God My Portion
A while back, we looked briefly at the promise in Revelation 2:17, that says, "To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna..." Here is more on that topic. The first thoughts about manna are about the meeting of physical needs, because of the account given regarding God's provision to the wandering children of Israel. As is the case with many Old Testament miracles, manna appears to be a foreshadowing of something deeper. This idea is supported by the following words of Jesus:
Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT. Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world. Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread." Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst." – John 6:31-35
Jesus' words bring out some of the contrast between the first manna and the last manna. We can see that the first manna fed people physically, while the last manna feeds us spiritually. The first sustained life temporarily, while the last gives eternal life. The first had an end, but Christ, the Bread of Heaven, will be our portion forever! Praise God for His gift to us! He is worthy of our trust! He will never fail! The meeting of all of our needs is complete in Him! With this in mind, a passage from Lamentations takes on a deeper and richer meaning:
The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” – Lamentations 3:22-24 NASV
This passage seems like a conscious reference to the manna of the Exodus, considering the use of the word, "portion", and the phrase, "every morning". Even from the perspective of the Old Testament, in the midst of a deep lament, the author of Lamentations apparently saw a spiritual lesson to be learned from God's physical provision in the wilderness. He had the faith to see the Bread from Heaven, which might be thought of as the "hidden" manna. This bread feeds something much deeper than physical hunger. We are bankrupt without God's daily provision. Without His strength, grace, and wisdom, we have no power against sin, discouragement, fear, anxiety, or despair, but He offers to meet us daily, and offers to be our "portion". The Israelites were instructed to gather what they needed for that day, and no more. In the same way, we are to wait for God and seek Him daily, Hoping and quietly waiting for His salvation. Those are easy words to say, but are they things that we truly do? Are we trying to find something else to "supplement" what God is offering us? Are we impatient, and unwilling to wait, choosing instead to attempt to meet our own needs? These are questions that merit thoughtful consideration. God help us to answer them honestly, and act appropriately depending upon what the answer is.
God's hidden manna is worth finding. It's worth believing for and hoping for. So why isn't everyone finding God as their portion on a daily basis? Impatience and lack of trust in God are a couple of character flaws that lead us away from His provision, and make it appealing to try to have our needs met in other ways. In fact, most of the sins that tempt us are expressions of our dissatisfaction with the will of God, or with His timetable. We either leave Him out of the equation altogether, and try to satisfy our desires in our own way, or we try to "supplement" God's blessing by going to other sources. In either case, we are missing out on true satisfaction. The unbeliever or backslider who ignores God, and tries one thing after another, will never find the heart truly satisfied. Temptation dangles a carrot in front of the sinner, promising that "next time", their sin will make them whole inside. And yet, that promise is never fulfilled. When we find ourselves thinking that God can use a little help in meeting our needs, we should think again of Israel in the wilderness. Stop and read the eleventh chapter of Numbers, if you need to be reminded of the story. Israel got tired of the manna, and demanded meat to eat. What a picture God creates with his words! He told them they would be eating meat till it came out their nostrils. He gave them what they demanded, but He was displeased with them, and sent a plague. The Israelites called the place Kibroth-hataava, which means, "the graves of lust". When we give in to the desire for something other than God's gifts to us, we are walking in the path toward death. As you read through Numbers 11, you will see that manna was something that could be prepared in a number of ways. It tasted good, and one would not be wrong to presume that God was big enough to make it in such a way as to meet their nutritional needs. Verse 20, makes the picture clearer, when it says, "...Ye have despised the Lord, which is among you..." What Israel was saying, in effect, was that God wasn't enough for them. It's shocking when you think of it that way, isn't it? And yet, how often do we do the same by complaining to God, when He is our portion? How often do we take matters into our own hands, and act as though we have to make up the difference between God's provision and our needs. God help us not to do that! God help us to be overcomers, and as overcomers, receive the promise to us that He will give us the hidden manna!
Revelation’s White Stone
In an earlier article, we took a look at the new name promised to overcomers in the book of Revelation. In the passage, it says that this name is written on a white stone.
To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. — Revelation 2:17 NASV
Now let's dig in and see what we can discover about the white stone. A good place to start is to take a look at the meaning of the original word. The Greek word used here is "pséphos", which means a small smooth stone, or pebble. The root of the word suggests something that can be held in the hand, something that has been worn smooth by handling.
