Deuteronomy 8

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.