Deuteronomy 8:1 – 6 “You must carefully follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and multiply, and enter and possess the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers. Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments.
He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
So know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, walking in His ways and fearing Him.”
By this point in Moses’ teachings, the Israelites might have been excused if they were indulging in just a little self – pity. Forty years! Forty years they spent wandering around in the wilderness. After all that suffering, haven’t they EARNED some rest? Don’t they DESERVE the right to an easy entry into the Promised Land? What is God getting at here?
God knows the human heart far better than any human. When the Israelites left Egypt, they were barely emerging from a pagan culture with a huge number of gods and a strong emphasis on death and ceremonies surrounding death. These people had spent hundreds of years as slaves with a slave mentality. There was no way that the Israelites were ready to go straight into the Promised Land, and they demonstrated that with the incident of the golden calf among other failures.
God wanted the Israelites to follow His commands, so He sent them out through the wilderness until they had no other sources of help apart from God. God wanted His people to totally depend on Him and to follow His commands. Notice what God did: He provided manna, proving that “man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” God protected the Israelites’ clothing and their shoes, even keeping their feet from swelling, despite the rocks and the sand and the heat.
“So know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.” In many ancient cultures, only true sons were disciplined. Any illegitimate children might receive some kind of care, but they would not be disciplined. To receive discipline meant that your father was truly claiming you as his child. Here God is pointing out that He has disciplined the Israelites just as any good father would. Such discipline is actually a mark of God’s favor. And good children, particularly sons, were expected to respond by obedience to their father’s commands.
APPLICATION: Structure and discipline – each of us needs these two elements in our daily lives. Proverbs 13:24 says, “A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining them.
When I was six, my parents added my foster sister Lela to our family. Lela was the oldest of ten kids; unfortunately, she had wound up in an orphanage. As the years went by, her other siblings were adopted; however, she forlornly remained there until she was fifteen. My mother was a stern but loving disciplinarian. One day, Mom and Lela were shopping in a town twenty miles from our farm. Mom had allowed Lela to go off on her own, but when Lela failed to meet Mom in time, Mom was furious! When Lela turned up, Mom walked down the street with her, swatting her bottom several times. Once they reached the car, Lela turned to Mom and told her,”You really love me, don’t you?” Surprised, Mom asked, “What do you mean?” Lela responded, “Well, I have seen you disciplining your own children many times, but this is the first time you have disciplined me.” For Lela, Mom’s discipline was a sign of love, a love she never once doubted after that.
Many times, God must deal with us as He dealt with the Israelites. There are no shortcuts to developing good character.
God Knows What He’s About
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man, and skill a man,
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world might be amazed,
Watch His methods; watch His ways.
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay
That only God understands,
While his tortured heart is crying,
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes.
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out—
God knows what He’s about!
Author Unknown
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us so much that You refuse to let us wallow in our sin and mediocrity! Thank You, that You are changing us into Your likeness. Help us to be patient and to let You work everything You desire in our hearts. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment