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OK, if you turn in your Bibles 
to Deuteronomy chapter eight, I'll just read the chapter and 
then we'll pick up that verse six. Last week we saw the the 
exhortation in verse one. Remember the nature of these 
addresses. They're on the plains of Moab. 
Moses is preparing the people before there as they go into 
the promised land. So there's going to be repetition 
and all good preaching. There is repetition and reminder. And several times over, Moses 
has told them every commandment, which I command you today, you 
must be careful to observe. So he gives them that exhortation. 
He reminds them of life in the wilderness in verses two to five. He will describe describe life 
in Canaan, what they would face when they come into the land 
in verses six to ten. And then he will warn them about 
forgetting God in the land. Verses 11 to 18. And then the 
chapter ends with the consequences of forgetfulness. If they do, 
in fact, reject God, if they despise God, if they forget God, 
then God will deal with them as he dealt with the nations 
whom they dispossessed from the land. So I'll just pick up reading 
in verse one of chapter eight. 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. And you shall remember that the 
Lord, your God, led you all the way these 40 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. So he humbled you, allowed 
you to hunger and fed you with manna, which you with 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. Your garments 
did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these 40 
years. You should know in your heart 
that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens 
you. Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord 
your God to walk in his ways and to fear him. 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. A land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates. A land of olive oil and honey. 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. 
When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord 
your God for the good land which he has given you. 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. Last, 
when you have eaten and are full and have built beautiful houses 
and dwell in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply 
and your silver and your gold are multiplied and all that you 
have is multiplied, 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. 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, 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. Then 
you say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand have 
gained me this wealth. 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. 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 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. Amen. Remember last week we mentioned 
how the wilderness was a place of testing that ended up as a 
place of blessing. God saw them through it. God 
did put them to the task. God did humble them. God did 
all this so that he could create in them dependence upon them. If you notice in verse 16 at 
the very end, it says the purpose of the wilderness was to do you 
good in the end. So the wilderness was a place 
of testing that resulted in blessing. The promised land is a place 
of blessing that's going to end up as a place of testing. Because 
of the affluence, because of the many benefits, because of 
the abundance, the people of God would fall prey to forgetting 
God. Again, that's an unfortunate 
reality. One man has well said that plenty 
or a sufficient amount breeds thankfulness, but too much will 
oftentimes breed forgetfulness. And that is precisely the sin 
that is being addressed in Deuteronomy chapter eight by way of a caution 
by way of a warning. Remember, they're being prepared 
for life in the land. God does not speak things that 
they don't need to hear. Certainly they would need to 
hear this warning as they enter into the land and they start 
to enjoy the many benefits and the many blessings that the land 
yields. Meredith Klein said the focal 
point of the chapter is verse 17, with its picture of future 
Israel at ease in Canaan, basking in self congratulations. You 
look at verse 17, then you say in your heart, my power and the 
might of my hand have gained me this wealth. Klein says the 
recollection of God's providential guidance during the 40 years 
in the wilderness would afford the corrective for such vanity. In other words, he is reminding 
them about life in the wilderness and God's involvement with them 
so that when they get into the land, they will hopefully not 
forget that and then fall prey to this particular sin identified 
here in Deuteronomy chapter 8. So, all along the book, or all 
throughout the book, exhortations to obey God, the promise of blessing 
with reference to God, and then as well, the dangers that they 
will certainly encounter along the way to Canaan. So, let's 
look at this description, first of all, of life in Canaan, verses 
6 to 10. Again, there is a reminder, another 
command, verse 6. Therefore, you shall keep the 
commandments of the Lord your God. to walk in his ways and 
to fear him. Those two things go hand in hand 
in the book of Deuteronomy and throughout scripture, the fear 
of God and obedience to God. If we understand who God is, 
if we revere him, if we see him as the scripture set him forth, 
then we will most certainly fear him. And when we fear him, we 
will be in that particular disposition. or in that particular mode to 
obey him. The Apostle Paul highlights this 
reality in 2 Corinthians 7 1. Therefore, having these promises, 
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh 
and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So these 
two concepts go hand in hand. You shall keep the commandments 
of the Lord your God to walk in his ways and to fear him. 
So rightly understanding who God is promotes the fear of God 
in our hearts and in our understanding. When we have that fear of God, 
we will hopefully be careful to obey God, to honor God, to 
walk in all of his ways. It is absolutely crucial that 
we that we maintain a proper understanding of the righteousness 
and of the holiness of God. I heard an interesting observation 
by Carl Truman. He teaches church history at 
Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia. He said that Richard Baxter. 
He didn't say that. I mean, he every people know 
this. Richard Baxter was a puritan and Richard Baxter understood 
the Christian life. One problem that Baxter had was 
a doctrinal problem, though. He didn't have a sound and thorough 
biblical doctrine of justification. It's really sad. It's really, 
really grievous to think that, you know, the great Richard Baxter 
had a defective view of justification. In fact, some of the sort of 
teaching that follows that particular train of thought is called Baxterianism. or neo-Baxterianism. But anyways, 
he said, Carl Truman pointed out that Baxter, though he had 
a faulty view of justification, and oftentimes when you have 
a faulty view of justification, a problem among the people of 
God is legalism. In other words, if we don't understand 
justification by grace alone, through faith alone and Christ 
alone, legalism is a necessary byproduct because we think Our 
words must ultimately commend us to God. This was part of Baxter's 
problem. It wasn't just faith in Christ. 
It was our faithfulness for acceptance with God. But also another problem 
that suffered or that people suffered under that defective 
view of justification was a struggle with assurance. You can understand 
that as well. If it isn't Jesus Christ who 
pays our debt, if it isn't Jesus Christ who clothes us with his 
righteousness, the door is wide open for struggles with assurance. 
Well, Carl Truman points out that today there are people that 
have a defective view of justification. But interestingly enough, the 
people that have a defective view of justification and he's 
speaking in broad generalities, there could be exceptions. But 
the people today that have a faulty view of justification aren't 
necessarily promoting legalists or people struggling with assurance. And Truman says the reason why 
is because Baxter had a proper understanding of God's holiness. That's what's deficient today. 
We have people that have messed up justification, but since there's 
no real doctrine of the holiness of God, you don't have legalists 
trying to attain this standard to appease a holy God. Conversely, 
you don't have people struggling with their assurance because 
God's really not that holy and he's going to accept me just 
however it is. So Baxter, armed with this view 
of the holiness of God and a defective view of justification, creates 
or in his wake comes legalism or struggles with assurance. 
I thought that was a very interesting point that he made. The larger 
point I want us to understand is the holiness of God. Right. If we understand who God is. That ought to promote the fear 
of God in our hearts. We see that back in Leviticus 
chapter 10. I know that we've rehearsed that. 
We did an overview of Leviticus before we got to the book of 
Deuteronomy. I am certain that we stopped 
at Leviticus chapter 10. That instance where Nadab and 
Abihu offer up strange fire to the Lord and the Lord kills them. He destroys them. He sends fire 
down not to consume their offering, but rather to consume the offerers. And the take home message on 
that day was that God is holy and he must be regarded as holy 
by those who come to him. And so on the plains of Moab, 
that is a refrain. It is a recurring theme that 
we need to fear God. The fear of God promotes the 
pursuit of holiness. If we don't have a proper conception 
of who God is and his glory, majesty, holiness and excellence, 
we won't fear him accordingly. And when we don't fear him, we're 
certainly not going to obey him. We will just look at God as a 
great big helper to my happiness. We'll look at God as a great 
big. means to the end of my particular fulfillment, rather than looking 
at God as the goal of all things. And my role is to obey him, to 
honor him, to glorify him and to serve him. So what we find 
in verse six is repetitive. It is recurring, but it is obviously 
and most important or it is most important for us Whether we're 
in the old covenant or the new, that we are to fear God and to 
obey him, to walk in all of his ways. And then from there he 
goes on to give the promise of what they would incur or what 
they would receive in the land. Verses seven to nine 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, a land of wheat and barley. of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, 
a land of olive oil and honey, 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. 
