ludicrous. He muttered something about misguided zeal and sensation al advertising. He was probably jus tified in his unbelief, because such exaggerated boasts are not usually fulfilled. People today will shrug off Bible miracles of God’s provision in the same casual manner. In the Bible there are miracles performed where personal nourish ment was provided. H unger and thirst are daily sensations of the hu man body. With no food or drink available, the situation becomes ex ceedingly critical. Both Old and New Testament alike record several epi sodes wherein people were threat ened with famine and dehydration. They looked to God for rescue. On several occasions, you remember, multitudes were fed by the direct in tervention of God. The feeding of the whole nation of Israel in the Sinai desert for over 40 years is an instructive example of God’s care and concern. We recall that manna fell six days in succession. On the seventh not a speck was on the ground. The Israelites were to gath er up enough on Friday so that they would have sufficient food on the Sabbath (Ex. 16:22, 25, 27). God preserved the extra manna on the seventh day, while a surplus on any of the others was unfit to eat (Ex. 16:20, 23-24). God humbled His people in the wilderness. This proved them as to their faith. I t revealed whether they would keep His com mandments. It certainly convinced them that man doesn’t live by bread alone (Deut. 8:3, Matt. 4:4). Typic ally manna pointed to the Heaven sent Saviour who rightly called Himself the living bread which came down from Heaven (John 6:49ff). Several incidents in the life of Elijah illustrate God’s wonderfu l provision of food for a trusting serv ant. In Ahab’s reign famine gripped the land. The prophet went in hiding by the brook of Cherith (I Kings 17:3). Unclean birds, the ravens, 30
contrary to their nature and in time of extremity, brought both bread and meat every morning and evening for about a year. That was a miracle! Later Elijah lived with a poor widow and her son for about two years. Her nearly empty store of flour never ran out and her jug of oil never dimin ished. One of the spectacular miracles of the New Testament is the wonderful multiplication of the five barley loaves and the two small fishes by the Lord Jesus Christ; 5,000 men alone, not counting the women and chil dren, were fed and fully satisfied (Matt. 14). We hear today the Sav iour’s challenge rin g in g in our hearts, “Give ye them to eat.” Since water is indispensable for sustaining life, the miracles of pro viding such sustenance are mar velous. In the wilderness, when Is rael was traveling from Egypt into the Promised Land, they needed re freshment. They came to an oasis called Marah where the waters were very bitter (Ex. 15:23). The people denounced Moses as the cause of all their troubles. He cried to the Lord and God revealed a way for the wa ters to be palatable. There was a certain kind of tree to be placed in the spring so that immediately the waters would become sweet (Ex. 15: 25). Moses did as He was told, and what a miracle. God introduced a natural element as a vital part of the supernatural. There was a rich spiritual lesson here, too. God tried to prove the love and trust of His own people in everyday situations. Though the nation failed the divine test by beginning to murmur, God used a miracle as a springboard for future obedience and trust. More spectacular than this inci dent was the miracle when water came out of a rock (Ex. 17 :l-7). The people were again murmuring bitter ly against Moses and the Lord. In fact, the situation came near to mob violence. Moses again prayed for the
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