JOSHUA: THE END OF MANNA
Shortly after Joshua led Israel across the River Jordan, the manna that the Israelites had depended upon for food in the wilderness, stopped appearing…..
The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan. (Joshua 5:11, 12)
It is important to note that there were two groups of people in Israel at the time of the crossing of the River Jordan: those aged 0 – 40 who had only ever known wilderness life; and those aged 40 – 60 who perhaps remembered life in Egypt as children or teenagers, but had become accustomed to wilderness life. Apart from Joshua and Caleb, all the older people had died in the desert because of their refusal to trust God’s promise to enter Canaan when God directed. (Numbers 14:29 – 35)
Imagine the scene, especially for all those under 40. Plentiful manna was literally available on the doorstep, 6 days a week. It kept all Israel alive for the whole time they travelled in the desert. Now they were in Canaan the manna had stopped. Take a moment to consider just how significant and life-transforming this moment was for all of Israel! The impact would have been similar to someone receiving all their food requirements on the doorstep for the past 40 years from providers like, “Milk and More”, and then learning that they had stopped delivering in their street. That person would then be forced into finding another source for their food, perhaps going to a supermarket maybe for the first time, to find their own foods. Once there, imagine the wonder they might experience of the vast range of foodstuffs on offer, and in making choices from the variety for their own needs.…….
The question was, why did the manna stop appearing? The simple answer is that other food could be sourced by the Israelites in the Promised Land, without relying on God’s direct provision. But there was another reason. In order to feed themselves with the naturally grown food from the land “flowing with milk and honey”, it first had to be found, and this meant travelling throughout the land that they were expected to subdue and make their own. As it was no longer going to be delivered to their doorstep, this meant they needed to learn to farm, so that sufficient food was harvested to supply all the needs of their families and clans.
Perhaps for decades, we have been expecting spiritual manna to appear through the faithful preaching of God’s word each week at our Church on Normanton Road. This spiritual manna has helped to keep us spiritually alive. Now we are a family of Home Churches with the object of bringing God’s kingdom to our home localities. To do this effectively, we need to find our own spiritual food, that is specific for the local community in which we live. Like Israel, this means considering a radically new perspective in sourcing our spiritual food from God’s Word, that we may in turn assist in feeding those around us in our communities. This will take time and learning, being mindful of the spiritual seasons we pass through, and the relative needs of our communities for good, sound, nourishment.
When the spiritual manna stops, we have a choice: to find our own food, and that for others around us, in order to thrive; or risk spiritual starvation. Which will we choose?
