Deu 8:3 | KingComments | STEP | Deuteronomy 7 is about the dedication, the sanctification of the people to God. Deuteronomy 8 is another retrospective of the journey through the wilderness. Here, it is the ways of God with the people that is spoken of, but not about the unfaithfulness of the people. Such unfaithfulness is dealt with in Deuteronomy 9. The issue here is how God made them go through all kinds of difficult circumstances. The purpose of this is to get to know their own heart, their own inability to face the difficulties, and then to trust Him. The application for us we find in Romans 8 ( ). Everything that Moses speaks to the people has the goal that the people will live the true life. And they will not only live, but there will also be multiplication of said life. Life is not only about staying alive, but also about growing. The climate in which this life thrives is the climate of the Promised Land. The commandments contain, so to say, the raw materials for optimal enjoyment and growth of life – for increasing the quality and quantity of life. At this special point in the life of the people of God, between the wilderness and the land, Moses calls for remembrance, to look back on the forty years behind them. Forty is the number of trial. The everyday life shows me what is in my heart; but God also shows what is in His heart. The question is what lessons we learn from the past to enter the land. God humbles us, for every experience in the wilderness leads to more self-knowledge. Before we get to know ourselves through the trials, He sends us, there is usually a lot of self-deception within us. We do not get to know ourselves when we are in the meeting on the first day of the week, but rather in day-to-day life, that is the wilderness life. God’s Word tells me that there is nothing good in me and that I am capable of all evil. Yet I do not believe, for example, how far adrift I can go until I am bullied by another person and the evidence is revealed. Also it is only when I am as hungry as the others around me, I experience how base I can be. God deliberately lets us suffer hunger, so that we may gain more appreciation for the manna. Through the suffering of want we learn to know the inexhaustible resources of God. This is a great encouragement to the faith. The Lord Jesus connects hunger with the manna and with Himself, “the true bread out of heaven” ( ). He says that He Himself – He is the eternal life – is the blessing of the land. In the wilderness we learn to know the Lord Jesus as the food that gives us strength to live in the wilderness to the glory of God, as He has lived here to the glory of God. It also teaches us that our lives depend on all the words that emanate from the mouth of God. The people have the manna because it falls from heaven by His word, by His command. Not living from ‘bread alone’ means that man cannot live from nourishment obtained in independence or apart from His Word. The Lord Jesus has walked in all the ways of God. He always stretched out His hand to the Word, He lived from it. He knew that God had not given the stones for food and that the Father could give him food without therefore having to do a miracle ( ). The food for our body is not the most important thing, but the food for our soul. Living off the Word of God is not only for difficult situations, but for all circumstances – for every step we take. God gives not only food, but also clothing. We put on clothes. Thus we put on the Lord Jesus ( ; ; ; ). This clothing does not wear out. Clothing represents our outer revelation – what people see of us. Is that Christ? Every revelation of me in word and deed that is to the glory of God means I show in my life the life of the Lord Jesus on earth. In Him I see the perfect illustration of those principles. The discipline or punishment that strikes us comes from the hand of a loving God. It is a proof of His love for us ( ). It speaks of His pleasure in those whom He has chosen as sons to Himself ( ; cf. ). The true Son has been perfectly a pleasure to the Father: “And behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” ( ). He needs no punishment or chastisement. The chastisement is not an end in itself, but aims to keep everything out of life and the heart that is not to a pleasure. Discipline is proof that we are sons. God wants us to share in His holiness by chastisement. There is no book in the Old Testament that shows us so much of what the New Testament calls eternal life than the book Deuteronomy. Eternal life is the life of God Himself. Deuteronomy 8 and 9 show us what is in our hearts and also paints the blessings of the land. Everything is “to do good for you in the end” ( ); that’s how God is. Deuteronomy 9 shows a rebellious people. The fact that we are a rebellious people is a discovery we make in the wilderness. Every ‘wilderness experience’ shows me a little more that there is nothing in me that would allow God to give me His blessings. We are rebellious in ourselves from salvation onwards. This discovery must lead us to deep humiliation. In John 3, the Lord Jesus speaks of heavenly things. He calls it: the eternal life. We see this in the picture of the copper serpent and the meaning He gives to it ( ). This is not a picture of how a sinner converts, but shows a phase in the history of the people of God, that is the end phase of the journey through the wilderness. After forty years, the people have not changed anything and see how they can still fall. A new birth is not enough to understand eternal life. Everything you are by nature must be brought to the cross. It is to this end that the experiences of the wilderness lead. There too, eternal life is known by looking up to the cross. We can say that the blessing of the land is summarized in: the eternal life. This blessing is enjoyed where brothers and sisters live together ( ), that is to say, being at peace with one another to enjoy their fellowship with God and Christ and with one another.

