Not By Bread Alone

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)

He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

I don’t know why Bible.com capitalized the words in the first passage, but I like it. Somehow, capitalizing when the Word of God speaks the Word of God seems appropriate. In my mind’s ear, I’m tempted to hear those words spoken in a booming deep bass with at least a little reverberation and maybe some lighting effects.

But, let’s throw out those dramatic features and look at the text and context. In Matthew 4, Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy 8. He had been out in the wilderness for 40 days. He was hungry. He had not grumbled or rebelled up to this point, so He was humble. He had learned – experienced – what it felt like to live by God’s Word and not by bread. He had gotten right what the Israelites had gotten wrong. He experienced what it felt like to say “No.” to himself rather than providing what would have been so easy, even if the Father had said, “No.”

This is where we run into such trouble. We’re like Abram and Sarai. God wasn’t answering, so they helped Him out. We want something. We ask God for it, and instead of waiting, we find a way to get it. It might be as easy and innocent as a trip to Walmart, or to the kitchen cupboards. Sometimes, we tell ourselves that we can’t tell whether we should wait (like Jesus did here) or plunge ahead like the Syrophoenician woman. Humility and submission are rewarded, but so is initiative and boldness. Which to use right now? What Scripture comes to mind? If you don’t know, wait until you do. Those are scary ideas, but something to think about.