Paul wrote to the generous Philippian Church … “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
And Jesus (our Saviour) Himself advised, commanded really … “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” With “these things” being food and clothing and shelter! I’ve quoted Matthew 6:33 here.
God, the Provider!
And this morning (our Lesson) is found in Deuteronomy 29:5-6, where Moses is reviewing a bit of Jewish history. (The previous 40 years anyway.)
Listen to the Lord God: “And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. 6 Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.
Again, the great Provider!
Clothes not wearing out! The noun here for “clothes” is “salmah,” meaning anything from outerwear to underwear. Quite a wardrobe! The verb “waxen old” (spelled “balah” in Hebrew) means “to waste away, to be consumed.”
Nor their shoes either, no decay! The noun here can mean either sandals or shoes. (Saturday leaving for the North Carolina Revival this week I had to go by the little “shoe repair shop” at the Mall in Chattanooga!)
Oh, by the way … where God here says “I have led” you … He beautifully employs “halak,” a verb meaning (122 times) “to walk” by one’s side!
Wow!
What Companionship!
Then the 6th verse. “Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.”
Wow!
Actually the Israelites did not encamp anywhere long enough to plant and harvest crops. (Thus, no bread, from earthly grain anyway!) And certainly not long enough to become grape growers. (No “wine.”) So … God surely has the “manna” in mind, as their means of sustenance! So His people would TRUST His Provision, TRUST His Person, TRUST His Word!
Now … many would complain at such a unified diet. Year after year, identical meals, manna and water! In fact, the Jews did complain, some of them anyway.
But God is obviously thrilled with the report!
God is claiming that He (alone) fed them!
He did!
The doubters once asked … “Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” Psalm 78:19
Well, in a word, YES!
The Bible says: “He (the Lord) rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.” Psalm 78:24
And He furthermore … “smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed.” Psalm 78:20
Gourmets today would have called God’s plan (this heavenly diet) way too limited!
Boring!
But God is satisfied with it.
Why?
Moses explaining God’s actions to the Israelites …
“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.” Deuteronomy 8:3, a verse Jesus later quoted to Satan!
Yes, God the Provider … so that mankind might TRUST Him for every need!
Folks, let’s thank Him today for His (many) provisions!
Psalm 68:19 teaches us how … “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.”
Amen.
— Dr. Mike Bagwell
The Bible even suggests that God feeds the animal world too! “Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.” Psalm 147:7-9