Wednesday 6th August
Read Deuteronomy 8
“Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
6 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land – a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig-trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.” (NIVUK)
In this chapter we are reminded again, be careful to follow! Through Moses God is saying, keep your part of the covenant and I will do the rest, providing for you in every way possible. The story that follows emphasises that the provision in the midst of hard times, hard times that are a consequence of hearts that are not humble and require disciplinary action to refocus them on their (and my) complete reliance on God’s provision. Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (v3) suggests this is not just about material provision, the spiritual dimension of a life lived following God’s instructions comes front and centre. Obedience and reverence are the response to God’s provision (by grace) which is captured in glowing terms in a picture of the bounty of the promised land. Give praise and thanks for God’s provision and again, be careful that you don’t forget who is caring for you; follow His instructions and don’t harden your hearts! Let’s spell out the risk of you forgetting says Moses, if you forget where the extraordinary provision comes from (Exodus ‘salvation events’ highlighted again) you will think this is a result of your excellent work (proud and self-satisfied – my power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me). Is there a reminder here of the risk involved in being part of a wealthy nation where we can take all we have for granted as being the fruit of our labour and forget God’s grace in His provision. It also has spiritual parallels, trust in self means we have forgotten what Jesus had to do for us, God’s grace shown on the cross. A ‘sobering’ end to the chapter, forget at your peril, judgement will be the result if you worship self or the abundance of ‘your’ hands (idolatry).
Geoff Hinch
