2012 A.D.: Bible Nugget: Manna's first appearance. Jesus' first preaching of the Gospel.
Update: there are multiple claims of manna falling in Angola, Africa at a 7th Day Adventist church, on a regular schedule. Easy to find videos on the internet about it. Can't say much else having not seen it myself.
In Exodus chapter 16, the Israelites that have just fled Egypt are hungry, and God begins feeding them bread from heaven:
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning, there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer[a] for each person you have in your tent.’”
When people first see MANNA, they say 'what is it?'. And some say that this is what the word manna means...'what is it'. Manna flakes are said to have been about the size of a coriander seed. Coriander is a relative of cilantro. Here is a picture of some coriander seed, for reference:
But Jesus is also called 'the bread of life'. And Jesus came down from heaven, to feed the souls of men with the Gospel, the good news! Jesus said to 'eat his body' when we gather together, meaning to break up a piece of bread and eat it together as a group, remembering Him as we did. And we were to share a cup of wine, remembering the blood shed for us - His blood, the blood of the actual Son of God made flesh, broken on the cross to atone for our sins.
So, what did people say the first time Jesus preached?
From Mark chapter 1:
21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
End Quote
So, in Mark 1:27, upon first encountering the teaching which could give life to those who accepted it, they said "What is this?
So, does 'manna', the other 'bread from heaven' mean 'what is it?' ? Interesting that they said it in both places when first encountering the 'bread from heaven'!
When we take communion, we eat bread together, and we corporately become part of the body of Christ.
Jesus was God made into the image of a man. And Genesis 1:27 (note the chapter and verse) says:
"So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female."
Genesis 1:27 describes man being created for the first time. Man being made in the image of God. Mark 1:27 is man listening to God (Jesus) as He preaches to them for the first time. God made into the image of man preaching the word, the bread of life, to man.
Interesting in a way!
In Esther, we find out that King Xerxes had 127 provinces. A messenger was sent out to the Jews in these provinces to warn them of the plans of their enemies to attack the Jews wherever they dwelt, so that they could strike first. Then, when they were successful, a messenger was sent to tell them to commemorate the occasion there ever after. They do honor the occasion still today when they celebrate the festival of Purim. In Mark 1:27, a messenger was sent to the Jews. In Esther, a messenger was sent to the Jews of the 127 Provinces of Xerxes kingdom.
In Numbers 1:27, the tribe members of Judah are numbered (a census is done) by order of God himself. There are 74,600 able bodied men over 20 years old who could serve as soldiers. So, Judah is 'numbered'. Not too long later, the men of Judah (and the other Israelites) ended their 40 years of wandering and received a land of their own. They entered and began to conquer the 'promised land' of Canaan. From Judah comes the word Jews. Similarly, in World War II the Jewish prisoners in the Naxi concentration camps were 'numbered'. Actual numbers were tattooed onto their arms. A few years after that, they entered their own land: Israel! The same land once called the land of Caanan. It was restored to them after a long time of wandering (around 1900 years' worth of wandering!!)
In the Gospel of John, Chap1 v. 27, (Another 1:27) John the Baptist speaks of Jesus:
"He is the One coming after me, who's sandal strap I am not worthy to untie."
Jesus is the Word, and the Word is symbolized by bread. Jesus is the Bread from heaven. The scriptures say that 'the word of God is like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified 7 times.' Jesus also spoke to 7 churches. Samson was 'connected' to God by his 7 braids. And oddly, the number 127, in binary form, is 1111111 subscript 2. That's '7' ones, subscript 2. For the Christian, Jesus is our 'rest', and the 7th day was the day of rest.
Bread. Jesus. Manna. The number 127. The Jews in all of the 127 provinces. Soon after you are numbered you enter into the promised land.
What does it all mean? The Father Almighty is the master of both evident truth and the hidden truths with their deep concealed meanings. We'll probably be shown part of what was right in front of us the whole time, some day when we meet God, and we will be stunned at the depth and complexity of what we walked about in unaware. Somehow, I know that it means that God is engineering it all from behind the scenes.... that He has it all under His control. But otherwise, what does it mean? I don't know.