Deuteronomy 8

CHAPTER 8

Do Not Forget the Lord (8:1–20)

1 See Deuteronomy 4:1–2 and comment.

2 In verses 2–5, Moses gives some very important teaching on the subject of DISCIPLINE. Up until now, the Israelites’ forty-year stay in the desert has been described as a punishment for their refusal to enter the promised land (Numbers Chapter 14). But here an additional reason is given for God’s keeping them in the desert: He wanted to humble them and test them in order to know what was in their hearts. Yes, God was punishing them, but His punishment was designed to strengthen their faith, to increase their knowledge of themselves,and to teach them to be dependent on Him. All of us need this kind of humbling, testing, and discipline (see Exodus 15:25–27 and comment).

When everything is going well for us, we have less chance to grow spiritually. For example, we can never know how truly humble we are until we are humiliated, insulted, knocked down—tested. Our natural pride needs to be “knocked down,” and when God allows this to happen He is showing great kindness to us. Without being humbled, we cannot progress spiritually (see Numbers 12:3 and comment).

3 So God humbled the Israelites by causing them to hunger. They were helpless; there was no way they could survive on their own in that desert. All of their proud self-sufficiency was stripped away from them and they were forced to cast themselves on God’s mercy. And God provided for them. He sent them manna, or bread from heaven (Exodus 16:4,13–18,31–32; Numbers 11:7–9). By sending the Israelites supernatural food, God was teaching them that He, not physical bread, was the true source of life. It was His word that created life in the beginning (Genesis 1:20–27) and His word has sustained life ever since. Yes, we need bread, but more than that, we need spiritual bread that will enable us to live forever²⁸ (see John 6:32–35).

4 God not only fed the Israelites for forty years but He also kept them clothed—by not letting their clothes wear out!

5 Why does a father discipline his son? Because the father loves his son. And that is why God disciplines us. Just as a child needs discipline to become mature, so we need God’s discipline to become spiritually mature (see Proverbs 3:11–12; Hebrews 12:5–11).

6–9 Here Moses gives a description of the promised land. The Israelites had been forty years in a bleak desert with hardly any water and now they were being told that the land they were about to enter was filled with streams and pools and springs; there’d be no need to get water out of rocks! (see verse 15). The land would yield abundant food; they would lack nothing (verse 9).

According to Deuteronomy 11:8–12, the promised land was even better than Egypt, where all the water came from the Nile River and fields had to be irrigated by foot—that is, either by carrying water or by using some kind of foot-operated apparatus. But in the promised land, rain from heaven would be the source of water. And God would provide the rain because He cared for the land; His eyes were continually on it (Deuteronomy 11:10–12). And if God cared that much for the land, the Israelites could be sure that He would continue caring for them as well.

10–18 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD (verse 10). Earlier Moses had told the Israelites not to forget the Lord when they began to eat and be satisfied in the promised land (see Deuteronomy 6:10–12 and comment). To not forget—to remember—is the first step in praising the Lord. The entire book of Psalms teaches us to praise the Lord—to remember Him, to thank Him, to honor Him for all His goodness to us, His children.

Once again in these verses, Moses warns the Israelites not to forget the Lord, not to forget His commands(verse11). Otherwise, when they become prosperous, their hearts will become proud (verses 12–14). They will forget how the Lord led them through the dreadful desert, fed them with manna and even gave them water out of hard rock²⁹ (verses 15–16). And they will begin to think that they have produced all their wealth themselves and that therefore they no longer need the Lord. What a fatal mistake that would be! It is the Lord who gives human beings the ability to produce wealth; and if He is forgotten or rejected, He will surely withdraw that ability and all the other blessings that go along with it (verses 17–18).

God wants to give us material blessings; but if we forget the source of those blessings, we shall forfeit them. Furthermore, material blessings can become spiritual curses if we allow them to take our eyes off God. Let no Christian underestimate the spiritual danger of riches and prosperity (Matthew 6:24; Mark 10:17–25; 1 John 2:15–17). The temptation to love the world doesn’t hit us all at once; it creeps up on us subtly without our being aware of it. But gradually, as we place more and more reliance and affection on material blessings, our spiritual power grows less and less. And soon we are no longer willing to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Jesus (Mark 8:34–37).

Notice that God brought the Israelites through the desert experience before He gave them the land. He needed to humble the people and make them aware of their dependence on Him before giving them wealth and prosperity—or else they would quickly have turned away from Him. Thus the desert experience of discipline and testing was as much a gift of God as was the land itself. And therefore Moses wanted to make sure that the Israelites never forgot the lessons of the desert.

19–20 See Deuteronomy 4:25–27 and comment.