Todays Reading: Deuteronomy 8
Different people can define the measure of success many ways.
- Completing higher level of education
- Getting the right career
- Marrying the right person
- Buying a house
- Having kids and putting them through higher level education
- Retiring and enjoying life.
Moses gives a similar stance on the level of success in Deuteronomy 8:7 -10
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.
This is the promise that has been given to the Israelites from the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15. It is a promise that the descendants of Abraham would take possession of a land that was prepared for them by God. A land that only had to be entered into and the remainder of life would be almost a dream. But with success we must be mindful of pride and humility. Moses reminds the Israelites this several times in this passage. Moses also reminds them to remember the Lord is in control.
In these twenty verses, Moses say “the Lord your God” TEN times. Being a father of a 3-year-old and 4-year-old daughters, I have had the pleasure to watch many cartoons and videos, but one that I truly didn’t understand until recently was “Dora the Explorer”. This show is written and intended for the appropriate age group: preschoolers. One particular habit that the writers of the cartoon use to illustrate a point is repetition. Sometimes this repetition will be twenty times in less than 45 seconds. Now several days later you can hear the kids repeating the list of Dora’s to do list as we are traveling to and from school. Moses, like the writers of Dora, uses this repetition style throughout Deuteronomy to make sure that the point of humility and pride are automatic for the Israelites.
From this passage there are a few take away points:
- Find rest in the wilderness experience. The Israelites were in the wilderness for 40 years and God made provisions continually for them. God was preparing the chosen generation for the promises of the foretold covenant.
- Take nothing for granted. The people of Israel were given bread (manna) from heaven daily. This was a new style of bread that had never been seen before or imagined. God will provide us with items that we cannot imagine in the times of need if we believe in his will and divine plan.
- Be aware of the hidden blessings. In the passage Moses reminds the people Deut. 8:4 “Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.”We can take for granted the daily things that we have been blessed with and not give God the praises for them. The heat in our homes and cars. The saving grace that allows us to get to the mechanic moments before the serpentine belt falls apart. The extra time that the doctor listens to your heart before sending you home. That delay of several minutes that allowed you not to be on the highway before the major-car-pile-up. Just as God was protecting the clothing of the Israelites, He is faithful to his promises today to provide and protect us.
Let us be mindful that it is through God’s grace that we are able to be where we are and not by our own actions. – Lynden