We left the last post seeing how..

Our Heavenly Father uses objects and pictures to make His lessons clear to us.

According to scripture in the ark of the covenant were the items shown in the picture below:

One of the three items placed inside the Ark of the Covenant, was the Manna stored in a golden pot.

Manna was the miracle food that sustained the children of Israel during their journey through the wilderness;

it fell from heaven every night and they collected their daily needs every morning.

Ps 78:34; John 6:31.

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written,

‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

This is significant as we recall Messiah’s words:

I AM the bread of life recorded in John 6:31, 35 and 51

This pot of manna was kept as a memorial

and it did not rot, decay, or perish

as in Messiah

there is no death, decay or corruption;

we shall not see corruption.

That whoever believes in Him

should not perish,

but have eternal life. John 3:15

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;

neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One

to see corruption. Ps. 16:10

“I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”

English Standard Version

“This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

Telling us to pray these words…in Matthew 6:9

Give us this day our daily Manna /Bread

The Word of God feeds us spiritually..

He brought the Word of God to the earth – Himself-

He was the Word made flesh and

His words and His Ruach/Spirit, are those which sustain us.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matt. 4:4.

This idiom means humans need more than just sustenance to have a fulfilled life; people have both spiritual needs and physical needs. Deuteronomy 8:2-3.

The Hebrew word for Sanctuary/Tabernacle is

Mishkan

and is made up of pictures of:

Water, Teeth, Palm/hand, and Fish/seedling.

If we remove the 2 middle picture letters;

Sheen and Kaf,

(teeth and a Palm/hand);

from the word Mishkan;

a noteworthy word is formed with the remaining 2 letters

Mem and Noon which are the

Beginning and End/First and Last of the WORD..

It’s the Hebrew word Manna.

MN

Manna

Noon

Mem

Tabernacle

מִשְׁכָּן

Noon Kaf Sheen Mem

God uses the letters MEM and NOON,

Noon

Mem

the picture of Waters and a Fish/Seedling,

for His miracle provision of life sustaining food

which are the same 2 letters we find as

the first and last letters

of the Hebrew word Mishkan or Tabernacle.

מִשְׁכָּן

Possible Pictographic Translation of Manna:

Rain

that

brings

Life.

We have been used to hearing that the Hebrew word

Manna/Mem Nun,

literally means

What is it?

Here the Pictograph language gives us another unexpected meaning.

Instead of a reference to bread it says something else, which can be found in Exodus which relates the children of Israel’s first experience with Manna.

Exodus 16: 13b -14

And in the morning the dew lay round about the host. 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.

They were correct that it had

rained down from Heaven

and Jesus/Yeshua references this fact when He declared that

He came down from Heaven.

And that He is the true LIFE that comes from above.

SO MANNA

is connected with Bread and also connected with Water or Rain.

Interesting to note that Water and Bread were 2 of the most familiar metaphors used by Jesus/Yeshua; even using them together in

John 6:35

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

The water that we drink, in the letter MEM,

is from heaven to the earth;

again just as Messiah came from heaven to earth

and He is also the LIVING WATER.

Here’s an answer to a secret and

is the message to us within the letters:

The Manna – Mem Noon –

that first descended from Heaven to earth was given a name

MN

that would one day be a key

to open the door of understanding

and reveal an answer to a mystery of the

MishkaN/Tabernacle.

Recall, the 1st letter in any Hebrew word is usually the most important, since it gives the 1st clue as to what the word is all about.

So the first letter in Mishkan, the Mem, is the 1st clue that whatever is going on in the Mishkan/Tabernacle is something that has come down from Heaven.

The last letter in Mishkan, the Noon, is the clue that whatever has come down from Heaven has to do with LIFE.

Receiving Jesus/Yeshua as personal Savior and Lord

is just the beginning of a long road –

His WAY to His truth and His life.

It is so much more,

we need a deeper understanding

of that which we are entering into;

of what we are committing to;

what we are agreeing to!

It’s more than salvation of the cross,

and forgiveness of sins that have

been repented of and forsaken…

it’s a lifestyle change,

a mindset altered,

our future final destination reoriented…

and the beginning of understanding the enormity what Jesus/Yeshua did for us

and how God implemented His plan to redeem us

because He loves us so much

and precisely orchestrated our rescue.

Here the pertinence of the Old Testament is crucial

to our understanding of Gods Plan of the Ages.

Jesus/Yeshua came to show us the WAY

and He desires us to follow Him…so why are we still choosing to go our own way?

… maybe because we have not comprehended the enormity and seriousness of His actions …

our attitude of gratitude should be ablaze as the light shining in the darkness.

Is our zeal obvious to others?

