Deuteronomy 6:10-12 "And it shall be,
when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto
thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly
cities, which thou buildedst not, (11) And houses full of all good
things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not,
vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten
and be full; (12) Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which
brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."
We find warnings throughout the Word of God concerning "forgetting
God". Here we see God, through Moses, giving this warning to the
people of Israel. I remember a few times when I was traveling and my GPS would
take me through some "wilderness" areas where there seemed to be no
one or nothing around. I remember thinking (and praying) that my GPS would not
lose service; otherwise I might never be seen again. Contrary to that, I
very seldom refer to my GPS when I am in familiar territory.
The people of Israel have been wandering about for forty years and certainly
they were completely dependent upon the guidance of the Lord. He had led them
through the way by the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. I
have no doubt the people were constantly looking toward that pillar that went
before them as they traveled. But now, they are preparing to inhabit the
land that had been promised them. There were battles to be fought once they
crossed the Jordan River. We see them depending upon the Lord throughout
that time.
But in today's verses, God is warning them to stay constant in their dependence
after those battles have been fought. Once they have settled in the land, they
would be living in "houses full of all good things." There would be
"wells digged" and ready for them to get water. "Vineyards and
olive trees" were waiting for them to harvest. They would be living
in the land of plenty and all these things were already prepared and waiting
for them. But there is a danger of which they had to be aware. This
danger was greater than the danger of any of the nations that they were to
drive out. The greater danger for which the people had to be alert was that of
forgetting God.
We read in Amos 6:1, "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion." There is a great danger to all of us when we get beyond the major struggles of life. We can never get beyond any time of life when we need the Lord. We need the Lord as much in good times as we do in tough times. We need the Lord in happy times as well as sad times. We are in constant need of God's presence and help in our lives. We must constantly stay aware of that need and never forget the Lord. Never be hesitant to call upon the Lord. He encourages us many times in His Word, "Call upon me." Take Him at His Word.