◄ Deuteronomy 8:12 ►
Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses in which to dwell,
Study Bible
Otherwise
This word serves as a cautionary conjunction, linking the previous verses with the potential consequences of forgetting God. In Hebrew, the word is "פֶּן" (pen), which implies a warning or a preventative measure. It sets the stage for the Israelites to consider the dangers of prosperity leading to spiritual complacency. The use of "otherwise" underscores the conditional nature of God's blessings, reminding believers that their actions have consequences.

when you eat and are satisfied
The phrase highlights the physical blessings that God provides. The Hebrew word for "eat" is "אָכַל" (akal), which not only refers to the act of consuming food but also signifies the enjoyment and satisfaction derived from God's provision. This satisfaction is a reminder of God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promises. Historically, the Israelites were transitioning from a period of scarcity in the wilderness to abundance in the Promised Land, emphasizing the shift from dependence on manna to enjoying the fruits of the land.

when you build fine houses
Building "fine houses" signifies stability, security, and prosperity. The Hebrew word for "build" is "בָּנָה" (banah), which conveys the idea of establishing something lasting. This phrase reflects the fulfillment of God's promise to bring the Israelites into a land where they could settle and thrive. The construction of fine houses indicates a settled life, contrasting with their previous nomadic existence. It serves as a metaphor for spiritual building, urging believers to construct their lives on the foundation of God's Word.

and settle down
The phrase "settle down" in Hebrew is "יָשַׁב" (yashab), meaning to dwell or inhabit. It implies a sense of permanence and rest after years of wandering. This settling down is not just physical but also spiritual, as it calls for a deep-rooted commitment to God amidst newfound comfort. Historically, this was a pivotal moment for the Israelites, as they transitioned from a transient lifestyle to establishing a nation. Spiritually, it serves as a reminder to remain vigilant and faithful, even when life becomes comfortable and secure.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The author of Deuteronomy, delivering God's message to the Israelites.

2. Israelites
The chosen people of God, who are being prepared to enter the Promised Land.

3. Promised Land
The land of Canaan, a place of abundance and blessing promised to the descendants of Abraham.

4. Wilderness
The place where the Israelites wandered for 40 years, a time of testing and reliance on God.

5. God's Covenant
The agreement between God and the Israelites, promising blessings for obedience.
Teaching Points
Beware of Complacency
Prosperity can lead to spiritual complacency. We must remain vigilant in our relationship with God, even when life is comfortable.

Gratitude and Remembrance
Regularly remember and give thanks for God's provision and blessings. This helps prevent the heart from becoming proud and self-reliant.

Stewardship of Blessings
Use the resources and blessings God provides to serve others and advance His kingdom, rather than solely for personal comfort.

Dependence on God
Continually cultivate a heart that depends on God, recognizing that all good things come from Him.

Guard Against Idolatry
Wealth and comfort can become idols. Ensure that God remains the primary focus and priority in life.
Bible Study Questions
1. How can we ensure that prosperity does not lead us to forget God, as warned in Deuteronomy 8:12?

2. In what ways can we practice gratitude daily to keep our hearts aligned with God’s will?

3. How does the warning in Deuteronomy 8:12 relate to the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:15-21?

4. What practical steps can we take to be good stewards of the blessings God has given us?

5. How can we identify and remove any idols of comfort or wealth in our lives, in light of Deuteronomy 8:12 and 1 Timothy 6:17-19?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 6:10-12
Warns the Israelites not to forget the Lord when they experience prosperity in the Promised Land.

Proverbs 30:8-9
Highlights the danger of forgetting God when one is full and satisfied.

Luke 12:15-21
The parable of the rich fool, illustrating the folly of placing security in material wealth rather than in God.

1 Timothy 6:17-19
Advises the wealthy not to be arrogant or to put their hope in wealth, but to be rich in good deeds.
Sermons
God Forgotten Amid Second CausesR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 8:7-20
Wealth Perilous to PietyD. Davies Deuteronomy 8:7-20
The Dangers of WealthJ. Orr Deuteronomy 8:10-19
Danger of RichesDeuteronomy 8:11-17
Forgetful of GodThos. le Blanc.Deuteronomy 8:11-17
Forgetfulness of GodJ. Bibb.Deuteronomy 8:11-17
God ForgottenDeuteronomy 8:11-17
National WealthC. Kingsley, M. A.Deuteronomy 8:11-17
Prosperity and Spiritual RuinJ. Halsey.Deuteronomy 8:11-17
The Christian Aspect and Use of PoliticsCanon D. J. Vaughan.Deuteronomy 8:11-17
The Journey Towards the Promised LandFrank Coulin, D. D.Deuteronomy 8:11-17
The Manna Which Humbled IsraelD. F. Jarman, M. A.Deuteronomy 8:11-17
The ScorpionR. Newton, D. D.Deuteronomy 8:11-17
People
Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor, Egypt
Topics
Build, Built, Dwelt, Eat, Eaten, Fair, Fine, Full, Goodly, Hast, Houses, Inhabited, Lest, Otherwise, Satisfied, Settle, Therein, Yourselves
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 8:10-14

