In this message we need to consider some principles regarding spiritual food. The eating of spiritual food altogether depends upon the distance between us and the Lord. This distance determines how much spiritual food we can eat. If we are far off from the Lord, we cannot partake of any spiritual food. When the children of Israel were in Egypt, they could not eat the manna, because the manna was the spiritual food for God’s people in the wilderness. Those who were in the wilderness were closer to God than those who were in Egypt. At that time, God was not in Egypt; He was in the wilderness. If anyone wanted to partake of spiritual food, the heavenly manna, he had to leave Egypt and go into the wilderness. As long as the Israelites were in Egypt, they had no spiritual food. Even if an Israelite was in the wilderness, he still had to be near the camp of the children of Israel in order to partake of the manna. If he was far away from the camp, it would have been difficult for him to enjoy the heavenly manna. Anyone who wanted to eat the manna had to camp with the children of Israel. By this we see that the distance between us and the Lord is a very important matter in the enjoyment of spiritual food.
The manna came down near the camp, and only those who had come out of Egypt and who were camping with God’s people had the privilege of enjoying it. After the children of Israel had enjoyed the manna, God commanded the Israelites to present an omer of manna to Him (Exo. 16:33). The manna had come from God to them, and they offered a portion of it back to God. What is the hidden manna? The hidden manna is simply the top portion of the manna given by God and offered back to God. It is the special portion of manna. Once the manna had been presented to God, it was no longer the open manna; it had become the hidden manna because, after being presented to God, it was placed in a golden pot and hidden in the ark in the Holy of Holies within the tabernacle. Originally, the manna was under the sky in the open air. It was open to anything and anyone. But after the top portion had been presented to God and placed in the pot, it was hidden within the innermost part of the tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, where it was placed before the testimony of God. Among the children of Israel was the tabernacle, within the tabernacle was the Holy of Holies, within the Holy of Holies was the ark, within the ark was the golden pot, and within the pot was the manna. Hence, manna was altogether hidden. In this way, the top portion of manna became hidden.
Suppose you are an Israelite who has come out of Egypt and who is camping with God’s people. You have the privilege of eating the open manna, but you do not have the right to enjoy the hidden manna. Because you are far off from the innermost chamber of the tabernacle, you do not have the right to enjoy the hidden manna. Where is God? He is in the Holy of Holies, in the innermost chamber of the tabernacle. Compared with the Egyptians and the others in the wilderness, you are closer to God. But, being outside the outer court of the tabernacle, you are not that close to Him. Although you may eventually come into the outer court, you still cannot enter into the Holy Place, much less into the Holy of Holies. If you are a priest, you may be in the Holy Place and be closer to God than the Levites who are serving in the outer court. Nevertheless, although you may be a priest ministering in the Holy Place, you are not yet in the Holy of Holies. Thus, there is still a distance between you and God. If you want to enjoy the hidden manna, there must be no distance between you and God. All the distance between you and the Lord must be eliminated.
In this message I do not care to explain what the hidden manna is, for the more I explain it, the more troubled you will be. Rather, I would ask this question: how close are you to the Lord? Is there still a distance between you and Him? If there is, you may enjoy the open manna, but you cannot eat the hidden manna. If we would partake of the hidden manna, there must be no distance between us and the Lord. This matter of distance is quite exposing. Although we may not know what the hidden manna is, we do know how far we are from the Lord. Where are you? Are you in Egypt? Are you in the wilderness, or across the street from the tabernacle? Are you in the outer court, the Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies? If we are honest, some would say that they are in the outer court of the church life. Even in the church life there are sections: the section of the outer court, the section of the Holy Place, and the section of the Holy of Holies. Even in the Holy of Holies there are some small sections. If you are in the outer court or in the Holy Place of the church life, you cannot touch the hidden manna. You can only eat the sacrifices on the altar or the showbread on the table. You are still not in the place where the hidden manna is.
