Wilderness food

We’ve probably all heard someone refer to “college food” or “military food” or use some similar, usually derogatory phrase about the type of food they had to eat in a certain situation. But have you ever heard someone mention “wilderness food?” That phrase probably doesn’t mean too much to you, but if you had been one of the Israelites who Moses led out of Egypt and into the wilderness, I’m sure it would.

In Exodus 16 we read the account of the Israelites leaving Elim, a place of abundant water and palm trees, and traveling directly into the wilderness. No sooner had they gone into the wilderness than they began to grumble. In a dry and barren land where they had no food source and no natural hope of finding one, they began to long to go back to Egypt, where they “sat by the pots of meat” and “ate bread to the full.” (Exodus 16:3)

In response to the people’s grumbling, God told his people that they would have meat to eat that evening and be filled with bread in the morning. That night the Lord brought a flock of quails in and covered the camp with them, and in the morning the manna covered the ground like a layer of frost. The coming of the quail was a one-time event, although God would do it again some time later when his people again grumbled for meat. The coming of the manna, however, was an every day occurrence, lasting for the entire 40 years that the Israelites spent in the wilderness.

In Exodus 17, the Israelites journeyed to their next campsite, where they found no water to drink. Again they grumbled and again God answered them, bringing forth water for them out of a rock. In 1 Corinthians 10:4 Paul said that this “Rock” from which God brought forth the water “followed” the people of Israel through the wilderness, implying that they drank from this same source on more than one occasion.

Many powerful spiritual applications have been drawn from this story about Jesus, The Word of God as the “living bread” and His Holy Spirit the “Living Water” that we all drink. But there is another lesson in this story, one that is a little less spiritual and a little more practical. As supernatural as the manna from heaven and the water from the rock were, from the Israelites perspective, it was still just bread and water – the standard fare of the poor and prisoners! And when you consider the awesome power of God, it makes you wonder why. I mean, its not like he couldn’t have thrown in some tasty vegetables now and then, or turned some of that water into wine!

In Deuteronomy 8:2-3, Moses told the Israelites that God was testing them, humbling them and letting them be hungry to know what was in their hearts. Then in the next verse he reminded them that throughout all their journeys in the wilderness, miraculously their “clothing did not wear out.” God saw to it that their basic needs were met – food, water and covering – the very things that Jesus assured his disciples God would provide for them in Luke 12:22-31.

Ultimately God was testing his people to see if they would trust in him as their provider, not only whether he would provide but whether they would be content with his provision. And as Christians we will all have to pass this same test at some point in our journey of faith. Somewhere between “Egypt” and our promise land, we all must spend some time in a “wilderness” where we have only “wilderness food” to eat. In 1Timothy 6:8 Paul said, “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” Obviously Paul had passed the “wilderness food” test! And I hope as you examine your own wilderness situation today you are able to truthfully say the same thing.