Page 55 - Overcoming Addiction

Exodus 16:13-15, 31
In the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer
of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine
flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. When the sons of Israel saw
it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was.
And Moses said to them, "It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to
eat... The house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed,
white, and its taste was like wafers with honey.

Yahshua testified that this bread from heaven was given to serve as a type
and symbol of Himself.

John 6:32-35
Yahshua then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who
has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the
true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down
out of heaven, and gives life to the world." Then they said to Him, "Lord,
always give us this bread." Yahshua said to them, "I am the bread of life; he
who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never
thirst.”

We see then that both the unleavened bread of Passover, and the manna in
the wilderness, serve as images of Christ. Interestingly, one of the most common
titles the church uses for Yahshua is the word “Lord.” This word is derived from an
old English word that meant “loaf ward.” The loaf ward was the steward, or master
of the house, whose duties included providing bread for the servants. This is an
appropriate title for Christ, for He provides bread for His household to eat, and
this bread is His own body.

John 6:53-58
So Yahshua said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh
of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He
who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him
up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He
who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the
living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me,
he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of
heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live
forever.”

Yahshua was using symbolic speech when He uttered these words. He was
speaking of His disciples feeding upon the life that was in Him. This life is
imparted to the Christian by the Spirit of Christ that comes to indwell them. We
learn some important lessons that have great bearing upon the issue of
overcoming addiction as we examine the account of the Israelites and their
response to the manna Yahweh provided for them.