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Deuteronomy 8

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Remember the Discipline of the Wilderness 1–6

1
All the commandment which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which Jehovah sware unto your fathers. ​
2
And thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not. ​
3
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live. ​
4
Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. ​
5
And thou shalt consider in thy heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so Jehovah thy God chasteneth thee. ​
6
And thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

The Bounty of the Promised Land 7–10

7
For Jehovah thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; ​
8
a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; ​
9
a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig copper. ​
10
And thou shalt eat and be full, and thou shalt bless Jehovah thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. ​

Warning Against Forgetting God in Prosperity 11–20

11
Beware lest thou forget Jehovah thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his ordinances, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: ​
12
lest, when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
13
and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
14
then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; ​
15
who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; ​
16
who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not; that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end:
17
and lest thou say in thy heart, My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth. ​
18
But thou shalt remember Jehovah thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth; that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as at this day. ​
19
And it shall be, if thou shalt forget Jehovah thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
20
As the nations that Jehovah maketh to perish before you, so shall ye perish; because ye would not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah your God. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 8

Verse 1

observe to do — 'Observe' (shamar) and 'do' (asah) are the pair of 5:32 and 6:3. The three results, 'live, and multiply, and go in and possess', name life, increase and the land of the oath, and compare 4:1, 'that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you'.

Verse 2

to humble thee, and to prove thee — Two verbs, anah, to humble, and nasah, to test. Ex 16:4 uses the second of the manna: 'that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.' Verse 16 gives both again and names the end in view, 'to do thee good at thy latter end'. The forty years brought out 'what was in thine heart'.

Verse 3

every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD — Christ answers the tempter with this verse: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God' (Matt 4:4). The hunger came first and the manna after, so that Israel should learn from a bread 'which thou knewest not' what sustains life.

Verse 4

neither did thy foot swell — Batsaq, to swell, is found only here and in Neh 9:21, 'their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not'. Deut 29:5 gives the clothes and the shoe: 'your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot'. The care lasted 'these forty years'.

Verse 5

chasteneth his son — Yasar, to correct, to instruct by discipline. Moses had said that the LORD 'bare thee, as a man doth bear his son' (1:31). Prov 3:12 states the same line, 'whom the LORD loveth he correcteth', and Heb 12:5–6 quotes it to believers: 'For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.'

Verse 7

depths that spring out of valleys and hills — 'Depths' is tehom, the word for 'the deep' of Gen 1:2 and the fountains of the deep in Gen 7:11. The 'brooks' are nachal, watercourses. It is the 'good land and a large' of Ex 3:8, a land of springs set against the dry wilderness just crossed.

Verse 8

wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates — The verse names seven products of the land, ending with 'oil olive, and honey'. The spies carried back from Eshcol 'a branch with one cluster of grapes… and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs' (Num 13:23). It is the 'land flowing with milk and honey' of Ex 3:8.

Verse 9

thou shalt not lack any thing — Chaser, the verb of 2:7, 'thou hast lacked nothing', said of the wilderness years. 'Scarceness' is a word found nowhere else in Scripture. The 'brass' is nechosheth, copper, dug from hills whose stones are iron; Moses blesses Asher with the same pair, 'Thy shoes shall be iron and brass' (33:25).

Verse 10

thou shalt bless the LORD — The blessing is commanded for the moment of fullness, 'When thou hast eaten and art full'. The same words open the warning of v.12, 'Lest when thou hast eaten and art full', so that the duty and the danger stand at the same table. Ps 103:2: 'Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.'

Verse 11

Beware that thou forget not — 'Beware' and 'keeping' are one verb, shamar, to guard: guarding the commandments is the guard against forgetting (shakach). The charge of 6:12 is the same: 'beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt'. Ps 106:21 records the failure: 'They forgat God their saviour.'

Verse 14

thine heart be lifted up — Rum, to be high or exalted. What lies against it is memory of 'the house of bondage' (5:6). Uzziah is the example: 'when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction' (2 Chr 26:16). Paul asks the same question of the Corinthians: 'what hast thou that thou didst not receive?' (1 Cor 4:7).

Verse 15

water out of the rock of flint — Challamish, flint, the hardest rock; Ps 114:8 uses it, 'the flint into a fountain of waters'. The 'fiery serpents' are those of Num 21:6, and the rock is that of Ex 17:6 and Num 20:11. Paul says of the water, 'they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ' (1 Cor 10:4).

Verse 17

My power and the might of mine hand — The boast is made 'in thine heart' before it is spoken, as 9:4 warns, 'Speak not thou in thine heart'. Its voice is Nebuchadnezzar's, 'by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty' (Dan 4:30), and 'wealth' here is chayil, strength or substance.

Verse 18

power to get wealth — The two words of v.17, koach (power) and chayil (wealth), are turned back: 'it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth'. The purpose is covenant: 'that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers', the oath of 7:8. Prov 10:22: 'The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich.'

Verse 20

so shall ye perish — Abad is the verb for both: the LORD 'destroyeth' the nations and Israel would 'perish', the same verb as the 'destroy their name' of 7:24. 'Because' is eqeb, the word rendered 'if' in 7:12. Daniel's prayer confesses that it came: 'all Israel have transgressed thy law… therefore the curse is poured upon us' (Dan 9:11).