Imagine the people of God standing on the plains of Moab hearing 
this description of the land of Canaan. It was awesome. What's the first idea here? A generous water supply. They 
would not be in a situation where they were about to die of thirst 
and they would need Moses to command a rock. They would not 
need God to act supernaturally upon the flinty rock so that 
they could enjoy water for a day or for however long it sustained 
them. They were moving into a land where there was an abundance, 
a generous supply of water. I mean, look at the way it's 
described. 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. Now probably that doesn't dazzle 
us because we can walk to that sink, turn on the water and waste 
it. Or we can have bottles of water 
and jugs of water and bathful. It doesn't really dazzle us because 
we're not standing on the plains of Moab in a hot climate when 
we've come through a wilderness where there wasn't a whole lot 
of water. God is pointing, or God is painting 
the picture of just how lush and how beautiful and how wonderful 
this land of promise would be. They would have an abundance 
of food. Notice in verse 8, a land of 
wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a 
land of olive oil and honey. Again, they weren't going to 
be in a wilderness setting where they were collecting manna each 
and every day and baking it into the same cakes each and every 
day. I mean, that was a blessed lesson 
that the Lord God gave them to teach them that man does not 
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth 
of God. It was gracious and merciful 
and kind for him to supply that manna for them to get their daily 
bread. But brethren, Standing on the 
plains of Moab, hearing this description of the wheat and 
the barley and the pomegranates and the olive oil and all of 
these beautiful things, probably their mouths were watering. He's 
describing just how abundant food will be in this particular 
place. And not only that, there would 
be precious metals. Notice in verse nine. 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. So not only do you get an abundance 
of water, not only do you get an abundance of food, the ground 
is rich with minerals. You're going to be able to engage 
in manufacturing tools for agriculture and weapons for defense. You're 
going to be able to gather these things from the land and be self-sufficient 
and self-sustaining. Again, this is all to sweeten 
the deal and show them just how wonderful it would be in the 
land of promise. Now, it's interesting. I think 
sometimes we just take it for granted. You know, we believe 
the Bible and that's good and I'm not suggesting otherwise, 
but every statement of the Bible at some time or another has been 
attacked. Every statement of the Bible at some time or another 
has been rejected. Even this claim with reference 
to iron and and copper being in the land of promise. The commentator 
Alan Harmon said, some have objected to this expression on the ground 
that neither copper nor iron are found west of the Jordan. 
And I cite this just to show us that we do have a solid book. You'll meet people in the world 
that say, well, there's contradictions here, there's contradictions 
there. This is something that people have taken exception to. There aren't these minerals west 
of the Jordan. Are you nuts? The Bible is wrong 
in this little detail with reference to topography or geography. Harmon says some have objected 
to this expression on the ground that neither copper nor iron 
are found west of the Jordan. However the east bank of the 
Jordan was also included in the promised land and there was certainly 
natural mineral wealth there. Later during Solomon's reign 
copper was mined and smelted in the Arab valley between the 
Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. So, this is God telling the people 
on the plains of Moab, this is the land you are going to get. 
Here's the response. When you enter into this land 
and you have the abundance of water, the abundance of food, 
and you begin to collect these minerals for the manufacturing 
of tools and weapons and all the sorts of things that men 
need in society, here's how you're to respond. Verse 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. I know in the 
Butler house, if one of my kids, let's say the oldest boy, if 
I had seen him start to eat something, if he wasn't eating with the 
family and I saw him start to eat without first praying, I 
might say to him, you should pray and thank the Lord for your 
food. And I think at times he would say, well, I like to thank 
him. I think he says, I like to take 
a bite and then and then pray. Or I thank him afterward. There's 
biblical warrant verse 10. You can eat your meal and then 
praise the Lord. It's a wonderful thing. Look 
at what God says. I'm giving you this lush land. 
