In Deuteronomy, Chapter 8 and verse 3, Moses writes, “ and he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth to the Lord”.
This was spoken to the nation of Israel when they were still eating manna. That was their daily bread. It came from God every morning. It was supernatural food that sustained them physically. Yet, God says that it is not enough to have physical food alone. We live by what God speaks. He speaks how we should live and life comes by eating another supernatural food that comes also from Heaven: the very words of God, the Scriptures
The children of Israel had to gather the bread everyday. Every day God provided it from heaven. It sustained them and nourished them. I suppose that parallel is that we need God’s word each day to sustain us. We have to make an effort to feed on it each day.
The manna was accessible to them. It surrounded their camp. They did not have to go far to get it or spend money to buy it. Deuteronomy 30:11-14 states,” For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for your, neither is it far off, it is not in heaven that you should say,” Who will ascend to the heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it”? Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say, “who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart , so that you can do it.” They very words of God were very accessible to the people of Israel. We have the Word accessible to us in our Bibles. My Bible sits on the side table by my study chair.
For most Christians the Bible is easy to attain but that is not true for all Christians. I recently read of a Somali pastor who transported 50 bibles , 4 times a year, by camel into the the county in milk cartoons. The trip was 7 days one way. Upon reaching the believers in Somalia the Bibles were then disassembled and passed out page by page because owning a Bible results in the death penalty.
I suppose that they exchanged pages and yet treasured the page that they had as it fed them spiritual nourishment. That one page was a treasure.
All this is to say that if we don’t feed our bodies they will be malnourished and if it goes on to long we will die. So intake from God’s Word is important for nourishment for our body, soul and mind. It is one sure way we can clearly hear God’s voice loud and clear. It is how we can understand his thoughts and purposes for our lives. Reading, meditating and studying the Bible grounds us in truth. It expands our minds. The scriptures give us life. So choose Life.
Judy Smith