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 the produce of Canaan. (Joshua 5:11-12)
How God Feeds the World
Apr 27, 2018
There was once a man who lived by the river. One day, the man heard a radio broadcast urging him and all residents to evacuate the town as a huge storm was coming and flooding was inevitable. But the man refused to leave claiming that God would protect him. When the flooding started, two neighbors—one in a kayak and another in a rescue helicopter—came and tried to save the man, but he refused their help, assuring them that God would save him. You can probably guess what happened to the man: He drowned.
Is God capable of protecting, feeding, and healing us through miracles? Of course he is. But more often than not, he chooses to do these things through the miracle of our work.
That’s what today’s passage is all about. For 40 years, God fed the Israelites through manna—mysterious food that miraculously fell from the sky. But now, as they are coming into the Promised Land, God turns off the manna spigot. Why?
One commentary explains that “God had no intention of making [manna] a permanent solution to the problem of provision. The land was to be worked” (emphasis mine).
How does your work matter to God? It is the primary means by which God works in this world, to feed, heal, protect, and solve problems for his image bearers. May that motivate you to work with excellence on his behalf today!
