Life in the Wilderness and Canaan

Scripture Reading

Deuteronomy chapter 8, Deuteronomy chapter 8, in the largest of the exhortations given by God through Moses on the plains of Moab to the second generation as they're poised and ready to enter into the promised land to engage in the conquest, to dispossess the land of the Canaanites, and then to inherit the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So the longest of the exhortations is in chapters 5 to 28, and it's basically an exhortation to loyalty to God, fidelity to the covenant, and faithfulness and obedience in the way that they conduct themselves in the land that the Lord their God is giving them. So I'll read Deuteronomy 8, beginning in verse 1.

"'Every commandment which I command you today, "'you must be careful to observe, "'that you may live and multiply, "'and go in and possess the land "'of which the Lord swore to your fathers. "'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 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.

Introduction

So again, further exhortation on faithfulness to God, obedience to the covenant with God as they inherit the promised land that God made the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

As one man particularly says, or one man says, Christopher Wright, the wilderness, which was a place of testing, produced blessing in the end. If you look at the end of verse 16, it says, to do you good in the end. So the wilderness, which was a place of testing, produced blessing in the end, whereas the land, which would be a place of blessing, would also be a place of testing of the people's loyalty and humility.

God's Threefold Purpose for Israel

And so basically what God does here through Moses is give them a reminder concerning life in the wilderness. He sets forth the promises concerning life in Canaan, and then he calls them or cautions them with reference to a potential danger that they will face when they enjoy the blessings that God has given. So first, the reminder of life in the wilderness in verses 1 to 5. Secondly, the promise of life in Canaan in verses 6 to 10. And then finally, the warning with reference to life in Canaan in verses 11 to 20.

Meredith Klein says the focal point of the chapter is verse 17, with its picture of future Israel at ease in Canaan, basking in self-congratulations.

The recollection of God's providential guidance during the 40 years in the wilderness would afford the corrective for such vanity." So again, putting it in the context of what God had done with them and for them up to this point should hopefully be a reminder to them that as they inherit that land, they're not supposed to devolve in or degenerate from their covenant obligations.

It's kind of tough because we know that's exactly what they do. We know it's tough because after we finish the book of Joshua, we see that there is just this constant degeneration. There is a constant canonization that takes place in the children of Israel. But at this point, with reference to this particular time frame, God is exhorting them to faithfulness.

The Reminder of Life in the Wilderness

So note first the reminder of life in the wilderness in verses one to five. First, we see the purpose of God for Israel. So there's a reminder in verse one, something that has come up often in the book of Deuteronomy, all throughout the Pentateuch, 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 father.

So God gave the promise to the patriarchs And then God called the nation of Israel into covenant with them. They ratify that covenant at the base of Sinai in Exodus chapter 24. And the people in verses 3 and 7 swear fidelity to Yahweh. They say, all that the Lord has commanded, we will do. All that the Lord has commanded, we will obey.

Of course, by the time you get to chapter 32, they're dancing around a golden calf and saying that it was the one that brought them out of the land of Egypt. As I mentioned, once we get past the plains of Moab, through a positive presentation of the conquest through Joshua, then you see the degeneration really take place in the Old Covenant people. It was a covenant of works wherein they were supposed to be faithful and obedient to all that the Lord had commanded them. So these oft times exhortations ought to be expected specifically with reference to a people that are going to inherit the land and one of the ways that they retain the land is through their faithfulness to the living God.

God's Divine Initiative and Purpose in the Wilderness

And then notice he reminds them concerning the wilderness, verse 2. Remember the wilderness? God delivers old covenant Israel out of Egypt. And then they go through that wilderness, the first generation is basically cut off, and that brings us to the second generation here on the plains of Moab. But God shows his divine purpose in that timeframe concerning the wilderness. So 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, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

Thus far, it is evident that they are not. Thus far, it is obvious that they have not, because that first generation was cut off. But note the divine initiative there. It wasn't Moses acting unilaterally who just woke up one day and said, I want to be a social justice warrior, and I want to get these people out from under bondage in Egypt.

No, it was divine initiative. God instituted this plan, God ordained this plan, and God called Moses to function in a mediatorial capacity. And then in terms of the divine purpose, it's very obvious, to humble Israel. What does it mean to humble Israel? It was to promote or produce dependence upon God. And oftentimes, brethren, in our Christian lives, that's the way it is. We can get very self-sufficient and forget about God's sufficiency And I think that's the ultimate aim in chapter 8 is so that the people do not forget God, but rather they remember God and His kindness.

