Warnings Against a Depraved Appetite

Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White

Warnings Against a Depraved Appetite

Today's Text: Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth ... to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Exodus 16:3

The Message:      God designed to bestow great blessings upon His people. He purposed to bring them to a good land, which for its richness and fertility was called a land flowing with milk and honey. God designed to establish them there as a healthful, strong, and mighty people if they would submit to His requirements. The people of Israel had lived upon rich and luxurious food in Egypt, not the most healthful for them, and God would bring them through the wilderness to the good land He had promised them. In their travels [He] would remove from them flesh meats and give them a simple yet healthful quality of food and establish them in the good land of Canaan, a powerful people with not a feeble man, woman, or child in all their tribes....      Since the fall of Eve in Eden through intemperate desire to gratify the taste, this has been the prevailing sin of the human family. Eve, after her transgression, prevailed upon her husband to eat also. Adam was not deceived as was Eve, but he was influenced by her to do as she had done-eat and risk the consequences since no harm, she said, had come to her. Adam yielded to the temptations of his wife. He could not endure to be separated from her. He ate and fell from his integrity. Since this lamentable occurrence-which has introduced sin into our world-intemperate, lustful appetite, and the power of influence that one in the wrong exerts over another, have brought an accumulation of misery that it is not possible for language to describe. In no other way has Satan come with his temptations to fallen humankind as successfully as through the appetite.      In their journeyings through the wilderness, rebellion and insurrection were continually arising in the armies of Israel because their depraved appetites would not be indulged. Moses was brought into the greatest perplexity and his heart made sad through the continual murmurings of the children of Israel because God, for their own good, withheld from them flesh meats.      They were continually imagining trouble and anticipating evil. They were jealous of Moses, thinking that he might have selfish motives in leading them from Egypt, that it might be his desire to lead them into the wilderness so that they might perish there, and he enrich himself with their possessions.-Manuscript 32, 1885.

Commentary: My friend, the leading of the children of Israel through the wilderness into the promised land represents to us an example of the work that God is doing for His people today. We, like the children of Israel, are on the borders of the promised land, and it is necessary for our sanctification to change our diets that we may be brought into harmony with the laws of health. The consumption of flesh foods tends to lower the spiritual perceptions, cloud the mind, and heightens the carnal propensities. As such we cannot properly appreciate the things of God and be brought into close communion with Him. It is through the appetite that Satan has the greatest hold upon mankind. Through perverting the diet of man, he has lead them to become more and more like himself, until they are completely under his sway. Those who do not gain the victory over appetite will never be free from the power of Satan. In the wilderness, the first temptation that the Son of God had to overcome was in the area of appetite. After fasting for forty days in the wilderness, Jesus was brought into a close relationship with His Father. He had purified Himself from the influences that food has upon the mind and body, and communed with His Father in preparation for the great work that was before Him. It was at this point, when His body was craving the nourishment of food, that Satan come to tempt Him, saying "If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread." (Luke 4:3). Though He was famished for want of food, He would not use His own power to nurish Himself. His Father had bidden Him to fast in the desert, and at His Fathers command He would end His fast. Had Christ not gained the victory over appetite prior to this test in submission to the will of His Father, He would not have been able to resist the temptation presented before Him. The same is true today, if we have not gained the victory over our appetites, how will we be able to stay true to God in the trials of the last days. When the mark of the beast is impressed upon the world, those who resist the mark, will not be able to buy or sell, meaning that they will not be able to provide food for themselves or their families. The people of God will be brought into straight places to test their faith, and unless they have already gained the victory over appetite, they will not be able to stay true to God. My friend, it may not seem like much, but what we eat and drink has a profound impact upon our characters. Erroneous eating and drinking result in erroneous thinking and acting. Thus actions repeated form habits, habits form character, and by the character our destiny for time and for eternity is decided. May you fast from the rich and luxurious diet of the world, and adopt the simply, healthy diet of God, that you may be prepared to stand true to Him in the final trial just before us. God bless,

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