaven & The Sabbath: Law vs. Grace Explained
what your teachings have done for me. I have grown more in the last six months than I have the entire 46 years of my life, and thank you sincerely. Now, this letter comes from a wheat farming family up in Montana, right next to the Canadian border, and so we appreciate.
Manna Ceases in Canaan
Les teaches that manna stopped when Israel ate the old corn of Canaan, emphasizing a transition from wilderness provision to the Promised Land.
Manna Provided in the Desert
Les explains that after Israel murmured for food, God gave them manna in the desert, showing His provision despite their grumbling.
Manna as Spiritual Food
Les teaches that manna is called spiritual food, and that the rock following them was Christ, linking manna to Christ's provision.
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Now you answered my question. What did God use to give the Law to the nation of Israel? A man, didn't He? Absolutely. He gave it to Moses up there on the mountaintop, and Moses came down off the mountain, and he gives to the nation of Israel God's Law.
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Here in the last 13 months of time, they have experienced the miraculous exodus out of Egypt. The taskmasters thrown off their backs. They walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. They've seen the appearance of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. They saw all of the thunder and the lightning and the fire on Mount Sinai.
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I mean, it's just the way God works. We are never saved to walk a rose -petaled pathway. We're going to have trials, we're going to have difficulties, just like Israel did. Israel comes now down into that forbidding desert, and God doesn't just give them a hunk of roses. They're going to go through some very trying times, and here was the first one, right off the bat.
Manna as Part of Israel's Journey
Les mentions that God provided manna while Israel was at Mount Sinai, fulfilling their physical needs as He prepared to give the Law.
Exodus 16:4: Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
God's direct statement that manna would test Israel's obedience.
Exodus 16:5: And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
Instruction for gathering double on the sixth day for the Sabbath.
Exodus 16:15: And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
The people's first encounter with manna, which they called 'manna'.
Exodus 16:35: And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.
Duration of manna provision.
Joshua 5:12: And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
Manna ceases after entering Canaan.
John 6:48–51: I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Jesus compares Himself to manna, identifying as the true bread from heaven.
God gave manna to feed Israel, but also to test their obedience to His commands, as seen in Exodus 16:4. This test involved daily gathering and Sabbath rest.
Israel ate manna for forty years, until they entered the land of Canaan (Exodus 16:35). It ceased when they ate the old corn of the land (Joshua 5:12).
Watch the Teaching: Manna from Heaven & The Sabbath: Law vs. Grace Explained