(REFLECTIONS ON Deuteronomy 8:1-20)

Is it possible that we continue to misunderstand God’s Law? Is it because when we see the word Law, that we think only of rules, regulations, and punishment? However, for those of us that love the Lord, is the Law only those things, or is it more than that? Is it also the source of freedom, life, and blessing? This is especially so for us that believe in Jesus Christ, who came to fulfill the Law.

God’s Law is His Word, given to Israel through Moses, and in Deuteronomy, given again to this new generation that will need to take God’s Word into the Promised Land with them. What is interesting is that God’s Law is not described as a list of strict, lifeless, rules and regulations in today’s Scripture, but rather as a way for Israel to not forget the Lord.

When Israel is blessed in the Promised Land, Moses reminds them that they are to praise the Lord your God, and they are also to be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God. If they fail to observe His commands, His laws, and His decrees, Moses said,

14 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.

The Lord’s Law, His rules and regulations, would help Israel to remember Him, remember that all blessings come from Him and not the work of their own hands. Again Moses reminds Israel,

18 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 we think about, isn’t this the purpose in all that we do as Christians? We read God’s Word, pray, serve, worship, fellowship, live life according to Jesus’ command to love God and to love one another, so that we will not forget the Lord our God.

It should not be for anything else, for self-recognition, applause, praise, for our own glory, but all we do should be to remember the Lord your God. May we continue to live out our faith, to do as Jesus did, in order to remember the Lord your God, so that we will not forget that all blessings are from Him, and in Him we have life everlasting.

Let us not fall into the trap, already being called sons and daughters of the Lord Most High, and revert back to our own words rather than live by God’s Words, because our own words say,

17b “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy 8