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OK, Deuteronomy chapter eight, 
I'll just begin reading in verse one. 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 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. Lest, 
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 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. So Moses continues to exhort 
Israel with reference to their responsibility in the land. Remember, they're on the plains 
of Moab and through a series of addresses, Moses is equipping 
the people, giving the people things to think about, things 
to consider for when they enter into the promised land. And along 
the way, he is alerting them to potential dangers and temptations 
that will face them in the land. Here, specifically, we see broadly 
considered that the idea of forgetting God. Specifically, times of plenty 
will promote or will possibly produce in them a tendency to 
forget the Lord. And he uses the wilderness to 
show them specific lessons with reference to this particular 
theme. In fact, one man has said, the 
wilderness, which was a place of testing, produced blessing 
in the end. If you look at verse 16 for a 
moment, what was God's grand plan in the wilderness time? 
It was to do you good in the end. So the wilderness was a 
time of testing that produced blessing the land. The promised 
land is a place of blessing that will certainly bring testing 
as well. And so that's what the what Moses 
is alerting the people to in this particular chapter. 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. He says the recollection of God's 
providential guidance during the 40 years in the wilderness 
would afford the corrective for such vanity who uses the wilderness 
to encourage them not to forget the Lord when they enter into 
the land of blessing, when they enter into a land of plenty. 
So that's sort of the idea with the chapter. We're probably all 
very familiar with verse three. Of course, that's the verse that 
Jesus uses or Jesus sites when he himself is in the wilderness, 
when he himself is going through a time of trial, when he himself 
is going through a time of testing. He uses it in much the same way 
that Moses is exhorting the people of God here in in the book of 
Deuteronomy. So when Jesus is assaulted in 
the in the wilderness by the devil three times, he quotes 
from the book of Deuteronomy, specifically chapter eight, and 
then again twice in chapter six. And later on, as we move through 
this, we'll have cause to reflect on that aspect a little more. But I just want to look primarily 
at two things tonight. I was hoping to get through the 
whole chapter. But I don't want to rush through 
it. So we're going to look at the exhortation in verse one and 
then verses two to five is where we'll spend the bulk of our time. 
The reminder of life in the wilderness. The reminder of life in the wilderness. The exhortation of verse one 
is repetitious. We've already seen this several 
times. He calls for careful obedience 
to all of God's word. Every commandment which I command 
you today, you must be careful to observe. They're not to pick 
and choose. They're not to say we like these 
particular ones. These ones suit us well, but 
these commands over here, we don't particularly like them, 
so we're not going to obey them. No, we need to look to the whole 
word of God. We need to embrace the entirety 
of his law. This is what God through Moses 
says. Every commandment which I command you today, You must 
be careful to observe. The people of God are to be careful. 
They are to be precise. They are to seek by the grace 
of God to live in a manner that is consistent with who God is 
and what he calls us to do. Remember that he calls us to 
total allegiance, total commitment. We're not just half hearted. 
We're not just partially his. We are to give him our heart, 
our soul, our strength. That's what the Shema says. In 
Deuteronomy 6, we are to love the Lord our God with all of 
our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our strength. Everything 
in us is to be directed to the Lord God Most High. We're going 
to see a lot of repetition on the plains of Moab because Moses 
is a good preacher. This is what the people of God 
need to hear. They need repetition. They don't 
necessarily need a bunch of new information, but rather they 
need to take the information that they possess and they need 
to put it into practice. More than likely, if we have 
read the Bible through and we sat through some Bible studies 
or we've attended church on a regular basis, we probably have all the 
knowledge that we would ever need. We just need to enact it. 
We need to build upon it. We need to put it into practice. 
