Exodus 16:35Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Let us explore if we can discover another scriptural reference to the enigmatic forty-day fast. It is recorded that Saint Moses provided sustenance to the Israelites with heavenly manna during their forty-year journey in the wilderness. This number holds significant value as it consistently opens the gates of heaven. I assert that it is an important number, through which Noah's righteousness was preserved (Gen. 7:17) and the Israelites were sustained. Consequently, let us also revere this number, that the heavens may be opened unto us, allowing us to receive the outpouring of divine grace and to be revitalized by the manna of spiritual commandments. By emulating the example set by our ancestors, we find justification and nourishment through honoring the forty-day fast: we are justified through baptism and nourished by the sacraments.

Moses recounts that the Israelites consumed manna for forty years until they arrived in the promised land: “and the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came into the promised land.” Since Moses did not experience all of these forty years and therefore did not enter Canaan, it raises the question of how he could relay events that occurred after his death.

It was not a promise but a provision; Israel was granted manna only when it was necessary for sustenance during their time in the desert. This heavenly bread stopped once the Lord led the people across the Jordan (cf. Josh. 5:12). Many scholars suggest that the manna was provided solely in areas where the land was barren and could not support them. While journeying through the wilderness, Israel likely cultivated the land wherever they made extended stops, in addition to relying on their livestock for nourishment. Notably, even in the so-called desert among rugged mountains, there exist fertile spots suitable for agriculture.