I am giving you all this stuff. When you go into the land, here's 
the requirement. Yes, obey me. Yes, fear me. Yes, walk in all my ways. But 
appreciate me, praise me, celebrate me, delight in me. When you have 
eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God 
for the good land which he has given you. God's intention was 
never for the people of Israel to go into the land and feel 
guilty because they had been blessed. Sometimes, as Christians, 
I think we operate that way. God blesses us and we feel guilty. Thank Him, praise Him, rejoice 
in Him, love Him, honor Him, adore Him, and glorify Him. God 
gives us good gifts in order to enjoy and in order for us 
to bless him and thank him, not to idolize, you know, engage 
in idolatry, not to worship them, not to forget about him, not 
to be so caught up in man and our goods or worldly things that 
God is not in our thoughts. But when the Lord gives us good 
things, we're supposed to respond with thankfulness. We're to bless 
him. We're to praise him. We're to 
honor him. We're to glorify him. Perhaps 
you've heard of the Heidelberg catechism. The Heidelberg catechism 
is structured in three main categories. Guilt, grace, gratitude. That is a biblical structure, 
a biblical pattern. Guilt is where we find ourselves 
as men before God, sinners, undone, justly deserving, his wrath, 
his curse, his punishment and damnation. Grace, God bestows 
upon us a full, free salvation by and through the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Guilt, grace, what's the third 
section? Gratitude. Praise Him, love Him, 
honor Him, glorify Him. Paul highlights this reality 
in First Timothy chapter four verses one to five. He says now 
the spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart 
from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines 
of demons, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their own conscience 
seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain 
from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving 
by those who believe and know the truth. God didn't say it's 
somehow holy to not get married. It's somehow holy to forego steak. No, it's holy to receive those 
good gifts from a gracious God and to praise him for it. You 
see the remedy of verse 10 in Deuteronomy chapter 8. Bless 
the Lord. Praise the Lord. Rejoice in those 
good gifts to the glory of the Lord. What will happen is if 
you do not bless the Lord, you will be glutted with the stuff 
You will end with that. You'll forget about the Lord 
and you'll bring his wrath and fury down upon you. The best 
remedy for receiving good gifts or the best response from receiving 
good gifts from God is to praise him for you give something to 
your kid. You want him to say thank you. Right. Thanks, Dad. I really love this. That was 
wonderful. I really appreciate it. I can't 
wait to play with it. You're sort of a monster if you 
give him that gift and you don't want him to play with it. I just 
gave it to you and I'm going to take it back. Hello, kids. 
I want the toy. You give it to him to enjoy it. 
You want him to, you know, delight in his father and his mother. He says for every creature, again, 
First Timothy four, four, Every creature of God is good and nothing 
is to be refused if it is received with Thanksgiving for it is sanctified 
by the word of God in prayer. So you see in this description 
of life in the land of Canaan, he not only tells them the promise, 
he not only tells them how good it's going to be. He's it's almost 
as if you can see them standing there. You know, their mouths 
are watering. They're poised for the conquest. 
