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By Mae Shurow

When God gave spiritual Manna, the Israelites craved the things of the flesh.   The things of the flesh seemed better, more flavorful, more exciting, than what God gave, and they murmured and complained about God’s provision.

Read Psalm 78:22-32. Verse 30 says, They were not estranged from their lust. [Estranged means “Be a stranger, alienated, be a stranger, deserted, astray, turned aside, i.e., pertaining to abandoning an association or relationship”(^[1]Swanson, 1997, #2319).]

Read Numbers 11:1-6,  Numbers 11:18-20, and Numbers 11:31-34.  We, too,  have fleshly appetites. but we are not to seek to fulfill them!   For earthly pleasures can feel satisfying temporarily, but we will always hunger again—we will always want more!  

• James 4:2-3 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

• Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Covetousness: “pleonexia, from (4119), ‘more,’ and (2192) ‘to have.’ Covetousness, greediness. Pleonexia is a larger term which includes love of money to hoard away, avarice. It is connected with extortioners, with thefts, with sins of the flesh. Pleonexía may be said to be the root from which these sins grow, the longing of the creature which has forsaken God to fill itself with the lower objects of nature.   Ant.: contentedness”  (Zodhiates, 2000, #4124).

“Having more, receiving more, and finally, wanting more. Not restricted to material possessions, hunger for power, striving for power, to take the greater share, to increase one’s possessions, to seek aggrandizement, to take advantage of, to seek political gain, the will to press one’s advantage selfishness. free from self-seeking motives, no ulterior purpose of enriching himself.  Luke 12:15 contains a fundamental warning against all active striving for the increase of material possessions as a means of security” (The two last refs. prepare the way for the importance of the group in ethical discussions relating to society and moral conduct generally” (^[2]Theological Dictionary NT, 1964, Vol. 4, p.266).

• Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
• Ephes. 4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

Lasciviousness means “Licentious, brutal. Lasciviousness, license, debauchery, sexual excess, absence of restraint, insatiable desire for pleasure. wantonness, lustfulness, excessive pleasure” (Zodhiates, 2000, #766).

• Ezekiel 16:28-29 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. 29Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.
• Proverbs 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

We must be “estranged” from our lusts.

• Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

• Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
• 1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
• Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
• Col. 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

Concupiscence means “to desire greatly. Strong desire, longing, lust, longing inordinate desire, appetite, lust. The lust of the flesh means carnal desires, appetites, worldly desires; desires of the eyes,  polluted desires, deceitful lusts, youthful lusts” (Zodhiates, 2000, #1939).

• 1 Peter 4:1-3 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 3For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

We are to hunger and thirst after God, to desire God and not lust for the things of the world…for only He satisfies!

• Isaiah 55:1-2 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
• John 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
• Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled..
• Psalm 22:26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
• Jeremiah 31:14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.
• Isaiah 58:11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
• Luke 1:53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
• Psalm 145:16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
• Psalm 104:28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
• Psalm 136:25 Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.
• John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
• Rev. 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
• Joel 2:26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
• Psalm 36:7-8 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. 8They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.

And we are to be satisfied with His provision, for He is enough.

• Philip. 4:11-12 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

• 1 Tim. 6:6, 8 But godliness with contentment is great gain…And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

• Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

“Many times the desire to find other ‘like-minded believers’ is not a spiritual desire.  It is rather our emotion, our soul, which longs to be with people who understand us.  (We want others to understand us.  We want them to comprehend the meaning behind our actions.  We want them to grasp what we are saying.  We cannot bear the thought of being misunderstood.  We wish for others to appreciate the truth we speak, the word we bring, the insight we have.  The flesh—self love—is clothed in such a desire.)”

“We may thirst for fellowship not so much to edify the Body as to be edified ourselves.  We must love not our life (Greek: soul life) and be willing to go for a time without the comfort and fellowship of brothers and sisters if God has called us unto Himself.  If we do not have something it is because we do not need it. For when we need it, God will provide it. Certainly He will USE other people to bless us, but we do not LOOK to people to be blessed. God would have us look to Him alone as our Edification and learn to draw upon Him before placing us in close proximity with others.”

“Fellowship is good: but is Jesus enough? Gatherings are good: but is Jesus enough? Meetings are good: but is Jesus enough? Special speakers and special music are good: but is Jesus enough? If Jesus was all you had, would Jesus be enough for you? Or do you have to have all the ‘trappings’ of Christianity, all the bells and whistles, all the toys and trinkets?”

 “We do not want to be lone ranger Christians who do not seek fellowship with other members of Christ's Body. At the same time, we cannot allow the absence of such fellowship to make us despondent or depressed, should we be deprived of it. Perhaps the reason God allows us to go through periods of solitude is that we may be reduced to CHRIST as our Fellowship.” 

“God would have us look to His Son as our Life, and as we do we find our need is met. Then, when we gather together, we are givers and not takers, and with all giving out of Christ, we have the blessing we sought” (Brogden, 2003). 

May we hunger and thirst after God alone, who truly satisfies! And may we be content with His provision, for Jesus, the Bread Of Life, is ALL we really need. 

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*All emphasis  mine.

Copyright ©2005 by Mae Shurow 
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution 
provided proper citation of authorship is included.

 _______________________

Brogden, C.  Lonely, But Never Alone. Retrieved Aug 10, 2003 from
        http://www.watchman.net/articles/lonely.html
Zodhiates, S. (2000, c1992, c1993). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.).
         Chattanooga,  TN:  AMG Publishers.