There are a couple of interesting things that can be drawn from the idea of a small stone held in the hand. According to The Jewish New Testament Commentary, a white stone was used in the ancient world as an admission ticket, specifically given to a champion as admittance to a nobleman's post-conquest festivities. When coupled with the fact that the promised white stone in Revelation has a secret name written on it, we can think of this as the non-transferable gift from Jesus Christ of admission into His presence, and into Heaven. Where the old testament priests were limited in their admission into the holy of holies, we gain access, not through our own merit, but by virtue of God's gift to us: a gift of which the white stone is a token.
The second picture represented by the white stone is that of a voting ballot. Many sources refer to the custom of using stones as a means used by jurors of casting votes after arguments have been heard in a trial. A white stone signified a vote for acquittal, while a black one meant a vote for the defendant to be condemned. This idea is supported in an interesting way in the New Testament itself. In Paul's testimony before king Agrippa, he speaks the following words, referring to his persecution of the Christians before his conversion:
And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. — Acts 26:10 NASV
The interesting thing about this passage is the fact that the word used for "vote" is the same as the word used for "stone" in our revelation passage.
The depth and wonder of the gift of a white stone begins to become more clear as we consider these things. Christ, our mediator, has heard the evidence against us. For each and every person on this planet, there is undeniable evidence that should bring the verdict of guilt, followed by the sentence of death. In spite of His having heard this evidence, Jesus is casting His vote in our favor. He does this without the perversion of justice because of the fact that He took the guilty verdict that should have been ours, and bore the death penalty as well.
In addition to the wonder of His gift of admission and His gift of acquittal is the wonder of the fact that He doesn't give a token that could be mass-produced, like a printed ticket or something of that sort. He didn't even go to the quarry and order up enough granite to be fashioned into as many white stones as would be needed. Instead, each stone has been individually engraved: each in a way that is different from the engraving of any other stone.
Now that we have a little picture of what this promise might have meant to the original readers, let's take a look at the condition of the promise, namely that it is for "Him who overcomes". What does it mean to overcome? Does it mean that we never ever fail? I don't believe this to be the case. We have all lost some battles, but God has already won the war. In order to associate ourselves with His victory, our responsibility is to continue to believe in His promise to us. He promises admission and acquittal to the overcomer. We overcome by believing those promises, and by testifying to that belief.
When do we receive the gift of the white stone? To a large degree, I think it will be fully clear to us when we reach the next life, but at the same time, I am convinced that there is something of the truth of the white stone with the new name that we receive in this world as we are in the act of overcoming. Let us be encouraged by the fact that in our hand we hold an admission ticket to Heaven, and an admission ticket into His presence at this very moment. We hold an acquittal that was personalized with a name that identifies us uniquely.
What a gift! I challenge those who read this to stop and consider what has been given, and allow the wonder of it to sink in. When it has, open your heart and your mouth in praise and worship to the Giver!
A New Name
Sometimes we learn things as a result of the questions we ask. I remember reading in the book of Revelation, probably when I was a teenager, and seeing the passage in the letters to the churches where the overcomer was promised a white stone and a new name:
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. — Revelation 2:17 NASB
The question that came to my mind was about the name, and about the fact that the only person who knew the name was the person who received it. "What on earth is the point of having a name if no one knows what it is?"
I asked the question, but to be honest, I didn't actively pursue an answer. It was quite a number of years later, that God began to speak to me about it, and began to shed light on the beauty of such a gift. Recognizing this beauty isn't always automatic for our current culture, so I want to share what the new name has come to mean to me.
To begin with, let's start out with what a name is in our culture. Although some parents know the meaning of their children's names, there are many who choose a name just because of the fact that they like the way it sounds. The purpose of our names is that of a "handle" or form of address, and in most cases, little more.
In contrast, I believe that names held more significance to the original audience of the book of Revelation. One piece of evidence supporting this, is the number of times in Scripture where a person's name was changed at a particular turning point in their lives. We see Abram, meaning either "exalted father" or "my father is exalted", becoming Abraham, which means "father of a multitude". This name change was given by God when He reaffirmed His covenant with Abraham. Other examples are Sarai, who became Sarah; Jacob, who became Israel, and Saul, who became Paul.
In addition to the changing of names, there are several times when we see a child's birth predicted by God's messenger, and a name being given with that prediction. The most notable example is when the angel told Mary, "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." — Matt 1:20 NASV
Both of these threads in Scripture (name giving and name changing) suggest that a name isn't just what a person is called, also an indication of who they are. Thinking of it in this way adds more meaning to the gift. As believers, we have come to see our identity being defined by our relationship with God: the fact that we are created in His image, that we belong to Him by purchase, and that we have accepted the righteousness of His Son as the result of His work on the cross.
