Learning From the ShadowsSample

An Example Of What Not To Do

1 Corinthians 10:6 says, “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.” Israel was not the main event, the plan, and the ultimate goal: it was used by God as an example to show us what He could do. The Israelites’ story was a story that illustrated God’s truths. 

Some people idolize and put the Jews on the same level as God. However, they existed and experienced so many things from God, wrote so many of the events we now read in the Bible, only because God wanted to give us an example of what not to do. The people of Israel were not a good example, but rather an example for us of what not to do. 

The Jews lusted after things: despite having manna from heaven every day, they asked for meat so they could have good-smelling food. Manna was meant to keep them healthy along the journey, to keep them strong for the time they were going to spend in the desert. Meat would shorten their lives, yet manna was life. Manna meant sustenance through the journey, health, and strength; the meat they wanted was just a whim that was not enough to sustain them under the conditions they were facing. 

Manna was a foreshadow of Christ, giving life in the spirit. Christ is what we need to have health and strength for our journey. This foreshadowing shows us that our senses deceive us because they present us with different choices that seem to be satisfying to our eyes, taste buds, and sense of smell, but they are not good for us.

Christ is the Manna that is life. Manna may seem tasteless to our natural senses, but it is what will prevail, and what will guarantee us the possession of our inheritance in Him. Christ is the Bread that came from heaven for us to eat, not just as part of a ritual we call communion (because we can eat the bread and never eat from Him). Christ is the experience of being fed with Him and by Him.

When Christ exemplified the reality of the new covenant, He said, “Eat, this is my body which is broken for you, and now I am part of you.” Eat from this and you will receive the truth. Yearn to eat from that same Christ who brings life in the Spirit. 

We drink from the Rock of Ages who gives us water so we do not thirst again. Many people drink water constantly, not because they are thirsty, but because it is good for our health. They do not do it out of necessity. We do not drink from Christ because we are thirsty, for we have been satisfied by Him. We do not grow weary. Rather, we experience a river of living water flowing from within for eternal life.