Now, I'm not saying don't show up on Sunday, don't come back 
on Wednesday night and don't read your Bible. I'm just suggesting 
we know enough or we have enough in our minds that a thousand 
eternities would see us busy seeking to put those things into 
practice. The Lord says through Moses, 
every commandment which I command you today, you must be careful 
to observe. And then it goes on to say that 
you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land of 
which the Lord swore to your father. So by doing this, faithfully 
engaging in the calling that God has placed upon them. They 
would go into the land, they would dispossess the land of 
the Canaanites, they would receive all of his blessings. And that's 
another repetitive theme in the book of Deuteronomy, which the 
Lord swore to your fathers. He never wants us to forget that 
what is happening in the life and history of Israel is according 
to plan. God is sovereign. God has promised. God has made a commitment to 
Abraham to bless his people. And these statements, these books 
or these these words of Moses are confirming that to the people 
of Israel just prior to entrance into the land of promise. So 
that's the exhortation. Let's look at the reminder of 
life in the wilderness. And this is where we'll spend 
our time tonight. Verses two to five. Note first, the Lord's 
purpose versus two to five says, 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 did not know, 
nor did your fathers know that he might take you. Or 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. We need to remember, or God through 
Moses is telling the people to remember his faithfulness in 
the hard times of the past. Remember his faithfulness in 
the hard times of the past. So on the plains of Moab, as 
they're getting ready to enter into the promised land, a tendency 
would be or a temptation would come to forget God. They are 
specifically told to remember what God had done in bringing 
them to this particular place. This is the corrective. This 
is the help so that when they get in the land and they enjoy 
bounty, they don't forget him. They need to recall the purposes 
of God. They need to recall his mercies. 
They need to recall his kindness. The Lord's initiative is demonstrated 
here. You shall remember that the Lord, 
your God, led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness. 
Why did they go into the wilderness? Because they sinned against God. 
They had unbelief. Numbers 13 and 14. They sent 
a reconnaissance mission in. They surveyed the land. Ten spies 
gave a negative report. Two spies gave a positive report. 
And of course, the congregation sides with the negative report. So God is angry with them and 
he forbids them to enter into the promised land because of 
their sin. But what is behind the scenes 
is God's use of this to teach them specific lessons. Very often 
bad things happen in the world that God overrules for good. Isn't that what the Joseph narrative 
teaches us in the book of Genesis? His brothers sell him into slavery. Initially, they want to kill 
him. But because of the intervention of a brother, they preserve his 
life, sell him into slavery. And after all of his dealings, 
after all of the goings on, after he finally opens up and tells 
his brothers what had happened, he says in Genesis 50, 20, what 
are you meant this for evil? But God overruled it for good. 
The same thing here in the wilderness. These people sin in unbelief. God overruled it for good. He 
wanted to do something in the wilderness. Israel, as a people, 
needed to learn certain lessons. Brethren, there are times in 
our lives when difficulties happen because that's the way God teaches 
us. It would be nice and wonderful 
and rosy if all of our lessons were on a beach somewhere when 
everything was going beautifully. It is simply not the way God 
deals. God at times sends us into very 
difficult situations because his purposes are revealed in 
verse five, which we'll see in a bit in a bit of time here. 
You need to know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, 
so the Lord your God chastens you. I submit that verses one 
to five here in Deuteronomy challenges every inclination of our heart. We oftentimes think God is not 
with us when he is with us more intimately than in other instances 
and in other times. The wilderness wandering is presented 
to us both as arising out of human sin and rebellion and as 
having a divine purpose. They sin, they go into the wilderness. God orchestrates this so that 
he may engage in a particular task. Notice that in the wilderness, 
the Lord was present with them. This was a judgment, wasn't it? 
Right. Let's not forget numbers 13 and 
14. We did an overview. We've referred to that chapter, 
that section many times. The people grumble. The people 
complain. The people wanted to, you know, 
they just they wanted to throw in the towel. The Lord God had 
promised them a land, he says, to go into that land and conquer. 
And they buckle under the fear of the anarchy. So God, in his 
chastening, sends them out into the wilderness. The people of 
Israel concluded that he wasn't with them. But what we find out 
is that he was, in fact, with them every step of the way. And 
it was him that was leading them through this particular time. 