Now, I believe, we have begun to see how precious our true name can be. In some cases, we might think of the last sentence of the previous paragraph as describing our surname, designating the family to which we belong. There is more, however. Every one of us who have been created in God's image has been created to reflect His nature in a unique way. In this sense, "who we are" is a mystery that is beyond our understanding, since it contains something of the eternal, infinite God.
Not only is our name important in the sense that it describes our general, shared relationship with God, but also in a more personal sense: it defines us in the specific way that we are different from every other redeemed human in creation.
As we consider these things, it may help us to consider another dimension to the significance of names. This idea actually does exist in today's culture in some cases. In close relationships, it is not uncommon for people to have special names for one another. A parent might call their child, "sweetie". Husband and wife may address one another as "dear". These names describe something of the relationship between two people.
The thought of being defined by a name given to us by God is amazing to begin with. The fact that it goes beyond this to expressing our relationship with Him, is even more amazing. Now, when we consider the fact that this name is a secret between us and Him, it starts to hit home. This name is not just "my child", or "sweetie" or "dear". It is something that is so sacred and intimate that our heavenly bridegroom wants it to be a secret between just the two of us.
I don't claim to have come to a complete understanding of what the gift of the new name means, but I see the promise of a name, saying that my identity is established by God. I see the promise of a new name, which indicates that I am not the same person I was before I said yes to Him. I see the promise of a secret name, which tells me that there is an element to my relationship with God that is so precious to Him, that He doesn't want anyone to know but me.
This fills me with wonder. I hope it fills you with wonder as well.
In a future article, we will take some time to look at the white stone upon which our new name is written.
Hidden Manna
We are given the promise that those who overcome will be given the "Hidden Manna". For most of us, we probably think of the time that we will be in Heaven, and are face to face with the One that called Himself the Bread of Life. I would like to suggest that this promise needn't be relegated just to the distant future. Consider the young nation of Israel for a moment: wandering in the wilderness, they needed food to eat. It is interesting to see how God addressed this need. It was entirely within His power to provide more than one day's worth of food at a time. If He had led them to a huge storehouse of food, they would have come to depend on that, instead of on Him. His method required them to get up each day, and gather only enough for that day. Those who disobeyed and gathered more found that hoarding was unprofitable.
With His promise to give us the hidden manna, God is offering us the opportunity to learn to trust in Him. We awake in the morning with absolutely nothing in our spiritual bank accounts. He credits us with one day's worth of strength, wisdom, endurance, and whatever else we will need. At the end of the day, it is all spent, and our account is zero again.
While it may be easy to think of this arrangement as God having us over a barrel, there is a point to it. He is a God of relationships, and He wants us to walk with Him and talk with Him every day. If everything were given to us, and spelled out a year ahead of time, we would be very likely to forget about Him long before the year is over. As it is, we are forced to go to Him daily for the gifts He gives, and if we allow it, we will soon find that the Giver is much greater than the gifts.
In the case of the manna, what does it mean to be an overcomer? It means accepting the fact that God wants to meet us every morning, trusting that He will never fail us, and refusing to give in to the temptation to try to "stock up" on His blessings. If we do these things, He will fulfill His promise to give us the hidden manna.
To Go No More Out
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. (Rev 3:12)
To go no more out. This is a thought that carries meaning to one who is a sojourner and an alien on the earth. There is more significance, however, for one who has spent much time away from home. The thought of being away from the ones we love, from the comforts of home, or from the place where we are loved, is one that can make the heart ache. God promises to the overcomer that he or she will be made a pillar in the temple of God, and that they will go no more out.
My heart is pulled to this truth like a thirsty man to a cold mountain stream. Thirst that goes beyond a dry mouth has been experienced. A thirst where one no longer perspires, where food is no longer appealing, and the body or soul cries out in anguish. To go no more out. To be quenched of my thirst, and to be home.
A pillar is stationary, is part of the building, would be missed if it was gone. A pillar signifies strength, and beauty as well, most certainly. I am being made into a thing of strength and beauty, a creation of God's hand. Not just a brick in a remote wall in the basement somewhere, but something that God desires to write His name upon.
What does it mean to overcome? This question may not have an easy answer, but God's word says, "This is the work of God, that ye believe". Believing in God, in the word of God, and in the promises of God is something that takes practice and exercise. This particular promise states that we will be made a pillar, and that we will never go out. Is this for the "by and by", or can we abide in God's presence today? Can we state that we are there even when He seems far away? Can I state in faith that I am "at home", even when I am sojourning on this earth? Why not?
I believe that exercising faith in this respect is part of what makes me an overcomer, and as an overcomer, I can begin to experience the fulfillment of God's promise to make me a pillar.