Wednesday: Eaten and Full
One former church leader, who had worked at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists® for 34 years, told a story about how, many years earlier, he and his wife, having landed at an airport, had lost a piece of luggage. “Right there,” he said, “by the luggage conveyer belt and in public, we got on our knees and prayed, asking the Lord for the return of our lost luggage.” He then said that, many years later, the same thing happened: they arrived at the airport, but a piece of luggage didn’t. He told what happened next. “Don’t worry,” he had said to his wife, “insurance will cover it.”
With this story in mind, read Deuteronomy 8:7-18. What warning is the Lord giving to His people here, and what should it mean for us today, as well?
Image © Krieg Barrie at Goodsalt.com
Look at what their being faithful to the Lord would bring them. Not only would they possess a wonderful and rich land, “a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing” (Deuteronomy 8:9), but they will be exceedingly blessed in that land: flocks and herds and gold and silver and beautiful houses. That is, they will be given all the material comforts that this life affords.
But then, what? They would face the danger that always attends wealth and physical prosperity, that of forgetting that it was only the Lord “who gives you power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18).
Maybe not at first, but as the years go by and they have all the material comforts that they need, they will forget their past, forget how the Lord had led them through “that great and terrible wilderness” (Deuteronomy 1:19), and, indeed, think that it was their own smartness and talents that enabled them to be so successful.
This is precisely what the Lord was warning them against doing (and unfortunately, especially as one reads the later prophets, this is exactly what happened to them).
Thus, amid this prosperity, Moses tells them that to remember that it was the Lord alone who had done this for them and not to be deceived by the material blessings that He had given them. Centuries later, Jesus Himself warned, in the parable of the sower, about “the deceitfulness of riches” (Mark 4:19).
| No matter how much money and material possessions we have here, we are all flesh and blood awaiting a hole in the ground. What should this tell us about the dangers that come from wealth, in that wealth can make us forget our need of the only One who can deliver us from that hole in the ground? |
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It is interesting that the picture of being rich in the passage in Deuteronomy in today's lesson involves plentiful food. Wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olive oil and honey. In the last 24 hours, I have eaten five out of the seven listed foods; and a number of others. We take our own quality of life for granted. We can go to the local supermarket and buy just about any food imaginable at any time of the year. One change that has occurred during my lifetime is that fresh foods are no longer just seasonally available. Grapes are typically ripe here in Australia from about January to April, but I can buy grapes, sourced from California when our grapes are not available for very little more than what I would pay for Australian grapes in season. This abundance of food at relatively cheap prices in the local supermarket hides a lot from our eyes. Cheap imported exploited labour, producer exploitation, animal production processes, and just about every conceivable malpractice possible. We could add to that, the production of clothing and footwear, consumer goods, electronic devices and so on. Every now and then we hear of a sweatshop in a country like Bangladesh collapsing and our big concern is that the supply chain for our favourite brand of joggers may be interrupted.
Perhaps it is time to think about the responsibility of being rich. Is that what God was asking in Deuteronomy? I know that single-handedly we cannot change the way our world economy works, but, we do need to thank God for what he has given us. And the best way to do that is to ensure that we do our best to look after the poor and exploited within our horizon of influence.
Here is a little experience to think about. A few years ago we drove across the top of Australia and one Sabbath we stayed at a town called Katherine. Katherine is a centre for growing mangos and they depend on contracted Pacific Islanders for picking the crop. Many of these workers have Seventh-day Adventist connections and there were half a dozen of them in church the day we were there. Most of them fell asleep during the service because they had been picking mangos twelve hours a day. It was a little opportunity for the local church to connect with and support these workers.
God has been good to us and we need our eyes opened for opportunities to share that goodness with others.
Unfortunately, while we are in this sin-infected world and with unhelpful default tendencies still lurking within our subconscious brain, you and I both know we are at risk during times of 'comfort' of forgetting to prioritise God and the way of His Kingdom to the extent that is necessary for us to stay 'on-track' with the only viable form of life that, in realtiy, actually exists (Matthew 6:33).