And when they review the wilderness, it would have been in them to complain. It would have been in them to grumble. We know that because while they're in the midst of it, they complain and they grumble. They wanted to go back to Egypt where they were enslaved because they wanted the food that was associated with slavery in Egypt.

So a grumbling people in the wilderness, subsequent to the book of Deuteronomy, there's a grumbling people that inherit the blessings from God. And in the New Covenant, there's grumbling people, or else Paul wouldn't caution us against that in Philippians chapter 2. We're not supposed to be a grumbling people that are unthankful to the living God.

So he wants to humble them in the wilderness. to promote dependence on Him and not themselves. He wants God-sufficiency and not self-sufficiency. But as well, to test Israel. He led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness to humble you and test you. Israel sinfully tested God according to chapter 6 and verse 16. God in a righteous way tests the children of Israel to know.

God's Manifestation of His Presence

Now when it says that it doesn't indicate that there's stuff that God doesn't know. God obviously knows. God is omniscient, there's no fact unknown to God. But what it is, is to make it manifest that they are trusting in themselves, they are exalting themselves, they are full of pride and self-sufficiency. So the wilderness was designed to humble them, it was designed to test them, and it was designed to know what was in their heart. Again, God knows what's in their heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not, but it would be declarative, it would be manifest. When God comes to Adam and Eve in the garden and he questions them, it's not because God is looking for information.

Just like when a child has chocolate all over his mouth and his hand is coming out of the cookie jar, you know exactly what's happened, you know exactly what's happening, but if you were to say, what are you doing? Or are you stealing the cookies? Well of course you know that, but you want to make it manifest and declare the reality of the guiltiness on the part of that child. And so when these things are put forth this way, it puts the whole wilderness context in a different light.

Because again, what they did brought it on in many ways, but what they did was blessed ultimately of God to produce these particular ends. So we see His initiative, we see His purpose, but we see His presence as well. Notice again in verse 2, and you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness. God led them. God was present with them. God was amongst them. And again, when it seems like we're in the wilderness, and it seems like we're wandering around, and it seems like nothing happens to be going our particular way, there is that tendency to conclude, where's God?

Why has God left us? Why has God abandoned us? In fact, as you move through the book of Numbers, you see that kind of sentiment expressed on many occasions by the children of Israel. Many things have changed for the new covenant children of Israel. We've got difficult situations, we've got wildernesses in our lives, and we then conclude that God is not with us. We don't see for a moment, or we don't gain sight for the moment, that what God is doing in the midst of the wilderness, or what God is doing in the midst of our trials, is ultimately for His glory, and it's ultimately for our good.

God's Provision in the Wilderness

And then notice the manner in which He led them according to verses 3 and 4. 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.

So the food that they ate was a sign, a representation, a manifestation of God's presence among them and God's provision to them. Again, Klein says, 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. This is what it was designed to promote and produce in the people of God. And then Craigie says, 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 to his people. Every utterance of the mouth of the Lord was more basic to Israelite existence than was food.

So that was the design behind the manna. Again, it wasn't just to dazzle them or impress them or to show off his power and ability over nature or supernaturally to manufacture bread and have it fall down from heaven so that the people could eat. It was designed to promote in them dependence upon the Lord. It was designed to promote in them God's sufficiency and not a self-sufficiency.

Jesus does the same thing when he teaches us to pray, give us this day our daily bread. In other words, we're supposed to be dependent upon God and know that every good gift comes from our Father. Every good blessing that we receive, it's not based on what we've done or what we've accomplished or how we've maneuvered or navigated, but it's ultimately owing to God.

And that's the issue in the chapter. Just, you know, spoiler alert, look at verse 17. Here's the problem. Then you say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth. They're not supposed to engage in that kind of pride. They're not supposed to engage in that kind of self-exaltation.

Notice, it's not only the food they ate, but the clothes that they wore. Verse 4, your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these 40 years. So their garments were preserved by God. Their health was preserved by God. So the children of Israel thought in the wilderness that the Lord had brought them out there to do horrible things to them and with that. But all the while he's preserving, all the while he's providing, all the while he's blessing, all the while to do you good in the end.

God's Purpose in Difficulties

And that's probably one of the tougher lessons in the Christian religion is that God does cause all things to work for good. And I've often said in Romans chapter 8 at verse 28, when Paul says God causes all things to work for good, he most likely isn't talking about the good things.

