Trevor S. Ferguson
March 20, 2011
Deuteronomy 8:1-3 (KJV)
1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers.
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
INTRODUCTION
The world today has largely been taken over by the culture of materialism. This is the belief that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life. The materialistic worldview has become so pervasive that even in the church today the culture of materialism is abundant. Many preachers have adopted a prosperity theology and have sought to elevate material possessions as a sign of God’s blessings or favour. While often not explicitly stated, they also imply that poverty is due to the absence of God’s favour. While we must acknowledge that the Bible teaches that it is God’s will for us to prosper and be in good health, it is definitely misleading to over emphasize prosperity and blessing at the expense of the basic principles, such as, the need for personal salvation, holiness, righteousness and godly living. In fact, a careful reading of 3rd John verse 2 reveals that John’s expression was couched in the context of spiritually prosperity “…, even as thy soul prospereth.”
Today, I want to re-lay one of the cornerstones of Christian Teaching using the second clause of Deuteronomy 8:3 “… Man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”
EXPOSITION
The book of Deuteronomy represents a re-stating of the Law towards the end of Moses’ life. The word actually means “Second Law” and consists of Moses’ farewell messages in which he reviews God’s covenant and promises to Israel. It is in Deuteronomy that we find some fundamental scriptures, such as the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD”. In addition, Deuteronomy 28 records the principles of blessing for those obedient to God’s covenant laws. We note however that the focus is on walking in obedience rather than striving for blessings.
The passage in Deuteronomy 8 was written as a charge to Israel instructing them to remember their past experiences in the wilderness and to understand the purpose of some of those experiences as they prepared for the exposure to abundance in the Promised Land. Embedded in the passage however is a statement which many may have missed while reading, but was brought to prominence by Jesus himself when faced with temptation by the Devil. Both Matthew and Luke in their account of Jesus’ temptation reports how Jesus while being hungry and thirsty after 40-days fasting in the wilderness responded to the Devils suggestion that he turns stones into bread by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 “… Man shall not live by bread alone … “
What then is the significance of this statement? What lessons can we apply to our present life?
The fundamental principle is that LIFE CONSISTS OF MORE THAN THAT WHICH PERTAINS TO THE PHYSICAL MAN and MORE THAN THAT WHICH PERTAINS TO OUT TEMPORAL EXISTENCE. While we affirm that food and other basic needs such as clothing and shelter are NECESSARY for life they are not SUFFICIENT reasons for living. Jesus asks an important question in Matthew 6:25 “Is not life more than meat and the body more than raiment?” He then goes on to instruct us to “… seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you”. Another passage of note is Luke 12:15 where Jesus tells us that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things which he possesses!
In this age of materialism we have been drifting away from such teachings and are increasingly being snared by the devil! How many of us have neglected the things of God while we focus on procuring food and other things for the support of the physical man? How often is it that we can’t find time to pray or study our bibles because we have to take care of the flesh? How many times have we failed to spend time with or minister to our family as we seek after the material things of this life? How frequently have our families come under attack because we don’t have time to spend with our children because of the pursuit of worldly goods?
God is sending a word of reminder to us today: MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE!!
OUR LIVES MUST BE BASED ON THE WORD OF GOD. The things that pertain to the kingdom of God are much more important than the things of this life. We must remember that this life is only a tiny fraction of our ultimate existence as we must spend eternity somewhere. The decisions we make today will determine whether we spend eternity in hell or in heaven. WE CANNOT LIVE FOR THIS LIFE ALONE!
REMEMBER ESAU: In moment of hunger he sold his birthright for bread and a bowl of lentils. He lived to regret the decision as Hebrews 12:16-17 tells us, he later sought it carefully with tears. MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE!
Another example is THE RICH FOOL of Luke 12. While he built his barn, preparing to eat drink and be merry, the death angel was around the corner! MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE.
CONCLUSION
So today we have highlighted the futility of life focused on the physical man and have emphasized that our lives must instead focus on the word of God. I want to challenge all today to examine your life. See if your focus has been sufficiently on God or if you have put too much emphasis on this life. I challenge you to commit or recommit yourself to a life lived by every word of God. It is the only life that will bring satisfaction now and the hope of eternal life.
From today, ALWAYS REMEMBER and NEVER FORGET that MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE!!
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