Notice in verse two, you shall remember that the Lord, your 
God, led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness. Turn 
back for just a moment to Deuteronomy, chapter one, Deuteronomy, chapter 
one. The Lord's presence in the midst 
of chasing it. The Lord's presence in the midst 
of these trials. Notice in chapter one, verse 
twenty six. This is recalling that scene 
in numbers thirteen and fourteen. Nevertheless, you would not go 
up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 
And you complained in your tents and said, because the Lord hates 
us, he has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver 
us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. It's absolute 
wickedness. Not only did they not believe 
God, but they'd actually gotten it in their minds that he hated 
them, that he despised them, that he was done with them. Notice 
in verse twenty eight. Where can we go up? Our brethren 
have discouraged our hearts, saying, The people are greater 
and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified 
up to heaven. Moreover, we have seen the sons 
of the Anakim there. Then I said to you, Do not be 
terrified or afraid of them. The Lord, your God, who goes 
before you, he will fight for you according to all he did for 
you in Egypt before your eyes. And in the wilderness, note this 
language where you saw how the Lord your God carried you as 
a man carries his son in all the way that you went until you 
came to this place. Yet for all that you did not 
believe the Lord your God who went in the way before you to 
search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you 
the way you should go in the fire by night and in the cloud 
by day. So they believe or they got it in their heads that God 
brought them out there because he hated that. This is the opposite. God loves them. As many as I 
love, I chase it. That's what Jesus says in Revelation 
chapter three to the church in Laodicea. Notice in chapter two 
of Deuteronomy, verse seven, for the Lord, your God, has blessed 
you in all the work of your hand. He knows you are trudging through 
this great wilderness. These 40 years, the Lord, your 
God, has been with you. You have lacked nothing. Now, 
it wasn't the sorts of things that they had wanted. It wasn't 
the sort of life that they would have chosen. It wasn't the kinds 
of luxury and the kinds of treatment that they thought themselves 
worthy of. They concluded that the Lord 
was done with them. They concluded that the Lord 
was not with them. They concluded that the Lord 
actually hated them. And yet all the while, it's God 
upholding them as they trudge through the wilderness, making 
sure they have food, making sure they have water, making sure 
that their garments don't wear out, making sure that their feet 
don't swell up. In other words, God is satisfying 
every particular need that they have. He is upholding them and 
he is with them and he is blessing them. And their conclusion is 
the Lord isn't with me. I submit that we are very much 
like the children of Israel at times. When things don't go the 
way we think they should, we conclude God isn't with me. God 
is against me. God isn't for me. God is done 
with me. And it's just the opposite. That's 
what these people were concluding. And the Lord through Moses is 
saying that is simply not the case. You need to remember the 
Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness. Notice specific purpose. One, 
to humble you. That's our problem. We're proud. 
Israel was proud. They're arrogant. We think we're 
self-sufficient. We get to the point where we 
believe we don't need God. Israel was at that point several 
times in their history. They got to the place where they 
just forgot all about it. And he says this is one of the 
purposes of God in the wilderness was to humble you, to promote 
dependence upon him, not on themselves. As we have seen thus far in Deuteronomy, 
as we will see in chapter eight and in the remainder of biblical 
history, it was very easy for the people of God to forget him. 
What does humility do in our lives and when God humbles us? 
Hopefully it makes us come to him. When we're proud and arrogant 
and self-sufficient and everything's going well, verse 17 is our report. Look at verse 17. You know, maybe 
this isn't your particular sin. Maybe this isn't your particular 
struggle. But a lot of people in the history of the church 
have this issue. Then you say in your heart, my 
power and the might of my hand have gained me this well. And 
you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you 
power to get well, that he may establish his covenant, which 
he swore to your fathers as it is this day. You know, it's easy 
to recognize the miraculous power of God when he drops man out 
of heaven, isn't it? It's not as easy to recognize 
the power of God when we work a 50, 60 hour week, we get a 
paycheck, we cash the check, we go to Costco, we go to Superstore, 
we go to Walmart, we buy all of our particular goods, right? 
It's easy to forget that it's God who gives us the power to 
do those very things. You see, what God does in the 
wilderness is humble his children to teach them something. That 
time in the wilderness was adolescence for Israel. Adolescence is a 
time of maturation. It's a time to grow. It's a time 
to learn. It's a time to understand. And 
unfortunately, they took those lessons of adolescence and they 
cast them off. They concluded God doesn't care. 