‏ Deuteronomy 8:3

Introduction

Deuteronomy 7 is about the dedication, the sanctification of the people to God. Deuteronomy 8 is another retrospective of the journey through the wilderness. Here, it is the ways of God with the people that is spoken of, but not about the unfaithfulness of the people. Such unfaithfulness is dealt with in Deuteronomy 9. The issue here is how God made them go through all kinds of difficult circumstances. The purpose of this is to get to know their own heart, their own inability to face the difficulties, and then to trust Him. The application for us we find in Romans 8 (Rom 8:28).

Purpose of the Journey Through the Wilderness

Everything that Moses speaks to the people has the goal that the people will live the true life. And they will not only live, but there will also be multiplication of said life. Life is not only about staying alive, but also about growing. The climate in which this life thrives is the climate of the Promised Land. The commandments contain, so to say, the raw materials for optimal enjoyment and growth of life – for increasing the quality and quantity of life.

At this special point in the life of the people of God, between the wilderness and the land, Moses calls for remembrance, to look back on the forty years behind them. Forty is the number of trial. The everyday life shows me what is in my heart; but God also shows what is in His heart. The question is what lessons we learn from the past to enter the land.

God humbles us, for every experience in the wilderness leads to more self-knowledge. Before we get to know ourselves through the trials, He sends us, there is usually a lot of self-deception within us. We do not get to know ourselves when we are in the meeting on the first day of the week, but rather in day-to-day life, that is the wilderness life. God’s Word tells me that there is nothing good in me and that I am capable of all evil. Yet I do not believe, for example, how far adrift I can go until I am bullied by another person and the evidence is revealed. Also it is only when I am as hungry as the others around me, I experience how base I can be.

God deliberately lets us suffer hunger, so that we may gain more appreciation for the manna. Through the suffering of want we learn to know the inexhaustible resources of God. This is a great encouragement to the faith. The Lord Jesus connects hunger with the manna and with Himself, “the true bread out of heaven” (Jn 6:32). He says that He Himself – He is the eternal life – is the blessing of the land. In the wilderness we learn to know the Lord Jesus as the food that gives us strength to live in the wilderness to the glory of God, as He has lived here to the glory of God.

It also teaches us that our lives depend on all the words that emanate from the mouth of God. The people have the manna because it falls from heaven by His word, by His command. Not living from ‘bread alone’ means that man cannot live from nourishment obtained in independence or apart from His Word.

The Lord Jesus has walked in all the ways of God. He always stretched out His hand to the Word, He lived from it. He knew that God had not given the stones for food and that the Father could give him food without therefore having to do a miracle (Mt 4:3-4).

The food for our body is not the most important thing, but the food for our soul. Living off the Word of God is not only for difficult situations, but for all circumstances – for every step we take.

God gives not only food, but also clothing. We put on clothes. Thus we put on the Lord Jesus (Gal 3:27; Eph 4:24; Rom 13:14; Col 3:10 ; 12). This clothing does not wear out. Clothing represents our outer revelation – what people see of us. Is that Christ? Every revelation of me in word and deed that is to the glory of God means I show in my life the life of the Lord Jesus on earth. In Him I see the perfect illustration of those principles.

The discipline or punishment that strikes us comes from the hand of a loving God. It is a proof of His love for us (Heb 12:4-11). It speaks of His pleasure in those whom He has chosen as sons to Himself (Pro 3:11-12; cf. Pro 29:17). The true Son has been perfectly a pleasure to the Father: “And behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Mt 3:17). He needs no punishment or chastisement. The chastisement is not an end in itself, but aims to keep everything out of life and the heart that is not to a pleasure. Discipline is proof that we are sons. God wants us to share in His holiness by chastisement.

There is no book in the Old Testament that shows us so much of what the New Testament calls eternal life than the book Deuteronomy. Eternal life is the life of God Himself. Deuteronomy 8 and 9 show us what is in our hearts and also paints the blessings of the land. Everything is “to do good for you in the end” (Deu 8:16); that’s how God is.

Deuteronomy 9 shows a rebellious people. The fact that we are a rebellious people is a discovery we make in the wilderness. Every ‘wilderness experience’ shows me a little more that there is nothing in me that would allow God to give me His blessings. We are rebellious in ourselves from salvation onwards. This discovery must lead us to deep humiliation.

In John 3, the Lord Jesus speaks of heavenly things. He calls it: the eternal life. We see this in the picture of the copper serpent and the meaning He gives to it (Jn 3:12-15). This is not a picture of how a sinner converts, but shows a phase in the history of the people of God, that is the end phase of the journey through the wilderness. After forty years, the people have not changed anything and see how they can still fall.

A new birth is not enough to understand eternal life. Everything you are by nature must be brought to the cross. It is to this end that the experiences of the wilderness lead. There too, eternal life is known by looking up to the cross. We can say that the blessing of the land is summarized in: the eternal life. This blessing is enjoyed where brothers and sisters live together (Psa 133:1-3), that is to say, being at peace with one another to enjoy their fellowship with God and Christ and with one another.