KJV Exodus 16:14 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.

NASB Exodus 16:14 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.

Every feature of the manna is a reminder of the beauty of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ: small, white, coming upon the dew, tasting like honey, and round in shape. It is this final feature that occupies our meditation.

Some see in the roundness of the manna, a reminder of the Lord’s eternality – without beginning or end of days. There is certainly merit in that consideration. He has eternally been the Bread of God, and will continue to be the Bread upon which we will feed eternally. I prefer, however, to see in it another aspect of His blessed person: He had no rough edges, nothing that had to be refined or “smoothed” out in His person.

There were none of the personality quirks that we possess that God has to remove; none of the awkward bits of our personalities that need refinement. Here was a perfectly balanced individual. In point of truth, He is the only perfectly balanced man that ever lived.

He had no insecurity such as marks many of us. Our insecurity causes us to seek significance in what we own or accomplish. He was at home in the will of God, needing nothing and living for His Father’s pleasure.

There was no social awkwardness, no bravado when in a group and no social withdrawal. He did not have to make Himself the center of attention or shun interaction for fear of saying the wrong thing. He was perfectly balanced.

He knew no chastening or refinement; no purifying of the gold. In the description in Song of Solomon 5, He is gold from head to foot. No word could have been more appropriate or fitting than the one He spoke. No deed could have been done in a more fit time or manner. He was never late and never early.

Trials and difficulties were not sent to improve this Man. They were sent to display His beauty and to bring delight to a Father’s heart.

We remember moral glory
Marking all the way
Telling love’s eternal story
Day by day

We remember every movement
Faultless was and true
Every touch beyond improvement
Through and through

Isaac Ewan
NBHB 648