Man Shall Not Live by Bread Alone

Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'”

Today, like sometime on a January early morning, a verse came to my spirit: loud and resonate. God didn’t say ‘man shall not live by bread.’ The ‘alone’ after ‘bread’ means bread was not the only fuel by which man would run. “… but on every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.” If we are to gauge the surety of this written-recalled word, how many people are truly living?

If you live by bread alone, you merely are existing. Living is the balance of both bread and His word. The fact that normal food was compared to God’s very word, implies the frequency by which we have to feed on God’s word too. If a man has three meals a day, and if all of them combined equate to say an hour – breakfast lunch and supper – then perhaps the ‘every word that proceeds out God’s mouth’ must also be eaten or accorded the same time.

Man is both body and soul. Of course ‘bread’ will ensure the flourishing of the body, but it can’t touch the soul. If you’d like, we can refer to the soul as ‘spirit’. While the effect of food is to the body, for the soul, it is words. Less food results into malnourishment. Bad-negative words result into a broken spirit. These attract the realm of darkness and keep one’s spirit ignorant and blind. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, whoever loves one (by speech) will EAT of the fruit thereof. That’s why I base my ‘effect of words’ on a spirit. Regardless; even if our spirits can’t be seen, that doesn’t mean they can’t be touched. They are indeed the core, and our bodies – mere clothing.

When someone tells you ‘you are smart’ or ‘you look beautiful’, you suddenly blush the more from deep within. The effect buds and manifests on your face (the body). If told the opposite, your countenance falls, and everyone can notice you are sad.

God’s word – I’m not saying only contains ‘good words’ to feed your spirit. It is inspired by God, and is profitable for reproof, correction and instruction … It will bear examples of how people use their words, for your learning too. Food to the flesh is not all we need to grow the body. We need knowledge too, about what foods are good and which are not, just as the spirit doesn’t just need words; but the right ones. Now, what differentiates the Bible (and why God says it is what else we must live on) is – as I’ve preached before – this: it is the alphabet. The very thing without which you can’t write any words. Yes, you know how to speak; but day by day we encounter new words. When you have God’s word, you’ll have the prerequisite to construct the right words and sentences that will enable you to LIVE. And even if I didn’t go that direction, Jesus said “man must live by EVERY word that proceeds out of His mouth.” Every – not only on the good words.

Man shall not live on bread alone … Notice that the spirit affects the body, but it is not true for the vice versa. If you haven’t eaten a while, your spirit won’t feel it. But constantly receive words of dismay, rejection, disapproval, and fear, anxiety will fill your mind and wash your face. No wonder Paul said bodily exercise profits little, (and watch this) but godliness is profitable unto ALL things; having promise of the life now and of that to come. The ALL means both your body and soul will profit. Man shall not live on bread alone … Food won’t give you life in the afterlife, but every word that proceeds from God’s mouth will. Both there and here.

No wonder David desired it more than necessary food. Look! You are going to live forever, if you didn’t know. The years here on earth cannot compare at all, to the longevity that awaits you beyond the grave. Your life on earth might be equivalent to a second of a minute there. So I wonder; if you’ve never gone a day without food, you haven’t enacted your forever yet. You are merely existing, just like an animal.

God’s word – for those that are familiar with it – isn’t just for reading. It is to be meditated upon. A source said this about meditating; ‘To meditate on God’s word was to read God’s word slowly, prayerfully, carefully and intentionally. To focus and meditate on every word was the best way to engage with the Scripture. We’re not meant to read through a passage quickly just so we can get our Bible reading in for the day. What is the point of that? We’re to take it slow: think, meditate, question, learn, and grow.’ The Hebrew word from which ‘meditate’ comes from is ‘hagah’ and it means among others; to devour or eat fiercely (Ah! See how the spirit can either devour bad or good words?), to ponder, to think deeply or question until you make a passage a part of you and; to murmur: meaning to speak audibly every word God’s let out.

This whole text is a result of meditation. For I questioned most of the grammar after (though I didn’t murmur) the voice of the scripture reechoed all morning.

When we meditate on God’s word, God said we will make our way prosperous, and shall have GOOD success. This means; having a prosperous life, isn’t God’s responsibility! It’s yours to steward and oversee. And the more you meditate on His word, the more prosperity you’ll LIVE in. That kind of prosperity will not only be that which only caters for your daily bread. It will explode and position you to lend to nations, cause them to come to your light, and their kings to your rising!

•

Deuteronomy 8:3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.