God isn't with me. God doesn't love me. God actually 
hates me. Christians make the very same 
mistake. We go through periods of adolescence 
and because everything doesn't go perfectly, we conclude the 
Lord isn't with us. We need to reorient our minds 
and realize that God is humbling us. God is creating an environment 
where we will be dependent upon him, where we will, in fact, 
first Peter five, seven cast our burdens upon him because 
he cares for us. He says, I wanted to humble you 
and also to test them. Notice in verse two. 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. Isn't it interesting 
that in the wilderness the people tested God, didn't they? Didn't 
they do that at Meribah? When they do this at NASA, hasn't 
this already been brought out in Deuteronomy 6, 6, 16? You 
shall not test the Lord your God as you tested him at NASA. The idea being simple. God has 
said he's going to provide for us. We don't believe it. He needs 
to prove himself. He needs to show himself faithful. 
This grumbling attitude, this mindset of rejection and rebellion. 
What the people failed to realize is that they were seeking to 
test God when the whole situation was God testing them to manifest 
and demonstrate what was in them. Remember at Sinai, after the 
giving of the law, after the ratification of the covenant, 
when Moses reads through the stipulations, what do the people 
swear? The people swear all these words 
we will do. God takes him out into the wilderness 
and says, all right, let's see this. Let's see you obey my commandments. Let's see you do all these things 
that you proudly and arrogantly boast of. Let's see you fend 
for yourself out here. See, the Lord was testing them. All the words which the Lord 
has said we will do. Great! In the New Covenant, Jesus 
makes that same affirmation and carries it out on behalf of the 
Israel of God. Jesus does what they say in Exodus 
24, for which we can praise God, because there's not one of us 
who always does everything that the Lord our God commands. Remember 
those who seek out circumcision according to Galatians? You are 
a debtor to keep the whole law. That means personal, perpetual, 
absolute, complete obedience. What Israel fails to do, Jesus 
thankfully carries out. Again, we'll look at that in 
just a few moments, but it's beautiful. God is giving them. God is bringing them out, not 
because he hates them, but because he loves them. He is bringing 
these things to the forefront. It is to humble you and to test 
you to know what was in your heart. The idea here is not that 
God is searching for information. God's not scratching his head 
or wringing his hands, wondering if this is really an obedient 
people or not. He is showing them. He is making 
manifest in them. I think in the grand scheme and 
in the large purpose that they cannot obey the law and that 
they must needs have a Redeemer who comes to save them from their 
sins. God in the wilderness is not 
only teaching man something about himself, but he's teaching him 
something about his need for someone else to come and deliver 
him and to save him from his sins. Remember back in Deuteronomy 
5, you go near and hear all that the Lord our God may say and 
tell us all that the Lord our God says to you and we will hear 
and do it. So God says in the wilderness 
there were specific purposes to humble, to test, to know what 
was in their heart and whether they would keep his commandments 
or not. That was his purpose. Notice his provision. Food, clothing 
and physical strength. They thought he wasn't there. 
They thought he hated them. They thought he gave up on them. 
And yet all the while, food, clothing and physical strength. 
It's really horrible, isn't it? I mean, I guess if we had no 
food, no clothing, no physical strength and we were burning 
in hell, we could conclude that God is not for us. The fact that 
we're not in hell right there is a beautiful testimony that 
God is, at least for the time, favorable toward us. But he gives 
us food, clothing, physical strength. Notice specifically with reference 
to the food. He humbled you. He allowed you 
to hunger again, not because he delights in a sadistic way 
at watching his children squirm because they're hungry. No, he's 
creating dependence. He is showing them their need 
for him. You know, we look at the manna 
from heaven and we say, what a wonderful miracle. That miracle 
was simply to display a larger truth. Right. It wasn't just 
to feed their bellies for a day. You've heard that. Give a man 
a fish, you feed him for the day. Teach a man to fish, you 
feed him for his life. Israel, eating that manna each 
and every day, had to reflect upon the larger truth. Man shall 
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from 
the mouth of God. There's something more important, 
brethren, than our daily food. There's something more vital 
than bread. There's something more important 
than Taco Bell. And that is the word of the living 
and true God. That's what he says to the people 
here. He 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. The manna taught the children 
about dependence upon God. Not just for food, but for everything. The manna was symbolic. The manna 
was real. It really happened, to be sure. 