We wouldn't need convincing of that. We wouldn't need convincing that finding a bag of money is going to work out in our favor. Getting a job promotion is going to work out in our favor. Getting a good wife or a good husband is going to work out. Of course we know that. It's the difficult things. It's the hard things. It's the bad things. We know that God causes those things to work out for good. To those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. Again, Craigie makes this statement. He 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 a knowledge of the living God.

So with reference to food, you need to know that it's not just earthly bread that you must have. You need to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. When it comes to the clothing you wear, God preserved you, God kept you, God kept you warm. And when it comes to the health that you enjoy, your feet were able to take you that long track to bring you to the plains of Moab.

So God tells them the specific purpose with reference to the wilderness by way of reminder to then give them the encouragement of what's happening in the land of Canaan or what's waiting for them in the land of Canaan and then to caution them. But before that, we just finish this section in the first part. Verse five, you should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord God, your God chastens you.

Divine Chastening as Fatherly Love

First, let's just think about this analogy, this sonship analogy. You can turn back to the book of Exodus. There's no accident that Adam was a son of God. If you read Luke's genealogy, tracing back to Adam, it calls Adam the son of God. Israel was a son of God. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. So notice in Exodus 4 at verse 21.

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 firstborn. 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 firstborn.

So back to Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 5. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. It's not haphazard that this particular analogy is used. It's not haphazard that this particular comparison is used. Israel is a son of God. In fact, look back at Deuteronomy chapter 1. Deuteronomy chapter 1. Verse 26.

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. 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.

So this is a rehearsal of what God had done in terms of the exodus and subsequent wilderness wanderings. This is the interpretation of how the old covenant Israelites saw life in the wilderness. Notice in verse 29, Then I said to you, Do not be terrified or afraid of that.

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, 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. So they interpreted the wilderness as if God had led them out to destroy them. God had led them out, cut them off from slavery in Egypt because they thought that they had it better there than as free men in the wilderness on their way to a land flowing with milk and honey. So God says no, or Moses by God says that as a man carries his son, so the Lord your God carried you. verse 32, 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 the same lesson is reiterated here in chapter 8 at verse 5, You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. In other words, Life in the wilderness is life in the wilderness. He's not mitigating the difficulties, not mitigating or saying there was no hardships or whatever, but it's those hardships that God uses to bring conformity to His Son. And this, again, is a grand purpose of God.

You've got it in Proverbs chapter 3, don't despise the chastening of the Lord. The author of Hebrews picks that up in Hebrews chapter 12. Do not despise the chasing of the Lord. Why? Because whom the Lord loves, He reproves. Whom the Lord loves, He corrects.

To the worst of the seven churches, Laodicea and Revelation 3:19, Jesus says, as many as I love, I reprove. So this concept of difficulty in the Christian life is no argument whatsoever for the absence of God in the Christian life.

In fact, it's probably just the opposite. And I know when I say this, somebody is going to go out and say, you know, life's going pretty good. That must mean I've been abandoned by God. I'm not suggesting that. But the presence of trials and hardships are no argument for the absence of God. Christ in the boat, nevertheless, was with the disciples in the storm. Just because Jesus is in your boat doesn't mean you're not going to have a storm. Just because Jesus is, you know, in your life where you have communion, saving communion with our Lord Jesus, doesn't mean it's always going to be sunshine. There's never going to be wind. There's never going to be waves. There's never going to be hardship.

No, it's the hardships that God uses in terms of chastening to further conform us unto the image of His Son. And of course, Hebrews 5a, though he, Christ, was a son, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. That is the reality. If Christ learned obedience through suffering, then it's hard for me to imagine that the disciples of Christ are going to learn obedience through prosperity all the time, or through never suffering, or never having hardship, or never having difficulty. Christopher Wright again says, the wilderness then was the time of Israel's adolescence in which God taught them and disciplined them through hardship and suffering. Probably if we were designing the Christian religion and we were the benefactors of it, we'd leave that part out. Who wants chastening? Who wants discipline? Who wants hardship?

Well, if you turn to Hebrews chapter 12, as I mentioned, the apostle refers to the chastening of the Lord in terms of his purpose for his people. So basically what you have in Hebrews chapter 12 is a particular command very, very clearly set forth in verse one.

Notice in verse 1 it says, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. That's the point of the apostle in this passage. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. He not only gives us that command, but he gives us three incentives on following that command. The first is verse 1. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. So what's one of the incentives?

