Sometimes we must be humbled to be blessed
Deuteronomy Chapter 8
“ He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your ancestors had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” Deuteronomy 8:3
Moses is speaking to the Israelites in chapter 8. He is still preparing them to enter the promised land. Why did it take Moses so long to prepare the Israelites to enter the promise they had been walking to for 40 years? Were they not prepared enough? If 40 years hadn’t prepared them, what else could? Maybe it was this message from chapter 8 that, even though I have heard a form of this message taught all my life, it took reading Moses’s words in this chapter to really take hold of. Maybe this was the message the Israelites, really should have taken hold of before entering into their promised land.
Moses tells the people in the first few verses of the chapter that God had humbled them by allowing them to wander in the wilderness for forty years. Some of the ways Moses says they were humbled was by being fed Manna when they hungered, a food no one had none before, or being watered from rocks in the wilderness. In verse 5 Moses tells the Israelites that God was disciplining them like a father would discipline his son.
Why? Why would God have been humbling and disciplining the people of Israel before they entered their promise? In verse 7 Moses begins to tell the Israelites that God is about to take them into the land filled with wheat, honey, barley, fruits, a land “where you will lack nothing” ( 8:9). In verse 10 Moses tells the people that “When you eat and are full, you will bless the Lord your God for the good land he had given you.”
Then in verses 11-14 Moses tells us why the people had been humbled before being blessed. Moses tells the Israelites, “Be careful that you don’t forget the Lord your God by failing to keep his commands, ordinances, an statues that I am giving you today. When you eat and are full, and build beautiful houses to liven in, and your herds and flocks grow large, and your silver and gold multiply, and everything else you have increases, be careful that your heart doesn’t become proud and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.” Moses continues to remind the people of all the Lord had brought them through to bring them to the land they were now about to enter full of rich blessings. A land where they were about to lack nothing. Moses didn’t want the Israelites to enter the land full of blessings and get so consumed by all that they had that they forgot who delivered them and provided all the blessings.
Have you ever heard the God of the Valley is the God of the Mountain- the saying that aims to remind us that the same God we sought out when we walked through our valleys is the same God that delivered us to our mountain. That same God that provided for us is the same God when we are on our mountain lacking nothing.
It is easy to seek out God when we are going through trials and struggles in life, when we have needs we feel are not met, when we need help getting through something, when we are being humbled or disciplined. But it can be easy to forget to give God that same attention and faithfulness when life is great and we are walking in blessings. When we lack nothing.
God humbled the Israelites during their 40 years wandering through the wilderness. God was leading them to the rich blessings of the promised land, but the people needed humbled so that once they entered into the land flowing with milk and honey, they would not forget how they got there and would not fail to continue to seek and praise God.
Let’s not skip over the fact that while they were being humble and disciplined, God was still providing for them. They were fed Manna from God when they were hungry, their clothes did not wear out for forty years (I don’t know about you, but I can barely keep clothes looking good 40 days if I wear them regularly. I can’t fathom 40 years) and their feet did not swell. Again, 40 minutes of straight walking and my dogs are barking, as my papaw use to say. 40 years of walking and no swelling. . . God was present with them, providing for them, for a purpose!
So, if you find yourself being humbled or disciplined don’t be discouraged! Draw closer to God, and remember He might just be preparing you for blessings to come. He is walking with you in your wilderness and providing for you on your journey. He is feeding you, clothing you, any carrying you to the rich blessing he has prepared for you. Don’t be discouraged by times of humbling.
If you are walking in your blessings, don’t forget to praise God for what He has blessed you with. If you are at a place in your life where you lack nothing, make sure you are still giving God the praise He deserves for delivering you to that place.
Moses said in verses 16-18 “He fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your ancestors had not known in order to humble and test you, so that in the end he might cause you to prosper. You may say to yourself, My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me, but remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth.”
Sometimes we are humbled by the Lord before our blessings, so that our pride does not take credit for all that the Lord has blessed us with. We would have nothing, we would be nothing, we would accomplish nothing if it wasn’t for the Power of our God! Walk with Him in your times of humility and praise Him in your time of blessings!