Title Deuteronomy 8:1-10
Today's text refers to the fact that the Israelites had to walk in the wilderness for 40 years before entering the land of Canaan, the land God had promised them. However, the text does not merely convey the historical fact of the Israelites' lives in the wilderness, but explains its meaning.
First, it is God who made the Israelites walk in the wilderness for 40 years. Verse 2 says, “Remember that the LORD your God made you walk in the wilderness these forty years.”
Therefore, when God causes His chosen people to walk in the wilderness for 40 years, it is to ensure that good things, fertile land, and a blessed life follow.
Verses 7-10 “The LORD your God is bringing you into a beautiful land, a land that flows in valleys and hills, with streams and streams and springs, a land of wheat and barley, a land of grapes, figs, pomegranates, olive trees, and honey. / A land in which you shall have nothing to eat, and in which you shall lack nothing, its stones are iron and the mountains will mine copper. / You will eat and be satisfied, and you will praise the LORD your God for giving you good soil."
The 40 years of walking in the wilderness was to test Israel and make them humble.
Verse 2: “He humbles you and tests you, to see what your heart is and whether you keep his commands or not.”
Verse 16: “He fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your ancestors did not know, that he might humble you and test you, so that in the end he might bless you.”
The purpose of the 40-year wilderness road is so that the people of Israel can understand and know that their lives depend entirely on God, and that their lives come entirely from God's care.
It is because of God's love that God does for His chosen people, like a father's love for his children.
Verse 5 “Remember in your heart that the LORD your God disciplines you as a man disciplines his son.”
God does this to His chosen people so that He foreknows and warns them that they will soon forget God when they live a rich and prosperous life, and to teach them with a fatherly heart the way they will continue to live a rich and prosperous life. that is.
Verses 12-14, “When you eat and you are full, and you build and live in beautiful houses, and when your cattle and sheep increase, and your silver and gold increase, and all that you possess, do"
Verse 17 “But you shall say in your heart, By my power and by the strength of my hand I have obtained this riches.”
The bottom line is that the source of a blessed life and prosperity is that we do not forget God anytime and anywhere, always humble ourselves before Him and obey His Word.
Verse 1: “Be careful to do all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may live and multiply, and you may enter and possess the land that the LORD swore to your fathers.”
Verse 6 “You shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, walk in his ways, and fear him.”
Verse 11 “Beware that you do not keep the commandments, decrees, and ordinances of the Lord, which I am giving you today, and do not forget the Lord your God.”
Verse 18: “Remember the LORD your God, for he has given you power to obtain wealth, so that you may fulfill the covenant you swore to your fathers as it is today.”
Verses 19-20, “If you forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and serve them and bow down to them, I testify to you that you will surely perish. did not heed the voice of the LORD your God.
The people of Israel who left Egypt had to live a life of hardship and trials through the wilderness for 40 years to prepare them for a rich and blessed life in the promised land flowing with milk and honey. It was a precaution taken by God so that they would not lose their rich and blessed life in the Promised Land. It was the education and training that the wise and gracious God gave lovingly to His chosen people. The purpose and goal of the education and training was to make the people of Israel never forget God, humble themselves before Him and obey His Word.
This reminds us of the transgression of Adam and Eve, going back to the farthest roots of our human history. It is a reminder of why humans lost the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden because they disobeyed God's Word. God told Adam, "Of every tree in the garden you may freely eat, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat" (Genesis 2:16-17). However, Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden because they did not obey the word.
But why did they become disobedient? because he was arrogant. In Genesis 3:5, Satan said through a serpent, "God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." I have succumbed to this temptation. It is the pride of man who does not keep his place in the sight of God and tries to become like God.
How, then, could they become proud? Because they didn't believe the word of God. God clearly told Adam, "You shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:17). But Adam and Eve did not follow this word of God, but rather followed the serpent's words, "You shall never die." The result was deprivation and death of the blessed and eternal life in the Garden of Eden.
Already here we can clearly see that our lives do not depend on bread, but on the word of God. There was nothing to eat in the Garden of Eden, so Adam and Eve left there, and they did not die of starvation. In the Garden of Eden, there was an infinite abundance of all kinds of fruit, even the tree of life that gave eternal life, but they did not allow Adam and Eve to live. They lost their blessings and eternal life in the Garden of Eden because they practiced disbelief, pride, and disobedience to the Word of God. If they had been faithful, humble, and obedient to God's Word, they would have lived happily ever after. Adam and Eve should have known this. As the people of God's kingdom, God taught them the way to enjoy the eternally blessed life that God has given them, by allowing them to walk in the wilderness before entering the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. A typical example of this is the dispensing of manna.
There is also a path in the wilderness in our lives. Just as the Israelites went through all kinds of hardships and trials through the wilderness for 40 years, we also have such trials and trials in our lives. No, in fact, the whole process of our life is like walking in the wilderness. However, as today's text tells us, we need to know that the sufferings and trials in the wilderness are preparations for enjoying a rich and blessed life in the promised land flowing with milk and honey. It should be understood as a precautionary measure to avoid losing a rich and blessed life in the Promised Land. It should be accepted as the education and training that a wise and gracious God gives lovingly to his chosen people. It should be clearly understood and understood that the intention and goal of the education and training is to make God's people always remember God, humble themselves before Him, and obey His Word.
The wilderness path of our lives is presented to each of us in many different ways. For some people, there is a "way in the wilderness" that doesn't work out for a long time in everything they do. For some, there is a “way of the wilderness” in the family who is ill or disabled. However, we must not forget that whatever the road in the wilderness we are walking on now, we must always walk diligently in obedience to His word without forgetting God, humble before Him. At that time, God will surely give us a rich and blessed life.
The same is true for those who are now living a prosperous, flat, and blessed life. God warned us in advance, knowing well that we are the beings who can easily forget Him when we are generous and comfortable. Verse 19, which follows the text, says, “If you forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and serve them and bow down to them, I testify to you that you will surely perish.
Regardless of whether we live in the soil or walk in the wilderness, let us all enjoy the blessed life that God has prepared for us by not forgetting God, humble before Him, and obeying His word anytime and anywhere.