Developing Strong Christian Lives

The Bible Teaching Commentary

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Paul J. Bucknell

Introduction | A. Embrace | B. Understand | C. Respond | Podcast

Purpose: Deuteronomy 8:1-20's Living Commentary, page 4 of 4, shows the importance of rightly responding to our Lord’s work in our lives.

C.) Respond to God's work in our lives

We develop a strong Christian life by obeying and remembering Him. There is no doubt that God has an end goal in mind when He gives us His commands. There are different levels of response. I will point us to two kinds of responses: obedience and remembering.

1) Obedience to the Lord's commands

Let's look at the specific verses here pointing us to obedience.

"All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers" (Deuteronomy 8:1).

"Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him" (Deuteronomy 8:6).

"Beware lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today" (Deuteronomy 8:11).

"And it shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God, and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you shall surely perish. "Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 8:19-20).

Commands are directives from God Himself on how we are to live our lives. His Word shapes our decisions and world views. Some of you are afraid of obedience among unbelievers. You fear man rather than God. Notice God's emphasis in Deuteronomy 8:1, "All the commandments" and "you shall be careful to do." We might know a lot about God's Word, but we need to observe God's commands. There are many commands that have to do with our lives. Just open the New Testament and see what is it that Jesus would have you do.

Commands are meant to lead us to the best life possible. When we obey, then we are blessed. Therefore the Lord exhorts us to obey. You can know what you should do. You can tell others what they should do. But do you obey Him? Your life will reflect your decisiveness to obey Him. You can only have Christ's fullness when you purpose to live out God's will for your lives.

2) Remembering His great ways

We also are exhorted to remember God's ways. We have positive and negative exhortations to remember the Lord's past dealings.

"And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not" (Deuteronomy 8:2).

God has told us to remember "all the way which the Lord your God has led you" (Deuteronomy 8:2). In verse 8:18 He tells us to remember the Lord our God. The experiences that He has given to us are part of our training. Think of them as courses or lessons. God framed these in our lives because of special needs. They are His special ways of equipping us. If we forget the basic lessons that we learned through our lives, then it is like we will have to take that course over again.

"But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day" (Deuteronomy 8:18).

We are also told to remember ‘the Lord your God.' What happens when we get to know someone, enjoy their relationship and do things together? For one reason or the other, you are busy with life and do not get to do things with him or her anymore. It is so critical to spend time with the Lord each day.

I suppose there is nothing more important in my own life than spending a quality time with the Lord through all these years. I have been disappointed by many a human relationship. God has always been there. But if I forget the Lord and spend time with others, then when those human relationships fail, I cannot easily turn to the Lord. But by regularly spending time remembering the Lord and His ways through praying and meditating in His Word, then one can always be close to the Lord, built up in that relationship with Him.

3) Negatively, we read others verses.

"Beware lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today" (Deuteronomy 8:11).

Then your heart becomes proud, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Deuteronomy 8:14).

"And it shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God, and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you shall surely perish" (Deuteronomy 8:19).

We must not let time or the distraction of the present cause us to forget these lessons. We are to go out of our way to not forget these things. If we forget the lessons, then we will forget the Lord. Our lives are made up of commands and experiences from the Lord. They are together to shape a warm response to the Lord. It is from here we will see many blessings in our lives.

4) Positively: Final summary

Notice at the end of 8:16, "that he might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end." We come back to the humbling and testing time that we started off with. God does these kinds of things. We are His disciples are wise if we quickly learn it or else we will be those that join the line for depression drugs. See how the Lord clearly tells us of His motivation. There might be many a thing He does not say, but this intention of His is something we can be sure of, "to do good for you in the end."

This one line should be well memorized for it can keep you from falling to many a temptation. If you look behind most temptations, the evil one will suggest that God does not have your best interest in mind. God says He does even in the humbling and testing times of life. Our belief in this will be tested next time you go through a hard time. See if you are tempted to doubt God's good intentions and how you respond to these untrue thoughts. If you listen to them, then you will fall." Doubt leads to disobedience.

When you are tempted to go for quick fixes, they more than likely will just cause you pain in the future. Just like in painting, God gets down to the scraping so that a great coat of paint can be put on.

Evaluation

"Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!"

A) Embrace God's good purposes

God has a good plan for your life. Trust Him no matter what.

B) Understand life's experiences

Look back and see what experiences God has taken you through. What have you learned? They will help you in the future.

C) Respond to the Lord's working in our lives

Respond to the Lord's love by obeying Him and remembering His ways in your life.

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This series on Deuteronomy 8 ends here, but do check out BFF's many other Bible articles.

 

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BFF Articles to Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy Introduction: Outline, index, Overview

Deuteronomy 2-3 Gaining Perpspective


Deuteronomy 5:1-23 Knowing God


Deuteronomy 5:1-5 Our Gracious Calling


Deuteronomy 5:6-21 Our Loving Standard


Deuteronomy 5:22-23 Our Special Relationship


Deuteronomy 8:1-20 Developing Strong Christian Lives 1 2 3 Podcast

Deuteronomy 21:15-21 Reformation 1 2 3 | Podcast | ppt | pdf Podcast

Deuteronomy 22:5 Gender Culture Sins

Deuteronomy26:1-19 Reaching into our Hearts and Pockets | Podcast

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Check for more resources on the OT & NT BFF Biblical Training Library!