Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
The verse records Israel speaking against God by doubting whether He could provide food in a barren wilderness place. It was not hunger but craving for meat, rejecting the simple wholesome manna He had given for health, even after they had seen water come from the rock and had covenanted to obey Him as their King. That doubting murmur was disobedience and rebellion against a good God, bringing suffering and judgment as the sure result of their own course. Against that unbelief stands the truth that God can spread a table in the wilderness, carrying His people through every strait place as their secure Rock with a blessing that will never cease. That power was proved when the barren discouraging land at Cooranbong and Avondale was made fruitful under His blessing to bear orchards, root crops and gardens even in drought. So He can still supply means for His work where prospects look poor and sustain His people in danger and in the time of trouble, when their bread and water will be sure without reliance on stored provisions.
Meaning in Its Setting
The question was speech against God, doubting whether He could furnish a table or food in the wilderness and questioning His power to provide in a barren place. It was unbelief to doubt that even poor wilderness land could be blessed to produce under His blessing, and the doubt is answered by testing under His blessing rather than by words alone. The demand behind the question was for meat and flesh food, not from hunger, for God had already supplied manna. That manna was the best food for health, given while God was teaching healthy habits, but the people rejected that simple, wholesome provision in distrust and desire for flesh.
They asked it after they had seen Him bring water from the rock and reveal His majesty, power, and mercy at Horeb. They asked it after receiving that light and covenanting to obey Jehovah and accepting Him as their king. The verse belongs to a psalm that recounts the rich blessings God bestowed on His people and their poor return for all His benefits. It stands as a record of that contrast to give lessons of warning and admonition for later generations.
Israel's Unbelief and Guilt
Their questioning whether a table could be furnished in the wilderness was not mere discontent but speaking against God, distrusting His power to provide even after He had brought water from the rock and revealed His majesty, power, and mercy at Horeb. In demanding meat they constantly worked against a good God, and their doubting, discontent, and murmuring was disobedience and rebellion. That disobedience brought them into suffering and judgment as the sure result of their own course.
Their guilt in this murmuring was greater than in their earlier complaints, because they murmured after receiving light and covenanting to obey Jehovah and accept Him as their king. Under rebuke and chastisement they repented, yet under temptation they fell again through self-indulgence and self-gratification. When trials came they complained against God and forgot the source of their strength, unlike those who have Bible religion with Christ abiding in them, who stay connected to the source of all wisdom and power, keep advancing in the divine life, and become sanctified and strong in Christ.
Their hunger, with little prospect of food, became a test of faith in which they questioned whether God could provide and murmured against their leaders, while God answered their need with food from heaven and made the crisis an opportunity to test whether they would control appetite and obey His law. Their dissatisfaction with the food provided was a challenge to His care and power, rejecting the simple, wholesome provision given for their good. That self-indulgence brought physical and mental decline instead of the strength and sound judgment that obedience would have fostered.
God's Power to Provide
The question whether God can furnish a table in the wilderness is answered that He can, providing what His people need even in barren and difficult circumstances. He can spread that table and carry His people through all strait places, standing as their secure Rock in whom they may be of good courage, and He will not leave them to the will of the enemy even when danger threatens. His blessing that spreads the table does not cease but continues to sustain them, and it will never cease even as the earth grows old.
Under His direction food can go a long way, for where the land seems unable to produce it He can still spread a table where food cannot be raised. When people are in right relation to Him and eat in obedience to Him, His blessing can make less food sufficient so that a smaller amount satisfies. He can multiply a small provision until it is enough for those in need, and for His glory.
That table is spread also from the earth itself, for with His blessing cultivated land will yield its stores to supply needs and means of support. Through rain and sunshine, and seed planted in well-prepared soil, the diligent worker gains a harvest. Faithful, purposeful labor is therefore not in vain, so apparent failures or delays are no reason for discouragement.