They're ready to go in and dispossess the land. They want what that 
land has. Probably there's some military 
strategy going on here too. Your task is to go in and dispossess 
the land. You're not going to do it by 
asking them. You're not going to do it by 
treaty negotiations. You're not going to do it by 
going to Switzerland and enjoying watches and chocolate. You're 
going to go in there and engage in warfare. Well, what a blessed 
piece of military strategy to get the people to see and want 
the land. So he not only highlights the 
blessing of the land and then he then calls them to the particular 
response. When you have eaten and are full, 
then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which 
he has given you. Again, the grace character is 
certainly underlined, underscored, highlighted. You are never to 
forget. You're not entering into this 
land because you're better. You're not entering into this 
land because you're more righteous. You're more numerous. You're 
entering this land because God gave it to you. When God gives 
something to you, you are to express gratitude. You are to 
express praise. You are to bless the Lord. This 
is the instruction they're receiving on the plains of Moab. So that's 
the description. Now, notice the warning about 
forgetting God in the land. Here's the response and here's 
what you need to guard against. We don't need to go far. The 
rest of the book and into Joshua. and judges to see that they didn't 
heed the warning. They didn't obey verse 10. They 
didn't do what God is telling them here on the plains of Moab. Now, again, we already know sort 
of what's going on over here. Let's just forget that for a 
moment if we can. But note the warning, the danger 
that will happen. 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. We've already seen 
this warning in chapter six, verse twelve, chapter six, verse 
twelve. Then beware, lest you forget 
the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the 
house of bondage. Note, though, specifically here 
in verse eleven, the expression of forgetfulness. The manifestation 
of forgetfulness. How do we know a people has forgotten 
God? Because they disobey Him. Right? They dishonor Him. They don't do what He's called 
them to do. 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. When you look at Israel 
in their worst moments, and you see them given over to idolatry, 
you see them given over to all manner of social injustice, when 
you see them engaged in murder, and in robbery, and in land grabbing, 
and in whatsoever sins the law of God condemns, you know that 
God is not at the forefront of their mind. Right. This is the 
primary way that we can see that someone has forgotten God. It 
is through disobedience, because the idea is, is that when we 
remember God, we fear God. When we fear God, we pursue God. You see how it all works together. 
There is a beware and a caution. Disobedience to the Lord is the 
expression of forgetfulness for it. We really remember him. If we really understand who he 
is, there will be that fear of God and there will be, hopefully, 
that careful obedience unto him. So Moses understands the reality 
of the people of God. God understands the reality. And he says, beware, take heed. cautious, make sure that you 
don't fall prey to this. The same concept, the same dynamic, 
the same idea is present in the New Covenant documents. We are 
to consider ourselves to be dead to sin, according to Romans 611. We're supposed to remember God. We're supposed to remember the 
gospel. We're supposed to remember the Lord Jesus first and foremost. And based on that reality, Paul 
then says, Do not let sin reign in your members. No longer present 
your members as instruments of unrighteousness, but rather present 
them as instruments of righteousness. In other words, the dynamic in 
the new covenant is that we need to load our minds, our hearts, 
our memories, our consciences with the truth of Christ gospel 
as the means by which or a means by which we pursue holiness. We already saw it in 2nd Corinthians 
7, 1. Therefore, having these promises, 
let us pursue holiness, let us perfect holiness in the fear 
of God. It is based on the promises of 
God, the understanding of who Christ is, the understanding 
of the cross. It is that that we that we internalize 
that then hopefully forms the basis for which we pursue the 
things of the Lord God Almighty. It's a beautiful thing. In the 
New Testament, the theologians or the grammarians or the commentators 
Call it the indicative and the imperative. The indicative is 
what is true. Christ died. Christ rose. You are in him. That is true. That's indicative. That is reality. The imperative follows. Imperative is the command. Go, therefore, and do this. based on that reality. You see, 
every other religion, every other world system inverts it. The 
imperative comes first. Do this and then you will have 
the blessing, not Christianity. It is what God has done for you 
in and through Jesus Christ, the indicative that serves as 
the basis and the foundation for the imperative. Based on 
these realities, go live this way. Not go live this way so 
you can get these realities. You see, that's what differentiates 
Christianity. It's the grace principle. It is what God has done for us 
in and through Jesus Christ. This is the foundation of Paul's 
ethical appeal in the book of Romans. After opening up the 
Gospel in chapters 1 through 11, How does he begin? Chapter 12. I beseech you, therefore, 
beloved brethren, by the mercies of God, that you do not be conformed 
to this world, but rather be transformed by the renewing of 
your mind. He then gets very practical in 
how Christians ought to live. Same thing in the book of Ephesians. 
