And when the dew that lay [round it] was gone up, behold, on the face of the wilderness there was [something] fine, granular, fine as hoar-frost, on the ground.
The people had grumbled for food, and God answered by covering the desert floor with something no one had ever seen before. This verse describes what Israel woke up to. Commentators read every detail — its smallness, its shape, its link with the dew — as a picture of Christ given for His people in the wilderness.
Older translations read "a small round thing, as small as the frost on the ground." Several writers below comment on that word "round."
The manna came after the people complained.
God stamped the character of grace on this gift of the manna, given to meet the people's need. Their grumbling should have brought down judgment. Instead, God met it by supplying this food.
What they saw had never been on earth before, and they had no name for it.
And when the dew lifted, a new thing appeared, one which had never been on earth before. "Manna?" — "What is this?" — the people exclaimed. It was God's glory in the wilderness — it was the gift of God.
Jesus took up the story of the manna and applied it to Himself.
This then is the meaning of the manna: the bread which God gave the Israelites to eat in the wilderness. It is therefore the proper wilderness food for the Lord's people. The Jews once said to our Lord, "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" He replied: "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (John 6:32-33.) The manna, then, is clearly a type of Christ — a picture of Him as He was in this world. He came down from heaven, and He becomes the food of His people as they pass through the wilderness.
Two words describe how it looked: small, and round. Each says something about Jesus.
Second, it looked like "a small round thing," as small as the tiny specks of frost. The Son of God came down from heaven into manhood, so that He might give His flesh for the life of the world. In doing so He did indeed make Himself small and of no account in the eyes of men. It was also round, not angular and uneven. In the same way, in Christ once humbled here, there was an evenness that came from perfection in every detail.
Another writer reads the round shape differently: it shows how easy Christ was to reach.
The manna was round, picturing how accessible Christ is. A round thing is not like a square or an oval. Wherever you touch its edge, you are the same distance from its center. So the round shape shows how easy our Lord was to reach — young and old, rich and poor, religious and irreligious. Think of the woman who was a sinner, and Mary Magdalene, out of whom seven demons were cast. Think of the dying thief, and the children whom the disciples would have driven away. All alike could reach Him and be blessed.
It lay on the ground, and it looked like nothing special.
It is on the ground, so they must stoop to gather it. It lies on the face of the wilderness — something fine, as if pounded to pieces, fine as the frost on the ground. It does not look like much. It carries marks as if of rough handling. It reminds us of the prophet's words: "no beauty that we should desire Him." "What is it?" they say; for they did not know what it was. "The world knew Him not."
The manna lay where the dew had been.
The manna was found where the dew of heaven had fallen around the camp. The barren wilderness received the dew on its face. The moisture gathered unseen and fell from above. Where it settled on the ground, God spread the angels' food for man — "He gave them bread from heaven to eat." So we have both before us: the Spirit of God, who presents Christ to us, and Christ our food... We must gather our spiritual food diligently, day by day, early in the morning before the sun is up.
Older translations add the word "Behold" here. One writer turns it straight on the reader.
"Behold" — on the face of the wilderness at this very moment, despite all the bareness and roughness of your path. Behold, for you, God's own provision. Stoop, gather it up, and it will be sweet to your taste, and it will supply strength to you for all your desert way! Yes, weak as you are, surrounded by sorrow as you are, or, sadly, proud as you are, it is there waiting for you... not covered up, but out in the open... It is for every saint of God.
- Grace — Their grumbling should have brought judgment. God sent food instead, and stamped the gift with His own grace.
- Gift — What lay on the sand had never existed before. It was the gift of God, and it was God's glory in the wilderness.
- Small — Fine as frost, lying on the ground, with nothing about it to attract. Coming down into manhood, the Son of God made Himself of no account in men's eyes.
- Round — Even in every detail, and near at every point. The sinful woman, the dying thief and the children could all reach Him.
- Gather — It is not hidden but out in the open, waiting for every saint of God. Stoop early, take it daily, and it feeds the whole desert way.
And the children of Israel saw [it], and said one to another, What is it? for they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, This is the bread which Jehovah has given you to eat.
Israel had grumbled for food in the desert, and the next morning something they had never seen lay on the ground. Their name for it was a question, and Moses answered by naming the Giver.
Israel saw the small round thing on the ground and had no name for it. Their name became a question. Early English versions kept that sense, and one writer shows what is lost when translators leave the Hebrew word as it stands.
"It is manna" (Ex. 16:15) has no meaning to a reader who does not know Hebrew, but translated as the earliest versions had it — "What is this?" — the passage is simple enough.
The name stuck because the puzzle never cleared up.
The people say to one another Man-hu? "What is it?" And the question remained as its name, for no one ever really found out what it was — nor ever will. But something we know: it is the sustenance and strength of the redeemed soul.
The bread arrived after the people had grumbled about food.
The mark of grace is on this gift of the manna, given to meet the people's need. Their murmurings did not bring down judgment. Instead, God met them with this food.
The people asked what it was; Moses told them who gave it. Commentators read that answer through Jesus' own use of the story in John's Gospel.
This, then, is the meaning of the manna: the bread which God gave the Israelites to eat in the wilderness. It is therefore the proper wilderness food for the Lord's people. The Jews said to our Lord, "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" He replied, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven." So the manna is plainly a type of Christ — Christ as He was in this world. He came down from heaven, and in that character He becomes the food of His people as they pass through the wilderness.
Nobody could tell what it was by looking at it. One writer hears an echo of how the world treated Christ Himself.
It lies upon the ground, so they must stoop to gather it — on the face of the wilderness — something fine, as if pounded to pieces, fine as the frost on the ground. This is how the people see it, who have not yet tasted it, and do not know what it is. It clearly does not look like much; it carries marks as if of rough handling. It reminds us of the prophet's words, "no beauty that we should desire him." "What is it?" they say; for they did not know what it was. "The world did not know Him."
Where the manna lay mattered: it rested on ground the dew had covered.
The barren wilderness received the dew on its face. The moisture gathered unseen and fell from above, and where it settled on the ground, God spread the angels' food for man — "He gave them bread from heaven to eat." So we have both before us: the Spirit of God, who presents Christ to us, and Christ our food. "The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven" (John 6:33), and we find Him, we may say, where the Holy Spirit presents Him to us.
What God gave could not be stockpiled.
The heavenly manna must be gathered fresh every morning. Yesterday's manna will not do for today, nor today's for tomorrow. We must feed on Christ every day, with fresh energy of the Spirit, or else we shall stop growing. What is more, we must make Christ our first object. We must seek Him "early," before "other things" have had time to take hold of our poor, easily-swayed hearts.
One writer sets the manna beside a second food, and says we need both.
You and I cannot feed on that manna unless we come to it through death. Manna, then, is Christ humbled, as He was in this scene. "The old grain of the land" is Christ glorified. You and I have to eat both, because we are in the wilderness and yet going to heaven. We are on our road home to God, and the Spirit of God carries our souls into heavenly places now. You must eat both.
- The question. "What is it?" was Israel's reaction, and it became the food's name. No one ever solved the mystery, yet this food is the strength of the redeemed soul.
- The giver. Moses did not define the substance; he named the Source. The answer to "what is it?" is "bread the Lord has given you."
- The Person. Jesus took up this story and pointed past Moses to His Father. The Father gives the true bread from heaven, so the manna pictures Christ come down and humbled.
- The daily habit. The manna could not be stored. Feed on Christ fresh each morning, before other things crowd in.
- The full table. Manna is Christ humbled for the desert; the grain of Canaan is Christ glorified. The traveller eats both.