Thursday: The Bread and Water of Life
Daily Lesson for Thursday 14th of August 2025
Read 1 Corinthians 10:11. What reason does Paul give for these events to have been recorded?
Paul explains that all the things that happened to the Israelites are examples and warnings for Christ’s followers and will help them avoid the same troubles; that is, they will learn from these examples.
“Come Unto Me” Image ©Lars Justinen by Lars Justinen of GoodSalt.com
This is pertinent instruction for us, we who live at “the end of the ages” (ESV). God gives His people the Holy Spirit to strengthen the believers with “power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV) so they can make correct decisions and follow His teaching. Jesus Christ is the Source of new life (John 14:6), and only He can turn us into “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. . . . Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2, ESV).
Later on, in His ministry, Jesus picked up lessons from these Old Testament accounts, particularly with the manna and the water, using those images to teach truths about Himself, the One who led the Israelites through the wilderness.
Read John 4:7-15 and John 6:31-51. What truths are revealed here for us as Christians?
The Samaritan woman discovered that Christ offers something that she would not get anywhere else. The inner thirst for peace, joy, and happiness comes from God, and thus only God can satisfy it (Psalms 42:1-2).
Later, in the context of the manna, Jesus explained that it was God, not Moses, who provided it for the people. Then Jesus declared: “ ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger’ ” (John 6:35, ESV). Jesus repeated two times that He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35,41,48).
As the manna in the wilderness was “bread from heaven” (John 6:31-32), so the water from the rock was Christ’s gift to satisfy their thirst. Besides these physical aspects, bread and water also had spiritual significance, for Jesus Christ is “the bread of life” (John 6:35,48) and “the living water” (John 4:10-11,14; John 7:37-38). Only in Him, then, can our spiritual thirst and hunger truly be satisfied.
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"Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Cor.10:11, NKJV).
Who was Paul talking to whose ends of the ages have come? Why are these people given a warning? Which examples are these that were written as a warning?
Paul was talking to a congregation at Corinth (both Jews and Gentiles) who were rich but morally corrupt. Paul’s mind flew to the history of the Israelites in the wilderness, how they disobey God in spite of the many signs and wonders shown to them. Paul recalls how rebellious and disobedient these people were, and he tells them that they risk the same consequences. By extension, Paul is talking to us to reflect on whether we are in the same danger. This generation, our generation, is more closer to the final judgment than any other generation before. Therefore, we must seriously take heed from the historical mistakes of the Israelites, or else we fall into the same danger. Which examples (dangers) was Paul referring to? The Israelites committed the following acts (sins): idolatry, sexual immorality, rebellion, grumbling, and disobedience. These are timeless dangers.
We are the people “upon whom the ends of the ages have come”. Paul is not trying to scare us, but he is telling us to be vigilant.
“Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).
Our deep hunger for bread and thirst for water are not mere accidents but God designed us that way. His call to action is to approach the table and the fountain, where Christ is the Bread of life from heaven and a fountain of Living Water. The Lord desires to meet our wilderness needs and lead us home where we will hunger and thirst no more (Revelation 7:16–17)
C. S. Lewis wrote, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” Just as God gave Israel manna from heaven and water from the rock in the wilderness (Exodus 16:4; 17:6), Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life… whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35), offering Himself as the true sustenance for our souls.