Deuteronomy 8:1-20
Monday, 13 December 2021
“…that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.” -Deuteronomy 8:3
In our reading today, we have a set of admonitions given from God through Moses to the people of Israel at the threshold of their entry into the Promised Land. The people are to remember God who has led them out of slavery in Egypt and taken them through this wilderness journey with His providence and protection! When they settle down and enjoy the benefits of the land, they are not to forget God who is the source of all blessing!
Our key verse connects how God humbled them and caused them to hunger but provided them with manna- from heaven which sustained them all forty years of their sojourn. Exodus 16:4: ‘Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.”’ The heavenly bread was a miracle of the best sustenance God provided for His people- the source of sustaining their life in the wilderness! What a picture of God who can provide your every need!
Jesus quotes this Scripture when He was tempted by satan to turn stones to bread to satisfy His hunger. Hereby He underlines man’s need for the spiritual food -not just the physical, for his survival. Man is not just a physical being but as Scripture reveals- he is made of spirit, soul and body (1Thess.5:23); hence catering to just the physical hunger of man will never suffice.
There is a deep spiritual hunger in each man that he craves to satisfy, running after various spiritual experiences thinking they will fill that void in him. Yet unless he connects himself with the Creator through the way provided by Him- the feeling of emptiness still lingers, haunts him throughout his lifetime. Jesus said in the Scripture John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Besides He spoke of Himself as the Bread from heaven: ‘And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” John 6:35
Dear friend, only the BREAD OF LIFE can really satisfy the spiritual hunger in you! Day after day, we work for the bread to satisfy our physical hunger nearly forgetting the spirit man in us that has to be fed! Jesus reminds us: "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, ...."(John 6:27 NASB). This does not promote idleness but to set our priority right- to make sure that we have the Bread of life that gives us eternal life!
Jesus Himself is the Word who was in the beginning with God (John 1:1,2). Yet He chose to come into the world to show us what God is like. John speaks of Jesus thus: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”(John 1:14). He has the words of eternal life (John 6:68). And that’s what we need for our everyday sustenance in the sojourn of our earthly life.
The invitation to you is “Come to Jesus Christ-the BREAD OF LIFE” – for He only will satisfy!
PRAYER: “Dear Jesus let me be satisfied in You, the Bread of Life, that You will sustain me daily and lead me to eternal life in You.” Amen.
Listen: ‘Bread of Heaven’
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