Exodus 17-18

In these verses we are given a powerfully symbolic image: that of Moses, hands outstretched (prefiguring the image of a cross), intermediating on behalf of his people to God above. Moses's gesture, hands apart and raised, therefore is extremely ancient, and still used today to express our reverence and adoration of God, to pray, to worship Him.

I found it quite interesting in Exodus 18 how Jethro basically laid out a complete political structure for the people of Israel. Again, we see a progressive, slow-and-steady shift from a tribal, nomadic people to a hierarchical, law-abiding (of course not always), ordered people. And this gradual shift is taking place just as the people's understanding of God is likewise progressing. Jethro lays out a political, social structure that we still see today: the national-regional-local system of control. He therefore makes it possible for Moses to concentrate on more pressing issues, to focus on the laws of God and administering them to the people; while lesser disputes and concerns can be handled by the appropriate magistrate. It's a system that may seem so simple and obvious to us, but someone had to think of it for the first time. From here on out the social structure of the people of Israel will be much more complex; and yet the revelations from God will likewise begin to grow in complexity. The age of the Prophets is not too far off.

Exodus 16 - Manna and the Bread of Life

"This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat." (Exodus 16:15)

"Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say unto you: Moses gave you not bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the world.
Then they said to him: Lord, give us always this bread.
And Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me, shall not hunger." (John 6:31-35)

And so we have, in Exodus 16, an overt precedent for the establishment of the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, the Body of Christ as the Bread of Life. As the Lord fed and sustained the children of Israel during their sojourn through the desert with manna, so He has done the same for us -- only the desert now is life, and He knows we need something to sustain us spiritually as we sojourn through this desert, which has hardships at every turn. And so He has given us Himself! "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35). The Body of Christ is our manna.

Previously I had written about the fact that God has gradually revealed Himself to His people. He has also gradually given them a more precise code of conduct. Not only do we begin to see the establishment of rules and guidelines, feasts and memorials, but we now have this idea of needing constant nourishment from God Himself. The rules help to keep us reminded of God's presence, but this nourishment (symbolically represented by manna) keeps us connected to God. The manna kept the Hebrews focused on their goals of reaching the promised land of Chanaan. Being continuously nourished by the Body of Christ keeps us focused on reaching the Promised Land of heaven.