“And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” (Deuteronomy 8:3 KJV)
“…man doth not live by bread alone…” What question or challenge was this in response to? It was the first of three. It was brought against Jesus by the devil himself. Do you recall the question or the challenge? “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” (Matthew 4:3 KJV) Have you ever noticed that this is one of our first challenges when we become hungry? There is something legitimate that we need. We have been without it for some time. Often for more than a reasonable amount of time. Our instincts take us into build or buy mode. Can I make what I need from what is available or can I come up with what I need to purchase the item? Then someone comes along and just ices the cake with a flat out challenge that if we are who we claim to be then we should be able to obtain it. Jesus certainly was both God and creator and more than able to turn most anything into most anything else, but the dirty little secret that the enemy is interested in Him falling for, other than pride, is an attitude that says “I will make (or buy) my own bread.” As long as we are in the mindset that we are going to manage our own circumstances then we have just jerked our hand out of God’s and severed a slice of that trust relationship. Just like the marital relationship between a man and a woman in that there are some instances where it feels like sticking it out just may kill you, there are similar instances in the walk with God. Perhaps Jesus identifies this up front for his disciples in Matthew 16:24 where He ascertains that the very thing that will be needed to follow Him is a cross. Again, not for the burden of a cross, but for the realization that we must die to self and live in Him to see any resurrection or restoration.
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” (John 15:5-6 KJV)