Proven at Avondale School
The question whether God can spread a table in the wilderness was answered at Cooranbong, Dora Creek, and Avondale, where the land looked apparently worthless, barren and discouraging. The undertaking began amid poverty, difficult conditions and inadequate facilities, yet the promise held that God could supply what was needed and guide the work forward step by step. That confidence stood against false testimony about the soil and against the misjudgment that the poor land could never become productive.
God fulfilled the promise by making the wilderness fruitful, turning unpromising ground into flourishing cultivated land. Orchard fruit, root crops and vegetable gardens yielded abundant harvests, and the farm prospered even amid severe drought in Australia. The abundant crops confirmed the assurance, proving a valuable estate filled with promising students and prosperity wherever the eye looked.
The work passed through its darkest, most discouraging hour of complaints, doubt and unbelief about the land. That doubt delayed progress and cost time and means. Its advance through severe difficulties was due to miraculous power and providential guidance, and therefore calls for grateful praise rather than gloomy unbelief and complaint.
The doubt over whether Dora Creek would produce abundantly, the same doubt as Israel's questioning of provision in a barren place, was to be answered not by words but by time and testing under God's blessing. The land was to be worked at once under an understanding farmer, with orange trees and fruit trees of every appropriate kind, peach orchards for quick return, and vegetable gardens. Such proper cultivation would demonstrate what the land will produce and show a better way of settling poor families on the land than giving them money.
By establishing the school where He directed even when the land was pronounced worthless, God spread a table in the wilderness and fulfilled His word. His providence was so manifestly revealed as the work advanced that it left no doubt the loving heavenly Father was watching over His people all the time. That experience was valued more highly than gold and silver and precious stones. The provision already seen at Cooranbong became ground for moving forward by faith to purchase land and build a house of worship at Stanmore when means were not yet visible.
Trust for Present and Future
God can spread a table in the wilderness and carry His people through all strait places, for the Lord is the Rock in whom ministers and people may be secure and of good courage near the end, and He will not leave His people to the will of the enemy. His wilderness provision sustains His institutions as His instrumentalities, which must be kept free from selfishness and human control as witnesses for present truth. The same power supplies means and resources to carry out His work where workers are few and prospects look poor. Where means are not yet visible His people are to move forward by faith rather than distrust Him, as shown when provision already seen at Cooranbong became ground for purchasing land and building a house for worship in Stanmore.
His blessing that spreads a table for His people in the wilderness will never cease. While mountains and hills change and the earth waxes old like a garment, His provision endures, and through nature Jesus Christ teaches perseverance. That enduring provision gives room for schools to be set in the open country where grounds can be cleared and land cultivated to give an all-round education favorable to spiritual advancement.
Even when danger threatens He will spread a table for the faithful and sustain them. The doubting question whether God can provide in the wilderness is answered by the assurance that He can sustain His people during the time of trouble, when their bread and water will be sure and they will not lack or suffer hunger. They are to trust wholly in Him rather than rely on stored provisions, for if necessary He will feed them miraculously as He fed Elijah by ravens and Israel with manna.
The question whether God can supply food where none appears available is answered yes, for God will provide food for His people. When diseased cattle and a corrupted earth make milk and eggs unsafe to use, God will make provision in all parts of the world to take their place. That time has not yet come, but when it comes He as a gracious heavenly Father will let His people know when to give up those articles and will instruct them in all things, giving dietary art and skill to use the products of the earth for the sustenance of life.
God can furnish a table in the wilderness, meaning He is able to provide suitable food that sustains life even where supply seems impossible. He gives wisdom and intelligence about healthful foods to many in different places, teaching His people to use the fruits and grains and roots grown in the country where they live. In simple, inexpensive ways they are to experiment and combine the productions of the earth into simple, inexpensive, wholesome foods, prepared by churches practicing health reform for the benefit of the poor and for their own families, so believers in foreign lands need not depend on costly imported foods from America. No one is permitted to close the door to what God provides for life or to claim exclusive control over it, for God gives wisdom to many to prepare healthful food to take the place of injurious food so the poor can have its benefit to support themselves and their families, and this power of God to provide will be more properly understood in the future.
