*THE LESSON BEHIND THE MANNA:*

*[[Deu 8:3]] BBE* And he made low your pride and let you be without food and gave you manna for your food, a thing new to you, which your fathers never saw; so that he might make it clear to you that bread is not man's only need, but his life is in every word which comes out of the mouth of the Lord.

Often this verse is quoted to support fasting (abstaining from food). But is that really the lesson God was teaching them? I don't think so.

The Israelites went through the wilderness to get to the promised land. They couldn't have carried enough food supply to last the duration of the journey. All they had was a *WORD* from God, assuring them of a better life. Yet, in the wilderness, they couldn't see any crop neither did they see water.

They felt they had been deceived by God. Perhaps Moses had connived with God to kill them. Lol! But they were only operating by their sensual perception. They lacked faith in the providence of God.

So God was trying to teach them that their wealth or sustenance was not in the things of nature so they shouldn't be alarmed by the absence of those things but trust that the *WORD OF GOD* can produce the kind of life they desired. This is how the writer of the *Wisdom of Solomon* puts it;
*{Wisdom 16:26}* so that your sons, whom you loved, O Lord, might know that it is not the fruits of nature which feed men, but your word, which preserves those who believe in you.

Beloved, God is not interested in you abstaining from food.Instead, He wants you to create your desired world with the Word of God in your heart. That's why Paul could say that "...we look poor, but making many rich. We look as though we have nothing, but we possess all things" (2 Cor 6:10) Shalom!!!

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