American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Deuteronomy 8
1
All the commandments which I command you this day shall you observe to do, that you may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers.
Reference
References Lord
Deuteronomy 4:1
2
And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, and to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or no.
Reference
Parallel theme
James 1:3
1 Peter 1:7
Deuteronomy 8:16
John 2:25
Deuteronomy 29:5
References God
Deuteronomy 2:7
2 Chronicles 32:31
References Lord
Exodus 15:25
James 4:10
Word
Exodus 16:4
3
And he humbled you, and suffered you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you knew not, neither did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD does man live.
Reference
5
You shall also consider in your heart, that, as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you.
Reference
Parallel theme
Revelation 3:19
2 Samuel 7:14
Ezekiel 18:28
Psalm 89:32
Deuteronomy 4:9
Ezekiel 12:3
References God
Deuteronomy 4:23
References Lord
Proverbs 3:12
Psalm 94:12
1 Corinthians 11:32
6
Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
Reference
Parallel theme
2 Chronicles 6:31
References God
Deuteronomy 5:33
References Lord
Psalm 128:1
1 Samuel 12:24
Word
Luke 1:6
Exodus 18:20
7
For the LORD your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;
Reference
8
A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;
Reference
9
A land wherein you shall eat bread without scarceness, you shall not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig brass.
Reference
10
When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which he has given you.
Reference
Blessing
Psalm 103:2
Matthew 14:19
Parallel theme
1 Chronicles 29:14
References God
Romans 14:6
1 Corinthians 10:31
1 Thessalonians 5:18
References Lord
Proverbs 3:9
John 6:23
11
Beware that you forget not the LORD your God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command you this day:
Reference
12
Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses, and dwelled therein;
Reference
13
And when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied;
Reference
Parallel theme
Job 1:3
14
Then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
Reference
15
Who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought you forth water out of the rock of flint;
Reference
16
Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers knew not, that he might humble you, and that he might prove you, to do you good at your latter end;
Reference
Good
Romans 8:28
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 8:3
Exodus 16:15
James 1:12
1 Peter 1:7
2 Corinthians 4:17
17
And you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.
Reference
18
But you shall remember the LORD your God: for it is he that gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Reference
Covenant
Deuteronomy 7:12
Parallel theme
Hosea 2:8
References Lord
Proverbs 10:22
Deuteronomy 7:8
Psalm 144:1
19
And it shall be, if you do at all forget the LORD your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.
Reference
Witness
Deuteronomy 4:26
20
As the nations which the LORD destroys before your face, so shall you perish; because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God.
Summary of Deuteronomy 8
Deuteronomy chapter 8 contains Moses' message as Israel prepares to take possession of the promised land. He is calling on the people to remember the wilderness pilgrimage and the pedagogy of God. This is so that they can acknowledge how the years spent in the wilderness had prepared them for life in the land of Canaan.
Moses calls them to remember to keep all the commands that he is giving them, saying that God had led them through the wilderness for forty years. As part of the pedagogy, God had brought them hunger, and then He had given them the provision of manna. Moses tells the people that this was to show them that the people do not live by bread but rather by the words of the mouth of God. Moses then calls them to remember how the clothing worn did not deteriorate during those forty years, and the feet did not swell. All along, God had been caring for them physically even as they questioned Him.
He tells them to remember how God had been instructing them, like a father instructing his son. Moses tells them that Israel had been disciplined to prepare them for the life ahead in Canaan, as a father disciplines his son. They had been through trials as God was training them. Now they were about to leave the wilderness, and they would be in a land flowing with milk and honey.
Moses tells them that they should bless the Lord when they had eaten and were satisfied. The people were not to become indifferent to the fact that the blessings that they were enjoying came from God. Their houses, food, agriculture, livestock, and riches would all remind them of the God of Israel.
This leads to the most famous warning to the people of Israel. They were to remember the lesson of discipline not to become proud when their fortunes turned for the better. This is because, as the chapter says, they would have been living in houses that they did not build and eating from the provision of God even when they had not reaped the food themselves during the years of the wilderness. It is likely that the people would have been tempted to say in their hearts that their power and the might of their hand had brought them to prosperity. Moses warns the people against this and tells them to remember that it was God who had brought them into the land of their enemies and provided for them.
Moses calls them to remember the Lord their God because it was He who had given them the power to prosper. He had made them as He had promised to their fathers. Therefore, they were not to deny the role of God in their affairs. It was God who had made them as he had promised to their fathers. Therefore, they should not deny the role God had played in their affairs.