But it also pointed to that larger truth that man shall not live 
by bread alone. Meredith Klein said, the manna 
thus taught Israel that only as man stands obediently under 
his Lord's sovereign word, the ultimate source of life, does 
he find true and lasting life. There's one lesson we ought to 
get from the book of Deuteronomy is that we ought to read the 
book of Deuteronomy. We ought to read. We ought to remember. We ought to recall. We got to 
get the information concerning who God is into our hearts. Craigie said when the people 
were hungry, God fed them manna. The provision of manna was not 
simply a miracle, but it was designed to teach the Israelites 
a fundamental principle of their existence as the covenant people 
of God. The basic source of life was 
God and the words of God through his people. Every utterance of 
the mouth of the Lord was more basic to Israelite existence 
than was food. Now you see, they wouldn't have 
learned the lesson when they were just glutting themselves 
in the cucumbers and the garlic and the foods of Egypt. They 
would have never learned that dependence upon the living word 
of God when they were enjoying the bounty in Egypt. They would 
rather be slaves in Egypt as long as they had that food. They 
go out into the wilderness. God presses them a little bit. 
Again, it's not malicious. It's not sadistic. You've probably 
all done it with your children. You have withheld something from 
them to teach them a particular lesson. You have withheld something 
from them for their ultimate good and benefit. God pressed 
them into a position where they were hungry. They turned to the 
Lord for their ration, and He rains down manna upon them. This 
underscores the principle, God is the source of life. Moses 
comes and says, it's not just the daily bread you need to be 
concerned about, but it's every word that proceeds from the mouth 
of God. It's His Word. It's His truth. 
It's His wholly revealed mind. That is more life-sustaining 
than bread itself. Jesus alludes to this, not only 
in the wilderness, but in John chapter six. Remember, he feeds 
the five thousand and then he's the ruler over the waves. And 
then he gets into this discourse concerning bread from heaven. 
What is Jesus point in the discourse? He feeds the five thousand that 
gives the backdrop. You ate the food, you ate the 
bread. It satisfies for a day. But then 
you will die. You need the bread that came 
down from heaven that satisfies eternally. The Lord Jesus appeals 
to this concept. It's not just the physical bread 
that you need. You need Jesus, the bread of 
life, the one who satisfies to the uttermost, the one who gives 
you everlasting life. God's word is most important. That's what they needed to learn 
on the plains of Moab. The bread in the wilderness wasn't 
a cosmic trick to dazzle the people, nor was it simply a means 
to feed the people. This wasn't a big Sally Ann out 
on the, you know, out in the wilderness. Everybody just come 
get your bread. You were collecting that Omer 
for the day when you were collecting that manna. You need to thought 
you better be thinking about God. God provided this. God sent 
this. God sustains me. God is the good 
and Lord and giver of life. It was a lesson to highlight 
the absolute importance of dependence upon the word of God. Now, Jesus 
does the very or Jesus uses this text in the very same situation, 
the very same situation. He's in the wilderness. You ever 
wonder why Jesus went for 40 days into the wilderness. Jesus 
is Israel. OK, what Israel failed to do 
in the Old Testament, Jesus comes and does it in the New Testament. Doesn't Matthew tell us that 
Jesus went into Egypt out of Egypt? I have called my son. 
Doesn't Jesus pass through the waters in Matthew chapter three 
baptism? Isn't Jesus called the beloved 
son of God at the baptism? That's what Israel is. The firstborn 
son, according to Exodus four. Right after the waters, he passes 
through, he goes into the wilderness for 40 days. He is tried and 
he stands the test and he does not fold. He does not succumb. 
