Deuteronomy
8:1-5
Key verse
8:2
It is a perfect time to say,
“Happy Old Year!” Whether or not you had a good time this year, we still have a
good reason to say this. Do you know why? Well, we will find out the reason in
today’s passage. Today’s passage is Moses’ speech given to Israel just before they
entered the land promised to their forefathers. When they escaped from Egypt, they
thought they would enter the land soon. But because of their sins, they
wandered in the desert for 40 years. Finally, Israel is about to cross the
Jordan River. They are standing between the desert and the Promised Land; they
are standing between the past and the future; they are moving from suffering to
blessing. They would like to forget about their past life in the desert and enjoy
the new life in the land. However, there is no future without past. In today’s
passage, Moses tells Israel to remember what God taught them in the desert so
that they can prosper in the land. I pray that God may enlighten our hearts and
minds to see our life journey in view of God’s purpose.
Remember
V2a - Remember how the Lord your
God led you
all the way in the desert these forty years,
Moses told Israel to remember
how God had led them all the way in the desert for 40 years. During these 40
years, so many things happened. As you can guess, life in the desert is not
easy. They passed through the vast and dreadful desert. (8:15) Because of the lack
of water and food, life in desert is very difficult. Last year, I visited
Israel and had an opportunity to go to Judean desert, which is somewhat similar
to the desert the Israelite traveled in terms of temperature and geographical
traits. The weather was so hot that it was not easy even to walk out 20 minutes
without water, a hat and sunglasses. When I walked out for sightseeing, I had
to come back quickly under shade or into the bus. The place was ok for
sightseeing but not for living.
Israel people also
had danger of being bitten by venomous creatures like snakes and scorpions whenever
they walked or even slept in their tents. It must have been stressful and scary.
What they saw and experienced for the 40 years was sands, rocks, winds, hunger,
thirst, and extreme weather. What good things could they remember about such an
adverse environment? Here, however, Moses told them to remember how God led
them all the way in such a hostile environment. God had led them faithfully by
the pillar of fire and cloud for 40 years. However, he did not simply go ahead
of them to show them a safe way in the desert like a tour guide. In fact, God
purposely led them into the desert. What was his purpose?
God’s purpose
V2b - to humble you and to test you
in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his
commands.
God chose Israel as
his people and led them into the Promised Land. How was the land?
7 For
the Lord your
God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water,
with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; 8 a
land with wheat and barley, vines and
fig trees, pomegranates,
olive oil and honey; 9 a
land where bread will
not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a
land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
The land was the
place where God ruled and provided all necessary things for his people. However,
they were not ready for this blessing. Though they eagerly anticipated entering
the land flowing with milk and honey, they were not capable to appreciate and maintain
God’s blessing there. They were like Paris Hilton who is the
great-granddaughter and an heiress of the founder of Hilton Hotel. She seems to
not appreciate the value of her inheritance, squandering money for parties and a
sinful lifestyle. Like her, Israel was proud, unthankful, and unfaithful. They
did not know much of God and how to serve him in the land. So, God drove them
into the desert to humble them and to test them so that they could be changed
into God’s people.
How God humbled them
Let’s see how God
humbled and tested them.
V3a - He humbled you,
causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which
neither you nor your fathers had known,
The most serious problem Israel faced in the desert
was the lack of food. When they came out of Egypt, it was 600 thousands of men
plus women and children and some foreigners. Such a large number of people lived
together in desert. What did they eat? Actually, there was not much to eat! So,
they began to complain against Moses. Let’s see what happened. (Ex 16)
After the Israelites came out of Egypt, they
continually travelled in the desert. They got sick of the same food and even
the food they had ran out. And then they complained that Moses was starving
them to death. They even said they missed their life in Egypt where they ate
well. God was not happy with them. However, he said, “I will rain down bread
from heaven for you.”
In the morning thin flakes like frost appeared on the
desert floor. It was white and tasted like wafers made with honey. No one had
known such bread. It was the supernatural bread of heaven and was called manna.
God fed them with manna for 40 years until they entered the Promised Land. This
was an extraordinary thing only God could do.
In the desert, there was nothing Israel could do to
get food but depend on manna God provided. Manna was a reminder to them that
man is not a self-sufficient being but a dependent being to God. In this way,
God humbled Israel with privation, which compelled them to fully recognize
their dependency on God.
God also tested them in order to know what was in
their heart, whether or not they would keep his commands. This does not mean
that God did not know about them. Actually, he did know their wickedness,
unbelief, rebellion, and pride. But they did not know about themselves. During those
40 years, God made it known to them how proud, unfaithful and sinful they were
and how mighty and gracious God is.
Man lives on the word of God
V3b - to teach you
that man does not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes from the mouth of
the Lord.
Through manna, God taught them one thing, which is a
very important truth they must learn; that is, man does not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. God did not simply provide
them with manna nor put manna into their mouths as a mom puts food into her
baby’s mouth. God gave instructions that they must follow to get manna.
1.
Each one was to gather as much as
he needed and eat it.
2.
They should go out in the morning
because manna disappeared as soon as the sun grew hot.
3.
They must not keep it until the
next morning. They must get daily bread. What was left or saved was full of
maggots and began to rot.
4.
On the sixth day, they were to
gather twice as much because God would not give the bread on the seventh day,
which was the Sabbath day. Amazingly, whatever was left for the Sabbath day did
not stink or get maggots in it.
When they failed to follow these instructions, they
could not get bread. Only when they obeyed his word, they got manna. While
gathering manna as God said, they learned how important it was to obey every
word that came from the mouth of God. In
that way God taught them that they could live by obeying his word and that God
is living though and in his word among them.
