Soon after Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt, God showed them that they were to be completely dependent on Him, even for their daily food. The account of is in Exodus 20.

Later on the journey to the Promised Land, Moses explained why God made them dependent on Him for their daily bread:

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 on bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. (Deut 8:3)

When Jesus was hungry and tempted by satan to use His power to turn stones to bread, He answered satan with this same Scripture (Matt 4:4), indicating that there was more to the provision of daily bread than to satisfy physical hunger.

Nevertheless, Jesus recognised that human beings need food to live and brought miraculous provision in time of need for thousands who were also avidly feeding on his teaching (Matt 14:13-21; 15:32-39).

Feeding on the Bread of Life

At another time Jesus brought all this teaching together as follows:

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven… (John 6:47-51)

The prayer that Jesus taught his disciples – the Lord’s Prayer - begins by recognising who God is in all holiness, and acknowledging His authority in all matters of Heaven and earth. We then come to what on the face of it seems to be asking Him for our daily food - a small thing for One so great! In its smallness it is still great, since One so great is willing to deal with such small details as our daily needs.

Yet, it is great for another reason. Like those who received manna in the wilderness, we know that through learning to trust God for our daily needs, we are learning to trust Him for all things, especially our eternal life.

Great provision indeed. Within the small is the great.

Learning to Trust

This is a timely challenge for us in a world that seeks its own security whilst not believing in the Creator of Heaven and earth for daily provision. More and more it is a world driven by economic considerations more than desire to trust God. Surely this is especially a priority for us all at this time of our exodus from Europe, our so-called ‘Brexit’.

Author: Dr Clifford Denton