Who Did This?

Deuteronomy 8:3 “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.”

Deuteronomy 8 was a watershed event for the children of Israel. They were on the verge of entering a land that they did not know nor deserve. In this chapter Moses reminds the people of what God had done. Words like “prove thee,” “humble thee,” and “suffered thee to hunger” are not encouraging or fun words-but that was exactly what God had done. God was the One who allowed them to become hungry, thirsty, and slaves in Egypt. And this was all for a purpose-God intentionally allowed them to experience all these things to teach them the truth that “man doth not live by bread only.”

God reminds them of how undeserving they were of the land. In verses 15-16, He recounts His leading them through a dangerous and scary wilderness, providing water from a rock, and feeding them with manna “to do thee good at thy latter end.” There was no excuse for pride in Israel because they were living in houses they did not build and did not acquire by their own power! They were not to forget that God did all of this.

The purpose of God doing this in our lives is that we might depend on Him. People without problems don’t pray-but a man in need will ask God for what he needs! I recently met a man with cancer who wanted to pray with me after the service. He was concerned that he might not be here the next time we hold meetings at his church. Is cancer a good thing? No, it is not. I may not know all the reasons this man has cancer, but I do know that since he realized his need, he is asking the Lord for what he needs and trusting Him like never before.