Chapter Eight

 

LITV

Deu 8:1  You shall take heed to do every commandment which I am commanding you today, so that you may live and may multiply and may go in and possess the land which Jehovah has sworn to your fathers. 

Deu 8:2  And you shall remember all the way which Jehovah your God has caused you to go these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, to try you, to know that which is in your heart, whether you will keep His commandments or not. 

Deu 8:3  And He has humbled you, and caused you to hunger, and caused you to eat the manna, which you had not known, and your fathers had not known, in order to cause you to know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man shall live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of Jehovah. 

Deu 8:4  Your clothing did not wear out on you, and your foot did not swell, these forty years. 

Deu 8:5  And you have known with your heart that as a man disciplines his son, Jehovah your God disciplines you. 

Deu 8:6  And you shall keep the commandments of Jehovah your God, to walk in His ways, and to fear Him. 

Deu 8:7  For Jehovah your God brings you into a good land, a land of streams of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills, 

Deu 8:8  a land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey, 

Deu 8:9  a land in which you shall eat bread without want; you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron; and you shall dig copper out of its mountains. 

Deu 8:10  And you shall eat and be satisfied; and you shall bless Jehovah your God in the good land which He has given you. 

Deu 8:11  Take heed to yourself, lest you forget Jehovah your God so as not to keep His commandments, and His ordinances, and His statutes, which I am commanding you today; 

Deu 8:12  that when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built goodly houses, and have lived in them; 

Deu 8:13  and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold have multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, 

Deu 8:14  then it rises up into your heart, and you forget Jehovah your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves; 

Deu 8:15  who led you through the great and dreadful wilderness, with burning serpent, and scorpion, and thirsty ground where no water is; who brought you water out of the flinty rock; 

Deu 8:16  who made you eat manna in the wilderness, which your fathers did not know; that He might humble you and that He might prove you, to do you good at your latter end; 

Deu 8:17  that you not say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. 

Deu 8:18  But you shall remember Jehovah your God, for it is He who gives to you power to get wealth; that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 

Deu 8:19  And it shall be, if you shall forget Jehovah your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you today that perishing you shall perish; 

 

Deu 8:20  as the nations that Jehovah makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you did not listen to the voice of Jehovah your God. 

 

Main Point(s): Warnings against “forgetting” God. In this case, the act of NOT relying on God and NOT understanding that it is HE who provides for them.

 

1.    Why did God lead them through the wilderness (1-2)? …in order to humble you, to try you, to know that which is in your heart, whether you will keep His commandments or not.  Deu 8:3  And He has humbled you, and caused you to hunger, and caused you to eat the manna, which you had not known, and your fathers had not known, in order to cause you to know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man shall live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of Jehovah. 

2.    What else did God do to the people (3)? Why? What do we learn about our difficulties and trials based on what God did to Israel?  Deu 8:3  And He has humbled you, and caused you to hunger, and caused you to eat the manna, which you had not known, and your fathers had not known, in order to cause you to know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man shall live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of Jehovah. 

 

3.    Did God take care of the people while in the wilderness (4-5)? What do we learn from this? Yes in the physical sense. And yes in the spiritual sense: “man shall not live by bread alone, but man shall live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of Jehovah.”

 

4.    What does God promise if the people obey (6-13)? Increase of wealth (6). Note that the increase of wealth should be associated with a spirit of thanksgiving to Jehovah (10). “and you shall bless Jehovah your God in the good land which He has given you” – God is not a tyrant just looking to control His people. He is the one bringing the blessings and prosperity. He is a loving father in this sense.

 

5.    What was the warning to the people once God blesses them (14-20)? Why does prosperity cause us to forget God? What heart issues do we have (in these cases)?  “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth”.
Bless: bârak baw-rak' A primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration)
We see this example throughout the old testament. It happens with kings who begin to feel a sense of power because of God’s blessings. Others simply saw God as just another god or superstition. In every case, it is the arrogant position a person takes when they either do not know God, or when they feel emboldened to accuse God (using their own reasoning). “getting too big for their britches”
These examples never ended well for the people who lacked the proper humility towards their blessings (God as the source).

6.    What will happen if (when) the people do not heed this warning (19-20)?  “if you shall forget Jehovah…. you shall perish… as the nations that Jehovah makes to perish before you”  

This indicated that God would see them as just another sinful nation. The term “given over” is appropriate here. Go against God long enough, and He will “let you go”….to be ruled by something else. Which is interesting, because the thing that rules sin, is ruled by God ultimately (eventually has to answer to Him).

 

 

Additional:

(2) Remember: H2142 – zâkar zaw-kar' A primitive root; properly to mark (so as to be recognized), that is, to remember; by implication to mention

(19) Forget: H7911 shâkach    shâkêach shaw-kakh', shaw-kay'-akh A primitive root; to mislay, that is, to be oblivious of, from want of memory or attention: -    X at all, (cause to) forget.