He does not knuckle under. He obeys completely. Jesus goes 
into exile, just like Israel. His exile happened to be the 
cross. And then he is restored, just like Israel. Matthew is 
weaving together a theology of Jesus as the fulfillment of everything 
that Israel failed to do. And it's very unique. It's very 
interesting. Jesus quotes this particular 
passage when he's in the very same situation. He's in the wilderness. The devil comes and says, turn 
these rocks into bread and eat. And what does he say? It's not 
by bread alone that man lives. It's by every word that proceeds 
from the mouth of God. What Israel didn't do, what Israel 
would fail to do. Our Lord Jesus executes perfectly 
and beautifully and wonderfully. He was the one. who fully embrace 
that task and that particular role. We need to understand that 
Jesus does. And again, we know the book of 
Deuteronomy. It would be different if we didn't 
know Israel's history. If we still thought that they 
might have gone out and obeyed. We know they didn't. I mean, 
we move through the book of Deuteronomy. They don't obey. In fact, Deuteronomy 
30 looks forward to the new covenant already. Why is that? Because 
God knows us. God realizes. God is teaching 
these people to look ahead, to look forward to the one who's 
supposed to come, look forward to the Messiah. So this provision 
of bread was to teach them and underscore this most important 
lesson that we don't live by bread alone, but man lives by 
every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Also, 
clothing, your garments did not wear out on you. He sustained 
you for 40 years. Your feet didn't swell. What 
does that mean? It means you could walk. And they said one of the most 
difficult things in the Vietnam War was jungle rot in the feet. Those men, those soldiers, were 
oftentimes in swamps and water, and their feet would get so pulverized 
they could hardly move. I mean, what a horrible thing. 
You don't get shot, you don't get bombed, you don't get, you 
know, blown up by something, and yet you can't continue in 
combat because your feet gave out. You see what God is saying, 
how do you think you manage for these 40 years? How do you think 
you did this? I like to ask the child of God 
is discouraged and downcast and dry. How do you think you're 
making it? How do you think you're coping? 
How do you think you're being sustained? I just it's the Lord. There's a power from outside 
that is sustaining you and keeping you. Paul says my or Jesus told 
him my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is is made a 
powerful in your weakness. This is what God the Lord is 
highlighting with the people here. Your garments did not wear 
out, nor did your foot swell these 40 years. While the children 
of Israel doubted God's word, his promise, his care, his provision, 
it was God who sustained them entirely throughout the 40 years. Craigie again makes this perceptive 
statement. He says the wilderness makes 
or breaks a man. We're not just talking about, 
you know, a survival man who goes out and gets dropped off 
out in the woods. Ooh, can he make it? It's not about this 
wilderness, this 40 years that Israel endured, but also the 
wilderness that you and I engage in as Christians, those times 
of trial, those times of humbling, those times of testing, those 
times where God is manifesting what is really in our heart. 
Craigie says the wilderness makes or breaks a man. It provides 
strength of will or character. The strength provided by the 
wilderness, however, was not the strength of self-sufficiency, 
but the strength that comes from the knowledge of the living God. That's how the wilderness makes 
or breaks a man. That's how the wilderness demonstrates 
what really is in our heart. When the difficulties come and 
when the trials affect us, Are we going to run and cry or are 
we going to run and flee to the Lord God most high? We just sang 
it tonight, though troubles assail us and dangers of fright, though 
friends should all fail us and foes all unite. Yet one thing 
secures us, whatever be tied. The promise assures us the Lord 
will provide some of that statement. Though troubles assail us and 
dangers of fright, though friends should all fail us and foes all 
unite, yet one thing secures us, whatever be tied. The promise 
assures us the Lord will provide. Not only study your Bible, not 
only recall God in history, meet old saints in the church and 
ask them questions about what they've learned serving the Lord 
in their lives. It's a blessed exercise. We have 
lots to learn about people. that have gone from people that 
have gone through trials that have gone through difficulties 
that the Lord has sustained. And they come out on the other 
side, shining bright and singing the glory and praises of God 
Almighty. That's what he wanted them to 
remember life in the wilderness. You need to remember how God 
sustained you in the difficulty, in the difficult times. You see, 
there's a specific strategy for dealing in bad times. In bad 
times, we need to look past the bad and we need to realize there 
is a God in heaven who has a smiling face, who is orchestrating all 
of this providence ultimately for our good. Verse 16, to do 
you good in the end. I'm sure that if you drop down 
in year 20 to the people of Israel in the wilderness and you said, 
do you think God has good in mind with this? They'd say, absolutely 
not. Look at what we're dealing with. 
Fiery serpents. We got to deal with scorpions. 
