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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
An old adage says, “All good things come to an end.” Except for some heavenly exceptions, this rule is absolutely true. Today’s devotional is about a few good things that came to an end.
The children of Israel had it made for almost half a century. During the period of the wilderness wanderings, the inspired record states, “You [God] did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go. You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst. Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell.” (Nehemiah 9.19-21). I don’t know whether their clothes were in style after four decades of use, but they weren’t worn out! As we say, “They had it made!”
But, these good things came to an end. When Joshua took over as the civil and spiritual leader of Israel, the long trek was over and their entrance into the Promised Land was but a few hours away. Once they crossed the Jordan, they established their first camp at Gilgal; it was here that some good things came to an end. “Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day. Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.” (Joshua 5.10-12).
The decisive event was the eating of the “produce of the land.” Before this, Israel possessed no land of her own; they were merely traveling through the lands owned by others. With their return to Canaan, they had the wherewithal to sustain themselves just as any other people. God had almost literally birthed the nation of Israel with a silver spoon in her mouth, but when she reached the age of majority (40 years), it was time (even past time) for her to stand on her own two feet and work for those things which God had been providing. The day after they ate the “produce of the land,” the manna ceased and their sustenance came from the land from that day forward.
There is a moral principle here though it is unstated. I think that we can see somewhat of the character of God in these events. While God is not opposed to giving, sometimes He expects us to do a little on the receiving end! No man can explain how a seed becomes a growing plant (Mark 4.27). Yet, if we are to regularly harvest crops, we are forced to place the seed in the ground and tend it until it bears its fruit. When I eat the fruit of a crop that I planted, the gift is still from God’s hands, but He just required me to do a little something to receive the gift. Regardless of how hard I work, without the germ of life in the seed (a gift that only God can give), my labour will be in vain. God can place the food in my mouth (similar to what He did for the Israelites), or He can require me to put some sweat equity into it so I can appreciate it more. God chooses the latter as the norm in the ordinary affairs of men.
God did not learn anything He did not already know from the Israelites, but He recorded their history so we could. One lesson we can learn is this: When we do too much for others, they are more likely not to appreciate it than when we require them to invest their own time and effort. This is why centuries later, Paul concluded, “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3.10). There is a lesson here for parents, employers, and lawmakers. Many heartaches can be avoided by constantly and consistently applying this principle.
Questions:
1. For the ambitious: What was manna? What did it look like? How did it taste? How and when was it given?
2. How did God give the Israelites water during their wanderings?
3. Have you ever experienced the phenomenon we discussed (doing too much for someone with no buy-in from him/her)? What are the negative effects? What positive results CAN result from such an event?
4. This is not a political column, but is it possible that this principle could be successfully applied to public welfare programs?
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