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Weekly Message | April 1st, 2007
Passage: Deuteronomy 8:1-20
Key Verse(s): Deuteronomy 8:2, 3
Today is April Fools’ Day. It is O.K. to be fooled this day—just once. But this message is not the words of a fool. God speaks to us today.
Some people might wonder why we study this passage today. This is Passion Week, which celebrates Jesus’ sufferings, death and resurrection. Just before his death on the cross and his resurrection, what did Jesus do? Jesus read the Scriptures. Jesus’ favorite books probably were the books of Deuteronomy, Psalms and Isaiah. Before he started his ministry, he was led into the wilderness and there he was tempted. Satan tempted him by saying, “'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.'” Then Jesus answered, “'It is written: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”'" (Mt 4:3-4). This is from Deuteronomy 8:3. In summarizing the most important commandment of God, Jesus said, “Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk 12:30). This is from Deuteronomy 6:5.
The book of Deuteronomy is, in a sense, a long farewell address of Moses to his people. This is specifically addressed to a particular generation of Jewish people. Even so, this book of Deuteronomy is one of the books of the Bible most frequently read by Jewish people. This book speaks to us the essential and timeless truths—God’s expectations from us and the sure paths of happy life in this world. This study is relevant at any time in our lives. “Love God.” “Remember God.” “Do not forget God.” These are God’s repeated instructions. Today, we will think about what it means to remember God.
First, “Be careful to obey every command…” (1-5). At this time the Israelites were at the border of the Promised Land after 38 years of wandering in the desert. Why did that happen? Thirty-eight years before, the people of Israel came to this same place. There, Moses sent twelve leaders to spy out the land. Upon their return, the majority report was that they should not enter the land because the enemies were too powerful for them to fight. Only Joshua and Caleb, with their minority report, urged the people to enter and fight. Then, the entire people of Israel trusted the majority report. They fell into utter despair. Then they tried to kill Moses and rebelled against God in Kadesh Barnea. They simply refused to enter the Promised Land out of fear and unbelief.
How did God handle this situation? God postponed the conquest of the Promised Land. God waited until all the first generation (i.e., those who were twenty years or older) died and the second generation arose (Dt 2:14). Thirty-eight years later the people of Israel returned. The people who heard this message were probably one year old to 57 years old, because those who were twenty or more were all scattered and perished in the wilderness for their unbelief, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb (Num 14:29).
Look at verse one: “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 that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers.” This is Moses’ heart for his people. This is God’s desire for his people. God wants his people to live. God wants his people to increase and prosper. God wants his people to enter and possess the land. God wants his people to be happy and blessed. Then, what is the problem?
The problem is that people do not choose such a path. Look at verses two and three: “Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers 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.” Here, Moses reminded them of their experiences in the wilderness. The wilderness had nothing but rocks and scorching sun. God made them to pass through this wilderness for 38 years. It was to humble them. It was to cause them to hunger and to feed them with manna. It was to teach them that man does not live on bread alone. People’s needs are not merely physical. People are both physical and spiritual. We need bread for our bodies. We need every word of God for our souls. That’s the way we live.
Look at verses four and five: “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.” The specifics are not mentioned here. The point is clear. God clothed them in the desert. God provided them shoes for their journey.
Here, in the first five verses, we read God’s timeless truths for us today. What does God want us to become? God wants us to live, not die. God wants us to increase and prosper, not decrease and decline. God wants us to enter and possess, not wander and perish in the land. God wants us to live not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. God wants us to remember that he disciplines his people. God wants his people to endure hardship as discipline (Heb 12:7). But the most important timeless truth is this: Be careful to obey God. Be careful to obey every command.
Second, “Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God ” (6-9). Look at verses 6-14: “Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in 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. 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."
The points are obvious. It is God who brings them into a good land. Compared to the wilderness, it was a good land. It was a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread would not be scarce and they would lack nothing; a land where the rocks were iron and they could dig copper out of the hills. It was a land that had everything for people to enjoy and prosper. But in reality, this is God’s vision of how his people have to build and construct the land. Any wasteland can be useful and beautiful because of God’s vision for the land. God provides the vision and his people carry it out.
The amazing truth is that it is God’s people who make the wastelands useful and prosperous. The land of Switzerland used to be a place of useless mountains, but the people made it a very useful place to live. This is true of many parts of this land. Los Angeles and San Diego used to be desert lands with little rains. But his people made the land prosperous. The majority of the Boston area used be in the sea, but it was land-filled. The wasteland of Alaska became a beautiful and prosperous land after it was purchased from Russia. It is not the land. Rather, it is the people that occupy the land that makes the real difference. People can change the land and make it prosperous and beautiful. Missionaries in Zambia told us how beautiful the land is—green, clean, cool and spacious. Dr. John Jun recommended many people consider living in Africa. This is true with your own living. Happiness depends very much on our own attitude. As a general rule, God does not put us in the wilderness forever. Whether in wilderness or in a good land, we must believe that we will survive and prosper by the grace of God. Then, just as we believe, we survive and prosper by the grace of God.
Then what does God wants from us? At the time of prosperity, don’t become proud. How can people become proud? The sign of pride is in “f” words—forget and focus. Proud people forget God. Proud people forget others. Proud people focus on themselves. Proud people give credit to themselves. Less proud people give some credit to others. Only humble people remember and give credit to God
Look at verses 15-20: “He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, 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 desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 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 forefathers, as it is today." Proud people say, “Well, I did it all. I did it all for me.” They don’t remember God. They don’t remember people. They don’t remember anything.
Third, “If you ever forget the LORD your God…., you will surely be destroyed” (19-20). Look at verses 19-20: “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.” This is what Moses really wants to say to his people. This is what Jewish people experienced throughout their history. If you become proud and forget God, you will surely be destroyed.
The Bible speaks of God’s everlasting love for his people. We trust the glorious doctrine (once saved and saved forever). This has sufficient biblical basis (Jn 10:28-29; Rom 8:37-39’ Eph 1:4-6). Those who believe in this glorious doctrine have no problem with the word of God that says, “If you ever forget the Lord your God, you will also surely be destroyed.” Those who are saved do not live in the way they please and care very little. Rather, because we are saved, we strive to live worthy of God’s grace and his calling. Because we are saved, we take God’s warning seriously. Because we are saved, we do not forget God.
In 1Corinthians 10:1-13, Apostle Paul clarifies this truth. Please read: “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were…We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty–three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did - and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did - and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happed to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be temped beyond what you can bear. But when you are temped, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” The message is clear. God’s people may be punished and become unfruitful in their lives. They miss the glorious opportunity just before the Promised Land because of their unbelief. Therefore, be careful. Be humble. Do not become reckless. Do not forget the Lord.
God has spoken to us today. Remember God in the desert and in the good land. God will not forget. May God never forget us. May God discipline us as we do wrong. We want to fall into God’s hands of discipline rather than to be forgotten and left alone as we please. In all things may God help us always be humble—in good and bad times. May God help us to offer our devotion to the Lord. May God help us to work for our mission in this Promised Land—believe the good news of Jesus, live for the good news of Jesus and preach the good news of Jesus until we enter our eternal rest.
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
