The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 2 — Section 44

i;:ithcr mann:1.. Here t'nforcc, not 0nly the dignity of work, but the Christian duty thcrl'Of._ The idle, whcthcr iu high life or low, are the dangerous classes. If exempted from t01l for bread, all the more obligation to labour for the good of ma.n to the glory of God. VI. YE~TilKRE lfl1ST BE S.,BBATll. VII. A RTh-r AGAINST MERE HOARDING. Distinguish between extmva_,0'8.Ilce, a duo p, ovidence, and hoarding after a miserly fllshion. 'l'he via media here, as elsewhere the right et.hical path. ' Y1LI. 'l'he manna story gfres us THS TRUE THEORY OF LIFE. See the view of Moses as to the purpose of the manna, in the light of experience, after the lapse of forty years, in Dent.. viii. 3. (comp. Matt. iv. 4). Man is to live, not for that which is lowest in him. but for that which is highest. Life is to be DEPENDENCE UPON Gon; 1 :-For l~ding. 2 :-.For support. This was the object of the giving of the ma.nna.-R. Ch. xn.-.llfanna for the soul; a homily on grace. " I am the living bread . . . he shall live for ever." John vi. 51. Having given the manna story, discussed the miracle, and given the lessons bearing on our providential path, we now go up to the higher level, and listen to the truths taught in relation to the kingdom of God's grace. These gather round the central truth-that the Lord Jesus Christ is the nutriment of the soti"l. For that truth we have his own supreme authority. [See the full discourse from his own lips on the manna, in John vi.] Avoid small typologies- small every way-.g., that the roundness of the manna stands for Christ's eternity; its whiteness for his purity; its sweetness for the preciousness of Christ. When men would estimate the majesty of a mountain they play not with the pebbles at its feet. I. THE OBJECT OF Gon IN THE GIFT OF THE BEAVEJ\-Y.Y MANNA. Why Christ? Long before Israel cried, the Father saw the coming distress ; and resolved to give the manna to meet it. So with Christ. Christ was given for atonement, ILlld to bring from under the cloud of condemnation; but also for other reasons beyond, to give life and strength to the moral and spiritual ma.n. There is a rich provision in the world for the body and for the mind [describeJ; but there is something higher in man:-the spiritual-not only a ,J,vx~, but a ,n,EiifUI-for which provision must be made. II. THE FAMTh'E OF THK souL WITHOUT CHRIST. Very difficult to imagine a world without bread; more to suppose a world without Christ. His no.me, his history, his death, his reign, his presence, power, and love are implied, and involved always, every- where, in all the phenomena of life. But endeavour to imagine Christ annihilo.ted- no name of Ghrist to entw'.ne in the lullaby at the cradle, and so on through every stage and circurustance of life, till the dying moment-no Christ for the guilty, sinning, sorrowing, tempted, etc. etc. What a fa.mine of the soul! III. THE SUPPLY OF THE SOUL WITH CHRIST. Having seen what the world would be without Christ, see positively what Christ is to the world. 'l'he understanding cannot live without objective truth (mere opinion will not suffice); Christ is that truth : nor the heart without a supreme object of love; Christ that object: nor the conscience without authority behind its moral imperative ; Christ is that authority : nor the ll;ll without a living inward abiding power; and Christ is that power. In very real and intelligible 1,ense, Christ is the manna, bread, nutriment, sustemmce, vitality, aud power of the believing soul. IV. THE FIJLNESS OF THE SUPPLY. .AU we need certainly in bread, probably in the manna, assuredly in Christ. V. ITS FREENESS. Men may confuse themselves, and imagine they "get" their own bread. But manna was manifestly the free gift of heaven. So Christ. 'l'his the one truth, which it is so difficult for men to receive. Seo 1 John v. 11, 12; Rom. vi. 23. VL lTs IIIYBTEBY. The name of the desert provision wo.s "Man-Hu?"-" What is it?" Men did not solve the mystery ere they ate. Why should men wait to solve the mystery of Christ's person, office, etc. etc., ere they cat " the living bread"? VII. ITs l\'EABNEss. Both the manna and Christ at every man's tent-door. Vlll. lTs APPROPRIATION. Vain that manna for the two millions, if no man went out to g:ither; so 'l'ain the all-sufficiency of Christ, if no man "comes," "believe&," appropriates. John vi. 35, 37, 40, 47, 57. CII. J.VL 1-15.] '1:11 E BOOK OF EXODUS. 45