After the children of Israel had entered into the good land, they ate the produce of the land. In the Old Testament we are told clearly that all the children of Israel who were in the good land could partake of the produce of the land at any time. But anyone who was outside the border of the land had no right to enjoy this produce. Here again we see the matter of distance. When the children of Israel came together to eat at the time of the three yearly feasts, they did not eat the general produce, but the portion of the produce which was purposely reserved for the feast. At ordinary times, the Israelites enjoyed the common portion. At the time of the feasts, however, they enjoyed the special portion, the one top tenth, because they were closer to God, having come together to meet around God’s dwelling place where they enjoyed the top portion of the produce of the good land, which they had offered to God (Deut. 12:17-18; 14:22-23). Another tenth of their produce was given to the priests and the Levites who served in the outer court or in the Holy Place and who were closer to God than most of the people were. Thus, the closer an Israelite was to God, the better was his enjoyment of the spiritual food. According to Numbers 18:26-28, after the priests and the Levites received the tithe, they offered one tenth of the tenth to the Lord. This topmost portion, which was offered to God as a heave offering, was then given to the high priest who ministered to God in the Holy of Holies. Since he was the one closest to God, he had the right to enjoy the topmost portion of the produce of the good land.
If we would be fed by God, we must be within the realm in which God feeds His people. Otherwise, we cannot enjoy any spiritual food. If we stay within this realm, we are privileged to enjoy spiritual food. However, if we remain close to the border of this realm, only the common part of the spiritual food will be ours. But if we come to the center, to God, we shall enjoy the better portion of this spiritual food. If I am an Israelite in the good land, I have the right to enjoy the common portion of the produce of the land. But if I seek God, going to the temple at the time of the yearly feasts, I shall be closer to the Lord and have the privilege of enjoying something better three times a year. This is not the common portion; it is a special portion of the produce of the land. If I am a Levite in the outer court or a priest in the Holy Place, I can enjoy a better portion of the produce of the land every day. If I am a high priest ministering in the presence of God, being so close to Him, I have the right to enjoy the best portion, the topmost portion, of the produce of the good land. Hence, the portion of the spiritual food which is ours depends upon the distance between us and the Lord.
Some may say that the hidden manna was kept only for a memorial, not for eating. If we did not have Revelation 2:17, this argument might have some meaning. But in this verse the Lord promises that the omer of manna which is kept in the presence of God as a memorial will be given to the overcomers to eat. It is not promised to the worldly Christians, to those who are saved but who still remain in Egypt; neither is it promised to those who are wandering in the wilderness. It is a promise given to the overcomers in the church at Pergamos. The church at Pergamos was married to the world. It was a church that had gone back to Egypt, making God’s house more worldly than the house of the Egyptians. The promise of eating the hidden manna was given to the overcomers who were in such a worldly church. This means that if we overcome being worldly, we shall be in the presence of God and have the privilege of eating the hidden manna. This manna has been hidden here for centuries. But now the Lord seems to be saying, “Because you hate the world, the worldly situation, the worldly church, and the worldly relationship between the church and the world, and because you are so close to Me, I will give you to eat of the hidden manna that has been kept in My presence.” Before the Lord spoke this promise to the overcomers in Revelation 2:17, He said, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” May we all have an ear to hear this.
For nearly twenty centuries, Christ has been given from the heavens as the open manna. But, under His economy, God has kept and is still keeping a special portion of Christ in His presence, and anyone who has a distance between himself and God has no right to eat it. Many Christians have enjoyed Christ as their open manna. If you read history and the biographies of the saints, you will see that many of them enjoyed Christ as the open manna. But the top portion of Christ has been kept in the presence of God and is here even now for those who refuse to go along with the church when it has become worldly and married to the world. In God’s eyes, there has been a spiritual marriage between the degraded church and the world. Christ should be the church’s husband. But today the church has married the world, not considering Christ to be her husband. For those dear ones who do not agree with this marriage but who stay strictly in the presence of God, the Lord has promised them the privilege of eating that portion of Christ which has been kept in the presence of God. This is the hidden manna.
In the little booklet, “Ministry to the House or to the Lord,” Brother Nee encourages us to minister to God, not to something good other than God. But look at the situation among Christians today. Nearly all Christians are ministering to something other than God, not to God Himself. They go to the mission field, preach the gospel, win souls, and teach the Bible. There are many such works, works which are for God, but which are other than God Himself. All those engaged in such work have the right to enjoy the open Christ, the open manna. But there is still the top portion of Christ which is kept in the presence of God, reserved especially for those who do not serve anything other than God Himself.
Today we are in the same situation as that of the church at Pergamos. Christianity has gone out from the presence of God. Not only apostate Christianity but even the so-called fundamental Christianity is far off from God’s presence. Christianity does many things for God, but these things are not God Himself. Hence, there is a special portion of Christ kept in the presence of God for the dear ones who overcome the situation of the church in Pergamos. To overcome the condition of the church in Pergamos is to separate yourself from the general practice of today’s Christianity and to remain in the presence of God ministering directly to Him, not to anything else. Here we have the enjoyment of the hidden manna, the special portion of Christ. Here we enjoy something of Christ which all those who are far off from His presence cannot taste.
