Deuteronomy 8:2-5
As the Israelites were poised to enter the land of promise for which God had been preparing them, Moses charged them to “remember.” They received the divine call to remember all of God’s past acts of redemption, and especially how He delivered them from Egyptian bondage (4:10; 8:2). Believers today are called to remember how we have been delivered from the bondage of sin. God will have us to go through wilderness experiences so that He might humble us and test us. On this walk of faith God wants to know what’s in our heart and whether or not we will obey Him.
Moses reminded the Israelites of how gracious God had been in dealing with them in the wilderness as good reasons why they should obey His commands (vv. 3-5). He humbled them by letting them go hungry, and then fed them manna, a food that was previously unknown to them and their ancestors. This taught them that man can’t live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (v.3). We might think that because we have all the material possessions we want or need, we are living. However, the Lord let Israel know that bread gave them physical life, but trusting Him and obeying His word gave them spiritual life.
He reminded them that in forty years their clothes didn’t wear out, and their feet didn’t blister or swell (v.4). Jesus taught his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount not to worry. The Lord feeds the birds of the air, and clothes the lilies and the grass of the field; therefore, He will feed and clothe us. Moses told them to consider that just as a parent disciplined a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good (5). Our heavenly Father’s love for us is steadfast just as it was for Israel. He loved them and took them through a wilderness for forty years to humble them that they might learn to depend on Him. The humble child does taste the grace. Our heavenly Father chose Israel and proved His providence. He never left them nor did He ever forsake them. He performed many miracles to deliver them from Egyptian slavery, brought them through the Red Sea on dry land, fed them manna, and led them on foot through a wilderness in which He tested them for forty years. Let us accept our wilderness training without mumbling and grumbling. God wants to humble us and prove us for His use and glory.