God, the triune God, Father, Son and Spirit saves us, according 
to Ephesians 1 and Ephesians 2. Ephesians 3 is a bit of a 
transitions chapter where Paul highlights how he prays for the 
Ephesians. And then in chapters 4 to 6, what do we find? This 
is how you're supposed to live. So you see, back on the plains 
of Moab, the dynamic was the same. You can't forget God. The 
moment you forget God, you fall prey to sin. You fall into this 
danger. Nine times out of ten, brethren, 
you and I go into a particular sin because God is not in our 
thoughts, right? We exclude him, we put him on 
the sidelines, we put him off to the side so that we can engage 
in whatever our flesh desires, and then we'll repent and bring 
him back in to save us or to help us and forgive us. Perfect 
illustration in Israel's history in Hosea chapter 13. Hosea chapter 13. Yet I am the 
Lord your God, verses four to six. Ever since the land of Egypt, 
and you shall know no God but me, for there is no savior besides 
me. I knew you in the wilderness 
in the land of great drought. When they had pasture, they were 
filled. They were filled and their heart was exalted. Therefore, 
they forgot me. This is precisely what we're 
reading about. Deuteronomy 8. God is telling 
them not to do this. Hosea is saying you did this. Christians still do this when 
they had pasture, they were filled, they were filled in their heart 
was exalted. We'll see that very language 
of Deuteronomy eight. The heart is lifted up and therefore 
they forgot me. You see, this is why the Bible. 
This is why theology matters. The more that God is in our thoughts, 
the more that God is in our minds, the more that God is in us by 
his word and spirit, the less likely, not saying never, but 
the less likely we are to forget him, to reject him and to despise 
him. So what Moses is doing on the 
plains of Moab is highlighting the importance of theology for 
life in the land of Canaan. Notice verses 12 to 16. He's going to illustrate what 
this is going to look like. Verse 11 again. 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. Last, 
verse 12, when you have eaten and are full, and have built 
houses and dwell in them, and when your herds and your flocks 
multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and 
all that you have is multiplied, when your heart is lifted up 
and you forget the Lord your God." See, this is the danger. This is the temptation. This 
is the issue and the crux. This is what they're being warned 
against. The land of blessing is going 
to be a land of temptation. The land of blessing and promise 
is going to be a land of trial. You need to be on guard, not 
only in the wilderness when the tendency is to grumble at having 
nothing, but you need to be on guard in the land of promise 
when the temptation is to forget God. You see, a poor man has 
his temptations, as does a rich man, as does a middle class man. There is not one of us that is 
immune from these potential dangers that face us in the life that 
God has called us to. When your heart is lifted up 
and you forget the Lord your God, and notice what they forget. This is how heinous and how despicable 
and how wretched this really is. What are they forgetting? 
They're not forgetting something like a Baal God. They're not 
forgetting something like a Moloch. They're not forgetting something 
like an Asherah. They're forgetting Yahweh of 
Israel who did these actions in the lives of his people. When 
your heart is lifted up, verse 14, and you forget the Lord your 
God who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house 
of bondage. You should never forget that. 
I mean, the exodus from Egypt ought to be lodged firmly and 
always in your mind and heart. I mean, that was the great redemptive 
event, you know, that that for the old covenant person was what 
we think of Calvary. I mean, do you ever get to the 
point where you forget Calvary, you forget the cross, you forget 
the gospel? Well, unfortunately, if we're 
not on guard, we can as quickly as Israel would forget the exodus. We can fall prey into that. We 
need to guard our heart. So they would forget the Lord 
who brought them out of Egypt, verse 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, 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. The exodus, the wilderness, the 
fiery serpents, the scorpions, the no water, the no food. All these things had a specific 
purpose in mind so that God could test them, so that God could 
humble them, so that God would create dependence upon them. 
And they would understand that as a father chastens his son, 
so the Lord chastens his people. What happens, though, is that 
they forget that. They get more caught up in the 
wheat. They get more caught up in the 
barley. They get more entrenched in the land of mineral. They 
delight in the water supply. They rejoice in the pomegranates. 
