Deuteronomy 8:1-3 (KJV) 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.

Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash

What is the most important thing in the world to you?

You might initially think it’s …

your job (if you have a good job)
or your spouse (if you love your spouse)
or your bank account (if you have money in the bank)

The beautiful person might believe the most important thing is their looks. The aging person might wish for youth once more. But in reality, the most important thing to all of us is

Life!

Our Lord Jesus asked:

Mark 8:36-37 (KJV) For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

The most important thing to each of us is life. I have never met anyone on their death bed who looked back over their life and wished for one more moment at work, or one more penny in a bank account. When we come to the end of our road – for we will all come there – we will look back on our lives and long for more life. Jesus came to give us life. The Master said

John 10:10 (KJV) The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Jesus is the wellspring of life! As John tells us:

John 1:4 (KJV) In him {Jesus} was life; and the life was the light of men.

In Jesus there is life! We look to Him for life, both now and into eternity. There is no life apart from Christ. And if you are living your life WITHOUT Christ then you are living but a shadow of what God wants you to have.

John the Baptist told the Pharisees and Sadducees that they were “a generation of vipers” (Matthew 3:7). Was John just name calling? No. A viper is a deadly poisonous snake. What is in the viper’s mouth? Death. Not life, but death. What the Pharisees and Sadducees were teaching brought only death, not life. The Pharisees were representative of religion, the Sadducees representative of liberal politics. What they offered in their teaching was death, not life. They were the thieves and robbers Jesus spoke of later on in His ministry. John preached:

Matthew 3:10-12 (KJV) And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Jesus is the Giver of Life, not of death. Jesus will destroy death, destroy that which is not of God. He will erase evil, and magnify God’s good. After His baptism what happened to Jesus? The Bible says that after He was baptized by John that He was:

Matthew 4:1 (KJV) Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Jesus would be put in a place where He would do battle with the devil. The devil is real. The devil is the thief and robber behind the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Bible says “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, and the rulers of the darkness”. We wrestle against the devil’s forces. So God the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to do battle with the evil one, to show us a battle between life and death. The King of the vipers will wrestle the King of Kings. Jesus fasts – goes without food – for forty days and nights. There is nothing to eat. The Bible says that at the end of this fast:

Matthew 4:2 (KJV) … when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Jesus is hungry. He is God in spirit, but God become glorified Man. Man must eat. If Jesus doesn’t eat, He will die. Here comes the devil. The devil always comes to attack us at our weakest moment, and Jesus is at His weakest moment. His stomach hurts. He craves food. He must soon eat, or He will die. The devil, that thief and robber, says to Jesus:

Matthew 4:3 (KJV) …. If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

What is it the devil is saying to Jesus? He is saying “you have the power to make bread. You are able to alleviate this hunger. Command the stones. Turn them into warm, toasty loaves of bread. Eat! Fill your belly! Your life is more important than anything else.” How would you answer this challenge? We are weak, you and I. But Jesus is not weak.

Jesus is life, and life does not compromise with death

How does Jesus respond to the devil? His reply is taken from today’s text:

Matthew 4:4 (KJV) … It is written, {in Deuteronomy 8:3} Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 to defeat the devil, to defeat death himself. It is not BREAD that gives life, but GOD. It is not THINGS that give life, but GOD. There is life in God. There is life in Jesus. We must obey the Lord if we want to be blessed in life.

Obeying God’s Word Brings The GOOD Life

Deuteronomy 8:1 (KJV) All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye OBSERVE TO DO..

God knows what is best for His people. He is our Maker, and the Lover of our souls. He tells His people “You need to not just HEAR what I’m saying, but to DO it.” Why does God give us commandments? He says:

Deuteronomy 8:1 …. that ye may LIVE, and MULTIPLY, and GO IN and POSSESS the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.

God wants us to really LIVE!
God wants us to MULTIPLY or INCREASE.
God wants us to GO IN or ACHIEVE.
God wants us to POSSESS and not be possessed by!

God offers all who will heed Him a great life. Not just EXISTENCE, but LIFE. To be blessed we must heed the Great Shepherd of our souls!

Psalms 100:3 (KJV) Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

The devil and the world tells us to disconnect from God and be blessed, to live life without God and His Word. He whispers in our ears …

Your life is the most precious thing.
YOU do what YOU can to make it better.

It is this type of thinking that has brought godless abortion to America today. I am told that several states now allow the killing of a baby all the way up to the time of delivery – and celebrate this death! What has brought us to this place of immorality?

It’s MY life and I’LL do what I want to with it.

Following this line of reasoning women have allowed themselves to be used by men to satisfy their sexual desires. The godless bedroom has caused an unwanted pregnancy. What to do? Well, let’s kill it. Yet the Bible tells us that life is most precious. God has a purpose for each person, even while that person is being formed in the womb. He said to Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV) Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

And David said:

Psalms 139:14-16 (KJV) I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

Life is precious. God gives us His Word and directs us to the best life. When Israel rejected God’s Word and refused to enter the Promised Land the Word of God caused them to wander for forty years. During that time though they wandered God blessed His people.

Deuteronomy 8:2 (KJV) 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.

God led His people by humbling them.
Oh, how we need to be humbled!
In America today we are so arrogant.
We think we know all things, but we know nothing.

God makes us wander until we are humbled, realizing that he is God and we are not. God proves us by bring trials our way. He puts what seems to be more than we can bear on us. God does that when we are arrogant. The beginning of the good life comes through humility. What saith the Scripture?

