Moses has been telling the congregation of Israel to remember the goodness and holiness of the Lord when they reach the promised land. They are not to fear the enemies they must face there, for the God who provided food and water in the wilderness will give them victory. They must not stop calling upon the Lord in a land of plenty, for He is worthy of their love and respect. We talked yesterday about how we are in more danger of drifting from the Lord during times of prosperity than during times of need.
When their cup runs over with blessings, they must not neglect to honor and worship the Lord and remain close to Him. "When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." (Deuteronomy 8:10-14)
A person might have every worldly thing his heart desires and his bank account may be so full of money that he could never spend it all, but if he doesn't have a relationship with the Lord he's more destitute than if he were living in a cardboard box in an alley. He's bankrupt in his soul, empty on the inside, lacking the very thing for which he was created: fellowship with his Creator. What good is worldly wealth when the soul is impoverished? Jesus phrased it like this: "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Mark 8:36) What will worldly wealth profit a person when he stands before the righteous Judge? Can he bribe the Lord to turn a blind eye to his sin? Can he purchase salvation? No, and this is why the Apostle Paul said, "We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it." (1 Timothy 6:7) When we die we leave all our earthly goods behind. The only thing that will matter then is whether or not we knew and served the Lord.
Remembering the way the Lord rescued them from Egypt and the way He protected them and provided for them in the wilderness will help the Israelites to be thankful and obedient to Him in the land of plenty. "He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you." (Deuteronomy 8:15-16) We talked yesterday about how the Lord placed Israel in the desert to learn to trust Him in the desert. We talked about how that if we never had needs, and if we never had to call upon the Lord to fulfill our needs, we might never call upon Him at all. The wilderness was intended to be a place of spiritual growth and spiritual blessing. The wilderness years were necessary before entering a land of material blessing.
If we can learn to trust the Lord in the desert places we can trust Him anywhere. I've gone through seasons in life when there was no way forward unless the Lord made a way. Things were not going to work out unless He performed a great deed on my behalf. That kind of place is a hard place to be but it's also a good place to be because when victory comes we can give credit to no one but the Lord. We will know we didn't work our own problems out. We will know no other human being worked our problems out for us. We will know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Lord stepped in and intervened on our behalf. He intervened for Israel and Moses warns the people never to forget that. They must not ever begin to think that their freedom from Egypt and their provision in the wilderness and their bountiful life in the promised land were things they accomplished for themselves. "You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.' But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your ancestors, as it is today." (Deuteronomy 8:17-18)
I wouldn't have woken up this morning or gotten out of bed to study the Bible with you unless the Lord had kept me alive during the night. I owe Him thanks for my very life and for everything else. I wouldn't have a roof over my head or clothes on my back or food in my kitchen right now if not for Him. It would be a lie and a blasphemy if I ever said, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced everything I have." I couldn't even take the next breath unless He gave it to me and this is why the author of Psalm 150 said, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." If we're breathing, we have something to be thankful for. We wouldn't have air in our lungs if the Lord didn't give us the ability to draw it in and we owe Him our praise for that and for everything else He's done for us. We are debtors to His provision and grace. To withhold praise from the Lord is the refusal to pay something we owe. He has been so good to us and the psalmist says we must not refrain from praising Him for His acts of power and for His surpassing greatness. (Psalm 150:2b-3a)
When a person refuses to acknowledge the Lord's works on his behalf he is in danger of falling into idolatry. Not recognizing God as Lord of his life leaves him vulnerable to making someone or something else the lord of his life. Man was created to worship his Creator and if he does not give the Creator the worship due Him then he will direct his worship somewhere else, so Moses closes with this warning: "If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 8:19-20)
As the old hymn "Amazing Grace" says, we've already come through many dangers, toils, and snares with the Lord's help. We owe Him our gratitude for everything He's done for us up to this point and we owe Him our thanks for everything He will do for us from here on out. It is the Lord alone who gives us life and breath and the ability to do anything at all. It is the Lord alone who offers us a means of salvation and eternal life in His presence. We can look back on our lives and thank the Lord for bringing us this far and we can look toward the future with a grateful heart and the assurance that the God who has watched over us up until now will watch over us always.
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