Bible Studies

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"And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they die eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." Joshua 5:12

Here we have a record of the passing away of the provision of one kind of food for another. The miricle of the manna had stopped. There was a need for another to take its place. The fruit of the land is to be looked on in the same way as the manna. It does not have the glamour of the manna but it filled the place left vacant by its departure.

Next, we will view a seldom if not completely unknown companion to the fruit of the land.
"When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after."
"Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike."

With the manna in the wilderness God sent quail. They were saved from death by the manna but they wanted more to satisfy them. God sent them the quail to safisfy their desire for flesh.

In the land, God does not wait for them to cry out for flesh. He says to them that they will want flesh so then they are to eat the roe and hart. This is like a trivia contest answer to the question,
What is the flesh that the children of Israel were to eat along with the fruit of the land that was given them?
Not many Christians or ministers would know the answer to that one. It is vital, though, to understanding the framework of truth that will set you free from those who would ask you for a tithe.

If we can establish a pattern of parallel truths here, we will have gone a long way with increasing Christian's understanding of God's ways and His word.

There is much more known about the manna than the fruit of the land. There is also much more known about the quail than the roe and hart (deer). On the contrary, though. there is much more known about the tithe of the land than the...........what? This is the question that naturally follows. The tithe of the manna.

If the fruit of the land has a companion 'flesh' in the form of the deer, then does it follow the manna in it's requirement for a tithe? The great and infamous 'tithe'. We all know everything that there is to know about the tithe, right? Do we know that it follows the manna in this also.
We know about Abraham's tithe to Melchisedek. We know about Jacob's vow to give a tenth. Does any really know about the tithe of the land's twin, the tithe of the manna.

Enough of the suspense. Read it.
"And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord comandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt."
"Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah." Exodus 16:32,36

Not one in a hundred know about the roe and hart. Not one in a hundred know about the parallels between these two provisions of food, the manna and the fruit of the land. Not one in a hundred know that the tithe of the land has a twin, the tithe of the manna.

Why is this important to know? It means much. If you think it is okay to put money into the storehouse then you must be prepared to put money into the manna pot also. Replacing the fruit of the land with money is a serious matter. One that you might want to reconsider in light of the spiritual value of the manna.

The manna has spiritual value. It is a type of Christ. Replace Christ with money? It is not unheard of. Ask Judas. The manna is also called the bread of heaven. Jesus is called the bread of heaven also. What about the bread of the land. Does it carry the same spiritual value as the manna?

The tithe of the land was to be put into a storehouse. The tithe of the manna was to be put into a pot. If God treats them the same should we also regard them as equals also? The apostle Paul searched the scriptures to find an Old Testament verse to apply to giving money to New Testament ministers. He found the verse; "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treads the corn." Paul avoided the tithe for good reason. It had spiritual value that pointed to Christ. The holy tithe is to be highly regarded. It is not to be compared to the feed of oxen.

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