God’s Grace

Moses:  ¹ “Be careful to obey (do) all the commands (commandments) I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply (increase), and you will enter and occupy the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). ² Remember how the LORD your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character (what was in your heart and mind), and to find out whether or not you would obey His commands. ³ 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 do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every Word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. ⁴ For all these forty years your clothes did not wear out, and your feet did not blister or swell. ⁵ Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the LORD your God disciplines you for your own good.

⁶ So obey the commands (commandments) of the LORD your God by walking in His ways and fearing (loving, honoring, respecting) Him. ⁷ For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. ⁸ It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. ⁹ It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills. ¹⁰ When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise (bless) the LORD your God for the good land He has given you.

¹¹ But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty (fullness) you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey His commands (commandments), regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. ¹² For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, ¹³ and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! ¹⁴ Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. ¹⁵ Do not forget that He led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! ¹⁶ He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. ¹⁷ He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ ¹⁸ Remember the LORD your God. He is the One who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant He confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.

¹⁹ But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. ²⁰ Just as the LORD has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the LORD your God.” Deuteronomy 8:1-20 (NLT)

On the border of the Promised Land, Moses reminded a new generation of Israelites about God’s goodness and grace that comes to all who faithfully love, honor, and obey the living God and His moral commandments – the covenant (Deuteronomy 8:1; see also Exodus 19:5-6; Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 4:1, 39-40; Deuteronomy 6:1-6). Love and obedience to the living God and His moral commandments with all humility brings life, increase, and fullness (Deuteronomy 8:1; see also Deuteronomy 5:32-33; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; John 14:15-16, 20-21, 23; John 15:9-10; 1 John 2:3-5; 2 John 1:6).

In Deuteronomy 8, Moses reminded a new generation of Israelites that the living God led Israel through the wilderness for forty years, humbling them and testing them (see Deuteronomy 8:2). God had a unique relationship with Israel, who were a band of refugees roaming the Sinai wilderness for 40 years (see Deuteronomy 10:15; Deuteronomy 14:2). Israel was God’s treasured possession (see Exodus 19:5). Like Israel, the church is also God’s chosen people and His treasured possession (see 1 Peter 2:5, 9-10).

During the wilderness wandering, the LORD God wanted to find out what was really in Israel’s hearts, and whether or not they would obey Him and His moral commandments during hardships, testing, and trials (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 15-16; see also Romans 5:1-5; James 1:2-4). The LORD God humbled and tested Israel by letting the people go through hungry and thirsty (see Deuteronomy 8:3, 16). Thus, Israel’s wilderness wandering period was not only punishment for their disobedience but also a test (Deuteronomy 8:2-3; see also Numbers 13 and 14). The wilderness test was to reveal the state of Israel’s heart condition.

Then, the living God graciously fed Israel with manna (bread) and quail (meat) from heaven and water from a rock until they reached His Promised Land (Deuteronomy 8:3; see also Exodus 16:1-35; Exodus 17:6; Numbers 11:6-9; Numbers 20:11; Numbers 21:5; Psalm 78:23-28; Psalm 105:39-42). Manna was the bread of angels and look white like coriander seed and resin and tasted like wafers made with honey (see Exodus 16:31; Numbers 11:7-9; Psalm 78:25). Even during those forty years of wilderness testing, Israel’s clothes never grew old, and their feet were never blistered or swell (Deuteronomy 8:4; see also Deuteronomy 29:5-6; Nehemiah 9:21).

The living God wanted Israel to take one day at a time and always depend upon and trust Him for all their daily food, needs, and clothing (see also Matthew 6:9-13, 25-34; Luke 11:1-4). This is the point Jesus made to the evil one when He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 while being tempted to deny the living God in exchange for food, glory, and riches (see Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 41-13). Real life and peace comes by wholeheartedly and faithfully loving God and obeying God’s moral commandments, even during difficult and hard times (Deuteronomy 8:3; see also Matthew 24:13; Luke 21:19; John 6:35, 46-51; John 15:1-10; Romans 5:3; Hebrews 10:35-38). In the desert, God was teaching Israel, and also the church today, which He would provide all they needed. Like Israel, God wants the church to know we can cast all our cares, worries, and needs upon Him for He cares and loves us (e.g., see Psalm 37:4-5; Psalm 55:22; Matthew 6:25, 32; Hebrews 13:5-6; 1 Peter 5:7). God the Father and His Son Jesus have promised never to leave His people as orphans (see John 14:1, 15-18, 27), but to faithfully be with His people by the Holy Spirit, even during times of hardship, persecution, and suffering (see Matthew 28:20; John 16:33; Romans 8:37-39).

Even more, Moses reminded the Israelites that the living God was good and gracious (see also Psalm 100:5; Nahum 1:7, 15). As good parents punish and discipline their children, the LORD God as our loving Heavenly Father also punishes and disciplines His people to help and grow us (Deuteronomy 8:5; see also Deuteronomy 4:35-38; Proverbs 29:17; Hebrews 5:11; Revelation 3:19). In fact, God’s discipline is evidence of God’s love and our membership in God’s family (see John 1:12-13; Hebrews 12:5-8; Proverbs 3:5-6, 11-12).So Moses encouraged the people to always faithfully love and reverentially honor the living God, obey His righteous ways, and shun evil (Deuteronomy 8:6; see also Proverbs 8:13). God’s people must live by faith in God and not grow weary and lose heart (e.g., see Habakkuk 2:4; Hebrews 12:2-3, 9-10).