Let’s think about the meaning of obedience to God’s
word. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses stressed many times that Israel must
remember and obey God’s word to live long in the land. And it was always
mentioned coupled with fear of God, love for him, and trust in him. (6:24; 8:6;
9:23; 10:12-13; 11:13)
V8:6
- Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to
him and revering him.
V9:23
- But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your
God. You did not trust him or obey him.
V10:12-13
- And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to
fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love
him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul,
These verses teach us that obedience to the word of
God is to love him, fear him, and trust in him. The word of God has the authority
and the power of God. So, obeying his word means full commitment to God. If you
love God and trust in him, you should obey his word. Obedience to the word is
also the way of learning about God – his love and power. Without obedience to
God’s word, you will never experience God’s love. So, Jesus said in John 15:10,
“If you keep
my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s
commands and remain in his love.”
Do you know
what the ultimate thing God wanted to give Abraham was? When he was about to
offer his son Isaac, God was moved and said to him “Now I know that you fear
God.” Abraham honored God by obeying his word and thus showing his fear of God.
That is also what God wants to give us and that is what he expects from us
after all. In a sense, Christian life is a process of learning the fear of God
and thus trusting in him, loving him and honoring him until we enter his
kingdom.
Through manna God taught Israel obedience to his word
so that they would fear him, love him, trust in him, and honor him. This was one
thing God taught Israel in the desert so that they could enjoy and maintain
God’s blessing in the land they were going to enter. Without such trust and
commitment to God, they would forget him when they are satisfied and then would
perish. So in verse 1, Moses said, “Be careful to follow every command I am giving you
today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the
land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors.”
God’s discipline
5 Know
then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your
God disciplines you.
God
disciplined Israel in the desert as a man disciplined his son.
In
Israel, father’s discipline was tough. They often used a rod to discipline
their sons even to the point of shedding blood (Heb 12:4). Why? Prov 13:24
reads, “He who spares the rod hates
his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” We can see that love
is the motive and motivation of a father’s discipline. There were several
duties that Jewish father must do for his son, such as circumcising and
redeeming the son, teaching a trade and finding a mate for the son. But the
most important duty of father was to teach the son the Torah, the word of God. The
main purpose of father’s discipline was to help his son to know and keep the
word of God all his life. It was because man lives on the word of God and
through the word the son could learn how to serve God.
As
a father disciplines his son, God disciplined Israel out of love. It was God’s
tough love to rectify their sinfulness. Again, God disciplined Israel to trust
in him and depend on him alone, by obeying his word.
Likewise,
God uses our hardship and failures to teach us how to trust in him, holding to his
word. That way we can grow to be God’s people. God gave them a tough time to
train them but at the same time he graciously provided them with all their
needs. For example, their clothes and sandals (29:5) did not wear
out and their feet did not swell during the forty years. (4)
Now
take a moment to look back this year. Some of you had hard times in school or
at work. Some had illness. Some suffered from failures. We do not want to
remember such difficult times. However, according to the passage, we should
remember how God led us in those times. God disciplined us as a father
disciplines his son in love. It is because we are sinful and should be
corrected. Ultimately, he wants us to live on the word of God. He wants us to
trust in him and depend on him alone in whatever situation we are in. When you
are in trouble, remember this:
Heb
12:10b-11 - but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in
his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at
the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of
righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
This year
was tough to me in many ways. As soon as this year began, a serious problem
happened to the graduate school application program I just took over. My boss
pushed me to quickly fix the problem almost everyday. I was so stressed out and
complained why this happened to me. Then, God reminded me of my yearly key
verse, which is Ps 50:23a – “Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me.” How
can I thank God in such a stressful situation? But I realized that was only
thing I could do. I prayed and thanked God for giving such a hard time. Then, I
felt peace in God and came to believe that God would fix the problem for sure.
After a month’s struggle, the problem was solved! I went to my boss and proudly
said, “Fixed!” And he said, “Good job!” This trained me to hold to his word and
trust in him even though things did not go well. And I have experienced that
God is living in me through his word. I also faced difficulties in pioneering
this new ministry along with Dr. Lim’s family. But God taught us that we should
depend on God alone. When I gave thanks to God according to my key verse, he
removed worries and complaints from my heart and gave me peace. I lost
something but I got trust in God and could love him more than others. We should
trust in God and honor him in whatever situation we are in – good or bad.
Again, Christian
life is a process of learning how to trust and honor God. That is a lifetime
process; that is what we should seek ultimately; and that is our true blessing.
Therefore, do not be discouraged if you think you failed or suffered much this
year. We are pilgrimages traveling to the kingdom of God step by step each
year. God is molding us into people worthy of his kingdom through trials. Remember
how he has led you this year and then you will find out that everything is
meaningful and thankful. And so you can say, “Happy Old Year!”
Conclusion
Let’s
read verses 2 and 3 one more time.
2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in
the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know
what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He
humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with
manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you
that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from
the mouth of the Lord.
God
disciplined Israel to obey his word in the desert so that they might fear God and
prosper in the Promised Land. Good environment or success is not necessarily good
for us. Rather, it is easy to forget God and become corrupt
when we are successful. Whether successful or not, we can be blessed if
we revere God and
honor him, following his word. Through difficult times you can experience the
power and truthfulness of the word of God and thus learn more of God. Fear of
God, trust in him is the key to happy life and it is the pathway to the kingdom
of God. Remember how God has led you all the way so far. Every year we are
going closer to his kingdom where he waits for us with eternal life. Let’s pray
that in the next year we may grow more in his word and experience the power of
God through his word.
Happy New
Year!
By David Yun
No comments:
Post a Comment