Our Old Testament reading for this week, from the Lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer, is from Deuteronomy. The Book of Deuteronomy, written by Moses, is the last of the five books of the Pentateuch, or Books of the Law. The people of Israel, having been delivered from slavery, had spent the last forty years traveling in the wilderness. Now they were camped near the eastern banks of the Jordan River, ready to cross and conquer the land of Canaan, which the Lord had promised them. Before entering the land of the Canaanites, Moses is reviewing the laws that God had given them earlier, which is what the Book of Deuteronomy is. If the people want the Lord’s help and blessings, they must follow and obey Him.
Throughout the forty years that the people traveled through the wilderness, the Lord God provided them with food and water. Every day He miraculously fed them with manna. This was not something they went out and hunted for with their skill, nor was it something they planted and harvested. Nothing they did provided this food. It came from God alone. This was to teach them that physical food is not all we need to live. We need God’s Word in order to truly live (vs 3).
When Jesus was in the wilderness, fasting and in prayer to God before starting His ministry, Satan came and tempted Him. One of the temptations Satan threw at Jesus, knowing that He was hungry, was to turn the stones He saw into bread (Matthew 4:1-4). Jesus responded by quoting verse 3 from our passage today back at Satan. So many people today spend their lives pursuing the satisfying of their appetites for pleasure and possessions. These things inevitably leave us empty and dissatisfied. Real and true life comes from a total commitment to God.
While speaking to the people before they were to cross the Jordan and enter the land, Moses reminded them that while they were in the wilderness, in addition to providing food, they wanted for nothing (vs 4). He specified that their clothes never wore out, nor did they even ever get swollen feet. All those years in the wilderness, with limited resources, God made sure that their clothes stayed fresh and new so they didn’t need to make additional clothes. He also took care of even the the most insignificant of their health needs. Do we remember to thank God for all of the smaller daily blessings the Lord God gives us? The list is endless! Besides the obvious of food, shelter and health, there’s all of nature, flowers, birds, etc. The music you enjoy, and that radio station you found that plays it. How about that good book you just read, or not missing the train you needed to catch, the compliment you received for your work? The people Moses was speaking to failed to thank Him for His care during the forty years in the wilderness. Let us not be so ungrateful to the Lord for His blessings to us, including the less obvious ones.
As they prepared to enter the land, God was seeking to correct the people’s wayward attitude, so that they might be prepared to obediently go into the promised land (vs 5-10). God was seeking obedience and faithfulness to Him, but also gratitude and thankfulness for His blessings and care. Why is it that people so easily forget to thank God for His blessings? For many families saying grace before a meal is a thing of the past. It’s as if they feel that they worked hard to earn the money to buy the food, so why bother thanking God for it. The same for their clothes, home, etc. Pride and self-centeredness get in the way. Gratitude doesn’t even enter the mind.
Just as Moses spoke these reminders to the people of Israel before they entered the Promised Land, let’s remember exactly Who gave us the blessings we have received, and give God thanks. It is not through our own efforts that we have them, nor do they spring up by themselves. Gratitude and thankfulness are always appropriate by God’s people.
Dear Lord my heart and soul is grateful... may my actions so also Amen
ReplyDelete