Last minute advice from Moses

Deuteronomy Chapter 8

Moses tells the Israelites: "Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would really obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people need more than bread for their life;real life comes by feeding on every word of the Lord. For all these forty years your clothes didn't wear out, and your feet didn't blister or swell. So you should realize that just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you to help you."

Moses goes on to tell the people to obey the Lord and fear him, for he is bringing them into a good land of fruitful harvests where nothing is lacking. Even iron is as common as stone and copper abundant in the hills. He asks the people to praise the Lord when they have eaten their fill. But he also warns that this is the time to be careful. To be aware that in having plenty, they might disobey God's rules and laws. Being prosperous is the time to be careful and not be proud and forget the Lord.

Moses urged the Israelites to not forget the great and terrifying wilderness with poisonous snakes and scorpions where it was hot and dry. Yet God gave his people water from a rock and fed them manna. God humbled the people to test them for their own good. The Lord did this so the people would never think it was all their own strength and energy that made them wealthy. Remember it is the Lord your God who gave you power to become rich and he does it to fulfill the covenant he made with their ancestors. Further, Moses says, he assures them that if they ever forget the Lord and follow other gods, they will certainly be destroyed for disobeying him.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW verse three is the message Jesus quoted when the devil tempted him to turn stones into bread (Matthew 4:4). Many people think life is based upon satisfying their appetites. But material things do not satisfy our deepest longings. Real life comes from total committment to God and requires discipline, sacrifice and hard work.

Verse ten "when you have eaten your fill, praise the Lord. . ." is traditionally cited as the reason we say grace before or after meals. Let your table manners serve as a constant reminder of the Lord's goodness to you.

How does this chapter relate to us today? It never occurred to me to link our table prayers to the Israelites entering the promised land. Now everytime we say grace, I will think of Moses giving last minute advice from God before the people entered the promise land and relating the walk through the wilderness.

Like the Israelites, I took for granted God's protection of the people during the story of the forty years walking through the wilderness. Clothes that don't wear out, no blisters on their feet. Wow! Incredible protection. I missed that the first time I read this book of the Bible. Now we need to look around on a daily basis and find the blessings and protections that God is giving us in today's world. What do we have to be thankful for? Whatever we find, let us give thanks to our God. And remember to not take credit for our own prosperity, or become too proud of our own hard work that we push God out of our lives. GOD gives us everything we have, he only asks that we manage it for him and say thank you.

Yours in Christ,
Mary