Look back at Hebrews chapter 11. Look back at godly Noah. Look back at godly Abraham. Look back at godly Moses. Look back at godly Jacob. or in the analogy used here, look up in the amphitheater of these witnesses. And the witnesses are not up there cheering us on in our run. That's not what the witnesses are doing. The witnesses are there encouraging us in our run with their unanimous consent and testimony that God is faithful. Let us run with endurance. Why? Because Abraham testifies that God is faithful. Because Sarah testifies that God is faithful. Because Abel testifies that God is faithful.

That's incentive one. The second is there in verse 2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. So run with endurance the race that is set before us. You've got the testimony of the witnesses, and you've got the pattern of Jesus. And the pattern of Jesus is shame, cross, suffering, then exaltation. What do you think the author is trying to impress upon us? While we run with endurance the race that is set before us, we need to understand that there is an enduring of the cross and a despising of the shame before we sit down on the throne of glory with our blessed Savior. So that's the second incentive. And then the third is the purpose of God the Father.

Notice in verse 5. and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him. For whom the Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, that word endure is very prominent throughout this context, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a father does not chasten?

This is natural. This is built into the creation. This is just part of the fabric of life. Of course fathers discipline their children. Of course fathers seek to restrain their children. Of course fathers don't let children run around with sharp objects. Of course, fathers don't let them run out into the street in front of moving vehicles. Of course, we stop them, we yell at them, and in a gracious, loving, and compassionate way, of course, I'm sure Micah can testify, and we discipline them to restrain them. But then notice what he goes on to say, 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. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them. You know what I see there? I see not only the argument, but I see a bit of an encouragement for parents. It's a tough job, parenting. You're not always going to get it right.

And there is that, for they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them. The blood-bought children of God who have the Holy Spirit, they've got the scriptures as pattern, as command, as guide, but we still mess up. And I think that's how the argument works here. They they did that. They did the best they could. They still messed up.

But notice, but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. Now, 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. So Israel needed to learn that lesson. Arguably, they didn't, because post-Joshua success, they fall right back into those patterns of absolute lawlessness and wretchedness. Now, that doesn't mean everything in Joshua is A-OK 100%, but it's a whole lot better presentation than Judges.

So back to Deuteronomy chapter 8, God underscores with reference to this reminder of life in the wilderness, you should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. So it's not the case that God drove you out to the wilderness to humble you and to test you and to reveal the wretchedness of your hearts so he could cut you off, so he could throw you into hell, so he could be done with.

No, no. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. I think that's a good lesson for all of us. We should know in our heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord our God chastens us. He disciplines us so that we may be partakers of His holiness. And of course, no discipline at the moment feels good. It's painful, but it yields the peaceable fruit of holiness to those who've been trained by it. So Israel is being taught this on the plains of Moab.

The Promise of Life in Canaan

That brings us then to the promise of life in Canaan, verses 6 to 10.

Notice again the exhortation, verse 6, therefore, based on that reality, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. It's a recurring theme. That is a refrain throughout the book of Deuteronomy. God's not here to tell you what to do so you can go out and do just the opposite. No, you're supposed to do what you're called to do and to do it faithfully as you swore at the base of Sinai. And then the promise comes in verses 7 to 9. And it's a promise that we probably would expect. It's the promise kind of amplified from what God had given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

There's going to be an abundance of water. I mean, that was a problem in the wilderness, wasn't it? That's why they tested God at Meribah and Massah. They said, did God lead us all the way out here so we could die of thirst? So God tells them in verse seven, 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 And then not only a generous water supply, but an abundance of food.

Notice again in verse 8, 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. And not only water and food, but resources for civilization building. They're not only supposed to go into the land, but they're supposed to keep the land, and they're supposed to function in the land in such a way as they can mediate the blessings of Israel's God to the nations around them. This is Deuteronomy chapter 4. God calls Israel to Himself, and programmatically they were supposed to be a faithful, holy people, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a kingdom of praise, so that they could mediate the blessings of Yahweh. But notice, or notice rather, verse 9b, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.

God's not anti-progress. God is pro-progress. If you need this for civilization building, you're going to have it for civilization building. I'm not sure where we got this mindset that, you know, going back to swinging from vines and trees and living in huts is somehow the ideal. God's not anti-civilization.

