In Exodus 16:14 we see that manna was round. The roundness of manna signifies that Christ is eternal, without beginning or ending. Christ is eternal food with an eternal nature for eternal supply without limitation. Christ and His word are perfect and full. By eating Him we are transformed and become eternal, perfect, and full.
The manna was also like frost (Exo. 16:14). Frost is something between dew and snow. Frost not only refreshes people but also kills germs. As the real manna, Christ not only refreshes us but also kills the negative things within us.
In Exodus 16:31 and Numbers 11:7 we are told that the manna was like coriander seed. Although the coriander seed is small, it is full of life. This indicates that as food Christ is full of life, and He brings the life element into our being and thereby grows in us.
In Numbers 11:7 we are told that the appearance of manna was like the appearance of bdellium. There are two kinds of pearls: one kind is produced by oysters, and the other is produced by the secretion of resinous gum from trees. Both kinds of pearls are bright and transparent. The Hebrew word rendered appearance in this verse means “eye.” Manna has an eye which is like the eye of a pearl. Every piece of manna looked like an eyeball—round, bright, and transparent. Christ as the real manna is transparent. When we eat Christ, we become living creatures that are full of eyes, and we also become bright and transparent.
In Exodus 17:6 the rock that was smitten and cleft to flow out the living water for God’s chosen people was a physical rock. Yet in 1 Corinthians 10:4 the apostle Paul called it a spiritual rock because it typified Christ, who was smitten and cleft by God to flow out the water of life (John 19:34) to satisfy the thirst of His believers. Hence, Paul said that the rock was Christ.
God told Moses to use his rod to “strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink” (Exo. 17:6). In typology, Moses signifies the law, and the rod represents the power and authority of the law. The smiting of the rock by the rod signifies that Christ was smitten by the authority of God’s law.
The living water flowing out of the cleft rock (Exo. 17:6) typifies the Spirit, who flowed out of the crucified and resurrected Christ. Through incarnation Christ came to earth as the rock. At Calvary, the appointed place, He was crucified, smitten by God’s law with its power and authority. His side was cleft, and living water flowed forth (John 19:34). This living water is the Spirit, the ultimate consummation of the Triune God. Hence, in 1 Corinthians 10:4 Paul called it the “spiritual drink.”
According to John 7:38-39, the rivers of living water are related to the resurrection of Christ. This shows us that Christ had to pass through incarnation, human living, and death and enter into resurrection; then the Spirit as the living water could be experienced and enjoyed by the believers. Through incarnation this living water flowed from the throne of God to Jesus, and after thirty-three and a half years it flowed through the cross and flowed into resurrection. Hence, today this living water is the water of life in resurrection. It is for those who believe to drink of, and it will gush up in them into eternal life (John 4:14).
After they crossed the Red Sea and went out of Egypt, the children of Israel entered the wilderness and traveled in it to follow the journey of God. In their journeying in the wilderness, because of the desolate environment and its hardships, they had all kinds of needs for their living. The supplies they received consisted of six items, every item of which is a type of Christ as the supply that we need for us to take the journey of God after we have been saved. The tree that healed the bitter waters is a type of the cross of Christ. Christ suffered the thirst of death on the cross on our behalf and thus saved us from the thirst of death. When we are in a bitter situation, if we take the cross of Christ’s suffering death, the sensation of the bitter situation will be made sweet. Moreover, the healing by the cross of Christ was made a statute and an ordinance for our healing. If we would diligently give heed to God’s commandments, we would be spared from the diseases and plagues inflicted upon the worldly people. Twelve springs of water typify the resurrection life, which is the Spirit, flowing out from God into us for the mingling of divinity with humanity to carry out God’s eternal economy and reach the full extent of God’s administration. Seventy palm trees typify the flourishing life of Christ in resurrection for us to have the rejoicing in life’s satisfaction and the victory for the carrying out of God’s dispensing in time in absolute completeness and in full. Manna is a type of Christ, who was sent by God the Father to be our unique food. By eating Him, we allow Him to enter into us organically to become our inner constituents, and we are thereby built as God’s dwelling place. The rock typifies Christ, who was smitten and cleft by God to flow out the water of life to satisfy the thirst of His believers. The living water is a type of the Spirit, who, as the ultimate consummation of the Triune God, is the water of life in resurrection. It is for those who believe to drink of, and it will gush up in them into eternal life.