They get all this plenty. And what happens? Who's the first 
to go? God, the very one who gave them 
these gifts. Notice, here's the specific issue, 
verse 17. Then you say in your heart, my 
power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth. Arrogance. Pride. Wickedness. If you want to exclude God from 
your heart, mind, and life, be a proud person. Right? Isn't this what the Lord says 
in Isaiah 66? The Lord, heaven is my throne 
and earth is my footstool, is what God says. But upon this 
one will I look to him who is humble and of a contrite spirit, 
the one who trembles at my word. The best way to exclude God from 
your heart and life and being is through pride. God opposes 
the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. This is the issue. This is what they would say in 
their heart. My power and the might of my 
hand have gained me this wealth. We see that it was flashed out, 
Hosea the prophet was writing to Israel at a specific historical 
time telling them that they were guilty of this particular sin. 
They go into the land, they enjoy the pastor, they're filled, they're 
exalted, and they forget God. That's the danger that he's warning 
them of. Craigie said, Though all these 
natural products should be gratefully recognized as the gifts of God, 
just as much as the supernatural manna luxury and ease would blunt 
the edge of Israel's awareness of God, pride would suppress 
the memory of humbler days of slavery, scorpions and thirst, 
days when deliverance and survival required divine intervention 
by hitherto unknown ways. You see what he's saying. When 
we have all of the benefit, when we have all of the plenty, we're 
not as dependent upon God. And as we continue in a particular 
trajectory of independence, what then happens? We've excluded 
God. When we enjoy these benefits, 
we then begin to reason, my hand got me these things. It was my 
ability that got me this. It was my ingenuity, my wisdom, 
my savvy, my strength that landed me in this particular position. I think studying passages like 
these help us to appreciate Proverbs 30. Give me neither poverty nor 
riches, right? If I'm poor, I'm tempted to go 
steal and dishonor my God. But if I've got riches, my temptation 
and tendency is to forget the Lord. We need to be on guard. We need to watch our hearts. 
We need to make sure that we don't say in our heart, notice 
the language to my power and the might of my hand have gained 
me this well. So not only are they accruing, 
are they taking credit for getting these things, but look where 
they're spending these things. Me, you notice that. Notice the conspicuous use of 
of my my and me in this passage. That's wrong. You know, what 
was the that the people of Israel supposed to be? They were supposed 
to be the covenant community of God, wherein his law was flashed 
out. not only toward God, but toward 
one another. They were supposed to be others 
minded. They were supposed to mediate the blessings of God 
to the Gentile nations around them. They were to shine as lights 
in a crooked and perverse generation. They were to hold forth the word 
of truth. They were to be that representative of God most high 
on the earth to show what things were like. But rather, they're 
taking all this stuff and all they want is for them. Christopher 
Wright says this, that is mine. It is mine to enjoy, to exploit 
as I wish. My abilities, my strength, my 
hard work, my cleverness, my professional skills produced 
it. Therefore, it is mine. Self-exaltation and self-interest 
underlie the claim. It's pride and it's selfishness. of vices that are diametrically 
opposed to the people of God. We're supposed to be humble, 
and we're supposed to be those who look out for the needs of 
others. We're to esteem others better 
than ourselves. We're not to only look upon our 
own self-interest. We're to be a benevolent people. 
So was the people of Israel. They were supposed to be kind-hearted, 
and yet they sound like a bunch of whining babies. We've got 
this for me. I've done this for me. This is 
the temptation. This is what would happen. This 
is what they were going to do unless they took the corrective 
of verse 18. Notice, 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. I could just see the health, 
wealth, prosperity people using Deuteronomy 8.18 as their motto 
text. God gave you power to get wealth, 
so go make a billion dollars and, you know, walk all over 
people. Isn't the point? The point is when you go into 
that land that has been given to you and you farm and water 
falls on your crops and the sun shines on it and you do build 
things and you do harvest and you do engage in commerce. It's 
God who is sovereign over that. It's God the Lord who gave you 
the power to do that. Now I would imagine that manna 
falling from heaven would be an evident sign, or it would 
be an evident display of God's power in feeding us. But that 
evidence, that power is no less displayed in going to work every 
morning, punching the time clock, you know, doing what you're called 
to do by your employer, cashing your paycheck, and making your 
weekly trip to Superstore. Just because we don't see the 
man fall down from heaven and we go out and gather an omer 
each day doesn't mean God hasn't given us the power to drive to 
Wal-Mart for new shoes. We need to see that we need to 
appreciate that God is the first cause every blessing we have 
every good gift that he has given us is from his hand and we need 
to remember that you shall remember this is a very excellent way 
for us to guard against the sin of forgetting. How do we not 
forget we remember. The bad is to forget, the good 
is to remember. 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. Remember God, realize he gives 
power, and realize it is consistent with his covenantal faithfulness. 
