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Full and forgetful
by Adam Bennett 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 that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:3 ESV) In this verse Moses is reminding the people of Israel that they received enough manna each day only for that day. Moses explained that this was to teach them dependence on God. Moses was also conscious that when they had more than they needed for each day they were likely to forget God. Later in the chapter Moses specifically warned the people, "Take care lest when you have eaten and are full and have built have good houses and lives in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied, then your heart will be lifted up and , and you forget the LORD your God." (8:11, 12-14 ESV) To have abundant food, or wealth, makes us feel independent that we no longer need the day-by-day and moment-by-moment dependence on God. This was the ordinary human temptation Satan presented to Jesus (see Matthew 4:1-4) and to which Jesus responded quoting this verse from Deuteronomy. It's also why, when Jesus taught the disciples to pray, emphasised their need to be dependant each day on God's provision. He said we should pray, "Give us today our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11 NIV) Another wise man wrote, "give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say 'Who is the LORD?' or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God." (Proverbs 30:8-9 ESV) Our wealth is an impediment to our knowledge of God. We need to be especially careful that we do not forget the LORD. Copyright Adam Bennett 2009. More articles are available at http://godward-thoughts.blogspot.com/ Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |