DEVARIM 8: Take Care Lest You Forget

The eighth chapter contains two main themes:

I. The connection between obedience and the Promised Land

II. The trials in the Desert

I. THE LAND AND THE COMMANDMENTS

The eighth chapter of Devarim begins by saying that if the Israelites keep the commandments, God will open for them the doors to the Promised Land…

(Deut. 8:1) The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers.

Note that it is not all about “going into” the Land, but it is about “taking possession”, which implies casting out the enemies and establishing there a lifestyle according to the order of God. If the people of God keep the commandments, they will get blessings.

(Deut. 28:2-4) And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. (3) Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. (4) Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.

(Deut. 28:8) The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 

If we do things as God commands, all will go well with us and blessings will come.

A GOOD LAND

In this chapter, the Bible describes the kind of land that the Lord gave to Israel as their inheritance:

(Deut. 8:7-9) For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, (8) a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, (9) a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.

In these verses, the 7 typical fruits of the Land of Israel are mentioned: wheat, barley, olives, grapes, figs, pomegranates and honey (probably referring to the honey obtained from dates).

Although the land has many areas filled with rocks and wide deserts, Israel also has valleys and hills with fertile land. It is a very fruitful and abundant land. There is enough water to maintain the crops, but further ahead (chap. 11) we will see that this literally comes from heaven.

Before this, the Bible explains that we must not forget where all these blessings come from.

(Deut. 8:10) And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.

[Note: out of this verse comes the idea amongst Jews that they must say a blessing when they have finished their meal – although traditionally they also recite another blessing before they eat.]

TAKE CARE NOT TO FORGET

One of the main lessons in this chapter is: “take care lest you forget”. Over and over again the phrases: “do not forget” and “remember” are repeated. The Bible highlights this because human beings tend to forget about God when everything is going well. That is why it warns:

(Deut. 8:11-14) Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, (12) lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, (13) and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, (14) then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery

Obedience brings blessing; which is good, and it is what God wants for us. But sadly, after receiving the benefit, many people tend to forget that the blessing comes from God.

(Deut. 8:17-18) Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ (18) You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

We have to see God’s hand in the blessing.

II. TRIALS IN THE DESERT

Another thing that the Israelites have to remember is the trials they had in the desert. 

(Deut. 8:2) And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

Sometimes, the Lord allows for us to go through trials in our lives to test and see what is really in our hearts. Our reaction when facing the circumstances will make evident who we really are and what we really think.

The trials in life are not to “make us suffer” but they help us grow and mature. Just like at school they give out exams to see if the students learned what was taught, so the Lord allows us to go through certain tests in life to see if we have learned. In theory, we all want to obey God, but we are “tested” in our daily lives to see if we are obedient or not. The trials bring the truth out to light.

(Proverbs 17:3) The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.

(1 Peter 1:6-7) …though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The good news is that the Lord will not make us go through a trial that is beyond what we can overcome.

(1 Corinthians 10:13) No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

(James 1:12) Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

TESTING THE HUMILITY

Trials are an instrument of humility because they make us see our own limitations, and at the same time recognize God’s sovereignty and power.

Just as we read before (Deut. 8:2), God took the Israelites through the way of the desert to “humble them and to try them”. In the translation, this sounds like something negative, but in reality it is something positive. To understand this, we have to see the difference between humility and humiliation…

Humiliation: violation against a person’s honor; offense, degradation

Humility: acknowledging one’s limitation

The Devarim verse does not refer to humiliation, but to the virtue of humility. In Hebrew it is Anah, which means: depress, or lowering what was exalted. It can also be translated as: submit, afflict, weaken, oppress or break.

Humility implies realizing that it is God who is in control, and therefore we must submit to Him.

The prophet Zephaniah teaches us that humility is a virtue that we must desire and seek after.

(Zephaniah 2:3) Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.

Humility is indispensable for us to keep God’s commandments. It sets our hearts to receive correction and to be taught by the Lord. We need humility to see that God is right.

(Psalms 25:8-9) Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. (9) He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

While the world is instilling in us to be proud and haughty, the Bible teaches us to seek for humility as a major virtue. In the Kingdom of God, the only way to be exalted is to first be humble before the Lord, recognizing that He is sovereign.

(1 Peter 5:5-6) Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (6) Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you

GOD’S PROVISION

In this chapter we learn that all trials have a purpose…

(Deut. 8:3) And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

The trial of hunger in the desert had a purpose: to lead the people of God to realize that what is most important in life is God. Our relationship with the Lord is even more important than our basic needs, since EVERYTHING depends on Him.

Through this trial, the Israelites also learned to trust in God as their provision. God not only provided the Israelites with food, but with everything they needed…

(Deut. 8:4) Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.

TRIALS AS DISCIPLINE

Every trial has a purpose, so we have to search for it and learn from it so that we won’t waste the lesson of the moment. One of these purposes can also be: discipline…

(Deut. 8:5) Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you. 

This is a message that is repeated throughout the Bible: if God disciplines us, it is because He loves us. Here Moses tells us that we have to understand this to know why God allows for certain things, so that we can learn the lessons that God wants to teach us for our own good.

Let’s read about other instances in the Bible where this message is transmitted:

(Proverbs 3:11-12) My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, (12) for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

In Hebrews this verse is cited, and the writer expands more on the subject:

(Hebrews 12:5-11) And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. (6) For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” (7) It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? (8) If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. (9) Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? (10) For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. (11) For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Discipline is not a simple act of punishment, and it certainly is not an “embarrassment”; but it is an expression of love, and we can even consider it a blessing…

(Job 5:17-18) Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. (18) For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal.

(Psalms 94:12) Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law

Do you want to “avoid” the Lord’s discipline? Moses says that we have to make sure we do things as God commands…

(Deut. 8:6) So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.

TO DO YOU GOOD

In Deuteronomy 8 it is clear that the purpose of the trials is for our own good…

(Deut. 8:15-16) [He] led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, (16) who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.

The Lord gives tests and even disciplines his children out of love, but how we respond depends completely on us. That is why Moses gives this final warning:

(Deut. 8:19-20) And if you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. (20) Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

More lessons on Deuteronomy: DEVARIM (Deut.)