Consider the service around the tabernacle in the Old Testament. The Levites served in the outer court, and the priests served in the outer court and in the Holy Place where they arranged the showbread, trimmed the lamp, and burned the incense. But when the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies, there was hardly any work to do. Here, in the Holy of Holies, the high priest ministered directly in the presence of God. Here, in the Holy of Holies, the ministering one enjoys the hidden manna. What is the hidden manna? It is that portion of Christ which we enjoy in the presence of God when there is no distance between us and Him.
As we all can testify, there have been many times when we realized that we were not very close to the Lord. Yet, although there was a distance between us and the Lord, we still enjoyed something of Him. Nevertheless, we had the sense that our enjoyment of the Lord was not that sweet. At other times we were somewhat closer to the Lord and sensed that our enjoyment of Him was sweeter. Some of the young people may still be tempted to go to the movies. If a young brother goes to a movie, he may, in a sense, still enjoy Christ while he is there. As he is watching the movie, Christ may disturb him, saying, “What are you doing here? Get out of here and don’t come back anymore.” What kind of experience is this? It is an experience of Christ as the most open portion of the open manna. Sometimes as Christian husbands and wives are exchanging words with one another, they have the sense, even as they are arguing, that they are enjoying Christ. When a brother is arguing with his wife, the Lord may say, “Stop! What are you doing here? You are just damaging the whole situation. Don’t do this anymore. Go to your bedroom, kneel down, and pray to Me.” This also is an enjoyment of Christ as the open manna. But at other times, when there is no distance between us and the Lord, we enjoy Christ in the most intimate and hidden way. This is the enjoyment of the hidden manna, the hidden portion of Christ.
Many of us who were involved in various types of Christian work in the past were enlightened to see that we could no longer participate in such work. We gave it up and took the narrow way. Outwardly, people said of us, “You are killing yourself.” Yes, by giving up our work we were killing ourselves. But at the same time, after dropping our work for the Lord Himself, not allowing even the work of saving souls or of teaching the Bible to be a distance between us and the Lord, we immediately came into the direct presence of the Lord and enjoyed the hidden manna. Why can I not join so many types of work? Because such work is far from the presence of God. It is worldly, a sign of the church which has married the world and is full of worldliness. When we forsook that work, even at the cost of our lives, we were brought directly into the presence of the Lord. Many of us have had this experience.
In 1932 we began to have the church life in my home town. After approximately a year, the opposition came. I had been respected among the Christians, and nearly everyone loved me. But because of the church life, even some who were intimate with me would not greet me on the street. I was bothered by all the opposition and attack, thinking that I might be wrong in following the Lord in this way and wondering why the Lord’s children were treating me so badly. However, as I went to the Lord regarding this, what intimacy there was between Him and me! I simply do not have the words to describe it. As I look back upon it now, I can see that it was the enjoyment of the hidden manna.
The hidden manna is the same as the open manna but in a different situation. When the manna is in the open air, it is the open manna. When it is in the presence of the Lord, concealed under several layers, it becomes the hidden manna. In nature, function, and every other aspect, the hidden manna is the same as the open manna. While there is no difference in nature or in function, there is a difference in position. The open manna is open to the public and the hidden manna is closed. We all must ask ourselves whether we would go along with worldly Christians or with God. If we go along with worldly Christianity, we may only enjoy the open manna, the open Christ. However, we shall be unable to enjoy the hidden Christ because He is always hidden in God.
The farther we are from God, the less service we have toward Him. The closer we are to Him, the more service we render to Him. Eventually, when we enter into the presence of the divine glory in the Holy of Holies, all service ceases. Here we only have the presence of the Lord and enjoy the hidden Christ, the hidden manna. It is here that we have direct fellowship with the Lord and know His heart and His intention. It is here that we can be charged with Him, with His intention, and with all He wants us to do. In this way we become a person who knows His heart and His intention. When we are such a person, His commitment will be ours. Why do we have God’s commitment? Because we are in His presence. How do we know that we are in the presence of God? We know it from within and by realizing that there is no distance between us and God. We also know it by the deep inner sense that we are enjoying the hidden Christ as the top portion of the produce of the good land. This is the hidden manna. Praise the Lord!
