The manna stopped because Israel had crossed into Canaan, eaten the old corn of the land, and no longer needed the wilderness provision.
After the Jordan crossing, the nation was circumcised and kept the Passover at Gilgal. The day after the Passover they ate the old grain of the land, and Joshua 5:12 says the manna ceased on that same day. The change marked the end of the forty-year wilderness stage and entry into the produce of Canaan.
Joshua 5:12 — This is the verse that directly says the manna ceased after Israel ate the old corn of the land.
Joshua 5:10-11 — These verses record the Passover and the eating of the old corn that immediately preceded the manna's cessation.
God began the manna with a promise: "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you" (Exodus 16:4). For forty years the children of Israel ate manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan (Exodus 16:35). After crossing the Jordan, they kept the Passover at Gilgal (Joshua 5:10), and on the next day they ate the old corn of the land—unleavened cakes and parched corn (Joshua 5:11). Then Scripture records, "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" (Joshua 5:12). This is the biblical cause and effect: the old food of Canaan replaced the manna.
Les Feldick's teaching on manna emphasizes that Israel lived on it for forty years, learning to prepare it many ways, but always as God's provision. He shows that manna is the "very bread of God" and recalls Jesus' words in John's Gospel that He is the living bread, giving the wilderness food a spiritual application. In the transition to the land, Les presents the stopping of manna as part of a new stage: after crossing the Jordan, Israel was circumcised, kept the Passover, and began eating the old grain of the land—grain that had been stored in Canaan. The wilderness food that had sustained them through the forty years gave way to the produce of the Promised Land.
God rained bread from heaven to feed Israel as they came out of Egypt (Exodus 16:4). Les notes the manna was given during the journey to Sinai and sustained the house of Israel for all forty years in the wilderness. In the Exodus account, the daily gathering was also a test: "that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no" (Exodus 16:4).
Les reminds his class that Israel lived on manna for forty years and learned to prepare it in many ways. He points out that manna is "the very bread of God" and that Jesus, in John's Gospel, spoke of Himself as the living bread. For Les, this gives the wilderness provision a practical spiritual application for believers today.
The biblical sequence is specific. After crossing the Jordan, the children of Israel encamped at Gilgal and kept the Passover (Joshua 5:10). On the day after the Passover they ate the old corn of the land, unleavened cakes and parched corn (Joshua 5:11). "And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land" (Joshua 5:12).
The old corn was not the wilderness food. It was the produce of Canaan—food that was already available in the land Israel had entered. The summary of Les's teaching describes the manna as belonging to the earlier, elementary beginning of Israel's journey and to the condition of weakness during the wilderness years. Once the nation crossed over and food was in the land, the forty-year provision was no longer needed; the change transferred Israel from wilderness consumption to partaking of the land's own produce.
Crossing the Jordan on Dry Ground — What Most People Miss
classes last night on prophecy. A lot of people don't have the real, true definition of prophecy. They think that anything that speaks of something in the future is prophetic. Well, maybe it is. But when you come to Old Testament Bible prophecy, always remember that not only does God foretell something, but He puts it in a time frame.
Manna and the Bread of Life
Les explains that Israel lived on manna for 40 years even cooking it many ways, and then connects manna to Jesus as the "bread of God" and the living bread.
Why God Gave Manna
Les reads Exodus 16:4, showing God rained bread from heaven and used the daily manna to test whether Israel would walk in His law.
Manna Sustained Israel Forty Years
Les emphasizes that manna sustained the house of Israel through all their 40 years of wilderness journey, and notes God instituted the Sabbath before the law was given.
Why Israel Rejected the Promised Land — Kadesh-Barnea Explained
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.
Christ the Rock: Spiritual Warfare & The Battle with Amalek
Now we come into chapter 17, and remember that, if you can picture this in your mind, I was going to bring a professional map along, and I just plumb forgot how that is. We're all human. But anyway, if you can picture the Sinai Peninsula, and as the children of Israel now are making their way down that peninsula toward Mount Sinai, which most Bible scholars feel was down toward the southern end of…
Why God Led Israel the Long Way: The Red Sea & The Pillar of Fire
In chapter 12, they were to eat the Passover. Everyone must have been circumcised, whether they were Jews or whether they were servants or whatever. And they, of course, were obedient to all that. And then in chapter 13, that's where we were, I guess, before we came in here, is that the firstborn of Israel are set apart. And now then verse 20 of chapter 13. No, I skipped verse 19. I'm sorry.
Why Moses Was Forbidden From the Promised Land — The Real Reason
We skipped over some of that. Miriam as well. When Aaron thy brother was gathered unto his people. Now verse 51. After all that Moses has gone through, why in the world can't he lead them into the promised land? And he's not old so far as his activity is concerned. It says his eye wasn't dim. That's more than I can say. And his physical strength hadn't wavered.
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.
The verse records God's initial promise to rain bread from heaven, the first mention of 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.
It states the manna lasted forty years until Israel reached the borders of Canaan.
Joshua 5:10: And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.
It sets the timing: the Passover was kept in Gilgal after crossing the Jordan.
Joshua 5:11: And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.
It records Israel eating old corn on the day after the Passover.
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.
It directly reports the manna ceasing after the old corn was eaten.
John 6:51: 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.
It is the "living bread" statement Les references when teaching manna as a picture of Christ.
God gave manna as bread from heaven to sustain the people after they left Egypt (Exodus 16:4). Les points out that the daily gathering also tested whether Israel would obey God's law.
Israel ate manna for forty years in the wilderness, until they came to the borders of Canaan (Exodus 16:35). Les's teaching emphasizes the full forty-year wilderness journey.
It stopped on the day after they ate the old corn of the land, following the Passover at Gilgal (Joshua 5:11-12). So it ceased just after the entry, not before.
Yes. Les identifies manna as the "very bread of God" and connects it to Jesus' words in John's Gospel that He is the living bread.
Watch the Teaching: Crossing the Jordan on Dry Ground — What Most People Miss