Title To bless you / Deuteronomy 8:1~3
To bless you / Deuteronomy 8:1~3
'You must obey all the commands I am giving you today... ' (Deuteronomy 8:1~3)
The exodus of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt under the guidance of Moses is important not only as history but also as a lesson. In today's text, we see that the 40 years of life in the wilderness were not seen as mere suffering or hardship, but God allowed His people to 'bless' (verse 16) for a special purpose. Even after experiencing the 10 miracles that brought the Exodus, the people of the wilderness who complained and grumbled against Moses, the servant of God, were too short to enjoy the blessings of Canaan.
Therefore, God had no choice but to let his beloved people live in the wilderness. What was the obvious reason for that? He gave life in the wilderness to humble his people. In verses 2, 3 and 16, the torment in the wilderness is described as “…he humbles you.” It was to cure the disease of pride of his people. Verse 14 says, “Your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God.” It is ingratitude for the people of Israel to forget the great history of redemption from Egypt and its grace. This is spiritual pride. Man's exaltation of himself is the root of all sins. Satan's first sin also consisted in trying to make creation equal with God the Creator. The sin of Adam and Eve also stemmed from trying to become like God. Pride is the beginning and root of sin. And he made his people realize the grace of God.
In verses 17 and 18, we point out that we forgot the grace and blessings given by the man of God and sinned against God, saying, “I have obtained wealth… by my might and the power of my hand. If we forget God's grace, God's blessing will cease. We do not give precious blessings to those who do not know how precious they are. When we face hardship, suffering, pain, and loneliness in this world like the wilderness, we must remember this fact and bear the training with patience and faith. It is also to convert his people to repentance. Discipline makes us realize our sin even if it is painful and eventually leads us to repent.