(Part 2)
“On the evening of the fourteenth day
of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites
celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate
some of the produce of the land; unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna
stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any
manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.”
Joshua
5:10-12
Nearly the
entire time Israel journeyed in the wilderness there was never a day without
manna. And although the provision lasted 40 years, it was never intended to be
the way that God fed them forever. While they were in the desert there was an
added measure of grace. But as soon as they reached fertile land, God expected
them to live out kingdom principles.
Unfortunately,
the only way to keep them from coming back out to revisit the pot was to take
it away! Once they entered Canaan they had to dig, plow, reap and fight. The
promises were theirs to have, but they had to operate according to God’s Word.
God’s Word would become God’s manna of choice to give. Jesus said in Matthew
4:4:
“It is written: ‘Man does not live on
bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
I describe
manna, today, as truth from God’s Word, that was plowed and reaped by someone
else, and then is laid at our doorstep. Just like the manna Israel enjoyed, we
did not have to work for it; it is laid at our tent doors. We did not have to
dig, plow, reap or fight to get it. Today we enjoy manna in various forms. It
comes to us in finely crafted Sunday sermons, well written books, wonderful
television programs and radio broadcasts. We are enjoying someone else’s labor.
Here,
however, is the truth about manna. Manna sustained Israel physically, but they
never grew spiritually. As long as you are living on what is being laid at the
perimeter of your tent, you will not grow either. God never intended for us to
wait in our tents for someone to bring truth to us. Unfortunately too many
Christians view the availability of teaching via television, podcast, radio, internet
and print media as their own personal buffet. They can pick and choose who they
like, what they like and tune the rest out. If we don’t like what one person is
saying, we can change the channel, close the book or “unfriend” them on
Facebook.
This is
leading to spiritual foundations that are being laid without even opening up
the Word of God! God had to stop the manna to stop their complacency! When the
manna stopped, where would they get their food? They had no land! They had
nothing planted! If they did plant, it would be months before they would get a
harvest. Pastor Robert Pace, made a wonderful observation concerning this. He
noted that when the manna stopped, they were just outside of Jericho. If they
were going to eat, they were going to have to possess the land…fight, dig,
plow, sow and reap! If God would have continued to supply the manna, Israel
would have had no need to move forward!
Pastor Scott
Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/
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