Deuteronomy 8: Bread From Heaven
1 “Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which Yahweh swore to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember that Yahweh your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Yahweh. 4 Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, son Yahweh your God chastens you.
“‘Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe,’ etc for their temporal life, and the mercies and comforts of it, the multiplication of their offspring, and of their substance, their entrance into the land of Canaan, possession of it, and continuance in it, all depended on their obedience to the commands of God; see Deuteronomy 19:20.” (John Gill) “And you shall remember that Yahweh your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness”— in a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night (Exodus 13:21)— But He did more than show them the way to travel; He spake to them— directly in giving them His Commandments and indirectly in giving statues through His prophet, Moses.
You must remember “every stage of the journey, every scene of wilderness life, all the dealings of God, from first to last, with the special object thereof,” (C. H Mackintosh) “‘to humble you and test you’ — to try your fidelity by various means, to make you sensible of your own weakness and inability to do good (Calmet)— “to know what was in your heart.” And so Moses wrote these things dealings down of God with man in a book, as directed, just as the Gospels and the Acts of the apostles were written by inspiration. Moreover, the letters of Peter and Paul and some others to the churches were written and kept to preserve the way of the early church to guard against corruption.
In all of these, Israel was humbled and tested. “When fire is put to green wood, there comes out abundance of watery stuff that before appeared not. When the pond is empty, the mud, filth, and toads come to light. The snow drift covers many a muckhill; so doth prosperity many a rotten heart. It is easy to wade in a warm bath; and every bird can sing in a sunshine day, etc. Hard weather tries what health, afflictions try what sap we have, what solidity. Withered leaves soon fall off in windy weather; rotten boughs quickly break with heavy weights, etc.” (John Trapp)
And some of them were destroyed. The picture they paint is not pretty. The ultimate test was “whether, they would keep His Commandments or not” such as the example of the Sabbath command relating to manna.
“‘So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna’— It is in vain to seek to identify this with any natural product. It was something entirely new to the Israelites—‘a thing which neither they nor their fathers knew’; truly bread from heaven, and which got from them the name of manna or man, because, in their wondering ignorance, they knew not what to call it, and so they said one to another, Man hoo? ( מָן הוּא), ‘What is it?’ Exodus 16:15” (Pulpit Commentaries)
"Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of Yahweh.” Moreover their garments did not wear out on them, nor did their feet swell for those forty years. “They needed not to trouble themselves with those anxious thoughts of heathens, what they should eat, drink, or put on. Never was a prince served and supplied in such state as these Israelites were.” (John Trapp)
“When the manna had been first provided it was said at the time that it would be a test of their willingness to obey Him (Exod 16:4). The test lay in the fact that it was to be a daily provision, so that they were not to hoard it but to wait for it each day from Yahweh’s hand. They had constantly to look to Him and to trust Him.” (Peter Pett) Moreover they were to rest on the seventh day— the Sabbath, according to the Commandments. So on Friday they were to gather a double portion. And on this point and others, beware brethren for “you should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so Yahweh your God chastens you.” Failure to keep the substance of this command, as well as the various types—sabbatical years— later resulted in expulsion from the land.
Food sustains our temporal lives, but the Lord Jesus Christ sustains us eternally. “Man shall not live by bread alone;" etc. (Matthew 4:4)
“Here we have the words quoted by the Lord Jesus to Satan in the wilderness temptation that He endured. Israel's wilderness temptations revealed their complete failure, whereas the temptation of our Lord was permitted in order to reveal His absolute perfection…. His life was one of perfect obedience to the Father's will in all things. We are ‘elect... through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience... of Jesus Christ’ (1 Pet. 1:2). We are to obey as He obeyed.” (F. B. Hole)
But what good work must we do to be saved. Jesus replied, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ (Exodus 16:4) Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:28–39)
Morning Repost: Deuteronomy 8: An Even Better Land
7 “For Yahweh your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless Yahweh your God for the good land which He has given you.
“‘For Yahweh your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills’— the land being richly watered both for agriculture and for stock-raising,” (Paul E. Kretzmann), as well as personal use. Man is made of dust and the breathe of God and sustained thereby with water and other sustenance for our temporal health — the produce of the earthly land.
“These words would seem to be a description which was intended to convey a contrast between Egypt and the land of promise. The feeling that lingered still upon their minds as to what Egypt was would render the contrast stronger still in their own minds. ‘The land whither thou goest in to possess it is not as the land of Egypt from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed and wateredst it with thy foot. But the land whither ye go to possess it is a land of hills and valleys, and is watered by the rain from heaven.’ In the land of promise, instead of there being any process of human labour, or any contrivances of the kind--‘The land to which ye go,’ said the prophet, ‘shall be watered by the rain from heaven.’ It shall come down upon it like a gift from God. For in Egypt there was no rain--and in the wilderness nothing but sand, nothing but desert.
