THE LORD SPOKE (March 15)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 10-11

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
And to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

Moses by inspiration addresses very similar words to the children of Israel:

And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but...
to fear the Lord your God,
to walk in all his ways,
to love him,
to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and
to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.
(Deut. 10:12-13)

That which follows in Deuteronomy 11 is largely an expansion on these two verses, even employing most of the same verbs to flesh out what exactly they mean. For example, beginning at Deuteronomy 11:16, we’re told what it means to observe the commands. In English we might use verbs like keep, guard, or simply obey. That’s exactly what Moses says in vs. 13. “if you faithfully obey”, and there follows some majestic promises of what the Lord would do for those who trust and obey.

Israel had come to a fork in the road, just as we do also. Every individual comes to a point where a decision must be made. Either you turn to the right or you turn to the left. To the right is the path of obedience, to the left the road sign says, “disobedience”.

See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse - the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known. (Deut 11:26-28)

Have you chosen your route?


New Testament: John 6

Bread smells so good when it’s hot and fresh out of the oven. The only thing better is sinking your teeth into it! What an appropriate metaphor to express the warmth and savor of Jesus. He is the all-satisfying bread of life ((Jn. 6:35), the nourishing source of our strength, and the very joy of heaven for our souls.

In contrast to the life-sustaining manna in the wilderness which God provided from the sky, this
‘bread from heaven” will produce eternal life so that a man will never hunger again. The crowd naturally linked what they’d been seeing and experiencing with Jesus in recent days with the story of Moses in the wilderness. Expectations were already high and when Jesus produced enough bread to feed 5000 in “a remote place” (Mat. 14:15) the connection with Moses’ manna in the wilderness was easily made. Could this be “the prophet greater than Moses”? For this reason, Jesus had to explain what He meant.

In response to the request that “from now on” He would give them bread, Jesus explains that it’s a once-for-all thing and they “will never go hungry” (Jn. 6:34-35). Unlike the manna in the wilderness, Jesus is the permanent solution to spiritual hunger. Jesus adds the image of “thirst” to “hunger”, anticipating what He is going to say later about His blood (Jn. 6:53f).

Admittedly, the mixing of the metaphorical and non-metaphorical elements is difficult here, but notice carefully: Jesus is the bread of life and it is the person who comes to him who doesn’t hunger, not the person who eats him. Likewise, it is the person who believes in him, not the person who drinks him, that doesn’t thirst. Later in the chapter, when the language is more metaphorical, the metaphors have already been established.

But His explanation troubled many of them. The crowd quickly diminished (Jn. 6:66) as Jesus explained the costly terms of discipleship. Feeding on this Bread of Heaven involves full participation in His sacrifice (the meaning of “my flesh and my blood”). When Jesus says, “I am the bread of life” (6:35), He means “the bread that gives life” (6:33) and that “which I will give for the life of the world” (Jn. 6:51). When He started talking about giving His life, many of the less-committed “disciples” grumbled, “I didn’t sign on for this!” and left (Jn. 6:60,66).

Has the scent of fresh Bread attracted you? Have you tasted to see that the Lord is good?

Fill my cup, Lord - I lift it up Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more;
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!