Are we truly on fire for Him or are we shrinking violets?

Is our desire to do what He has planned for us, every moment of every day?

Do we even bother to ask Him what He wants us to be doing?

Or do we merely decide our own path and ask Him to bless it and then talk with Him when we remember, or when things get tough?

The Word tells us clearly that we are created for

His pleasure – not our own –

somewhere along the road we have got some crossed wires!

Are we choosing a spiritual temperature to suit our lifestyle, the one we prefer to live? and it may shock us to realize that this is simply not what Jesus/Yeshua calls us to.

Following Him is not doing our own thing/career, etc., etc., and it’s not as many tell themselves just for a few. We have to let go of how the world shapes us and tells us how to live; we have to shake off the ways of the worlds’ education and goals. Reject the opportunities for our prideful achievements. Shun the cultural trappings and mindsets of carnality and ethnic traditions of humanity.

Our true history is HIS STORY; not that of men’s successes and failures or the rise and fall of empires. We are citizens of the heavenlies, natives of a future city not built with human hands.

And we are the NAOS/miqdash of His Ruach.

While we inhabit these physical bodies we are supposed to be keeping them sin free, by walking in repentance and continually applying His blood to our lives; so we too can receive His spirit without measure; to do the works He has called us to do.

Jesus/Yeshua is the Ark we enter into…

He was the Ark of Gods’ Presence and,

as born-from-above-disciples,

we have become carriers, containers of that same Ruach –

Holy, set apart; coming out from among them and being separated unto Him, unto good works.

If a man therefore

PURGE HIMSELF

from these,

he shall be a vessel unto honour,

sanctified, and meet for the master’s use,

and prepared unto every good work.

2Tim.2:12

NOTE We are to PURGE OURSELVES!!

We are now to become the light of the world,

we are a sanctuary, a Naos, of His Ruach…

we are not contained within the physical Temples’ Holy of Holies Sanctuary, but free walking Arks of His Re-Newed Covenant….

Not confined to a building, but equipped to go out into all the world carrying the gospel, the good news of His redemptive plan of grace and mercy.

He tabernacled among us in the Mishkan,

then in the two Temples,

then in the Body of Yeshua/Jesus

and now in each of us.

Soon He will Tabernacle with us forever..

but meanwhile..

The question however remains true today.

What is in the internal Holy place of

worship, sacrifice and atonement –

what is in that sanctuary of the heart?

What’s in our Naos our

Sanctuary?

What spirit is residing in our miqdash?

Consider this:

He was referring to the

pattern of the Mishkan

and Temple layout.

The sinner entered the outer court of the Mishkan/Temple complex through the

East Gate.

This was the WAY in to the Outer Court where the Brazen Altar was.

Here the repentant sinner offered the penalty of this sin

in the form of an animal or bird as an innocent sacrifice..

The priest performed the sacrifice and

the blood shed was a covering for that sin.

The sacrifice was then consumed by the fire on the altar.

Signifying the Holy fire of God consuming all sin.

The High Priest was the only one allowed into the Holy of Holies with the blood to be placed on the Mercy Seat of the Ark.

Sinners could not go any further than the outer court and sin was tolerated only because the repentant sinner had to bring their sacrifice to this point where the altar was.

Jesus/Yeshua was the sacrifice laid on the altar/cross for us.

Once for all time.

The Bronze Laver was where the priests washed before entering the Holy Place or Inner Court.

Sin had been dealt with so entry was acceptable.

This was all a pattern

of how to approach a Holy God a /forgiving father.

The washing signifies water baptism – priests were purified; we are too washed and immersed in the living waters – then, to rise from them cleansed and in newness of life.

This is completing the born-from-above experience; as Jesus/Yeshua Himself was immersed in the Jordans living water and God spoke over the situation. He was overshadowed by Gods’ Holy Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh and this was indicative of being born-from-above/coming from above/heaven.

This process for us, cleanses us;

and as He is our High Priest

and according to scripture we are also priests,

(ministering to the Lord);

we can now enter the Inner court

where our souls can worship Him

at the Golden Altar of Incense;

which is also indicative of prayer.

As our High Priest, He alone is worthy to stand in the Holy of Holies before the Presence of the Lord God and intercede for us at the heavenly Mercy Seat.

Hebrews 8:1 Now the point in what we are saying is this:

we have such a high priest, ^uone who is seated at the right hand

of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,

Romans 8:34. It is Christ who died, yea rather, who is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

We are ordinary priests and while still in the flesh cannot enter that Holy of Holies and so Messiah does that for us in the same pattern as the High Priest and Levite Priests.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit/enter the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 1Cor.15:50

Yet because of the Blood we can enter spiritually…

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.