The verse records Israel speaking against God by doubting whether He could provide food in a barren wilderness place. It was not hunger but craving for meat, rejecting the simple wholesome manna He had given for health, even after they had seen water come from the rock and had covenanted to obey Him as their King. That doubting murmur was disobedience and rebellion against a good God, bringing suffering and judgment as the sure result of their own course. Against that unbelief stands the truth that God can spread a table in the wilderness, carrying His people through every strait place as their secure Rock with a blessing that will never cease. That power was proved when the barren discouraging land at Cooranbong and Avondale was made fruitful under His blessing to bear orchards, root crops and gardens even in drought. So He can still supply means for His work where prospects look poor and sustain His people in danger and in the time of trouble, when their bread and water will be sure without reliance on stored provisions.
Meaning in Its Setting
The question was speech against God, doubting whether He could furnish a table or food in the wilderness and questioning His power to provide in a barren place. It was unbelief to doubt that even poor wilderness land could be blessed to produce under His blessing, and the doubt is answered by testing under His blessing rather than by words alone. The demand behind the question was for meat and flesh food, not from hunger, for God had already supplied manna. That manna was the best food for health, given while God was teaching healthy habits, but the people rejected that simple, wholesome provision in distrust and desire for flesh.
They asked it after they had seen Him bring water from the rock and reveal His majesty, power, and mercy at Horeb. They asked it after receiving that light and covenanting to obey Jehovah and accepting Him as their king. The verse belongs to a psalm that recounts the rich blessings God bestowed on His people and their poor return for all His benefits. It stands as a record of that contrast to give lessons of warning and admonition for later generations.
Israel's Unbelief and Guilt
Their questioning whether a table could be furnished in the wilderness was not mere discontent but speaking against God, distrusting His power to provide even after He had brought water from the rock and revealed His majesty, power, and mercy at Horeb. In demanding meat they constantly worked against a good God, and their doubting, discontent, and murmuring was disobedience and rebellion. That disobedience brought them into suffering and judgment as the sure result of their own course.
Their guilt in this murmuring was greater than in their earlier complaints, because they murmured after receiving light and covenanting to obey Jehovah and accept Him as their king. Under rebuke and chastisement they repented, yet under temptation they fell again through self-indulgence and self-gratification. When trials came they complained against God and forgot the source of their strength, unlike those who have Bible religion with Christ abiding in them, who stay connected to the source of all wisdom and power, keep advancing in the divine life, and become sanctified and strong in Christ.
Their hunger, with little prospect of food, became a test of faith in which they questioned whether God could provide and murmured against their leaders, while God answered their need with food from heaven and made the crisis an opportunity to test whether they would control appetite and obey His law. Their dissatisfaction with the food provided was a challenge to His care and power, rejecting the simple, wholesome provision given for their good. That self-indulgence brought physical and mental decline instead of the strength and sound judgment that obedience would have fostered.
God's Power to Provide
The question whether God can furnish a table in the wilderness is answered that He can, providing what His people need even in barren and difficult circumstances. He can spread that table and carry His people through all strait places, standing as their secure Rock in whom they may be of good courage, and He will not leave them to the will of the enemy even when danger threatens. His blessing that spreads the table does not cease but continues to sustain them, and it will never cease even as the earth grows old.
Under His direction food can go a long way, for where the land seems unable to produce it He can still spread a table where food cannot be raised. When people are in right relation to Him and eat in obedience to Him, His blessing can make less food sufficient so that a smaller amount satisfies. He can multiply a small provision until it is enough for those in need, and for His glory.
That table is spread also from the earth itself, for with His blessing cultivated land will yield its stores to supply needs and means of support. Through rain and sunshine, and seed planted in well-prepared soil, the diligent worker gains a harvest. Faithful, purposeful labor is therefore not in vain, so apparent failures or delays are no reason for discouragement.