There is also the suggestion, you know, of GREEN HILLS.
Egypt was very flat, but this was a land of hills and valleys, of valleys and hills. ‘A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees’— the staff of life, all that is necessary for support. And what is given for luxury? ‘A land of oil olive, and honey. A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness.’ They had been living on manna, and their souls loathed this light bread. They were to have bread without scarcity— ‘Thou shalt not lack anything in it. A land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.’ This was a fine picture set before these people— setting forth the love of God to them, His Divine purposes, His Fatherly protection, and exciting them to devotion to His will.
The surrounding words also suggest a GRAND IDEA. The idea is that of obedience, at all times and under all circumstances. In the desert, in the city, whatever be your circumstances or your needs, God’s law is to be recognised. He is Lord over all. God hath made the earth, and placed man upon it, and hath given him everything richly to enjoy. And so he presents a picture of discipline with the enjoyment of abundance.” (T. Binney)
Israel was indeed a good land. "Of Egypt also it is reported, that it is so fruitful a country, Ut cunctos mortales pascere, deos ipsos excipere hospitio salva re posse gloriaretur. It was anciently called publicum orbis horreum, the world’s great barn; as some foreign writers have termed our country the court of Queen Ceres, the granary of the western world, the Fortunate Island, the Paradise of Pleasure, and Garden of God. The worst is, that as Aristotle was wont to tax his Athenians, that whereas they were famous for two things, the best land, and the best laws, frumentis uterentur, legibus nequaquam, they abused their plenty, and lived lawlessly; so it may be said of us [subjects of the Kingdom of God], that we live in God’s good land, but not by God’s good laws. [Likewise, the later king of Israel was the owner of much of that wealth of Israel.] Solomon’s wealth did him more harm than ever his wisdom did him good. But that should not have been. Solomon’s altar was four times as large as Moses’s, [Exodus 27:1] to teach us, that as our peace and prosperity is more than others, so should our service in a due proportion.” (Trapp)
“For Yahweh your God is bringing you into a good land,” etc. “All accounts, ancient and modern, concur in bearing testimony to the natural beauty and fertility of Palestine, and its great capabilities, if properly cultivated.” (Jameson, Faussett, Brown)… and if they personally rest weekly on that Hallowed Sabbath and allowed the land to rest according to the sabbatical and jubilee principals found in the torah of God.
"When you have eaten and are satisfied, then you shall bless Yahweh your God." “There is a saying in the Talmud (Berachoth, p. 35).— ‘It is forbidden to any man to take any enjoyment from this present world without thanksgiving; and every one who does so is a transgressor.’” (C. J. Ellicott) "‘Yet some would have us adopt a ‘religion of humanity,’ as if humanity were to be praised for the physical basis of its own existence! A Power not in man nor of man hath given us all.” (Pulpit Commentaries)
It is Yahweh God of Israel. And we are to bless meals before eating thereof and bless the Hand that provided them for all of His abundant mercies— and more afterwards by our righteous deeds, ordered by His Word. “Deeply, therefore, they were bound to serve that master who paid them such abundant wages [found in Palestine]. How glorious the earthly, but how much better the heavenly Canaan, watered with the river of life, adorned with the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord; flowing with wine of everlasting consolation, and rich in treasures that never wax old or decay! May my lot fall in this pleasant land!” (Thomas Coke)
Jesus bore witness of the way to that even better Land. In the day of our visitation, a Samaritan woman came to Jacob’s well for some of the water from the earthly land to quench her thirst and sustain her life. Christ had been in Judea— the remnant of that day, but He departed again into Galilee. He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar… anciently called Shechem— in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. "It seems to have been situated at the foot of Mount Gerizim (Mount of Blessing), in the province of Samaria, on which the temple of the Samaritans was built… This place is remarkable in the Scriptures: 1) As being that where Abram first stopped on his coming from Haran to Canaan. 2) Where God first appeared to that patriarch, and promised to give the land to his seed. 3) The place where Abram first built an altar to the LORD, and called upon his name, Genesis 12:7. The present name of this city is Nepalis.” (Clarke)
There Jesus offered a woman—a sinner and foreigner to the covenant promises— that Living Water which would become in her “a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:7-26) ...
if she would only go her way and sin no more.
Deuteronomy 8: Lift High— Not the Heart but— the Cross
11 “Beware that you do not forget Yahweh your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’
18 “And you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 Then it shall be, if you by any means forget Yahweh your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which Yahweh destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of Yahweh your God.