If they had forgotten the God of Israel, turning to other gods, then they would have surely perished. Moses warns the people that if they turned away from the God of Israel to serve other gods, then they would perish. He was reminding them of the experience of other nations.
As the nation prepared to enter the land of Canaan, it would have been very tempting to forget the God of Israel. Moses was reminding the people of the experience of other nations who had been judged and punished by God. The Israelites were not to think that, simply because they were God's chosen people, they had the right to behave as they pleased. If they disobeyed the voice of God, they would suffer the same fate as those nations who had suffered the judgment of God.
Deuteronomy 8 is a chapter of remembrance. Moses calls Israel to remember the wilderness as he reminds them of the lessons that God wanted them to learn. He calls on them to remember the hardships and the provision of God. He is also calling them to remember to bless the Lord when they had eaten and were satisfied. The chapter is a reminder to them to acknowledge the God of Israel. Moses knows that as the nation moves into the land of Canaan they will have forgotten their hardships as the wilderness. Moses wanted them to remember to thank the Lord for the manna that had sustained them during the wilderness so that they would acknowledge the hand of God in their lives.
In a similar way, Moses warns Israel not to forget its God when it has prospered and acquired riches and security. The Israelites are about to experience a reversal of the wilderness. Just as the wilderness had tested them and prepared them for life in Canaan, Moses wanted them to remember the God of Israel.
Moses calls them to remember to keep all the commands that he is giving them, saying that God had led them through the wilderness for forty years. As part of the pedagogy, God had brought them hunger, and then He had given them the provision of manna. Moses tells the people that this was to show them that the people do not live by bread but rather by the words of the mouth of God. Moses then calls them to remember how the clothing worn did not deteriorate during those forty years, and the feet did not swell. All along, God had been caring for them physically even as they questioned Him.
He tells them to remember how God had been instructing them, like a father instructing his son. Moses tells them that Israel had been disciplined to prepare them for the life ahead in Canaan, as a father disciplines his son. They had been through trials as God was training them. Now they were about to leave the wilderness, and they would be in a land flowing with milk and honey.
Moses tells them that they should bless the Lord when they had eaten and were satisfied. The people were not to become indifferent to the fact that the blessings that they were enjoying came from God. Their houses, food, agriculture, livestock, and riches would all remind them of the God of Israel.
This leads to the most famous warning to the people of Israel. They were to remember the lesson of discipline not to become proud when their fortunes turned for the better. This is because, as the chapter says, they would have been living in houses that they did not build and eating from the provision of God even when they had not reaped the food themselves during the years of the wilderness. It is likely that the people would have been tempted to say in their hearts that their power and the might of their hand had brought them to prosperity. Moses warns the people against this and tells them to remember that it was God who had brought them into the land of their enemies and provided for them.
Moses calls them to remember the Lord their God because it was He who had given them the power to prosper. He had made them as He had promised to their fathers. Therefore, they were not to deny the role of God in their affairs. It was God who had made them as he had promised to their fathers. Therefore, they should not deny the role God had played in their affairs.
If they had forgotten the God of Israel, turning to other gods, then they would have surely perished. Moses warns the people that if they turned away from the God of Israel to serve other gods, then they would perish. He was reminding them of the experience of other nations.
As the nation prepared to enter the land of Canaan, it would have been very tempting to forget the God of Israel. Moses was reminding the people of the experience of other nations who had been judged and punished by God. The Israelites were not to think that, simply because they were God's chosen people, they had the right to behave as they pleased. If they disobeyed the voice of God, they would suffer the same fate as those nations who had suffered the judgment of God.
Deuteronomy 8 is a chapter of remembrance. Moses calls Israel to remember the wilderness as he reminds them of the lessons that God wanted them to learn. He calls on them to remember the hardships and the provision of God. He is also calling them to remember to bless the Lord when they had eaten and were satisfied. The chapter is a reminder to them to acknowledge the God of Israel. Moses knows that as the nation moves into the land of Canaan they will have forgotten their hardships as the wilderness. Moses wanted them to remember to thank the Lord for the manna that had sustained them during the wilderness so that they would acknowledge the hand of God in their lives.
In a similar way, Moses warns Israel not to forget its God when it has prospered and acquired riches and security. The Israelites are about to experience a reversal of the wilderness. Just as the wilderness had tested them and prepared them for life in Canaan, Moses wanted them to remember the God of Israel.