Deuteronomy 8:1-3 "All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. (vs 2) And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. (vs 3) And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live."
Part of a song by Jeff Easter says, "There's a roof up above me. I've a
good place to sleep. There's food on my table, And shoes on my feet."
Many people tend to count blessings based upon the natural realm. We have
the things which make for comfortable living; therefore we are blessed. And
that is true, isn't it? But Jeff Easter's song goes on to tell the rest
of the story, "You gave me Your love Lord And a fine family. Thank You
Lord For Your blessings on me."
The greatest blessing that any of us could ever experience is found in the
great Spiritual truth of God's love for us. In today's passage, Moses is
reminding the people (and us) that God is showing His love for us every time He
deals with us. Sometimes He deals with us by humbling us as well as lifting us
up. We might look at the lifting up as the greatest blessing; but let us
remember He humbles us to keep us in the place where blessings are poured
out. He humbled the people of Israel with hunger in order to bless them
with manna. He allowed them to experience thirst in order to give them water
from the Rock.
Jesus referred to verse 3 of our text when Satan came to tempt Him. He
had fasted for forty days and forty nights. As a human, he was at His weakest
point on the day Satan appeared and tempted Him to turn the rocks into bread.
We know Jesus could have done that, but the greater agenda was to remain
faithful to the Father. He could never subject Himself to yielding to the
temptations of Satan. What was Jesus' answer to this temptation?
"And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of
God, command that these stones be made bread. (4) But he answered
and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:3-4)
Yes God blesses us with the natural and material blessings, but the greatest
blessing of all is, first, eternal life through the gift of His precious Son,
Jesus Christ. And then, God has blessed us with, I believe, the second
greatest blessing and that is, His Holy Word. Verse 1 of our text tells
us that through observing the Word of God, we are able to live the abundant
life in His blessed kingdom here on earth. We are blessed to experience
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost as we are obedient to the
things He has shown us.
Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the
eternal Son of God - God's precious gift to us.