     7258   promised land, early history
     8763   forgetting

Deuteronomy 8:10-18

     5776   achievement
     8670   remembering

Deuteronomy 8:11-17

     5960   success

Deuteronomy 8:12-14

     4333   gold
     5413   money, attitudes

Library
God's Training
DEUTERONOMY viii. 2-5. 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. 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 …
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons

The Lesson of Memory
'Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these lofty 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.'--DEUT. viii.2. The strand of our lives usually slips away smoothly enough, but days such as this, the last Sunday in a year, are like the knots on a sailor's log, which, as they pass through his fingers, tell him how fast it is being paid out from the reel, and how far it has …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

National Wealth
(Fifth Sunday after Easter.) Deut. viii. 11-18. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth …
Charles Kingsley—The Gospel of the Pentateuch

Subterraneous Places. Mines. Caves.
Thus having taken some notice of the superficies of the land, let us a little search into its bowels. You may divide the subterraneous country into three parts: the metal mines, the caves, and the places of burial. This land was eminently noted for metal mines, so that "its stones," in very many places, "were iron, and out of its hills was digged brass," Deuteronomy 8:9. From these gain accrued to the Jews: but to the Christians, not seldom slavery and misery; being frequently condemned hither by …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Emmanuel's Land
P. G. Deut. viii. 7-10 The land! the glory of all lands, Beyond the Jordan's wave; Beyond the weary desert sands-- The land beyond the grave! Now safe witin that glorious land, We prove His faithful Word; 'Midst Canaan's golden fields we stand, The ransomed of the Lord. Amidst the burning desert drought We learnt His watchful love; Streams from the flinty rocks He brought, Sent bread from Heaven above. Our God in weariness and need, His love was measured there By hunger which His hand would feed, …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Palestine Eighteen Centuries Ago
Eighteen and a half centuries ago, and the land which now lies desolate--its bare, grey hills looking into ill-tilled or neglected valleys, its timber cut down, its olive- and vine-clad terraces crumbled into dust, its villages stricken with poverty and squalor, its thoroughfares insecure and deserted, its native population well-nigh gone, and with them its industry, wealth, and strength--presented a scene of beauty, richness, and busy life almost unsurpassed in the then known world. The Rabbis never …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

The Temptation of Christ
Matthew 4:1-11 -- "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 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. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a …
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

Why all Things Work for Good
1. The grand reason why all things work for good, is the near and dear interest which God has in His people. The Lord has made a covenant with them. "They shall be my people, and I will be their God" (Jer. xxxii. 38). By virtue of this compact, all things do, and must work, for good to them. "I am God, even thy God" (Psalm l. 7). This word, Thy God,' is the sweetest word in the Bible, it implies the best relations; and it is impossible there should be these relations between God and His people, and …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners:
A BRIEF AND FAITHFUL RELATION OF THE EXCEEDING MERCY OF GOD IN CHRIST TO HIS POOR SERVANT, JOHN BUNYAN; WHEREIN IS PARTICULARLY SHOWED THE MANNER OF HIS CONVERSION, HIS SIGHT AND TROUBLE FOR SIN, HIS DREADFUL TEMPTATIONS, ALSO HOW HE DESPAIRED OF GOD'S MERCY, AND HOW THE LORD AT LENGTH THROUGH CHRIST DID DELIVER HIM FROM ALL THE GUILT AND TERROR THAT LAY UPON HIM. Whereunto is added a brief relation of his call to the work of the ministry, of his temptations therein, as also what he hath met with …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

In Death and after Death
A sadder picture could scarcely be drawn than that of the dying Rabbi Jochanan ben Saccai, that "light of Israel" immediately before and after the destruction of the Temple, and for two years the president of the Sanhedrim. We read in the Talmud (Ber. 28 b) that, when his disciples came to see him on his death-bed, he burst into tears. To their astonished inquiry why he, "the light of Israel, the right pillar of the Temple, and its mighty hammer," betrayed such signs of fear, he replied: "If I were …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Meditations Before Dinner and Supper.
Meditate that hunger is like the sickness called a wolf; which, if thou dost not feed, will devour thee, and eat thee up; and that meat and drink are but as physic, or means which God hath ordained, to relieve and cure this natural infirmity and necessity of man. Use, therefore, to eat and to drink, rather to sustain and refresh the weakness of nature, than to satisfy the sensuality and delights of the flesh. Eat, therefore, to live, but live not to eat. There is no service so base, as for a man …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Third Sunday Before Lent
Text: First Corinthians 9, 24-27; 10, 1-5. 24 Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. 25 And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Deuteronomy 8:12 NIV
Deuteronomy 8:12 NLT
Deuteronomy 8:12 ESV
Deuteronomy 8:12 NASB
Deuteronomy 8:12 KJV

Deuteronomy 8:12 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Deuteronomy 8:11
Top of Page
Top of Page