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By William Van Zyl (Published 7 January 2024).
I eat, on average 4 eggs a day. As we know, eggs have excellent nutritional value. How many eggs do you eat in a day?
About 3500 years ago, people were journeying through the desert. It took them for 40 years. They did not have any eggs. What did they eat?
They were eating tiny, soft, fluffy seeds – which looked like coriander seeds – called manna. The raw manna tasted like wafers that had been made with honey. The Israelites were instructed to eat only the manna they had gathered for each day. It fell from heaven. Believed to be manufactured in the 3rd heaven by God Himself – namely Yahweh. Then, sent to earth every morning to feed His people in the desert. It fell like dew on the ground.
IMAGE: Posted by Ronnie Owens, March 7, 2018 (Facebook).
In brief, eggs stand out as a nutritious superfood, a connection to our Sages (forefathers). But what about the nutritional value of manna?
Table of Contents
What is a Sage?
A sage is a profoundly wise person famed for wisdom—someone venerated for possessing wisdom, judgment, and experience.
More about eggs and manna
Egg protein has been shown to decrease malnutrition, improve muscle health, increase satiety, and contribute to weight loss. It has other additional benefits including protection against infection, blood pressure decreases, and an anti-cancer effect.
Manna, surpassing the qualities of a chicken egg, bore no health concerns and, as per the Talmud (Chagigah 12b), was crafted in the Heavens, specifically in the third level known as Shechakim. Interestingly, the Talmud conveys this not in the past tense but in the present, signifying that manna is still prepared for the righteous to enjoy in Heaven. Meanwhile, for us Earth-dwellers, eggs—ideally sourced from organically-fed and content-free-range chickens—serve as a substitute. Some commentaries describe manna as a fine crystal (Shurpin, n.d.).
Manna created in a ‘boxed wafer?’
To maintain the purity of the manna, a northerly breeze would gently sweep the ground, followed by a cleansing rain. Subsequently, a delicate layer of dew would coat the earth, providing a pristine surface for the manna to descend upon. Once the manna settled, it would be enshrouded by an additional layer of dew, creating the semblance of it being delicately packaged within a box (Shurpin, n.d.).
You probably know quite a bit about manna. I am going to focus on a specific, exciting aspect.
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The Righteous versus the Wicked in the Israeli camp
This concept really got my attention. Did some Israelis receive prepared cakes, and others had to work harder to make cakes (minimal processing)? Shurpin (n.d.) claims that the righteous received the manna in a prepared state (wafer), akin to freshly baked bread. For the ordinary individual (unrighteous), it descended as uncooked cakes, demanding minimal preparation. In contrast, the wicked received it unprocessed, compelling them to grind it in a mill.
Now, that is an interesting comment by Shurpin (n.d.). Isn’t it? Could it mean that today, the righteous don’t have to slave like the unrighteous? I am thinking of Job. I will include several verses from Job Chapter 1 to explain.
Job was hedged in by God. The verse below defines that Job was “hedged in.” Protected by God – Satan, the enemy – could not touch him. God had “blessed the work of his hands [made him prosper and increased his wealth] by increasing his flocks and herds and spread them throughout the land (Job 1:10).”
In Job Chapter 1, God is in conversation with Satan. Satan answers to God: “Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”
Back to the Israelites in the desert. So, the idea of the righteous being blessed in the camp – receiving completed manna wafers next to their tent – could relate to the Laws of God. Just like physical Laws on earth – like gravity. We can’t escape the physical laws. It works all the time on earth.
Does it mean that the Laws of God – spiritual Laws which translate into physical consequences, like in Job’s case – have worked through the ages and are still at work today?
I am convinced that those Laws are still working today.
I love and treasure these Word:
“May the Lord bless you and keep you; may He smile on you and be gracious to you; may He look your way and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26, author’s paraphrase) “May God give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” (Psalm 20:4, NIV)
A question to you
How do you receive your manna every day – your physical and spiritual sustenance? I believe that I receive my daily nourishment – my manna – right at the door of my ‘tent’ in wafer form. I am a Kingdom Citizen with a Covenant. I don’t have to slave, I don’t have to worry, I don’t have to hurry, I am blessed, I am the the beloved of the Lord.
I include the scriptures here if you are still getting familiar with the blessings and cursings.
The Curse:
Leviticus 26:14-20
‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.
The Blessing:
Deuteronomy 28:1-13
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. ‘The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.
Thanks for reading.
References:
Shurpin, Y, (n.d.). What was the manna? Published to Chabad.org.
Link: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4463795/jewish/What-Was-the-Manna.htm
Citation:
Van Zyl, W.N. (2024). Eggs versus Manna. Published to Five House Publishing. Link: https://fivehousepublishing.com/2024/01/06/eggs-versus-manna/
Copyright © 2024 by William Van Zyl
The Sliding-Walking Rock.
All rights reserved. This eBook/article or any portion
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without the publisher’s permission, except for using brief quotations in a book review.
Published by Five House Publishing (New Zealand)
First Publishing, January 2024
More eBooks and articles are available at https://fivehousepublishing.com/
More about the author at http://williamvanzyl.com/