We got to deal with all these issues and trials and challenges 
and difficulties. What do you mean? Does the Lord 
have good in end? No, he does. We need to we need 
to learn the strategy that strategy that in the midst of difficulty, 
we need to throw ourselves upon the mercy of God and realize 
that Romans 830 or 828 is a reality. But the following portion of 
the chapter is going to deal with how to deal in times of 
plenty. There's certainly difficulty 
connected with that as well. But let's just look at verse 
5. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, 
so the Lord your God chastens you. This is just something we 
have to understand, something we have to appropriate. Turn 
back for just a moment to Exodus 4. I already alluded to this, 
but it's good for us to see. Exodus 421, and the Lord said 
to Moses, when you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those 
wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in your hand. But 
I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 
Then you shall say to Pharaoh, thus says the Lord, Israel is 
my son, my first born. So I say to you, let my son go 
that he may serve me. But if you refuse to let him 
go, indeed, I will kill your son, your first born. Then we 
already looked at Deuteronomy chapter one. You can look back 
there. Deuteronomy 131. And in the wilderness where you saw 
how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son 
and all the way that you went until you came to this place, 
isn't that beautiful imagery? Man, the people of Israel should 
have just been weeping right there. You mean we thought he 
was trying to kill us? We thought he hated us. We thought 
he was against us and the whole while he was carrying us. He was the one that was sustaining 
that sustaining us. He was the one that carried us 
through. He wants them to learn this principle. You need to know 
in your heart. Again, this isn't just catechism 
here. Yeah, you need to know God deals 
with you as a loving father. That's catechetical. You need 
to know it in your heart. Experiential. That means you 
need to appropriate it. You need to get it in there. 
You need to make this a non-negotiable. You need to realize that whatever 
may come, whatever trials happen, whatever difficulties affect 
me, I know that the Lord God is for me, that he chastens me 
for my benefit. Chastening stems from the love 
of God, not the hatred of God. It's a terrible parent who spanks 
his kid because he hates him. That's called abuse. It's not 
abuse when you love your kid and you don't want him to do 
foolish things. You know, your kid does something terrible, 
he should get a good whack. Because you love him, right? 
Right? Everybody with me? This is how 
God deals. When we go do foolish things 
as Christians and God slaps us on the rear end, We ought to 
appreciate that we ought to praise him. Chastening stems from the 
love of God, not the hatred of God. Chastening is an indication 
of God's concern, not the evidence of his abandonment. Proverbs 
13, he who spares his rod, spares the rod, hates his son. Right, 
that's the principle, but whoever loves him disciplines him promptly. He spanks him and then hugs him 
and kisses him and, you know, does all that sort of thing. 
But there's that principle. You don't let your kid do foolish 
things. God doesn't do that. Chastening is an indication of 
his concern, not the evidence of his abandonment. And chastening 
has a specific purpose so that you'll know that the Lord your 
God cares for you. All right. Christopher Wright 
says the wilderness then was the time of Israel's adolescence 
in which God taught them and disciplined them through hardship 
and suffering. Now I've said it before in this 
context I'll say it again probably have to say it you know another 
however many times and we study passages like this. It is God's 
way to bring us through trials and difficulties to conform us 
to the image of Jesus. That's what you signed up for. 
If you don't want that, I'm sorry. You sign your name on the wrong 
dotted line. You sign up for Uncle Sam and 
he says, you've got to do this. You've got to do it. Same with 
the Canadian forces wherever you sign up. You've got to do 
it when you sign up with reference to Christianity. And it's God's 
way to oftentimes bring us through chastening because we're hard 
hearted. We're thick skulled and we need 
him to deal with us at times very severely. In Hebrews chapter 
12, it says, And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks 
to you as to sons. My son, do not despise the chasing 
of the Lord. I love this. Nor be discouraged 
when you are rebuked by him. Why? For whom the Lord loves, 
he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives. If you 
endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what 
son is there whom a father does not chase it? But if you are 
without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then 
you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had 
human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect. Right. 
