Moses tells the congregation that when they arrive in the promised land they must not forget all that the Lord did for them prior to settling them in the promised land. Remembering His mighty deeds in Egypt and in the wilderness will help them to honor and obey Him in their new home. He is a loving Father who enjoys blessing His children but He is also a righteous and holy Father who is to be respected and obeyed.
"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 the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 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." (Deuteronomy 8:1-2) Whenever we read about testing in the Bible I think it helps to keep in mind that tests are for the students, not for the teacher. The Lord didn't test the people because He didn't know their hearts; He knew exactly what was in the heart of every citizen of Israel. It was the Israelites who needed to see what was in their hearts. They needed to be taken to a desert place where they could be alone with God to learn about Him and see whether they found in their hearts the desire to know and worship Him.
You and I don't always know what's in our hearts. We may like to think we'd follow the Lord faithfully no matter what circumstances come our way but until we're actually in those circumstances we can't know for sure. We might believe we'd trust the Lord wholeheartedly no matter what comes our way but it's easy to believe that while we're living at ease. But what about when we're in the desert places? Can we trust Him there too? We'll never know unless He leads us to the desert, which is where He led Israel before taking her into the promised land, and in the desert Israel learned that only the Lord could supply her needs.
"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. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you." (Deuteronomy 8:5) The Lord allowed the Israelites to experience hunger so He could feed them. He allowed them to have needs so He could fulfill them. We don't usually think of it this way but the fact that we have needs is a blessing from the Lord. If we were self-sufficient would we ever call out to Him? Would we ever want to know Him and have fellowship with Him? Would we have any interest in learning and obeying His instructions for godly living? If we had everything we needed for easy living in this world---if all our physical, emotional, and financial needs were met---would we recognize that we also have a spiritual need to know our Creator? I am not sure we would. I think the comforts and pleasures of this world would easily drown out the cries of a spirit that longs to be in fellowship with the Lord.
But when we have worldly needs it doesn't take long for us to call out to Him, does it? When bills urgently have to be paid and everybody in the household is laid off work, or when we or a loved one is sick, or when our marriage is on the rocks, or when a child has become wayward and gone off with the wrong crowd, or when we're struggling with anxiety or depression---we can't ignore circumstances like these. We need someone or something outside of ourselves to come to our aid. We know the problem is bigger than we are. That's when we call out to our Maker and Miracle Worker. That's when we acknowledge we must depend on Him not only for our worldly needs but for our spiritual needs too. The Lord allowed the tummies of the Israelites to begin growling so they would look to Him to supply food. Then He faithfully and lovingly provided food so they would look to Him not only to get their physical needs satisfied but also to get their spiritual needs satisfied.
I've heard it said a number of times that the biggest threat to believers is not persecution or deprivation. Those circumstances are likely to cause us to call upon the Lord for help. The biggest threat to believers is prosperity. Moses understands this and that's why he warns the Israelites not to forget the Lord when they enter the land of plenty. "Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to Him and revering Him. 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; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 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." (Deuteronomy 8:6-9)
Food in the promised land will be so abundant that they won't need to cry out to the Lord to supply manna from heaven. They must not allow their prosperity to come between them and the Lord. They still need the Lord every day even if their tummies are full and even if they are living in houses they did not build and harvesting fruit from groves and vineyards they did not plant. As the lyrics of an old song go, "Lord, I need You. Oh, I need you. Every hour I need You." The Israelites may not need the Lord to supply manna from heaven or water from a rock in the promised land but they are still going to need Him every hour. You and I need Him every hour too. We couldn't even take the next breath without Him, much less behave in ways that honor Him. Without His help we can do nothing. Without Him we are nothing.
I'm going to close today with a link to the song I just quoted from above. A CD with this song is in my car's CD player right now and I play it often to remind myself that I need the Lord every hour of every day. I need Him more than I need anyone or anything else.
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