“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.” (De 8:3 AV)
Sometimes, the necessities of life are not as necessary as we might think. Israel was never as desperate as they thought they were. Egypt, in a manner of speaking, spoiled them. In exchange for hard labor, Egypt provided Israel with their basic needs. They had food and shelter. No matter what, they had a roof over their heads and food to eat. According to their complaints, it wasn’t scraps, either. They yearned for the garlic and leeks of Egypt. They were not fed pig slop. Egypt provided the average diet anyone would enjoy. Now that they were free, the finer things of life were not provided. In some cases, it appeared as though the necessities of life were not apparent. Twice they lacked water. The reference above is to Israel’s immediate needs for bread. They had animals they could slaughter, but they had no crops or fields in which they could plant crops. They were not dying of hunger, but they did suffer need. God deliberately allowed them to suffer these needs so they could learn a very valuable principle. The most needful of all needs is spiritual; not physical.
Note in particular that God does not say it is one or the other. He does not. By using the word ‘only’, the LORD is establishing priority of the spiritual over the physical. We are very physically minded. Our temporal needs and goals seem to be the most important. The flesh screams for attention. If we miss a meal, we feel it. If we are thirsty, we know it. If we have pain, we will do what it takes to be rid of it. The body is that part of our being which demands the most attention. But the body is temporary. The body will perish and rot away. Our souls and spirits are eternal. The body is in a constant state of decline. The soul and spirit are in a constant state of growth. Our bodies scream the most. Our souls and spirits often take a back seat. One thing I have noticed is the serious consequences of ignoring the soul and spirit because the body is the most demanding. Emotional collapse is around the corner. The will to live diminishes. There is little concern for that which lasts. Ignoring the soul and spirit often ends with the destruction of the flesh. Therefore, one of the greatest lessons we can learn is to deny the flesh so we can experience growth of the soul and spirit.
This is not new. Paul states, “But I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1Co 9:27 AV). He also states, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Ro 8:13 AV). This does not come naturally. So, the LORD introduces circumstances of life wherein we learn that the flesh can be denied so the spirit and soul can grow. This is what the LORD was trying to teach the Jewish people. By denying some of life’s basic needs, they learned the soul and spirit are also important. By temporarily withholding what the body needed, the word of God became far more important. We may not like suffering needs. But I have noticed that those who plan life well and suffer no needs are often the least spiritual of all. Not all the time, but it is a pattern. Only when the body is denied what it thinks it needs can the soul and spirit walk after the God who Created all things.
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