“‘Beware that you do not forget Yahweh your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today’— thus "casting His Words behind thee, [Psalms 50:17] and not considering the operation of His Hands. [Isaiah 5:12] Fulness breeds this forgetfulness, laden bodies leaden minds.” (John Trapp) for true gratitude is not found in words of praise only, but also in deeds— the works of your hands.— “‘lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up,’—The devil will easily blow up this blab in the rich man’s heart, whose usual diseases are earthly mindedness and high mindedness.” (John Trapp)—
“‘and you forget Yahweh your God’ — by attributing God's benefits to your own wisdom and labour, or to good fortune.” (Geneva Study Bible)—“who brought you out of the land of Egypt," from the house of bondage. “I remember that Mr. Whitefield once asked the prayers of the congregation ‘for a young gentleman in very dangerous circumstances,’ for he had just come into a fortune of ₤5,000. Then is the time when prayer is needed even more than in seasons of depression and of loss.” (C. H. Spurgeon) He is apt to forget his Deliverer.
What makes Israel, yea any nation, prosperous? “Moses answered, ‘Good government; government according to the laws of God.’
But the multitude, who are not wise men, give a different answer. They say, ‘What makes a nation prosperous is its wealth. If Britain be only rich, then she must be safe and right.’” ( C. Kingsley, M. A.)
"I spoke to you in your prosperity; but you said, `I will not listen!'” (Jeremiah 22:21a) Yet, remember that I not only delivered you but I will also to place you in possession of that inheritance of you fathers, based on their merit. Moreover, I “led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents;’ so called from the burning heat and thirst excited by the poison, in those who were bitten. See Numbers 21.” (Joseph Sutcliffe) “The part of the desert referred to was after the departure from Horeb, by way of the mountain of the Amorites, as they came to Kadesh-barnea… Large and venomous reptiles are found in great numbers there still, particularly in autumn. Travelers require to use great caution in arranging their tents and beds at night; even during the day the legs not only of men, but of the animals they ride, are liable to be bitten.” (Jameson, Faussett, Brown) And then ensued: "a most violent inflammation, accompanied with an unquenchable thirst, and which terminated in death.” (Adam Clarke) — But, as always, there was a provision provided in the staff of Moses for anyone to look on and live.
And remember that He who delivered Israel from Egypt also is He “‘who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna… that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end.’ Faith reveals to us [all of the obedient], and the Scriptures declare that ‘all things work together for good,’ etc. Even upon earth, whoever remembers all the way which the Lord his God hath led him, finds at the end of each trial a mature fruit, ‘the peaceable fruit of righteousness,’ to be received ultimately. ” (Frank Coulin, D. D.)
“The caution is prophetic, as may be seen by the following examples:—‘When Rehoboam had . . . strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him’ (2 Chronicles 12:1). ‘But when he (Uzziah) was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction’ (2 Chronicles 26:16). ‘Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up’ (2 Chronicles 32:25). Other instances might easily be added.” (Ellicott's Commentary) Likewise all of Israel, poetically called Jeshurun "waxed fat, and kicked; he forgot the rock from whence he was hewn." — "If Israel, through the enjoyment of vineyards, cattle and corn, and through the increase of gold and silver, should forget the LORD,... then they should surely perish; and the LORD would destroy them, as he had destroyed the seven devoted nations.
And these were more than words; they were sad prophecies of what afterwards actually came to pass.” (Joseph Sutcliffe)
Lord Jesus, I have been bitten by the fiery serpent of Eden and am sick unto death but as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even the Son of Man has been lifted up to my soul. I have come to believe that whoever believes in You should not perish but have eternal life. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:14-17) Help me to trust and obey.
I am no better of an Adventist in word only, than I was a Methodist. I have heard your gospel repeatedly and I have even attempted to proclaim it myself. But I am a still a filthy law breaker. I have trampled your Word under my own feet. The goods of this world and the praises of men have deceived me and lured me into thinking I am blessed of You, but I only compromise. I know Lord Jesus that You are able to kill both body and soul in hell-fire and that obedience is the litmus test, which I miserably fail by my compromise. Be warned, oh my soul, "which makes problems of the Gospel, which sports with infidelity, and almost totally disremembers the new covenant sealed with the blood of Christ. He who destroyed or banished the Canaanites; He who made Israel a desolation, He who removed the candlestick from Asia... Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword with two edges, and His sceptre is a rod of strength. Who would not fear thee, Thou King of saints!” (Joseph Sutcliffe)
"For us also there shall be a crossing of Jordan and an entrance into the heavenly Canaan, of which the earthly was but a feeble type. We, too, shall have our day of triumph, a day when the sun, which marks the stages of our journey, shall set amid the shadows of a last eventide, to rise again for us radiant and cloudless for evermore. God’s purpose is to do us good at our latter end! Forward, then, in peace and hope! Soon all things shall become new!” (Frank Coulin, D. D.) "Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim till all the world adore His sacred name." Only lead me, dearest Jesus, in the path of righteousness for Your name sake.