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Deuteronomy 8
Haystack bible commentary"Stacks and stacks of commentary...."
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==Deuteronomy 8:1:
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“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.
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The verse is the beginning of a chapter that reminds the Israelites of their 40 years in the wilderness, emphasizing their dependence on God for survival and prosperity in the land He was giving them. The central theme is the call to "observe every command" so that the people might receive the blessings of the promised land. Obeying God's law was the path to living, multiplying, and possessing the land of Canaan. The promise of the land was a long-standing, covenant-based promise God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
This verse serves as the introduction to the rest of Deuteronomy 8, which details the lessons learned in the wilderness, the nature of the promised land, and the warning against forgetting God amidst abundance. Moses's words are a reminder to the Israelites, who are about to enter the promised land. He emphasizes that their future in the land is dependent on their obedience to God. The subsequent verses explain how God humbled them in the desert, feeding them with manna, to teach them that "man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD". |
The verse emphasizes a direct link between the Israelites' careful obedience to God's law and their ability to thrive. Life and multiplication, along with the possession of the promised land, were the results of their faithfulness. Moses is speaking to a new generation, urging them not to repeat the mistakes of their parents. He reminds them that their former struggles and God's provisions were all a test to see what was in their hearts. This command serves as a powerful warning against the pride that comes with prosperity. After entering the fertile promised land, the Israelites might forget the hardships of the wilderness and mistakenly believe that their own power and strength brought them their wealth. The overall theme of Deuteronomy is a re-statement of the Law before the Israelites enter the promised land. Moses's speech here encourages them to remember God's faithfulness throughout their entire journey, both in their times of adversity and in their future prosperity. He prepares them not only for the struggles of taking the land but also for the more subtle and difficult test of handling abundance without forgetting the Lord.
==Deuteronomy 8:2-4:
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And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty 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.
3 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. 4 Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years |
The temptation of Christ cannot be understood apart from the law. The temptations offered by Satan required a declaration of independence from God and His law and the choice of the creature’s will as ultimate law. The answer of Christ to each temptation was a quotation from the law. The direction for history had to be derived not from man’s will but from God’s law.
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==Deuteronomy 8:5:
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"Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee."
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When we undergo God's discipline, it is a sign of our legitimacy. Discipline is what happens when our loving Father steps in to lift us away from our own destructive and unfruitful pursuits. All of us are fallen. We sin from time to time. Gods discipline starts because of a major sin problem-and unconfronted behavior or attitude that is blighting your life. It ends when the problem ends.
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==Deuteronomy 8:6:
Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
==Deuteronomy 8:7-9:
7 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;
8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil 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.
8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil 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.
==Deuteronomy 8:10-14:
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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.
11 “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, 12 lest--when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 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; |
Why eat and thank for the land? The food is the fruit of the place God has brought you to. So. remember, if you have a harvest to thank the Lord for giving or placing you in the field.
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==Deuteronomy 8:15:
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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,
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He brought you water out of hard rock He brought you life out of a hard rock. The rock would seem the most improbable place for water to come out of. Yet, the Lord brought it from it.
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==Deuteronomy 8:16-17:
16 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—
17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’
17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’
==Deuteronomy 8:18:
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But remember the Lord your God is the one who makes you wealthy. He’s confirming the promise which He swore to your ancestors. It is still in effect today
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But this wealth is simply not for the sake of our being rich, for this verse continues “that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers….”
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==Deuteronomy 8:19-20:
Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.
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.
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.