THIRD QUARTER 2025
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #7
AUGUST 16, 2025
"THE BREAD AND WATER OF LIFE."

 

We have seen this quarter how God had been protecting His people over and over again through the plagues in Egypt and their departure as a freed people accompanied by God on their journey which climaxed with the parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of the Egyptian army.

The Lord was taking Israel to the Promised Land, but our study this week clearly shows that there were still many lessons that they needed to learn. As we shall see, these lessons also need to be learned by you and I today as part of God’s last day church!

Let’s begin by looking at an article by E.J. Waggoner from Signs of the Times:

“For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world.” And then, to leave no possible doubt as to what he meant, Jesus added, “I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Again: “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”John 6:33,35,47-51. 

Here was a plain statement that just as their fathers had eaten manna in the desert, and they had eaten bread in the desert, and they had eaten bread in the desert the day before, by which physical life had been preserved, so they were to eat of Christ, the living bread, which would give them spiritual life forever. But this was too much for them to believe. “The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” The same question is asked at this day. How is it possible that we can get righteousness and life, even the righteousness of God, and eternal life, just by believing on Christ? Jesus said that it is by eating him. But that only makes it seem more absurd to unbelief. If the Jews had not been so blinded by unbelief, they would have thought how they had eaten bread from Christ the day before, and that would have answered their question. And to-day he who doubts that one may eat of Jesus, and thereby get his life of everlasting righteousness, shows that he does not believe the record of the feeding of the five thousand.

Jesus did not in any degree modify what he had said, to accommodate their unbelief. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.” John 6:53-58.

The Jews ate the manna in the wilderness, and if they had seen things by faith, they would at the same time have eaten of Christ, who was signified by that manna. Thus, they would have received eternal life. But here they had not faith they were dead. Now the Bread of Life was there in person before them. He had come down from heaven to give himself for the life of the world. Whosoever eat of him shall have eternal life. But though men might eat of the man, and the natural bread that God gives them, without having any faith, no man can eat of the Bread of Life without faith; for it is by faith that Christ is eaten.

In this there is a lesson for all who come to the table of the Lord. The apostle Paul said, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10. Men may eat of the bread of the Lord’s Supper without any faith, but in that care they do not eat of Christ. He can be received only by faith. And he may be eaten at any time and all the time, for the eating of the bread of the communion is only to symbolize the continual eating of Christ….

Christ is the Word. The Scriptures are from him, and they are life. Their life is the life of God in Christ. Whosoever, therefore eats them eats Christ. We eat them by believing them, and allowing them to work his own righteousness in our life. “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16.

Now the question will arise, “How is it possible that we can, by believing the words of Christ, receive righteousness and life?” This is the very question that the Jews asked. No man can tell; we can only know the fact. He cannot so much as tell how the bread that we eat at our tables can become a part of our life. We know that it does so, and that satisfies us. No man was ever yet so foolish as to refuse to eat his breakfast because he could not know how it was going to give him renewed life. He has proved that it does, and that is enough. That daily food comes direct from Christ. It is He that giveth us all things to enjoy. And as men eat the bread that comes from Him, and are refreshed, so He wants them to eat of His own body, by means of his words-the bread of everlasting life, that so their soul may be refreshed.”

Notice that Christ is the Bread of Life and He can be received only by faith and also that Christ is the Word and as the Scriptures are from Him, they are life. We eat them by believing them and allowing them to work His own righteousness in our life. — May 29, 1893, p. 420.

Now let’s consider Christ the Water of Life. E.J. Waggoner wrote this article with the same title:

“Jesus, wearied with His journey from Jerusalem, was sitting at noon by the well of Jacob, near the city of Sychar in Samaria, while His disciples were in the city in search of food. As He sat there a woman of the city came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give Me to drink.” “Then saith the woman of Samaria unto Him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans… Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; 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.” John 4:9-14. 

… As yet she did not realize the nature of the water which Jesus promised. But afterwards when she found out just what He meant, she was still as willing to receive of it. What that water is, which Jesus gives is made very clear by His words on the last day of the feast of the Jews: “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly [out of his very being] shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:37, 38. 

Here we have the promise of living water, the same as He promised to the woman of Samaria. Here, as there, the water is to be in the very being of the one receiving it. And here we are told that that water of life is the Spirit of God, which is given to every believer in Christ.

Let us now read another statement. The Spirit of God through the apostle Paul said: “They that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Romans 8:8-11.

Here we have a parallel to the statement that the water that Christ gives will be in the believer a well of water springing up into everlasting life. It is life itself, because it is righteousness. The apostle has said that to be spiritually minded is life in peace. Romans 8:6. And we have also read that the Spirit is life because of righteousness. This, then, is that birth of the Spirit, which man, a keeper of the law of God. “For we know that the law is spiritual.” Romans 7:14… This is further shown by the fact that those things that are in harmony with the law of God, are the fruit of the Spirit. See Galatians 5:22, 23. So, the reception of the Spirit of God makes the sinner another person, with a different nature… The Spirit is the Spirit of God, and its righteousness is the righteousness of God, and that is expressed in the ten commandments. The Spirit ministers this righteousness to the man, and lives in him. His character is then the character of God, because he is one with God, he has been made a new creature, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. He has “put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:24…. It is of this that the beloved disciple speaks in his epistle, when he says that he who confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is born of God. 1 John 4:2. God dwells in that man as truly as His life was manifest in Jesus of Nazareth. Not because there is anything in the man himself comparable to Jesus of Nazareth, but because Jesus, who was the fullness of God dwells in him. “Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.” 1 John 4:13…This life is received by faith, and must be retained by faith. So long as a man keeps the faith, so long as he lives the life, for “the just shall live by faith” he may go to the grave, but nothing can affect his eternal life. That is “hid with Christ in God.” As it was not possible that the grave should hold Jesus, so it is not possible that the grave should hold him. See Acts 2:24. When he breathes his last he is just as sure of eternal life as he ever was. For Jesus said, “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life”.…. The power of the life that is given to the man at conversion, raises him from the dead, if he dies in faith. — Present Truth UK, Dec. 15, 1892, pp. 386-387.

