sound of a soft breath

... just as God provided manna to meet the physical need of people, so he, Jesus, was the "true bread" who satisfied the ultimate need of all people - the need for a restored and eternal relationship with God (John 6:48-51).

Whitney Kuniholm wrote this in reflecting on the passage I am looking at from Exodus in the Old Testament. I am currently journaling through the book titled The Essential Jesus: 100 Readings Through the Bible's Greatest Story written by Whitney T. Kuniholm. This is number 12 of the one hundred passages he has outlined in his book.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. ... (Exodus 16:4a)

That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. ...(Exodus 16:13-15)

Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. (Exodus 16:21)

The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan. (Exodus 16:35)

In chapter 16 of Exodus we see God providing for the physical needs of His people. The bread that came down from heaven to sustain the Israelites in the desert was a preview of Jesus.

In the Gospel of John we read about Jesus drawing a parallel between God providing for his people's physical needs in the desert and God providing for our spiritual needs.

Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (John 6:32-33)

In this account John also records that Jesus told his disciples "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35)

Our physical needs are quite obvious to us. When we are hungry we seek out food. When we are thirsty we seek out something to drink. Our physical hunger and thirst are quenched and we are satisfied until the hunger and thirst come back. Jesus draws a parallel to hunger and thirst because all humans can relate to those needs. It is a universal need.

Jesus is telling us here that God has met our most important need. This need is not physical but eternal.

Humans were created to have a relationship with their creator. We were created with a soul, a spirit, that inner thing that makes us who we are, unique among all other people. That soul, our soul was designed for a direct and meaningful relationship with the Creator, our God. Our soul, our spirit needs God to be whole. Simply put we need God.

Jesus fills the void that is in our soul. This void that is carved out by our own rebellion from God. Sin deconstructs what God has designed to be beautiful unique and complete. Sin puts an ugly hole in our soul. Jesus reconnects our spirit with God restoring our relationship with God. Jesus reconstructs our soul filling the hole.

Jesus is the Bread of Life and will satisfy our soul's hunger and thirst to be whole.

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