Proven at Avondale School
The question whether God can spread a table in the wilderness was answered at Cooranbong, Dora Creek, and Avondale, where the land looked apparently worthless, barren and discouraging. The undertaking began amid poverty, difficult conditions and inadequate facilities, yet the promise held that God could supply what was needed and guide the work forward step by step. That confidence stood against false testimony about the soil and against the misjudgment that the poor land could never become productive.
God fulfilled the promise by making the wilderness fruitful, turning unpromising ground into flourishing cultivated land. Orchard fruit, root crops and vegetable gardens yielded abundant harvests, and the farm prospered even amid severe drought in Australia. The abundant crops confirmed the assurance, proving a valuable estate filled with promising students and prosperity wherever the eye looked.
The work passed through its darkest, most discouraging hour of complaints, doubt and unbelief about the land. That doubt delayed progress and cost time and means. Its advance through severe difficulties was due to miraculous power and providential guidance, and therefore calls for grateful praise rather than gloomy unbelief and complaint.
The doubt over whether Dora Creek would produce abundantly, the same doubt as Israel's questioning of provision in a barren place, was to be answered not by words but by time and testing under God's blessing. The land was to be worked at once under an understanding farmer, with orange trees and fruit trees of every appropriate kind, peach orchards for quick return, and vegetable gardens. Such proper cultivation would demonstrate what the land will produce and show a better way of settling poor families on the land than giving them money.
By establishing the school where He directed even when the land was pronounced worthless, God spread a table in the wilderness and fulfilled His word. His providence was so manifestly revealed as the work advanced that it left no doubt the loving heavenly Father was watching over His people all the time. That experience was valued more highly than gold and silver and precious stones. The provision already seen at Cooranbong became ground for moving forward by faith to purchase land and build a house of worship at Stanmore when means were not yet visible.
Trust for Present and Future
God can spread a table in the wilderness and carry His people through all strait places, for the Lord is the Rock in whom ministers and people may be secure and of good courage near the end, and He will not leave His people to the will of the enemy. His wilderness provision sustains His institutions as His instrumentalities, which must be kept free from selfishness and human control as witnesses for present truth. The same power supplies means and resources to carry out His work where workers are few and prospects look poor. Where means are not yet visible His people are to move forward by faith rather than distrust Him, as shown when provision already seen at Cooranbong became ground for purchasing land and building a house for worship in Stanmore.
His blessing that spreads a table for His people in the wilderness will never cease. While mountains and hills change and the earth waxes old like a garment, His provision endures, and through nature Jesus Christ teaches perseverance. That enduring provision gives room for schools to be set in the open country where grounds can be cleared and land cultivated to give an all-round education favorable to spiritual advancement.
Even when danger threatens He will spread a table for the faithful and sustain them. The doubting question whether God can provide in the wilderness is answered by the assurance that He can sustain His people during the time of trouble, when their bread and water will be sure and they will not lack or suffer hunger. They are to trust wholly in Him rather than rely on stored provisions, for if necessary He will feed them miraculously as He fed Elijah by ravens and Israel with manna.
The question whether God can supply food where none appears available is answered yes, for God will provide food for His people. When diseased cattle and a corrupted earth make milk and eggs unsafe to use, God will make provision in all parts of the world to take their place. That time has not yet come, but when it comes He as a gracious heavenly Father will let His people know when to give up those articles and will instruct them in all things, giving dietary art and skill to use the products of the earth for the sustenance of life.
God can furnish a table in the wilderness, meaning He is able to provide suitable food that sustains life even where supply seems impossible. He gives wisdom and intelligence about healthful foods to many in different places, teaching His people to use the fruits and grains and roots grown in the country where they live. In simple, inexpensive ways they are to experiment and combine the productions of the earth into simple, inexpensive, wholesome foods, prepared by churches practicing health reform for the benefit of the poor and for their own families, so believers in foreign lands need not depend on costly imported foods from America. No one is permitted to close the door to what God provides for life or to claim exclusive control over it, for God gives wisdom to many to prepare healthful food to take the place of injurious food so the poor can have its benefit to support themselves and their families, and this power of God to provide will be more properly understood in the future.