Focus: From Manna To Fruit

Text: Josh.5:12

"They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year."

God keeps his word and fulfills his promises. Joshua wrote, "There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass… and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof" (Josh.21:45; 23:14). 

At last Israel arrives Canaan, the promise land. In the desert they ate manna, and now in Canaan they are eating farm foods. Joshua writes, "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 did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." They moved from manna to fruit and from angels' food to human food. The psalmist declares, "Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full" (Ps.78:25). God furnished for them a table in the wilderness. Now they are in Canaan, the land of promise, and God has taken out the manna and replaced it with the fruit of the land. The manna has been withdrawn. It has gone on sabbatical. The manna is now on indefinite suspension. God brought them in and made them enjoy the labor of others.

The season of manna was over for them. Imagine eating one kind of meal for forty years! No variety. One kind of food differently prepared - frying, roasting, boiling or cooking. They have to learn different ways of making or preparing it in order to have different tastes of it. Canaan is a different territory. It is called "the land of milk and honey." It is a good land - a fruitful land. Choice foods abound in it. A lot of varieties. Abundant farm foods. All kinds of crops. The manna was good while it lasted, but now the food supply is different and diverse.

The manna had to cease because God had something better for His people. Joshua says that they ate the fruit of Canaan that year. 

Truly, God has brought us into a new year to eat the fruit of it. The fruit of this year is ours to possess.

Isaiah says "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land" (Isa.1:19). God will change your diet. He will cause manna to be out of stock in order for you to enjoy the fruits of the land. Moses said, "And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full" (Dt.6:10,11). 

God knows what is good for you. He cares about us. I declare that the land of 2026 will be good for us. It will yield its fruits to us - choice foods. Get ready for all that God has in store for you. You have come to where the manna is no longer needed. The fruit of Canaan is available for your enjoyment.

Bishop Moses E. Peter