Chapter Eight
Remember YHWH!
8:1 “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.
Moses again tells them that the whole (Hebrew ‘kāl’,[1] every, all, the whole, entire) commandment (Hebrew ‘miṣ·wā(h)’,[2] can refer to the whole body of teachings, see also Proverbs 2:1; 3:1) must be carefully followed, so that they may enter, live, and multiply in the Promised Land. Plus, they are to remember during their journey that YHWH, their God, has led them through the wilderness these last forty years to humble them by testing them (see Exodus 15:25-26; 20:20; Deuteronomy 8:16; 13:3)[3] to see if their ‘words’ would match their ‘actions’ (in other words, would they listen and obey?). Then they were humbled when He allowed them to become hungry, and God responded to their cries by giving them manna, something they were unfamiliar with to eat, so they would understand and know that humanity is not sustained by the ‘physical’ needs alone, but by every utterance of God (Hebrew word ‘mô·ṣā(‘)’,[4] an act of going out, used figuratively it can refer to everything that comes from a person or out of their mouth), an absolute reliance on God, not the world. Jesus quoted this verse shortly after He finished fasting for forty days and forty nights in response to Satan tempting Him (see Matthew 4:1-4; Luke 4:1-4, see also John 6:49-51). The Israelite’s reliance included some supernatural provision, such as their clothing didn’t wear out, and their feet never swelled.
8:5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 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. 10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.
Moses explains that just as parents discipline their own children, YHWH will discipline them, so they need to do as He says. For He is bringing them into a good land, one that has brooks, fountains, and springs (the word implies deep springs as opposed to a typical spring or fountain) flowing out in the valleys and hill country. It is also a land of plenty of ready to consume wheat, barley, grape vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olive trees, and honey, allowing bread to be eaten without running out of grain. A land of which lacks nothing, including rich deposits of iron and copper. They can eat and be full, and in response they can bless YHWH in the Promised Land.[5]
8:11 “Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today,
Using the phrase, “lest you forget,” Moses returns to the theme of remembering YHWH once again. It may have been difficult to understand Moses’ concern at this time, but Moses knew that it would not take long, in the generations to come, that they would indeed turn away from God.[6]
8:12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.
Moses warns that when they are well-fed, live in good homes, have plenty of livestock and wealth, then their “heart be lifted up.” This is a reference to them becoming full of pride and self-boasting, thus forgetting God, the one who brought them out of Egypt, out of slavery, and provided for them while in the wilderness (including safety from fiery serpents and scorpions as well as preventing their hunger and thirst).
8:17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 And if you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20 Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
Moses continues to warn against pride, here he provides this second generation a classic warning sign. If they think that their good life and wealth are the result of their own efforts, they are only deluding themselves. Pride will lead them to complacency and the eventual erosion of their relationship with God.[7]
They are to always remember and obey YHWH, as He is their God and He is their source of power. But if they forget and seek false gods and pursue idolatry, they will die. Just like the people of the nations they will soon be conquering. Why would this happen? Because they would not obey God.
Considerations
Is there such a thing as a complacent Christian?
Sadly, yes. Just as Moses warned about pride, which later did become a problem with the Israelites, pride can wedge itself between God and a Christian. Perhaps the worst form of pride is becoming comfortable with what they think they know about God and His Word. When one becomes convinced that they already know everything they need to know and stops or reduces time in studying and reading the Bible, that pride can be harmful to their relationship with Jesus. When the Word of God becomes less interesting, boring, or even tedious, one can quickly become complacent and ultimately apathetic.
Jesus warned against what might be best described as lukewarm faith (see Revelation 3:14-21). When a Christian becomes or remains self-reliant and self-sufficient, as Moses warned (all things that the world teaches as bring necessary for acceptance, advancement and those things that are considered to be admirable), they are only fooling themselves. Reliance on Jesus is not a sign of weakness, on the contrary, it displays strength of faith in Him who promises eternal life with Him and much more.
⇐Previous Chapter (Introduction/Index) Next Chapter⇒
[1] Strong’s Hebrew 3605.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 4687.
[3] See also commentary under Genesis 22:1-2 and Considerations under Genesis 22:15-19, regarding the concept of testing.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 4161.
[5] See commentary under Genesis 1:28-30; Exodus 18:10 and Considerations under Genesis 14:19-24.
[6] See Considerations under Exodus 12:28 and commentary and Considerations under Deuteronomy 4:9-14.
[7] See Considerations under Leviticus 26:46 and commentary under Numbers 20:10-13.