Exodus, Message 9: The Change of Diet to the Heavenly Christ as the Unique Food for God’s People

Crystallization-Study of Exodus, Message 9:

"The Change of Diet to the Heavenly Christ as the unique Food for God’s People"

Exodus 16 is not less important than Exodus 12 and 14, in terms of spiritual implications. Exodus 12 is about the Passover, typifying Christ as our Passover for our redemption, and Exodus 14 is about crossing of the Red Sea, typifying the experience of burial and resurrection with Christ through the baptism. Of course, these two are very precious experiences for all the believers. We are saved from God's judgement and condemnation. We are delivered from the world and the power of Satan. However,these are not all the experiences God wants us to have in our salvation. To gain full experiences of salvation, we also need the experience of Exodus 16. This event reveals a picture of twofold intention of our salvation: God wants to take the world out of us, and reconstitute us with His life.

1. God exposes Egyptian constitutions of His people and ‎takes Egypt out of them.

3 And the children of Israel said to them, "Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not." (Exodus 16:3-4 NKJV)

Through the experiences of Exodus 12 and 14, the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt and was freed from the power of Pharaoh. However, the people had already been Egyptianised. Outwardly, they had been relocated to the wilderness where they had freedom to worship God and build up God's dwelling place. But inwardly, they were still full of Egyptian constitutions. God had taken His people out of Egypt. Now God was going to take Egypt out of His people. 

The children of Israel brought foods from Egypt. And now the foods were finished. God purposely allowed them to get hungry, so that their worldly desires and lusts would be exposed. God really wanted them to trust in Him, instead of lusting for any other things. He wanted them to have appetite for Him alone. 

The story also tells us that God's intention of saving His people was that He would be everything to them and do everything for them.

Let us learn from the story. God has done everything for our redemption. Christ died for us once for all. He wants to be everything to us and do everything for us.

Knowing this, are we still lusting for anything other than Christ, or are we putting our trust in Him in any situation? What is our appetite for? May our appetite be for Him alone!

The Lord Jesus promises that if our appetite is for His kingdom and His righteousness, He will surely take care of our physical needs. 

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33 NKJV) 

The apostle Paul is a very good example. He learned to be content in everything. His appetite was only for the Lord. He never murmured, but fully trusted in God in any situation.

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.
11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:10-13 NKJV)

2. To reconstitute them by changing their diet.  

14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. (Exodus 16:14-15 NKJV)

 Relocation from Egypt is not enough. God needed His people to have the experience of reconstitution as well. That is why He provided manna for them. As dieticians say, we are what we eat, God was going to transform worldly people into heavenly people by feeding them with the heavenly food (1 Corinthians 10:3).

Like the children of Israel, God does want to reconstitute us with the real Manna, Jesus Christ. Manna is just a shadow. Christ is the reality of it. He is the bread from heaven and bread of life. And if we feed on Him, we will live because of Him. He is our life and our life supply. The more we eat Him, the more we become heavenly like Him.

32 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (John 6:32-33 NKJV)

35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35 NKJV) 

57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." (John 6:57-58 NKJV) 

One effective way of feeding on Jesus is meditating God's Word. Meditating the Word is not just reading the Bible like a textbook. It is thinking over the Scriptures again and again, and praying it back to Him. The Word is the sword of the Spirit, and we are to employing it by means of all prayer and petition.  

And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints. (Ephesians 6:17-18 Recovery Version) 

Are you hungry? Would you like to come to Jesus and enjoy feeding on Him now? Let us daily enjoy eating this Manna.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Exodus, week 9.
• Life Study of Exodus, messages 32-39.