1 Peter 5:5-7 (KJV) … Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

God cares for you. He wants you to have a good life. But in order for you to have a good life you must come to Him as God. He knows what is best. Praise Him! Magnify Him! Lift Him up!

Obeying God’s Word Brings CONTINUED Life

Deuteronomy 8:3 (KJV) 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.

There are times when God will take away your bread, or allow affliction to come to you. Why does He do this? Because He is mad at you? No. Because He is cruel? Absolutely not. God allows us to hunger so that we will learn to love Him above all else. God is the Giver of life. We were made by Him to live with Him.

God did a very interesting thing with Israel that He did with no other nation. He allowed Israel to be hungry. When they became hungry they started to complain. They murmured against God (Exodus 16:8). God said to His people:

Exodus 16:12 (KJV) I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.

God hears when we complain. He hears when we praise Him. God said “I’ve heard your belly aching … so I’m going to give you meat and bread, and you’ll know that I am God!” The Bible says:

Exodus 16:13-15 (KJV) And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. 14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.

Illustrate The Israelites knew what the quail was. It was meat. But when they saw the bread of God they called it מָן mân, (pronounced mawn), which means “What is it?” They had no clue what this bread of Heaven was, for it was something never before seen. So they called it “What is it?” or Manna. It was God’s provision given day by day. But God put a stipulation on the manna. He said “Gather no more than what a person can eat in a day – one OMER – (which is equivalent to about 2.3 liters according to the Jewish Study Bible). A bottle of soda is 2 liters. Considering this then the amount of manna that each person was allowed was about the size of 1 1/3 of a bottle of soda.

If they were greedy and gathered too much then
“it bred worms and stank” (Exodus 16:19).

If they were lazy and didn’t gather it
early in the morning, then it melted (Exodus 16:21).

They were allowed to gather
two omers the day before the Sabbath (Exodus 16:22)

What was God showing His people and us? He was showing us that God is true to His Word. He provides enough blessing for us each and every day. When we heed His Word then we have a blessed life. When we do not heed His Word, if we are GREEDY life becomes WORMY. If we are LAZY then we lose His blessings. We are to HEAR and DO as God says if we will be blessed!

God loves you, and wants to bless you. But God tells Israel:

Deuteronomy 8:5-9 (KJV) Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee. 6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. 7 For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land …

We are to hear and obey our Lord if we are going to have a blessed life. Our God loves us. He wants us to be blessed!

Let Us Hear And Obey The Word For EVERLASTING Life

Deuteronomy 8:3 (KJV) {God} … 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.

God sent manna from Heaven to feed His Old Testament people. What did this “Manna” represent? Someone asked Jesus one day:

John 6:28 (KJV) … What shall we do, that WE MIGHT WORK THE WORKS OF GOD?

That is a very good question. God wants us to both HEAR and DO His will. So what is the thing that God wants us to DO above all else? Jesus replied:

John 6:29 (KJV) …. This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Jesus Christ was sent of God the Father. He is the Eternal Son Who was SENT of the Father. Jesus said to the Father:

John 17:3 (KJV) And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Jesus is sent of the Father. In Him is life. Jesus told the Jews “God SENT Me so that you can BELIEVE on Me”. The Jews replied “Give us a sign that You are sent of God. God SENT us manna in the wilderness (John 6:31). Prove to us You are SENT, Jesus!” And Jesus replied:

John 6:32-39 (KJV) … Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. 37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

The manna that God sent in the Old Testament to Israel is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Precious Bread of Heaven. The Israelite was to gather the manna daily and early to be blessed. They were to gather enough manna for one day. Jesus is God’s manna from Heaven. He came to give us eternal life. Jesus is enough! He is all we need to live.

Oh, how life is empty until you discover that Manna that is Christ. Oh, how wasted life is that is not lived in Christ. But how rich life is in Him, God’s Manna from Heaven!

I love the story Chuck Swindoll tells of the time he was in service as a Marine many years ago. These are Chuck’s words (from God’s Word – It Never Returns Void”):

“When I served overseas in the Marines many years ago, I had a bunk mate named Eddie. When he found out I was a Christian, he told me in no uncertain terms: “Hey, I want to tell you something, Swindle. I didn’t come over here to Okinawa to be evangelized. So just back off, okay?”

“Sure, that’s no problem,” I answered. So, I’d lie up on my top bunk and I’d try to figure out how I could get Eddie interested in the Lord Jesus. One day I said, “Hey Eddie, can you help me with some of these words?” I dropped down about forty of my verse cards, and I said, “Let’s see if I can do these.” They were verses like John 3:16 and other verses on salvation. So I began: “For God, uh . . .”

“SO,” Eddie added impatiently.

“Oh, okay,” I’d reply, “For God so . . . uh . . .”

“LOVED!”

“Yes, yes, that’s it. For God so loved the world.” We went through dozens of verses just like that. Fast-forward thirty years . . . and the phone rings one day in my study. “Hey, Swindle!” I said, “This can only be a guy named Eddie.”

“Yeah,” Eddie answered, “Hey, you know that trick you played on me in Okinawa? Well, it worked! I’m loving Jesus now.”

Chuck ended with …. “Isn’t God good? The power of the Word of God never fails to amaze me.”

God’s Word has power. His spoken Word created the universe and all that is in it. His written Word promises us life. And if we receive His Sent Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, and live by Him daily, then we have not only a blessed life but ETERNAL life. Oh praise God for His unspeakable and wonderful Gift! May you find Jesus, the Eternal Word of God. May you both HEAR and DO His Word to be blessed!