Tested in the Wilderness
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Our Scripture lesson this morning is taken from Deuteronomy 8:1-6:
“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.
May God bless this the reading of His holy and infallible Word.
In just eleven short days, our nation will once again be celebrating Thanksgiving. Few people realize the true significance of that day. It is not about football games and overeating. It is not about remembering how the Indians helped the Pilgrims. It is even not about being thankful per say. It is about remembering “living by everything that precedes from the mouth of God.”
You see, it is the faith of the Pilgrims and the other New England Puritans in God that makes that day so unique and special. Just like the Exodus generation, which Moses speaks of in our text, the Puritans had lived many years in the Wilderness; but unlike the Exodus generation, they chose to not “live by bread alone”. My hope and goal this morning is to persuade you to make the same choice the Puritans made. To do this you need to understand three things:
What does it mean to live in the Wilderness?
What does it mean to live by bread alone?
What does it mean to live by everything that precedes from the mouth of God?
So, let us begin:
Living in the Wilderness
Living in the Wilderness
Biblically, a “wilderness” is a place of chaos and deprivation. The bible begins with the world as a wilderness, “and the earth was formless and void”. That phrase, “formless and void” is used throughout the Old Testament to speak of the desolate places unfit for human habitation.
The children of Israel found themselves in desert. The New England Puritans found themselves vast forests of New England, but really, the Puritans were in a “wilderness situation” for many decades prior to their coming to the New World. In England, they found themselves persecuted by the official church and state. Even when some fled to Holland, they discovered the believers there had fallen into worldliness because of prosperity. (Next week, we will discover how Moses speaks of that danger as well.)
If we think of Wilderness in term of being in a place that is “formless and void”, I think you can see that there is a much broader application. Consider loneliness for example. We have all experienced loneliness. Perhaps it was the death of a spouse or the loss of a friend. Do you not feel “formless and void” inside? Of course, you do; your emotional state is a howling wilderness.
So, any state of deprecation is a Wilderness place.
Now that we understand what a Wilderness is, we need to examine the two responses Moses lays out for us.
The first is....
Living by Bread Alone
Living by Bread Alone
Moses begins by telling Israel to “remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness”. We need to understand this. Our wilderness experiences are not by accident, but they are ordained by God. God leads us into places of deprivation (that is Wilderness) and into places of prosperity (that is Promise Land).
Why in the world does God lead us into places of Wilderness? Moses gives us four reasons:
To humble us.
To test us to know what is in our hearts.
To see whether or not we will keep His commandments.
To teach us that we do not live by bread alone, but by everything that precedes from the mouth of God.
The manna, that is God’s provision, was a test for Israel. In Exodus 16, we learn that Israel failed that test. They were commanded to only gather what they need for that day and not save any for the next day—but some disobeyed that commandment, and what they saved was full of maggots and stank the next day! God also commanded them to not gather any on the Sabbath, but rather gather twice as much on the day before and God would supernaturally preserve the manna for them. Again, some disobeyed.
Do you see what happened?
The manna was revealing what was in their hearts. In their Wilderness situation they desired God’s provision, but not God Himself!
In John 6, we see the same situation being played out. In that chapter a large crowd follow Jesus into the Wilderness and when meal time came there was no food. Concerned for the people’s health and well-being the disciples ask Jesus what they should do. Jesus commands the people to sit down and then taking a few fish and loaves, Jesus miraculously feeds over five thousand men, in addition to even a greater number of women and children. Then Jesus crosses over the lake and the people hurry to that place seeking Him. On the surface it seems like a great display of faith and piety, but Jesus gives them a scathing rebuke saying:
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
The spiritual trap of the Wilderness is that we can become so focused on God’s provision for our need that we forget God. The way Deut 8, is structured makes this clear. Deut 8:11 is the focal point of the chapter. Everything before this verse flows into it and everything after this verse flows out of it. What does this verse say?
“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today,
Take care lest you forget the LORD your God!
Forget God! How do we forget God when He is miraculously providing for our needs?
The text tells us how we forget God, “by not keeping His commandments and His rules and His statutes”.
To obey God reveals whether or not we really trust God. James puts it this way, “Faith without works is dead” and “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”
To “forget God” is to live our life on our own terms. To be for all practical purposes an atheist or a demon! This is what living by bread alone is all about, and it is a way of living that leads to dying. Listen to the author of Hebrews:
As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
The generation that followed Moses out of Egypt all died in the Wilderness, but it does not have to be that way if we hear God’s voice, and live by what we hear. This is what we turn to now:
Living by Everything That Precedes from the Mouth of God
Living by Everything That Precedes from the Mouth of God
When we think of the “word of God” we naturally think of Scripture, but it important to remember that the “word of God” also includes His decrees. In Genesis 1, God spoke creation into being, repeatedly we read the phrase, “And God said.” The manna in the desert was a miracle food, our text makes it clear that nothing like it had ever been seen before or since. To seek a naturalistic explanation of manna is a futile exercise. Each morning God “spoke” the manna into existence. Sometimes our wilderness experiences are so great, that nothing short of a miracle can safe us. Jesus speaks of this in John 6, as well.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
True, saving faith is a miraculous gift of God. It is a miracle offered to all, “whoever comes to me I will never cast out”; but it is a miracle nevertheless. Do not imagine you have the power in and of yourself to come to God. It is God who draws you to Himself.
Jesus is the true Manna that proceeds for the mouth of God! We are not to live by bread alone, but by Christ alone and when we live by Christ alone, true saving faith flows out of our heart. On another occasion, Jesus put it this way:
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
John goes on to explain that this “living water” is the Holy Spirit. That same Spirit the Old Testament promises God will give His people someday to enable them to keep all of the commandments.
This is what the Puritans understood, they did not live by turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, but by the living Word of God who is Christ!
This my friends is what Thanksgiving is all about—Christ!
There would have been not first Thanksgiving, if the Pilgrims had not placed their faith in Christ, and there will be no Thanksgiving for you unless you do so.
In these next eleven days, do not simply prepare your homes and meals for Thanksgiving, prepare your hearts as well—for man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that precedes from the mouth of God!