Let’s read Exodus 16:3-4, “And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.”  This is just one case, where the Lord’s people in the wilderness were complaining about their circumstances.  So great was their grumbling, they wished they had stayed in Egypt and simply died there rather than suffer hunger in the wilderness.  Rather than talk to the Lord about their need, they complained about the Lord.  The Lord, in absolute grace, determined to feed His people and here announces He will “rain bread from heaven” for the Israelites.  We read in verses 14-17, “And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.

This is the first mention of manna in the Bible.  It was a food provided by the Lord for His people in the wilderness.  All they had to do was to go out in the morning and gather enough for their family.  Each day, they were to gather a day’s ration. 

Later, the Lord Jesus pointed out that the manna was really a type, or symbol, of Himself.  He said in John 6:32-33, “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”  The Lord went on to say in verses 57-58, “As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.”  The Lord is teaching us that it is when we appropriate the death of the Lord Jesus as being for us, we receive the true bread…the true manna, that which gives and sustains eternal life in us. 

Now, let’s read of the hidden manna in Revelation 2:17, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the HIDDEN MANNA, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”  It is to the true Christian that hears the Spirit and is an overcomer that these words are written.  Since manna is a type of Christ, Himself, this speaks of heavenly food in contrast to the food offered to idols in verse 14, “But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” “Hidden” manna seems to speak of that secret and private communion we have with the Lord when we are living according to His leading.  Although the world is in chaos, we can have that HIDDEN MANNA to feed us and give us the calm assurance of His presence. 

We also get a precious thought in Exodus 16:33-34, where we learn that a pot of manna was laid up in the holy place of the Tabernacle “before the testimony.” The reference here is to “the manna which is hidden.” As the manna hidden in the sanctuary was preserved from corruption, so Christ in His incorruptible body has passed into the heavens, and is hidden there until the time of His appearing. The Lord Jesus Himself is that manna “hidden” from the world, but revealed to the believer, so that he has a preview of His preciousness.  In all cases, the manna will always bring us to think of Christ, that “true bread from Heaven.”  (CC)  (500.6)