We have pointed out that the quails came in the evening, but the manna was sent in the morning. Exodus 16:21 says that the children of Israel “gathered it every morning.” The fact that manna came in the morning indicates that it gives us a new beginning. Because the earth revolves on its axis daily, every day we have a new beginning, a new turn. We also have new beginnings monthly and yearly. Manna is not related to the yearly or monthly beginnings, but to a daily new beginning. If God sent the manna yearly, we could not survive. If manna were sent monthly, we would not be strengthened, sustained, and satisfied. Thank the Lord that He sends the manna daily. Every morning we can have a new beginning.
In our spiritual experience we need these daily turns, these daily new beginnings. Sometimes at the end of the day I am eagerly awaiting the next morning and a new beginning. As I go to bed at night, I may say, “Lord, after resting tonight, I expect to have a new beginning with You in the morning.” Praise the Lord for every new day, for every new beginning! Manna always brings us such a new start.
We may also say that every new beginning brings us fresh manna. If you expect to receive manna from the Lord, you need to pray, “Lord, I am ready for a new turn. I don’t want to live the same way as in the past. I want to have a new beginning with You.” As you come to the Lord in the morning, are you willing to pray like this? If you tell Him that you are ready for a new start, you will experience the dew, and with the dew, the manna. However, if your desire is to relive the past, to live the same kind of life you did years ago, manna will not come to you.
In order to have manna, we must be prepared for a new beginning. From my experience I can assure you that manna comes whenever you are willing to have a new beginning. In the morning let us come to the Lord and say, “Lord, I want a new beginning. I do not want to be the same as yesterday. I thank You, Lord, that in Your sovereignty and in Your economy, You offer us a new beginning every day of the year.” If you pray to the Lord in this way, eager for a new beginning, the manna will come in the morning with the dew.
Concerning the gathering of manna with the dew in the morning, we do not need more doctrine. What we need is more experience in our daily life. Many years ago we learned that manna is a type of Christ. How pitiful that among Christians today this is mainly a matter of doctrine! When I was with the Brethren, I was taught clearly that manna typifies Christ. But I was not helped to gather the manna day by day. Instead of life, there was mere doctrine.
Many of the good things related to Christ have become traditional doctrines. Even unbelievers may be familiar with certain truths concerning Christ. Some may even realize that manna is a type of Christ. What we need is not traditional doctrine, but more practical experiences in life.
Thousands, even millions, of people read the Bible without receiving the smallest amount of manna. In their reading of the Scriptures there is nothing but letters in black and white. Under the influence of tradition, they do not care to receive new light. They are not even interested in seeking for such light. They are content to understand the Bible according to traditional knowledge and according to ethical aspirations. They want to learn the teachings of the Bible in order to improve their behavior. They approach the Scriptures in the same way the Chinese approach the classical writings of Confucius. I once even heard a missionary say that the teachings of the Bible are identical with those of Confucius. What a deplorable misunderstanding of the Word of God!
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, the Judaizers had no heart for Him. They were fully occupied with the traditions of their fathers. Their understanding of the Old Testament was according to traditional teaching and knowledge. After Saul of Tarsus was saved, he probably spent a good deal of time checking his experience with the Old Testament. He surely did this according to the leading of the Spirit, not according to traditional knowledge inherited from his forefathers in Judaism. Therefore, Paul received light, revelation.
Our experience today should be the same as that of Paul. I can testify that I receive light from the Lord concerning the Word because I do not care for the traditions of Christianity. If I were still caring for religious tradition, I would not receive any enlightenment. In 1964 I was advised by a certain person not to teach that Christ is the Spirit, even though this truth is revealed in the New Testament. I was told that such a teaching would not be accepted by today’s Christians. Because people care so much for traditional teaching, they are blind. Year after year, they receive no new light. We praise the Lord that we are receiving new light almost daily. We should not be limited by what we saw years ago. Even scientists are open to new discoveries. If we want to progress spiritually, we need to lay aside tradition. As we come to the Word, we should forget our traditional knowledge.
Christianity has become a religion of tradition which neglects Christ as the reality. The Sunday morning services are filled with tradition. The situation among us in the Lord’s recovery must be altogether different. Daily we need to go on with the Lord. We should not only read the Bible, but also deal with the living Person of Christ who dwells in us. As we read the words of the Scripture, we must contact this living Person. Instead of being occupied with doctrines or methods, we should desperately seek the Lord Himself. If we pursue the Lord in this way, we shall have a new beginning with Him every morning.
Our time with the Lord in the morning should not be according to tradition or custom. The custom in some households is to rise early and then spend time reading the Bible. But it is possible to read the Word every morning without gathering any manna, for we may not have living contact with the Lord. The printed words in the Bible do not give us life. In John 5:39 and 40 the Lord Jesus said to the religionists, “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is these that testify concerning Me; and you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” If we want to receive life, we must come to the Lord. To have life we must have Him.
There is a big difference between a prescription for some medicine and the medicine itself. We do not have the medicine simply by studying the prescription. However, this is the very thing many Christians are doing today. In some cases they do not even study the prescription in a proper way. On the one hand, my heart rejoices because of what the Lord has shown us. On the other hand, my heart aches because of the situation among Christians. Who really cares for the Lord Himself? Very few actually care for Him, even though He is so living and so available.
In a previous message I pointed out that my confession to the Lord each day primarily concerns my shortcomings in remaining one in spirit with Him. We know that 1 Corinthians 6:17 tells us that he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. We also know that we should live according to this mingled spirit. But how much do we actually live in this spirit? Perhaps among us in the Lord’s recovery this also has become a doctrine instead of a real and genuine practice in life. In your daily life, is the matter of being joined to the Lord in one spirit a practice, or is it merely a doctrine? If this is mere doctrinal knowledge, it does not mean anything. It is very easy for any revelation to become a traditional teaching. Let us turn from all the traditional teachings and seek the Lord Himself. If we do this, light from the Word will shine upon us.
Although Exodus 16 is a great chapter in the Bible, many Christians do not have an adequate appreciation of it because they are still under the influence of religious tradition. Perhaps we would be more impressed with this chapter if we were primitive, uneducated people with no knowledge of the Scriptures. If this were our situation, we might be able to see more easily that this chapter reveals God’s intention to change the source of our being, to change our very constituent. It is a superficial understanding of this chapter simply to say that manna is heavenly food which typifies Christ. This kind of doctrinal understanding has no effect on our living. It may even hinder us from receiving God’s revelation conveyed in this portion of the Word. However, if we turn from traditional teaching and pray over this chapter, we shall be enlightened to see that, as believers, we should live on Christ alone. Only the living Christ should be the food on which we live day by day.
What a great difference there is between such an understanding of this chapter and traditional teaching! Many of us heard teachings about Christ as manna when we were in religion. But what effect did it have on us? It did not keep many from indulging in worldly entertainment. Some have received the superficial teachings about not loving the world. They have been told not to hunger for the cucumbers and garlic of Egypt. How superficial! The deep truth in Exodus 16 is that God wants to change our diet. The crucial point here is not whether or not we love the world; it is whether or not our diet has been changed. There is a tremendous difference between learning not to love the world and having a change of diet.
As we seek the Lord for a new beginning and for the supply of manna, we need to turn to our spirit. However, it is easy for us to exercise the mind instead of the spirit. Because this is our tendency, it is a good habit to contact the Lord in the Word before we become occupied with the affairs of the day. Once we have become involved in so many things, it is much more difficult to exercise our spirit to contact the Lord. The first thing we should do each morning is to come to the Lord in the Word and feed on Him.