Deuteronomy 8:3: “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.”

February 23rd, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The Israelites food in the wilderness was decreed, commanded by the Word of God. They were sustained by manna, an unusual food they had never seen or tasted before, because it came directly as a result of God’s command. Therefore, ultimately it was not the manna or bread that kept them alive, but God’s Word. This verse should sound familiar to us because it was the one quoted by Jesus when He was tempted in the wilderness. We remember that Satan first tempted Him to turn stones to bread. And what temptation could be more natural to a man who had been fasting for 40 days than to satisfy His hunger? Jesus countered this temptation with these words of the Second Law: “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Just as it was not ultimately manna, or bread, that kept God’s people alive in the wilderness, neither is it ultimately food that keeps us alive.

Satan was tempting Jesus to take a short cut. Something like, “You are God, and You are hungry, so just do it.” At the heart of this statement was a suggestion that God was holding something back that was good, and that Jesus should use His power to get it for Himself. Satan was intimating that Father God was not being fair or kind. This was the same subtle suggestion he used to tempt Eve in the garden in Genesis 3:1: “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’” Satan often says this to us: “Use your powers to get for yourself what Father God has failed to provide for you. You deserve it. Do it for yourself.” Sound familiar?

Things haven’t changed much over the years have they? Every person who has every lived has heard this whispered in their ear. Maybe you’ve already heard it today. It reminds us of the importance of spending time in the Word of God so that when temptation comes we are ready; we are fed and nourished. The Word of God is a more critical source of nourishment than physical food, nourishing our spiritual needs in a way that benefits us eternally. Physical food merely provides temporal relief from physical hunger, which returns again and again.

“LORD, feed our spirit and soul as we study Your Word. Prepare us to be useful servants in Your Kingdom today.”