Thus, while I wish it wasn't the case, unfortunately we typically also need enough discomfort to remind us of how much we are dependant upon God - and upon living in accordance with the ways of His Kingdom. The more we train our mind to be renewed (as per the 'present-tense ongoing' process outlined in Romans 12:2), the progressively less we will forget/neglect this dependence (eg Job). But it still nevertheless is a reality whilst existing in a world we were never designed to be within.
I look forward to the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1) where mortal will have put on immortality (1 Corinthians 15:54) and the final traces of our problematic default tendencies will no longer exist and therefore not longer exert their influence. But until then, it is necessary that I maintain awareness that adversity and discomfort, though not pleasant, are nevertheless beneficial to me to help ongoingly train me to stay on (including returning to, asap, when I fall off) the 'straight and narrow' (James 1:2-4) - and to compassionately assist and support others along the way whilst doing so.
None of what I have outlined above is anything we do apart from God. Rather, it is the unpacking of some of the details of what it realistically is to 'walk with God' as we 'work-out' the salvation/restoration re-training back to greater and greater Christ-likeness process, putting to work all the empowering God gives us for that very purpose (Philippians 2:12,13).
The LORD promised the children of Israel that they would have abundance - what is the Principle and how does it apply to us in this day and age?
Does it mean that all who believe in the LORD will have abundance?
I work hard and earn only just enough to keep body and soul together and there are many other believers that go to bed hungry and even don't have a roof over their heads.
Is there information in the Old & New Testament that answers these questions?
Yes. As long as you're heart is the Lord's, He will provide all you actually need. Notice that in Deuteronomy their asked how they were rescued from slavery and God provided them with plenty of food and water yet they were not satisfied. They were rich with the bounty given them when they left Egypt so much so that they had plenty to make a golden calf to worship.
There are many churches and governmental resources where one can get good, so there is no good excuse to go hungry. The only thing that would get in the way is pride. This kind of pride doesn't come from the Lord. I am one who lives from month to month depending on the Lord to help me through each one. He's never let me down! True riches is in the Love of God flowing within. This brings perfect peace and joy every day, no matter what happens.
Yes, we can forget God’s goodness and waylay His commands. Sometimes, this goes on for months and years because we have departed from His presence and His people’s influences that can jerk us back into reality.
Having riches and material wealth is very welcome. but what we do with it is most important. He told us to use them to help others and His work, which Jesus told his disciples to do before going back to His father in heaven: Teach the Word, spread the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. This work requires effort, the desire to do it, and it costs money. Since God supplies all our needs, we should allocate time, effort, and finances to promote and do his assignment(s). There are some things I would like to see our church return to doing; such as, part-time and full-time literature evangelism. I am promoting this Bible study site
to both SDA’s and non-SDA’s. And they are grateful. God’s Word should be promoted by all means possible during these end times. Amen and Amen!
Deut.8:17 "then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' " Is it not true that this is the greatest challenge, to know that this is not so, to make ourselves step back and give God all the Glory for the things He has done?
As I am getting older, daily matters of insignificance to a younger person generate in me the sense of 'Thank you, Lord'! I am becoming conscious of His watch-care over me, being reminded that nothing happens in a vacuum. He knows me intimately - Psalm 139 - v.7 "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?"
I am becoming keenly aware that it is 'the Lord that gives and the Lord that taketh away' - Job1:21 KJV; I am a creature in total dependency on its Creator, nothing, not the breath I take or the beat of my heart, nothing happens without His 'consent'.
Whether it is wealth, highly developed knowledge or a great skill, a position of influence and power, or just the 'ordinary success that living life brings about'. They are all to be considered blessings which can turn into stumbling blocks when we forget under who's authority our life exists. We ought to be extremely diligent in keeping our eyes on the One who made it all possible.
Developing and maintaining deep gratitude for the 'little' things in life goes a long way to being grateful in all things!