DAY 3: Obedient children
Reading: Deuteronomy 8:5-20
‘walking in obedience to him and revering him.’ v6
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.
As the children of Israel approached the promised land, they were reminded that they had to walk obediently with God. Yes, there was a wonderful land for them but it came with conditional promises.
They were not to forget the Lord their God, what He had done or His commandments. Neither were they to sit in fine houses and think that they could do anything by their own strength.
There will be times when we stray from God’s chosen path and He will discipline us, just as a parent disciplines a child. It is on those occasions that we are reminded by the words in this passage to
remember God and not to forget His ways.
The experience of the wilderness was that God provided at all times. The pattern follows for us today. It is the Lord who provides for us and all that we have is God’s. So our calling as Christians is to live as responsible stewards of all that God has given us. The more that we are blessed materially, the more we can use ‘our’ possessions for the work of God, recognising that all that we have is not ours anyway, it belongs to God.
Further Reading: Hebrews 12:1-11 - God's love in discipline.
To Ponder: What does it mean to walk obediently before the Lord your
God?
For Prayer: Lord God, all that I am and all that I have comes from you; help
me to hold less closely the things of this world, that I may trust in your generous provision. Amen.
Please note: the next reflection will be on Monday.
‘walking in obedience to him and revering him.’ v6
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.
As the children of Israel approached the promised land, they were reminded that they had to walk obediently with God. Yes, there was a wonderful land for them but it came with conditional promises.
They were not to forget the Lord their God, what He had done or His commandments. Neither were they to sit in fine houses and think that they could do anything by their own strength.
There will be times when we stray from God’s chosen path and He will discipline us, just as a parent disciplines a child. It is on those occasions that we are reminded by the words in this passage to
remember God and not to forget His ways.
The experience of the wilderness was that God provided at all times. The pattern follows for us today. It is the Lord who provides for us and all that we have is God’s. So our calling as Christians is to live as responsible stewards of all that God has given us. The more that we are blessed materially, the more we can use ‘our’ possessions for the work of God, recognising that all that we have is not ours anyway, it belongs to God.
Further Reading: Hebrews 12:1-11 - God's love in discipline.
To Ponder: What does it mean to walk obediently before the Lord your
God?
For Prayer: Lord God, all that I am and all that I have comes from you; help
me to hold less closely the things of this world, that I may trust in your generous provision. Amen.
Please note: the next reflection will be on Monday.
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