Day 73: Deuteronomy 8-10

Welcome to 5 Minute Bible, your daily guide for your daily reading. Today's March the 14th and we'll be looking at Deuteronomy 8 through 10.

Now today we continue Moses' first sermon to Israel as the nation stands on the edge of the

Promised Land. The wilderness years are finally behind them and the land of promise to Abraham lies just in front of them across the

Jordan River. But before the people are going to step into prosperity, Moses is going to pause to look backward.

Deuteronomy 8 through 10 moves from warning to reflection. And Moses reminds the people of their long wilderness experience and exposes the danger of pride once prosperity arrives.

And he recounts the tragic episode of the golden calf. And through these memories he presses a single lesson into Israel's heart.

Survival and blessings and identity must come from God alone.

Now Deuteronomy 8 begins with Moses explaining why God led Israel through the wilderness for 40 years.

The hardships they experienced were intentional, they weren't meaningless. They were part of God's discipline and training.

And in that way, the hunger and the uncertainty and the dependence upon the manna actually taught the people a deeper truth about life with God.

As Moses explains, man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

And then Moses warns the people about the danger that often comes after a period of blessing.

When Israel enters into the land and then they enjoy the blessings, the fertile fields, the growing cities, the increasing wealth, the peace on all sides.

They can't assume that their prosperity came from their own strength or wisdom. Yet they will be tempted to do that.

The same God who fed them in the wilderness is going to be the one who is continually granting them success in the land.

And they must remember that or else they will fall into a thousand sins. Now Deuteronomy 9 then turns back to one of the most painful moments in Israel's history, the golden calf.

And while Moses was receiving the law at Mount Sinai, the people, as you will remember, quickly turned to rank idolatry.

Moses reminds them that the history of their people has not been marked by righteousness but by rebellion.

Their possession of the land, therefore, is not a reward for their moral failures or for their moral excellence for that matter, but it's an act of God's covenant mercy.

Then in Deuteronomy 10, it closes with renewal. Moses recounts how

God replaced the broken tablets of the law and then he restored the covenant relationship with Israel.

And the chapter ends by calling the people to respond to God with reverence, repentance, and love for the

Lord and for the justice he expects that they show towards others. Now, as you read today,

I want you to ask the following question. Will success make us forget the God who has carried us even when we are weak?

And Deuteronomy 8 -10 teaches us that prosperity is one of the greatest spiritual dangers because as soon as we become blessed, often our memory fades and then we fall into pride that leads us to the downfall.

And the dominant pattern in these chapters is grace confronting pride. Moses reminds

Israel that everything they possess comes from God, not from their virtue or from their power or from their strength or from their fortitude or any of that.

The wilderness exposed their weakness over and over and over again. And the golden calf exposed their tendency towards treachery.

And yet, instead of abandoning them, God, for the sake of his own name and for his own glory, has continued to renew covenant with this sinful people.

Now, the pattern in these chapters reveals something deeply true about the human heart and ours as well.

Because when life becomes comfortable, gratitude can slowly give way into self -congratulation and applause.

The same God who rescued us in our weakness can somehow fade from our awareness once we feel strong again.

We all have done this. And Moses, therefore, repeatedly calls Israel to remember.

The antidote to forgetting is to constantly remember, to bring it to mind, to think about it, to dwell upon it, to meditate upon it, to remember.

Because memory becomes a spiritual safeguard against future pride. When God's past faithfulness remains clear and at the forefront of our mind, then humility and trust naturally follow.

And in that way, these chapters point forward to Jesus in some beautiful, profound ways.

Because the wilderness testing described here anticipates the testing of Jesus himself.

When Jesus was taken out into the wilderness and tested for 40 days, he quotes Deuteronomy 8, saying that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

And when Israel repeatedly failed in the wilderness journey, Christ obeyed in his wilderness and he was faithful Israel, even as the old

Israel was not. The Golden Calf episode also highlights humanity's deep propensity for sin and also the greater need for a mediator.

Moses interceded for the people in some ways and pleaded with God not to destroy them. But yet his prayer was not enough because the people continue to fall into idolatry.

And in that way, Jesus becomes the final and the perfect mediator. He doesn't merely plead for mercy.

He secures mercy and forgiveness through his sacrifice on the cross. And in that way, Israel's story exposes the depth of human rebellion, while the gospel reveals the greater faithfulness and the greater depth of God's love that he has given to his people in Christ.

So as you read Deuteronomy 8 through 10 today, I want you to notice how Moses commands Israel to remember, remember, remember, remember.

Because memory is not merely a nostalgia, it is a spiritual discipline of actively recalling the goodness of God so that you will not be prideful in the future.

And tomorrow we're going to see how Moses begin to explain the covenant obligations that are going to shape this people as they finally enter into the land.

But with that, read your Bible carefully, devotionally and joyfully. And may the Lord use his word to sanctify you completely.