By His grace and goodness, Moses proclaimed to Israel that the living God was giving Israel a good land filled with brooks, pools, gushing springs, valleys, hills; wheat, and barley, of grape vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olives, and honey (Deuteronomy 8:7-8; see also Deuteronomy 11:8-13). Moses assured Israel that the living God was giving Israel a land where food is plentiful, and nothing is lacking nor scarce; a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills (Deuteronomy 8:9).

When the people have eaten their fill, Moses reminded Israel always to bless and praise the LORD God for His goodness and wealth He had given them and their families (see Deuteronomy 8:10). In fact, Deuteronomy 8:10 is traditionally cited as the reason we say grace before or after meals. The living God is a good and gracious Father, and He was the One that provided for Israel and their families. All we have is of God’s grace and goodness. Therefore, our blessings from God should always result in praise and thanksgivings to Him!

Nevertheless, Moses warned the people to be careful and beware that in their fullness and plenty they never forget God’s goodness and grace and begin to disobey His commandments (Deuteronomy 8:11, 14; see also Deuteronomy 4:9; Deuteronomy 6:10-12). When Israel has become full and prosperous, built fine homes with large flocks and herds, silver and gold have multiplied, Moses warned Israel to watch out and be careful that they do not become proud and forget that God’s grace brought them out of bondage in the land of Egypt (see Deuteronomy 8:12-14). Again, Moses counseled the people never to forget that God’s grace led and protected Israel from great evil and harm and provided Israel water from the rock (Deuteronomy 8:14-15; see also Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11). Even more, Moses reminded Israel that the living God graciously fed Israel with manna in the wilderness so that Israel would become humble and so that their trust in Him would grow, and He would do Israel good (see Deuteronomy 8:16).

The living God gave Israel testing so that they would never feel that it was their power, smarts, and might that made them wealthy and successful (Deuteronomy 8:17; see also Deuteronomy 9:4, 7, 24). Moses warned the people always to remember that the living and gracious God gives people His power (Spirit) to become rich and therefore fulfill His promise to their ancestors – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Deuteronomy 8:18; see also Deuteronomy 7:8, 12; Proverbs 10:22). Truly, God is the source of all success, wealth, and achievement – past and future – and not our independence nor self-righteousness! Moses warned Israel against such self-congratulatory and prideful attitude by taking the credit for their success and wealth.

God hates and punishes all self-dependent, selfish, prideful, overconfident, and arrogant people (e.g., see Proverbs 16:5; Proverbs 8:13). In fact, the book of Proverbs warns, “there are six things the LORD hates, . . . haughty (prideful) eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers” (see Proverbs 6:16-19, NIV). Pride causes a person to take credit for one’s successes and neglect God’s grace. Even worse, a prideful and ungrateful heart can quickly become a haven for all sorts of sinful attitudes and evil schemes. In Deuteronomy 8, Moses is reminding Israel that our talents, skills, and abilities, which lie behind our achievements and plenty, are all God’s gifts by His grace and goodness. Only the living God gives one the ability to produce wealth (see Deuteronomy 8:18). Yes, we are to work hard and educate ourselves. Education and hard work can develop the gifts God gives. However, we must never forget the Source and Giver of every good and perfect gift (Deuteronomy 8:10; see also John 3:27; John 15:1-10; James 1:17). We achieve success and wealth because of God’s goodness and grace, not because of our education, intellect, or hard work (see Deuteronomy 8:14, 18). With our wealth and achievements, we must continually depend upon and glorify God and help others in need (e.g., see 1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 11:8-16; 1 Timothy 5:4, 8; 1 John 3:16-17).

Finally, Moses cautioned Israel that if they forget and neglect the living God and worship other gods or worship their wealth, they would certainly surely perish (Deuteronomy 8:19; see also Deuteronomy 4:25-27; Deuteronomy 6:13-15; Deuteronomy 30:17-18). God is faithful (see 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 10:13), and Moses warns Israel always to remain faithful to the living God, who is the King and Creator of the heavens and earth (see Deuteronomy 4:25-26; Deuteronomy 6:4-6, 13-15; Deuteronomy 30:17-18). Our covenant disloyalty and adultery by worshipping others gods would surely result in our destruction. Just as the living God caused other nations in the past to perish, Israel will also perish if they do not faithfully worship and obey the living LORD God (see Deuteronomy 8:20).

In the book of Deuteronomy and throughout the Scriptures, the “key” that opened the door God’s grace and blessings was simple: to love and remain faithful to the living God, obey God’s moral commandments, and walk in God’s righteous ways (Deuteronomy 8:6; see also John 15:1-17). The heart of all commandments is to love the LORD God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength first (e.g., see Deuteronomy 5:7-10; Deuteronomy 6:4-6, 12-15; Matthew 6:33; Matthew 22:37). The living God wants all our heart and love fully devoted and faithful to Him and His commandments (see Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)!

References

Disciple's Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1988).

The Living Bible Paraphrase (Tyndale House, 1971).

Merrill, Eugene H. New American Commentary: Deuteronomy (Nashville, TN: B and H Publishing Group, 1994).