RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2020-12-15	What Does 'Man Shall Not Live By Bread Alone' Mean? (Du.8:3; Mt.4:4)
		Deu 8:3  So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, 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. Mat 4:4  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" God humbled the Israelites by letting them go hungry. Then God provided something they never saw before, namely manna (Ex.16:15). This manna symbolized God's divine intervention to sustain their lives. If they tried to provide for themselves by hoarding manna for the next day, it always spoiled. Each day, and each step of the way, the people had to depend on God for survival. This is best understood in the original context of Israel during their wilderness wandering experience. The end of their desert experience was near, and they were about to enter the land of promise. Moses in the first six chapters reminded the people how God had taken care of them in the past. He continued to address the people and warn them of potential dangers. Moses in chapter eight focused on prosperity as a severe threat that could lull them into a sense of self-satisfaction.   Israel was never to forget God's care for them during the forty years in the desert. God provided them food, clothing, and sandals that never wore thin. In the new land where prosperity was anticipated, they may begin to feel self-sufficient. They could think all the blessings they had were from their own strength, forgetting God altogether. Moses was teaching by way or reminder that they did not live on bread (or manna) alone. Even their food was decreed by the word of the Lord. It is God's word that gives us the food, and everything we need. Without God's divinely given word, food may not be available. So there is no bread, or anything we need, if there isn't God's word calling them into existence. Jesus was hungry in the wilderness, and Satan tried to get Him to rely on His own self-provision by turning stones into bread. If Jesus did this He would be denying the truth Moses spoke about, and that is the higher need for God's word. When you rely on God's sustaining word, you get all His provisions as well, not just food. God's word gives you everything you need. Food is just part of your need. Joh 6:63  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. God's Word, the Bible, is life-giving and life-sustaining. Joh 4:34  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Jesus did nothing of His own will. He relied on every word of God, and refused to act independently. Jesus was obedient to the point of death on the cross (Ph.2:8). As Moses reminded Israel, and Jesus reminds us today, we need to depend on the Lord to meet our every need. We owe our blessings and prosperity to God's divine provision spoken from His word. God providing bread is merely a small part of His decreed word. They had manna because it came by His command. It was therefore ultimately not bread that kept them alive but His word! Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

An Evangelical Free Church of America

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