He's telling them, I'm going to give you a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. Why? So you can make tools, so you can exercise dominion, so you can make weapons to fight off enemies, and so that you can take the land and thrive and flourish and produce. In fact, as we move through this chapter, God is so not anti, you know, production, we see that He calls them to praise Him for what it is He has blessed them with.

This guilt idea that, you know, we've got a rich country and we should just be filled with, you know, envy and shame. Again, I'm not suggesting we're some Christian country, but how about a little gratitude for the Most High, who built this land with oil in it, who built this land flanked by oceans, who built this land with all kinds of natural resources. Why the guilt? And why not gratitude to God for what He has blessed us with?

Again, you don't come out of the book of Deuteronomy thinking that poverty, misery, suffering, pain, deprivation is somehow the blessing of God. No, it's the opposite. It is the provision of God that is the blessing. Notice then the response. Usually when we give thanks for our meal, we pray before the meal. Lord, thank you for this burrito and these cookies. And there are treats over there if anybody wants some of those. But notice 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. That, you know, we give gifts to our children.

Why? Because we hate them and despise them and want them to be miserable? No. I think it's because we love them and are kind to them and want them to be happy. Are we holier than God? Why does God give them these provisions? So you can bless the Lord your God for the good land which he has given you. The recognition of God's provision and the gratitude for God's provision.

It just goes hand in hand. And as well, if you think through this, he's spoken about the manna in the wilderness. When they get into the promised land, it's not gonna be manna from heaven. It's gonna be planting seeds and it's gonna be growing crops.

God is as much responsible for the production of crops through natural means as he is for the giving of manna through supernatural means. God is as much to be thanked for, you know, Costco's and Walmart's and wherever it is we find our daily bread, as is the man out of heaven. This is God that has provided and God who has given and God says when you have eaten and are full then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which he has given you. So pretty obviously here's what life in the wilderness was like, you tested me and saw that I was faithful Here's what life in Canaan is going to be like.

You're going to get an abundance of water, you're going to get an abundance of food, and I'm going to throw in some metals that you need to build civilization further so that you can shine as a light to the pagans around you and tell them that Yahweh Most High is the living and true God.

The Warning Against Forgetting God

But you need to beware of something, and that's the latter part, verses 11 to 20. You need to understand that when you go into this land and you reap the many benefits that I have promised to give you, there may just be a tendency in your heart to start patting yourself on the back and thinking that you have amassed this wealth. That's the emphasis in verses 11 to 20. So note in verse 11, beware that you do not forget the Lord your God. Notice back in Deuteronomy 6. Deuteronomy chapter 6. Again, same sort of emphasis. Verses 10 to 12. We'll just pick up at verse 12.

Then beware lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. This whole principle is incorporated in the Proverbs. Give me neither poverty nor riches. If I'm poor, I'll steal, and dishonor the Lord. If I'm rich, I'll forget the Lord, and bask in my self-sufficiency, and in my hard work, and in my industry, and in my strategy, and in my tactics, and in my abilities. That's what Israel was prone to do.

They were prone to wander, prone to leave the God they love, and that's why he says, beware that you do not forget the Lord your God. How do we know they're forgetting the Lord their God? By not keeping his commandments, by not keeping his judgments, by not keeping his statutes which I command you today. In other words, it's not just a conscious or a cognizant forgetting of God, but it's a demonstrable forgetting of God through their actions, when they violate the covenant, when they transgress the law, when they come up short with reference to obedience.

This is manifold evidence that disobedience displays ingratitude and a forgetfulness of the God who has blessed you. from the caution, he moves to the demonstration in verses 12 to 17. How will we know this? Well, verses 12 to 17, 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 you good in the end."

So again, the possession of such is not sin. God's not saying the very fact that you have silver and gold makes me angry and I'm going to cut you off. No, God gave them the silver and gold. The very fact that you have these houses that you didn't build. The very fact that you have these vineyards that you didn't hew out. No, it's not the possession of the things.

It's the mindset behind the things and that's what verses 14 to 17 get at. When your heart is lifted up and you forget the Lord your God. What is demonized in the passage is not their possession of things, it's their wrongful possession of those things. It is trusting in their own ability. It is looking to themselves. It is not acknowledging and blessing God for the good gifts that he has given to them. The possession of such is from God.

But the obvious implication is that when you receive such, you bless God and you live in light of God's word and you seek to be faithful. So again, this concept that somehow there's more holiness in poverty. There's, you know, wretched poor people. There can be holy rich people. It's not the possessions. It's our mindset, our attitude with the reception of the possessions that is condemned.

