September 19, 2013
YOU CAN'T JUST BUY NEW CLOTHES IN THE WILDERNESS
Deuteronomy 8:1-10
Luke Friesen
Central Truth
God humbles and tests us to teach us to trust and obey Him. When we do, He meets our needs in amazing ways!
Key Verse | Deuteronomy 8:3–4
"He humbled you and let you be hungry . . . that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years." (Deuteronomy 8:3-4)
Deuteronomy 8:1-10
Remember the LORD Your God
1 The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word 1 8:3 Hebrew by all that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 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.
Dive Deeper | Deuteronomy 8:1-10
If I'm honest, I hate being humbled. Follow me on this, though -- I don't hate being humble, which is a commandment that God honors (1 Peter 5:6, Matthew 23:12). But to be humbled means that I was probably succumbing to one of my main struggles: pride, performance, and self-reliance. From little things like striking out in softball, to not getting something I worked hard at for years, being brought low really chafes me.
The Israelites may have felt the same way. After 40 years of walking in the wilderness, they were probably pretty sick of being humbled and were ready for some milk and honey! But walking away from the lesson of humility would have been a tragedy.
Verse 11 and the following verses give a warning about pride's consequences, but this section is a winsome example of God humbling and providing for His beloved people to teach them a critical lesson: they couldn't survive without Him! He miraculously kept them fed and clothed; His Word literally sustained them!
That's a great lesson for me, too. I can afford to buy plenty of bread, and REI is just a few minutes away, but without God I cannot live. His Word is life, and I have to rely on it.
Jesus also modeled this reliance. When physically tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-4), Jesus turned to this passage in Deuteronomy to push the temptation aside. Jesus could have relied on His own power to satisfy His hunger by commanding stones to become bread, but instead chose the deeper satisfaction of relying on God's Word.
When you find yourself in the humbling wilderness, make the choice to trust God and His Word. Isaiah 40:31 says, "Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."
"Humble yourselves in the presence of the LORD, and He will exalt you." (James 4:10)
Discussion Questions
1. Do you know what God's commandments are? Are you carefully obeying them? (Joshua 1:7, Deuteronomy 12:28)
2. Do you feel like God is testing or humbling you right now? What do you hope the result of that will be? (James 1:2-4)
3. How has God provided for you? Are you seeking Him, or are you just seeking His provisions? (Matthew 6:31-33)