Sunday School: Bread from Heaven – What Does This Mean?

Encore Post: Once the people of Israel were safe on the other side of the Red Sea and the joy of freedom faded, they realized they had to provide for themselves. They grumbled at Mara that they were thirsty and God provided water to drink. Once they reached the Wilderness of Sin, they grumbled they had nothing to eat. God told Moses that he would provide bread in the morning and quail at night to eat.

When the people saw the bread God provided, it looked so strange to them they said, “What is it?” They called it Manna, which means, “what is it” in Hebrew. Moses answered it was bread God provided for them. God provided this food six days, doubling the amount on the sixth day. On the Sabbath, Manna did not come.

From the time that people planted crops until this very day, bread has been a basic food for people. God fed His people in the wilderness with manna to teach them to trust their Heavenly Father for daily bread.

God would do other miracles with bread. The Prophet Elijah would feed the widow and her son with bread flour and oil that did not run out. Elisha would feed one hundred men with a few loaves. Later Satan would tempt Jesus to make stones into bread rather than trust Him. Jesus quoted what Moses said to Israel about Manna: man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.. (Deuteronomy 8:3). Jesus would feed crowds in the desert with a few loaves and fishes. The crowds knew what it meant Jesus was the Messiah and like Moses and Elijah.

Jesus also used bread in another way. During His Last Supper, He took bread, broke it, blessed it and gave His body for them to eat. To this day, when we gather for communion, Jesus feeds us with His body * the true Bread from Heaven. When we receive this bread, we are given strength for our journey through this life to life everlasting.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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