So the lifting up of their hearts. Christopher Wright again says this, and I think this is very perceptive. Sufficiency generates praise. verses 7 to 10. But surplus generates pride. That's always the temptation or the tendency. I've got a little note written by, it's from C.S. Lewis in my margin next to that Proverbs 30 proverb. I think he has a perceptive comment there. So the proverb is, remove falsehood and lies far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food allotted to me. Lest I be full and deny you and say, who is the Lord? or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

Lewis says prosperity knits a man to the world. He feels that he is finding his place in it. Well, really it is finding its place in him. And I think that's the essence of what is happening here. When they receive the benefits of God, when they receive the blessings of God, when they receive the silver and gold from God, They look at the gift and they forget the giver.

And God says, don't, don't do that. So the lifting up of their hearts and then the forgetting of God in 14b to 16. Again, look at what it says here. 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, 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. You're forgetting that God, the God of the Exodus, the God of the wilderness, the God who saved you from scorpions, the God who saved you from fiery serpents. You're going to take his gifts and use it as the foil for forgetting him and apostatizing from him?

The Remedy Against Pride

And then verse 17 is the capstone.

Then you say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth. That's the caution, that's the prohibition, that's the danger and the warning by God through Moses here on the plains of Moab. Again, Craigie says, 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. Wright says, that is, it is mine to enjoy, to exploit as I wish. My abilities, my strength, my hard work, my cleverness, and my professional skills produced it. Ergo, it is mine. Self-exaltation and self-interest underlie the claim.

And you see here the wisdom of God, right? God knows how it's going to go, so God warns them prior to it going that particular way with reference to these propensities. And he does the same for us in the New Testament. And then the defense, how do you defend yourself against this mindset? How do you get into the proper framework where you don't forget God, where you don't say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth? Well, it's in verse 18a. And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth. What's the way to guard against forgetting God? Well, here specifically, remember God. How do you not forget God? By remembering God.

Yes, reading your Bible. Yes, listening to the Bible. Yes, reviewing the promises of God. Yes, reviewing what He's done in terms of the Old Testament, New Testament, and His great redemptive acts. It's a pretty simple response. If your problem is you're forgetting God, don't forget God. Remember Him. I mean, verse 18 is simple.

You remember the provision of God, but also remember the covenant of 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. So remember His provision, remember His covenant, live in light of those things, and don't forget Him.

Remember Him. One of the reasons for the Lord's Supper, do this what? In remembrance of me. One of the reasons for corporate worship, among others, but we need to remember the truth of God's Holy Word. One of the reasons why you should be intaking the Bible regularly. Why? So you can remember Him and not forget Him. Because if the tendency is to forget God, then the remedy is to not forget God by remembering Him.

The Consequences of Apostasy

And then the consequences should they sin in 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. Now, the entirety of the Decalogue is to be obeyed, the judgments, the statutes, the ordinances, and the commandments of God. But the first is utilized here as sort of the overarching theme. The first is utilized here as the ultimate litmus test in terms of their fidelity as the covenant people.

If they go a whoring from God, if you by any means forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, And it doesn't have to be Baal, doesn't have to be Asherah, doesn't have to be Molech, doesn't have to be Dagon, doesn't have to be all the gods of the heathen.

It could be yourself. Verse 17 describes self-worship. Verse 17 describes, you know, this exaltation of self. I would suggest that that's probably the most dangerous idol that exists. It's the one we see in the mirror every morning. In fact, in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, as the apostle is extolling the redemptive work of Jesus, he says, What's the implication?

Prior to your salvation, You live for yourself. Prior to your salvation, you said, My power and the might of My hand have gained me this wealth. So remember God and understand that if you go a-whoring from Him, then, verse 19b, 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. And again, that's programmatic for what's going to happen subsequent to Joshua and the good things that come in that first phase of the conquest. But what happens post-Joshua is the rapid decline of Old Covenant Israel, and they become like the Canaanites they were supposed to dispossess from the land. When they become like the Canaanites they were supposed to dispossess from the land, guess what happens to them? Verse 20, as the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.

