Be careful not to forget the LORD your God by failing to keep His commandments and ordinances and statutes, which I am giving you this day. Be carefulThe Hebrew root for "be careful" is "שָׁמַר" (shamar), which means to guard, keep, or watch over. This word conveys a sense of vigilance and attentiveness. In the context of Deuteronomy, it serves as a solemn reminder to the Israelites to maintain a conscious and deliberate focus on their relationship with God. The call to be careful is not merely about avoiding mistakes but about actively preserving the covenant relationship with God. This vigilance is akin to a watchman on a city wall, ever alert to potential threats. that you do not forget
The phrase "do not forget" comes from the Hebrew "שָׁכַח" (shakach), meaning to forget or ignore. In the ancient Near Eastern context, forgetting was not just a lapse in memory but a failure to act in accordance with one's commitments. The Israelites are warned against the spiritual amnesia that can occur when prosperity leads to complacency. Forgetting God is tantamount to neglecting His presence and His past acts of deliverance, which are foundational to their identity as His chosen people. the LORD your God
The name "LORD" is the English representation of the Tetragrammaton, YHWH, the personal name of God revealed to Moses. It signifies God's eternal, self-existent nature and His covenantal faithfulness. "Your God" emphasizes the personal relationship between the Israelites and YHWH, highlighting that He is not a distant deity but their personal protector and provider. This relationship is central to their identity and mission as a nation set apart for His purposes. by failing to keep
The phrase "failing to keep" underscores the active responsibility of the Israelites to adhere to God's commands. The Hebrew word "שָׁמַר" (shamar) is used again here, reinforcing the idea of guarding or observing. This repetition emphasizes the importance of obedience as a continuous, deliberate action. It is not enough to know God's laws; they must be actively upheld and integrated into daily life. His commandments and ordinances and statutes
These terms collectively refer to the comprehensive body of laws given by God to Israel. "Commandments" (מִצְוֹת, mitzvot) are the direct orders from God, "ordinances" (חֻקִּים, chukim) are decrees or customs, and "statutes" (מִשְׁפָּטִים, mishpatim) are judgments or legal decisions. Together, they represent the full scope of God's revealed will for His people. This triad underscores the multifaceted nature of God's law, which covers moral, ceremonial, and civil aspects of life, guiding the Israelites in holiness and justice. which I am giving you this day
The phrase "this day" emphasizes the immediacy and relevance of God's commands. It serves as a reminder that God's word is not just historical but is continually applicable. The giving of the law is a present reality, calling for immediate and ongoing obedience. This underscores the timeless nature of God's instructions, which are as pertinent now as they were at the time of their initial revelation. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe leader of the Israelites who is delivering God's message to the people. He is reminding them of their covenant with God and the importance of obedience. 2. IsraelitesThe chosen people of God who are on the brink of entering the Promised Land. They are being warned to remember God's commandments as they transition from the wilderness to a land of abundance. 3. The Promised LandThe land of Canaan, which God promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It represents a place of blessing and fulfillment of God's promises. 4. The WildernessThe period of 40 years where the Israelites wandered as a result of their disobedience. It serves as a backdrop for the lessons of reliance on God. 5. The CovenantThe agreement between God and the Israelites, which includes the commandments, ordinances, and statutes that they are to follow. Teaching Points Remembering God in ProsperityProsperity can lead to spiritual complacency. We must actively remember and honor God in times of abundance. The Importance of ObedienceObedience to God's commandments is a demonstration of our love and commitment to Him. It is crucial for maintaining a healthy relationship with God. Guarding Against ForgetfulnessSpiritual forgetfulness can lead to disobedience. Regular study and meditation on God's Word help keep His commandments at the forefront of our lives. The Role of GratitudeGratitude for God's past provisions and guidance helps us remain humble and dependent on Him, preventing pride and self-reliance. The Consequences of DisobedienceIgnoring God's commandments can lead to spiritual and physical consequences. Reflecting on past experiences can remind us of the importance of staying faithful. Bible Study Questions 1. How can we actively remember God's commandments in our daily lives, especially during times of prosperity? 2. What are some practical ways to guard against spiritual forgetfulness and complacency? 3. How does the concept of obedience in Deuteronomy 8:11 relate to Jesus' teachings in the New Testament? 4. In what ways can gratitude for God's past provisions influence our current spiritual walk? 5. Reflect on a time when forgetting God's commandments led to negative consequences. How can this experience guide your future actions? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 20The giving of the Ten Commandments, which are part of the statutes and ordinances Moses refers to. Joshua 1:8Emphasizes the importance of meditating on the law day and night, similar to the call to remember God's commandments in Deuteronomy 8:11. Psalm 119Highlights the love for God's law and the blessings of obedience, echoing the themes of Deuteronomy 8. Matthew 4:4Jesus quotes Deuteronomy during His temptation, underscoring the importance of living by every word from God. James 1:22-25Encourages believers to be doers of the word, not just hearers, aligning with the call to keep God's commandments. People MosesPlaces Beth-baal-peor, EgyptTopics Beware, Care, Command, Commanding, Commandments, Commands, Decisions, Decrees, Failing, Forget, Giving, Heed, Judgments, Keeping, Laws, Lest, Observe, Orders, Ordinances, Statutes, Thyself, To-dayDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 8:11 8741 failure 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 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 SermonsThe 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 8:11 NIVDeuteronomy 8:11 NLTDeuteronomy 8:11 ESVDeuteronomy 8:11 NASBDeuteronomy 8:11 KJV
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