Once again, we see how important faith in God was for the Israelites as they continued on their journey to the Promised Land. God was testing their faith just as He is testing our faith today. Continuing on, Ellen G. White has some important thoughts for us to consider as we are journeying:

“The Lord had a lesson to teach the children of Israel. The waters of Marah were an object lesson, representing the diseases brought upon human beings because of sin. It is no mystery that the inhabitants of the earth are suffering from disease of every stripe and type. It is because they transgress the law of God. Thus, did the children of Israel. They broke down the barriers which God in His providence had erected to preserve them from disease, that they might live in health and holiness, and so learn obedience in their journeying through the wilderness. They journeyed under the special direction of Christ, who had given Himself as a sacrifice to preserve a people who would ever keep God in their remembrance, notwithstanding Satan’s masterly temptations. Enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, it was Christ’s desire to keep under His sheltering wing of preservation all who would do His will. 

It was not by chance that in their journey the children of Israel came to Marah. Before they left Egypt, the Lord began His lessons of instruction, that He might lead them to realize that He was their God, their Deliverer, their Protector. They murmured against Moses and against God, but still the Lord sought to show them that He would relieve all their perplexities if they would look to Him. The evils they met and passed through were part of God’s great plan, whereby He desired to prove them. 

When they came to the waters of Marah, “the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the water, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, and said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord that healeth thee.” [Exodus 15:24-26.] Though invisible to human eyes, God was the leader of the Israelites, their mighty Healer. He it was who put into the tree the properties which sweetened the waters. Thus, He desired to show them that by His power He could cure the evils of the human heart. 

Christ is the great Physician, not only of the body, but of the soul. He restores man to his God. God permitted His only begotten Son to be bruised, that healing properties might flow forth from Him to cure all our diseases. Physicians are to act in Christ’s stead. Every physician who has planted his feet upon the Rock of Ages draws from the great Physician His restoring power. As Christ was about to leave His disciples, those who were to represent Him to the world, He gave them a new commandment. “A new commandment I give unto you,” He said, “that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for another.” [John 13:34, 35.] That love they knew not until they saw the suffering and death of Jesus Christ upon the cross of Calvary. 

The new commandment of love was given in behalf of the weak, the wretched, the helpless. To the heart of Christ, the very presence of trouble was a call for help. The poor, the sick, the desolate, the outcasts, the discouraged, the desponding, found in Him a compassionate Saviour, a mighty Healer. Christ identifies His interests with those of suffering humanity, and He tells us that whatever we do to relieve a sufferer, we do for Him.”—Letters and Manuscripts, Vol.14, msg. 63 (1899).

As we continue our study, Ellen G. White has very insightful comments on how the Lord responded to the concern of the Israelites that they would run out of food.

“They had not really suffered the pangs of hunger. They had food for the present necessities, but they feared for the future. They could not see how the hosts of Israel were to subsist, in their long travels through the wilderness; and in their unbelief, they saw their children famishing. The Lord was willing that their supply of food should be cut short, and that they should meet with difficulties, that their hearts might turn to Him who had hitherto delivered them. He was ready to be to them a present help. If, in their want, they would call upon him, he would manifest to them tokens of his love and continual care. But they were unwilling to trust the Lord any further than they could witness before their eyes the continual evidences of his power. If they had possessed true faith and a firm confidence in God, inconveniences and obstacles, or even real suffering, would have been cheerfully borne, after the Lord had wrought in such a wonderful manner for their deliverance from bondage.”— Journeying of the Israelites, Signs of the Times, April 8, 1880, par. 5,6.

Mrs. White then elaborates further in Patriarchs and Prophets:

“The children of Israel did eat manna forty years until they came to a land inhabited: they did eat manna until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. For forty years, they were daily reminded by this miraculous provision, of Gods unfailing care and tender love. In the words of the psalmist, ‘God gave them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat angels food’ (Psalm 78: 24-25)—that is, food provided for them by the angels. Sustained by this, they were daily taught that, having God’s promise, they were as secure from want as if surrounded by fields of waving grain on the fertile plains of Canaan.                                                                

The manna, falling from heaven for the sustenance of Israel, was a type of Him who came from God to give life to the world. Said Jesus, “I am that Bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven. . . 

If any man eats of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:48-51. And among the promises of blessing to God’s people in the future life it is written, “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna.” Revelation 2:17.” — p. 297.

In summary, as we look back at the Israelites journey from the Red Sea to Canaan, Christ truly was there for them every step of the way with an infinite and patient love as the Bread and Water of Life despite lack of faith and unbelief. These are important lessons for us today as God’s last day church! 

Mrs. White reminds us that we have a responsibility to share with the world the most precious message given to us, His people:

“The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure.” Testimonies to Ministers, p. 91.

Note that this is the message that God commanded to be given to the world as the third angel’s message. This is both a challenge and a responsibility for all of us. Christ is waiting on His people so He can take us home!

 

~ John Campbell