The Northern Kingdom, 722 BC. Southern Kingdom, 586 BC. The entirety of the nation as a body politic and a religious community, AD 70. God brought judgment upon them because they broke the covenant. And if anybody were to ever say, well, that doesn't seem fair, it's absolutely positively fair and just because Deuteronomy 28 is going to promise them that very thing. If you go into the land and you act like the Canaanites, then guaranteed you're going to be exiled like the Canaanites. If you go into the land and act like the Canaanites, then you're going to be dispossessed just like they were. And historically, that happens through Syria, Babylon, and Rome.

So God calls his people to remember the wilderness, he entices his people with the promise of good things to come, and then he warns his people with the dangers that lie in that prosperity. It's not that prosperity is bad, it's the forgetting of God that's bad, and that's what's condemned.

Christ as the True Israel

So by way of conclusion, the provision of God in the wilderness, protection, and goods.

He made them eat. He never let their clothes wear out. He sustained their feet and legs. The promise of God to the patriarchs, 18b, 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. But I would suggest as well, and just to kind of connect it even more fully to the new covenant, that the Old Covenant was preparatory and promissory for the New Covenant.

In other words, God redresses the problem. God deals with the issue. God, you know, takes Israel shuts them down and then sends the true Israel. So what God does with Adam is he sends the last Adam. What God does with his firstborn son Israel, after they fail, he sends his firstborn son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And in Matthew's gospel especially, most commentaries or commentators, they agree that Matthew is writing to a Jewish readership. Mark, probably Romans. It's probably preaching of sermons by Peter, and Mark was the recorder. Mark was his scribe. Luke, Gentile audience. John, the church, everybody. Not that, you know, if you're a Gentile, you can't read Matthew, but a specific audience.

Well, Matthew really takes pains to show us the link between Jesus and Israel. John does too, John 15:1. Jesus says, I am the true vine. You need to remember that in the Old Testament, God referred to Old Covenant Israel as a vine. In fact, many times. He spoke of vineyards and, you know, Isaiah 5, the parable of the vineyard. We think it's unique to Jesus in Matthew 21.

It's not. It had already been told. The old covenant people were unfaithful and unfruitful. So what does the vineyard owner do? He judges them. Same lesson in Matthew chapter 21. So they were the vine. But they were a rotten vine. In fact, as Aquinas says, with reference to Jesus saying, I am the true vine, to distinguish himself from the deformed or spoiled vine, which is the Jewish people. So Jesus is the true vine.

He is the true Israel of God. And in Matthew, the Lord Jesus goes down to Egypt, Matthew 2:14-15. And in that section, Matthew quotes from Hosea 11:1. Out of Egypt I have called my firstborn son. Old covenant, Israel in Egypt, out of Egypt. New covenant, Jesus, the true Israel in Egypt, out of Egypt.

The Lord Jesus passes through water, just like Old Covenant Israel did. When they pass through the Red Sea, Jesus passes through the waters of baptism. What happens when they pass through the Red Sea? Guess where they end up? The wilderness. Where does Jesus end up after he passes through the waters of baptism?

The spirit drives him out to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The Lord Jesus endures the wilderness. The Lord Jesus does combat in the wilderness with the devil. And when he does combat with the devil, who entices him or tempts him to make the stones into bread, where does Jesus go to rebuff him?

Deuteronomy 8:3. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Old Covenant Israel didn't do that. New Covenant Israel does, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus goes into exile. When he goes into the Passion Week, that's exile. He's cut off. And then the Lord Jesus experiences restoration. That means he was raised from the dead. All of this, it was true, it was historic, it actually happened, but it was preparatory and promissory and prophetic for the true Israel of God who would engage in that exodus, not out of the land of Egypt, but he would bring us out of the land of sin and bondage and misery and shame.

So when you read Deuteronomy chapter eight, hopefully you see Jesus there. Hopefully you hear Jesus there. And hopefully you reflect upon how good we have it in this new covenant setting. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this book of Deuteronomy. We pray that you would give us ears to hear and hearts to receive and cause us to learn the real practical lessons to not forget God, to be thankful for all the blessings that you shower upon us in terms of food and water and clothing and even riches. God, we thank you for your mercy and help us as well to see Jesus in this chapter.

Help us to see that Jesus is the scope of the whole, that all of the Old Testament is tending toward our Savior and the fulfillment of all the promises of God that are yea and amen in Him. We ask that you would go with us. We pray that you'd watch over all the brothers and sisters in our church and bring us together on the Lord's day that we may worship you in spirit and truth. And we ask in Jesus' name, amen.

Questions and Answers

Well, any questions or comments on anything in chapter eight? Well, maybe not anything in Chapter 8.

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