That's another thing that's repetitious on the plains of Moab. Moses 
is never going to let us forget that everything good that is 
happening to Israel is as a result of God's promise. This is the 
point you need to live by the word of God. And that brings 
us finally to the consequences of forgetfulness. Verses 19 and 
20. 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. The sin of forgetfulness leads 
to the sin of idolatry. Man is a religious being. He's 
going to worship something. He's going to worship someone. If it isn't the living and true 
God, it will be either Baal or Moloch or Asherah or ourselves 
or our possessions or whatever. Remember that Paul says that 
covetousness and greed is idolatry. And so when the things themselves 
become the end, we have become idolaters. We are not pursuing 
God. We are not obeying God. We are 
not loving God, but rather we are pursuing stuff. We are loving 
stuff. And ultimately, we're going to 
obey stuff because we're going to fight to keep it as far as 
we are able. So that would be the inevitable 
outcome if they were to forget God. And then God makes this 
promise. I testify against you this day 
that you shall surely perish 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. Notice that the voice of the 
Lord your God man shall not live by bread alone, but by every 
word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Now, in conclusion, there 
is a fundamental difference here between the old covenant and 
the new covenant. Remember, one of the things that 
we are doing as we move our way through this book of Deuteronomy 
is noting some of the distinctive features between these two covenants. 
There is continuity to be sure. There are some similarities, 
but it was a different covenant made with the people of Israel. 
This was conditional. In other words, they were told, 
go into the land and obey. If you don't obey, then you'll 
be thrown out of the land. You'll be treated like the nations 
whom you dispossessed before. And you know what we have in 
Romans eight in the New Covenant. There is therefore now no condemnation 
for those who are in Christ Jesus, when we're in Christ, we don't 
get thrown out of Christ. When we're in Christ, we don't 
get dispossessed. When we're in Christ, we're safe 
and secure because Christ fulfilled the obligation of the covenant 
arrangement. And we are blessed by virtue 
of him. He did what Israel failed. He did what Adam failed in. And because of that, we have 
no condemnation. That is cause for holy rejoicing. What Jesus has accomplished on 
our behalf lasts forever and ever and ever. Now, that doesn't 
mean there weren't people here saved by virtue of Christ's redemptive 
work. But this covenant in terms of 
them going into the land, this covenant in terms of a nationalistic 
covenant, in terms of them functioning in Canaan, they did break it. They were dispossessed. They 
were scattered among the nations. Every curse that God promised 
In the latter part of Deuteronomy, most certainly did come upon 
them. Well, let us close in prayer. 
Father, we thank you for your holy word and we thank you for 
our Lord Jesus. We thank you for the fact that 
he accomplished all that the father gave him and that he lived 
in obedience to the law. He died to satisfy justice and 
he rose again and he now sits enthroned at your right hand. 
We thank you for grace. We thank you for the faith that 
you have given us. How we thank you for all of the 
blessings that we have in him. And our God, I pray that this 
would encourage our hearts and that we would learn the lessons 
that the people of God on Moab heard and then disobeyed and 
rejected. Help us not to forget you. Help 
us not to get enamored with the things you give us, but help 
us to be in love with you, Lord God, and to be obedient to you 
and to fear you and to walk carefully in your word. And we pray through 
Christ our Lord. Amen.