User login |
Every Word...It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4.4 There are many beautiful truths contained in this one quote by Jesus. I think we would all appreciate hearing one another's thoughts as we consider this scripture. Meditate on this quote a few days and then write a short entry below (200 words or less). |
Life isn't just
I just recently have been reading through the journey's again and came across this verse. I was comparing all the responses the Israelite's made to Moses as they came from Egypt. This verse occurs in Deuteronomy 8:3, while Moses is telling the people the law again, before they go into the Promised land.
Moses summed up their experiences, that God had humbled them, caused them to hunger and thirst and then fed them, so they could know one thing: Life isn't just getting those things we need physically. He wanted them to know that their life depended on His words to them--from His "mouth", which indicates Him speaking to them. They needed to depend on Him and relate to Him.
Everything we have gone over this summer says the same thing. We need the Word to live. The OT words met the NT words of Jesus and it was clarified for me.
God gave them what they craved and desired in the wilderness. But they didn't crave Him. People wanted miracles from Jesus, but they didn't really want HIM.
Am I a friend to God? Is He all I need?
God is so patient.
Cj
My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me.
"And He answered and said, Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4
"Jesus said unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work." John 4:34
As I thought about our scripture I began to wonder, "What does it mean for His Word to be our source of life? More specifically, what is my response to His word in this context?"
My thoughts wents to this scripture in John at the end of Jesus' meeting with the Samaritan woman. The disciples had returned and were amazed that He would be talking with a Samaritan and a woman. They took Him aside and offered Him food since they had been gone for a while thinking He must be hungry. He answered saying He had food they did not know about. In typical disciple thinking they decided someone must have brought Him food. Patiently Jesus explained that for Him sustainance, life, food came by doing His Father's will and finishing His Father's work. To complete the context Jesus then looked at the coming crowd and pointed out how there was plenty of work to do sharing the Kingdom with these.
In this scripture God seems to be saying that my response to His Word was obedience, doing His Will and finishing His Work. As we ponder this truth I pray that God will show us His Will and His Work for this time. I think it may be very much like the story in John where His Will is spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom to the people around us.
Two Kinds of Life
The idea that "man shall not live by bread alone" seems also to imply that man shall not live this mortal life alone (Cf. 2Cor5.4;Ph3.21). I have been puzzled for some time with Psalm 90. For most of the Psalm, Moses describes in detail how the life of man is mortal and corruptible, how nothing that we do will last, nothing of us is eternal. However, in the final verse he cries out to God to:
"establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!"
Here it is God, the eternal, incorruptible, all-mighty God, who gives us what we need for the work of our mortal hands to last.
The food of the word of God is this provision from our Father to sustain the incorruptible life we have in Christ. Bread will keep our heart beating for a time and give us physical strength to go through the day. However, all action sustained merely by bread will one day come to an end as Solomon is apt to remind us in Ecclesiastes. Only the life we lead sustained by God through his word will "bear fruit that remains."