Isn't that the way it goes? It's kind of nice, but having 
older sons, I sometimes say, you know, we talk about how good 
or how bad life was or is, and I've asked them before, did spankings 
make you hate me? And at least I don't think they 
lied to me. They said, no, not the spankings. I'm kidding. I'm just kidding 
there, boys. It didn't ruin them. You know, 
I've shared before. I saw a prince, you know, Proverbs 
13 in my own life. My father, I could get away with 
murder in front of him. to do anything in front of my 
father. My friends thought that was so cool. Oh, your dad's so 
cool. You can do this or you can do 
that. Deep down in my heart, I thought, he doesn't care about 
me. What father would let his son do that? What father in his 
right mind would let his son do that? He'd spank him or he 
would discipline him. He wouldn't allow that. You see, 
the principle is clear. God corrects us. God scourges 
us. We have had human fathers who 
corrected us and we paid them respect. Note the implication. 
Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father 
of spirits and live and live for they indeed for a few days 
chastened us as seen best to them. But he for our profit that 
we may be partakers of his holiness. Verse 11 is clear. Now, no chastening 
seems to be joyful for the present. You know, none of the kids ever 
came out. Sounds great. Thank you. Can I have more? If 
that happened, you knew you didn't spank him hard enough. You know, 
Albert Martin has a whole series on child rearing and he tells 
about how when he was taken into the bathroom, you know, they'd 
pull the blinds and he'd get the spanking and whatnot. And 
if he came out and he didn't, you know, his spirit, his attitude 
hadn't changed. Pastor Martin's mom would tell 
his father, Oh, he doesn't look sweet enough yet. Take him back 
in there, you know, let him have it again. So so it's not joyful 
for the present. This is a no brainer. It's painful. Verse 11. This is tough to get 
our minds wrapped around. We don't think the Christian 
life should mean pain, but at times it does. There is pain 
because of our sin, because of our stubbornness, because of 
our hard heartedness, or just because God needs to instruct 
us in a particular lesson that we haven't learned yet. Nevertheless, 
he continues, afterward, when it's all said and done, it yields 
the peaceable fruit of righteousness. And here's another statement 
that just flies across the grain to those who have been trained 
by it. The language is pretty conspicuous. It's not a one time good deal. You know, it's not the case when 
your kid's four and he does something foolish. You take him in and 
you spank him and you fix him. If you've had that happen, you 
are the one person. One spank doesn't fix the kid, 
does it? Foolishness is bound up in the 
heart. Isn't that what the scripture 
says? The rod will drive it far from him. It's training. It's the long haul. It's day 
in and day out. I'm not suggesting every lesson 
we learn, everything that we have to go through is painful 
and it hurts. And it's, you know, 40 years 
of scorpions and fiery serpents. But I am suggesting that for 
most people in the Christian life, there will be seasons, 
there will be times, there will be difficulties and challenges. 
And the whole theology of it is revealed here for you in Hebrews 
12, five to nine. 5 to 5 to I'm sorry Hebrews 12 
5 to 11. No chastening seems to be joyful 
for the present but painful. Nevertheless afterward it yields 
the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained 
by it. That's what God is reminding them on the plains of Moab trying 
to equip them fortify them strengthen them so when they get into the 
land they don't get this self satisfied smug appreciation for 
what they've accomplished and how they have done it. They need 
to be humble. They need to realize who God 
is and how he has carried them and he has blessed them and he 
has brought them to this place. So that's the reminder of life 
in the wilderness. Well, let us pray. Father, thank 
you for your word and thank you for the fact that it not only 
states the truth, but it tells us why. We thank you that you 
chase in your children as a father chases his son. We thank you 
that you use that imagery, God, that we so readily connect with. We thank you that that you have 
that relationship to your people in and through the Lord Jesus. 
We praise you for Christ. We praise you that he underwent, 
that he did everything perfectly, that he satisfied your law, that 
he satisfied the demands of the covenant, that he died as a sacrifice 
and that he rose again and that in him we have everlasting life. 
In him, we have everything a sinner needs, and we just give you praise 
and glory for that. Help us to learn the lessons 
that we need from this passage, from this chapter. Help us, God, 
not to forget your kindness, not to forget your demonstration 
of power in our lives, the way that you have sustained us and 
provided it for us and all these things. God, help us to reflect 
upon you. Help us to be students of your 
word, and help us, God, to resist the temptation to forget you. 
May we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.