Thoughts On Deuteronomy 8

I was recently reading the book of Deuteronomy and several things in chapter 8 popped out at me. I thought I would share them with you :) 
Now, first off, remember the context in which these verses are written. The Israelites as a nation, are ending their 40 year period of wandering in the desert and are about to cross the Jordan River to take possession of the Promised Land. We will only look at the first 5 verses. 

verse 1: 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 that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers.  
Obedience to God brings rewards from God - the fulfillment of promises. Like a loving Father, He rewards us when we heed His guidelines for our lives. 

verse 2: Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 
This is a caution to the Israelites not to forget what God has done for them in the past. Your past with God can be one of your biggest faith builders!! When I look back over the posts that I have written in the last month, my strength and my faith really amaze me! Honestly they do! You would think that I knew what my faith looks like since I live with it day in and day out, but in the midst of trials, your mind can be clouded by emotions. It has been wonderful for me to have this blog and to be able to go back and see how God has kept me in His care and in His safety!! 

verse 3: He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers 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 creates in you a need - a hunger - that only He can fulfill. And then when we come before Him and acknowledge that need, then He fills it. And all this is done to teach us something. It may be to teach us something about ourselves or something about God and His character. God uses our physical world to teach us Spiritual lessons. 

verse 4: Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.  Ok, that is just amazing, isn't it??
God provides for our every need - our material needs, our physical needs and our Spiritual needs! I think this verse is also a reminder for the Israelites not to forget how God had provided for them in the past and to assure them of His future provisions. 

verse 5: Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. 
God allows circumstances to come into our lives to mold us to better reflect His character. This is part of how He cleanses us from our 'junk' - our sin. 

I pray that you are each reading your Bible on your own. You cannot expect to have a real relationship with God if your aren't reading His Word. I encourage each of you to get into the Word for yourselves and see what kind of treasures you discover there! And be sure to come back and share them with me!!