In our Life Group we looked at Matthew 4:4 But He [Jesus] answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” then traced it back to Deuteronomy 8:3, the verse Jesus was quoting. This led me to study chapter 8 of Deuteronomy. Let’s see what God was saying to the Israelites that applies to us today. 

Remember the Lord Your God

Deuteronomy 8:1“Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. ² And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

When’s the last time you asked God to search your heart and humble you?

³ So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴ Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. ⁵ You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.

Have you discovered this to be true? As God humbles you, did you realize He is chastening you as a son/daughter? Have you ever contemplated what garments not wearing out and health being your portion for 40 years would look like today?

⁶ “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.

Proverbs tells us the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Are you growing in relationship with Him, learning to walk in His ways daily?

⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; ⁸ a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil 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. ¹⁰ When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.

Israel as a nation is finding these blessings reside in God’s chosen land. It is a good land, made even better when the people acknowledge the LORD God that gave the blessings to them. It’s the same in North America as well!

¹¹ “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, ¹² lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them;¹³ and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; ¹⁴ when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; ¹⁵ who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; ¹⁶ who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— ¹⁷ then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’

We are told repeatedly to give thanks for all we’ve been blessed with, to not forget to minister and give to those who minister to us, widows, orphans, and the poor. Have you poured all your resources into your home and family and forgotten to honor God with tithes and offerings; with thanks, with your time and talents?

¹⁸ “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. ¹⁹ Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.²⁰ As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.

I don’t want to perish in my sins and disobedience. I choose to accept the payment Christ Jesus made to set me free and grow deeper in my relationship with the God of the universe, His Son, and live by the Spirit of God, learning to follow as Jesus did while on earth. Give thanks with a grateful heart to the Holy One who blesses us with all we need for life and godliness.

I leave you with this thought: When victory comes, don’t forget the LORD your God who brought you the victory !