His Covenant
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 the LORD promised
on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way
in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know
what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled
you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you
nor your ancestors 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. Your clothes did
not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in
your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines
you.
Observe
the commands of the LORD your God, walking in obedience to him and revering
him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks,
streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; a land with
wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a
land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the
rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
When
you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he
has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to
observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.
Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and
settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold
increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and
you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the
land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that
thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought
you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness,
something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the
end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the
strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD
your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so
confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
If you
ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to
them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the
nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying
the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 8:1-20
Have
your children every asked you, “are we there yet?” Well the Israelites did the
same thing. And God made them wait. He humbled them. He made them come to Him
for answers. And a whole generation had to die in order for them to get it. God
decides when we are there.
In life
we sometimes feel the same way. Are we there yet? How much longer will it be?
Remember, it is the journey, not the destination that is all important. What do
you learn about yourself? Do you stay faithful? God uses times like these to
humble us, to test us, and show us what is in our hearts.
And remember, we are not judged by our wealth, but it is God who
gives us the ability to produce wealth.
It’s the journey, not just the destination that’s important.
Our Daily Bread –