The greatest danger is not the wilderness, it is forgetting God after the wilderness.
Deuteronomy 8:1-2 Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors. 2 Remember how the LORD your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.
In my recent studies I have seen that it is so important to remember God that
He filled the book of Deuteronomy with repeated calls to do exactly that.
Moses has been giving God's people this important lesson again by reviewing the blessings that God has
given his people since they left slavery in Egypt.
Moses conclusion that God's people are blessed is probably a surprise for this
nation of wilderness grumblers to hear. The abundance of blessings
they had experienced everyday while they wondered around were
usually overlooked as God's people focused on the hardship that they were enduring because of their fear and lack of faith.
Moses knows that the same people that couldn't trust and obey in the
wilderness with the blessings they had there would certainly be in danger of
forgetting God or showing disrespect to him when they are showered with even greater blessings in the Promised Land.
As God's people enter into times of prosperity:
Remember the Wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:1–5)
Look back and remember where you came from and how you arrived here. God did not lead Israel through the wilderness merely to move them from Egypt to Canaan. He used those forty years to humble them, test them, and prepare them.
The hunger, the manna, the water from the rock, the deadly snakes, and the long years of waiting were all part of the process. Through every hardship and every provision, God revealed who He is and showed His people what was truly in their hearts.
The testing was for their benefit, but it was also recorded for ours. It
may seem unfair to view their suffering as a lesson for us, but their
wilderness experience was preserved in God's word for us to remember as we
walk through this life.
Remember Who Gives the Blessings (Deuteronomy 8:6–17)
The wilderness would not last forever. God was bringing the Israelites
into a rich and abundant land. Moses knew that the abundance carried its own danger. A deliberate choice needed to be made to remember God and
thank Him for the blessings.
Deuteronomy 8:7, 11, 14 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. 11 But that is the time to be careful!
Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today 14 Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.
When their homes were built, their herds had multiplied, and their wealth
had increased, their hearts could easily become proud. Comfort and success become spiritually dangerous when they produce pride
and self-reliance instead of gratitude. These ancient sins are still very popular today as we see them in our own hearts, homes,
businesses, and even in churches today.
Remember Who Gives the Power (Deuteronomy 8:18)
The power of God has been displayed over and over since the plagues of Egypt, he performed visible, indisputable miracles to defend Israel and provide for them, yet physical evidence of His power rarely translated into lasting faith.
They had already won against the attack from powerful kings back in Numbers 21 and they will have plenty of success over the kings of the Promised Land but all of this victory can be taken for granted.
Deuteronomy 8:18 Remember the LORD your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.
We like to give ourselves credit for creating our own destiny, we like to ignore the fact that we are not in control but the fact that our plans fall apart and have to be adjusted prove to us everyday that we do not have the power to control anything.
Remember the Consequence of Forgetting (Deuteronomy 8:19–20)
There is no reason for God's people to believe that they can exercise God's judgment on Gentile nations and then become worse than those nations are and still continue to be blessed.
Deuteronomy 8:19-20 But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. 20 Just as the LORD has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the LORD your God.
Forgetting God is the road to ruin for any people, even God's people, they would not be allowed to administer his justice on the nations and then be exempt from the same demands. God does not have two sets of scales, Israel's power, position, or religious status would never shield them from God's moral standard. (Romans 2:11)
The Same Temptation Today
We face the same situation today in the abundance of the Western world. We have the same tendency to enjoy God’s gifts while slowly forgetting the Giver. It's the same gameplan that Satan used on Jesus. The testing that Jesus overcame by using the scriptures found in Deuteronomy is an example for us.
Israel failed to trust and obey even though they spent 40 years being fed by God everyday, Jesus went 40 days without any food yet he was able to trust and obey and resist Satan. Jesus relied on the truth of Deuteronomy to remain perfectly obedient and faithful.
We must be diligent to not allow all of our blessings to become a source of pride as the religious leaders did. The Pharisees serve as the ultimate example of what happens when religious privilege turns into spiritual pride.
Remember the Lord always, give him the credit for your blessings and stay humble, remember your redemption from the kingdom of darkness and his protection and provision as you cross this wilderness to your Promised Land.
