What was manna?

During the forty years between the time the Israelites left Egypt and
entered the Promised Land, they faced harsh conditions, including a
scarcity of food. To alleviate this problem, God miraculously provided
the Israelites with "bread from heaven," called "manna." The manna
appeared each morning, and the Israelites were given specific
instructions on gathering it (see Exodus chapter 16). What was manna?
Interestingly, the Israelites asked the very same question: "When the
people 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 that the LORD has given you to eat'" (Exodus 16:15). The Hebrew
word translated "manna" literally means "what is it?"

The Bible nowhere discusses the chemical composition of manna. All we
are told is that "it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of
it was like wafers made with honey" (Exodus 16:31). Numbers 11:7
states that manna's appearance was like "bdellium" or "resin." Psalm
78:24 refers to manna as "grain from heaven," and the next verse calls
it "bread of angels." So, manna seems to have been literal bread that
God caused to miraculously appear each morning during the Israelites'
wilderness wanderings. The miracle of manna ceased shortly after the
Israelites entered the Promised Land (Joshua 5:12).

Far more important than manna's physical qualities is what manna
foreshadowed. Manna is a type, or foreshadowing, of Jesus. After Jesus
miraculously fed the 5,000, they wanted Him to "give us this bread
always" (John 6:34). Jesus tried to get their attention off of
physical bread and onto the true "bread of life." "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. For the bread of God is
He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. . . . I am
the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever
believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:32-35). Sadly, the people
could not get their minds off of physical bread long enough to
understand the spiritual truth Jesus was declaring (John 6:36-59).
They were more concerned with the condition of their stomachs than the
condition of their souls.

Just as God provided manna to the Israelites to save them from
starvation, He has provided Jesus Christ for the salvation of our
souls. The literal manna temporarily saved the Israelites from
physical death. The spiritual manna saves us from eternal death. "Your
fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the
bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not
die" (John 6:49-50).