Are We Satisfied With Christ Alone?

by David A. McClements, Melbourne, Australia | Category: General | Dec 1996

On at least three occasions when the manna is mentioned in the Word of God, it is recorded that the children of Israel murmured, complained and spoke against the Lord.

The first of these references is in Exodus chapter 16: 'The whole congregation ... murmured against Moses and against Aaron; but ultimately these were murmurings against the LORD (vv. 2,7). The children of Israel hungered and looked back to Egypt instead of looking to the Lord their God who had delivered them from the hand of Pharaoh. Their longing for the 'flesh pots' of Egypt reminds us that in the world there is provision to indulge our sinful, fallen nature. God had something better for His people and responded graciously to their ingratitude, 'I will rain down bread from heaven for you' (v.4 NIV).

In this chapter the manna is presented in two settings. Firstly, the manna is on the ground:

And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness a small round thing, small as the hoar frost on the ground (v.14).

I suggest this presents to us Christ in all His condescending grace, His lowliness of mind in coming to earth. Moses said of the manna, 'It is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat' (v.15). The Lord said of Himself, 'I am the Living Bread which came down Out of heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever' (John 6:51). Believers have the gift of eternal life, but Christ also gave Himself so that we might continue to feed on Him and be sustained in our earthly pilgrimage. If we abide in Him and He in us He is able to meet our continuing spiritual need (John 6.56).

Moses was instructed that an omer of manna was to be placed before the

Lord:

And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omerful of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations (v.33).

The writer to the Hebrews tells us that within the Holy of holies was 'the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was a golden pot holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant' (9:3,4).

In association with tabernacle furniture, gold reminds us of the glory of the Lord's deity; the manna typifies Him as 'the Living Bread which came down out of heaven'; Aaron's rod speaks of the Lord in His resurrection power and glory being appointed a Sovereign-Priest 'after the order of Melchizedek'.

In Numbers chapter 11 we read:

The people complained ... wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick (vv. 1,4,5, AV).

They remembered six foods they once enjoyed; they were not dissatisfied with the manna in itself but by itself They wanted to combine the manna with the food of Egypt. Believers should ask themselves: 'Am I satisfied with Christ alone or am I hankering after the pleasures of the world. The world can provide activities which appeal to the flesh, in which some may have indulged in their unconverted days. But these activities cannot satisfy the needs of the believer's new nature.

Our final reference is found in Numbers chapter 21, where the people again spoke 'against God, and against Moses' saying 'our soul loatheth this light bread'. This is a further deterioration from their attitude in Numbers chapter 11. They had developed dissatisfaction with the manna because of what it was in itself The people said that the manna was light bread, meaning it' was insubstantial. They were complaining that the manna was deficient and did not meet their needs. Is it possible that a believer could become dissatisfied with Christ of whom Paul said, in Him 'are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden' (Col. 2.3)? Christ is all-sufficient, He can meet every need. It would be only a mind completely out of tune with God that would seek to find some deficiency in Christ. We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit to fully express our appreciation of Him.

David A. McClements, Melbourne, Australia | Dec 1996
General