Theme: He Leads me through Wilderness
Text: Deuteronomy 8:1-20
Introduction:
The Lord is good, and his love endures forever.
I greet you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” based on John 14:6 which is our annual theme; and our monthly theme, “He leads me” is based on Isaiah John 14:3. Today let us meditate: “He leads me through Wilderness”.
Moses the Man of God has assembled the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai before his death, he taught them the importance of remembering the Past, revering to the Lord in day-to-day life situations, and revalidate your life through the Word of God.
Remember the Past (Deuteronomy 8:1-5):
Remember the Lord that He led you for the past forty years. Remember the lessons you have learned through the teaching of God. He taught you Humility, he tested your heart through hunger (Deuteronomy8:3), He taught you to know the Word of God as the source of life than mere bread (Deuteronomy8:3). He provided you with clothes, and the strengths to walk miles. It is figuratively expressed as the clothes did not wear out and legs have not swollen. (Deuteronomy8:4-5), and He taught the importance of disciplined life (Deuteronomy8:5).
I would like to draw your attention to verse 2 of this chapter 8. It is a rich experience to read through various translations to know the depth of the word used by God concerning our hearts. To humble and test you to know what was in your heart(NIV), to prove your character(NLT), to know what was in your mind(Amplified Bible), that the things in your heart might be made manifest (Brenton Septuagint Translation), He wanted to find out if you were truly willing to obey him and depend on him (Contemporary), that the things that were in thy heart might be made known(Douay-Rheims Bible). So that he might know what you intended to do (Good News), know whether or not you would wholeheartedly(God’s Word).
It was not because God didn’t know their hearts, but because they didn’t know their hearts. One thing is sure that God knows all of our thoughts and actions even before it is uttered from our mouth and lips. He searches the hearts of the people and rewards them accordingly. The Lord searches the heart (Jeremiah 17:10). The Lord one who searches our hearts knows what is in it (Romans 8:27). David admonished his son Solomon telling him that the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts (1 Chronicle 28:9).
We have to constantly be corrected of our over-estimation of ourselves (ref:enduringword.com). Paul wants us that none of us should think highly of ourselves than we are (Romans 12:3). God’s work of humbling is accomplished just by bringing us into a humble place for a change or God wants us to be content in the humble place He puts us(ref:enduringword.com). The test helps you to have everything and makes everything go well with you (Deuteronomy 8:16). So, Psalm 4:4 says, ‘search your heart and be silent’. David says in Psalm 139:23:‘search me, O God and knows my heart’. So let us also examine our hearts from the light of the Word of God. Remember the past of your life and revere the Lord.
Revere the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:6-9)
Moses taught the children of Israel to observe the Commands, expect the blessings, occupy the land, and claim the blessings (Deuteronomy 8:6). He described a land which he never visited personally but has heard from God and the spies about the wealth and resources of that greenery land. It was a good land, the land flowing with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills. A land has wheat and Barley in seasons, vines and fig trees in and out of seasons, and pomegranates. It has Olive Oil, honey, Iron, and copper. It lacks nothing. (Deuteronomy 8:7-9).
Revere your God for he has brought you out of Slavery; he led you through the vast and dreadful desert, thirsty and waterless land with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He has brought water from the Hard Rock, and meat from the Oceans, and Manna from the heavenly places (Deuteronomy 8:14-15). God allows events to occur in our lives to accomplish a certain purpose. God does not only get involved in our plans when we think we need Him. God gets especially involved in their lives. If we are to develop strong Christian lives, we must know and embrace God's involvement in our lives.
When everything is fine with us, and when we are filled with abundance, then hearts tend to become proud. It easily tends to forget the LORD Himself. Often it is true that man works for material blessings, a dignified lifestyle, and decent living. However, we don’t live by the material things but by the Word of God, the grace of God. God puts us into total dependence on him. God wanted to bless us materially when we please him spiritually. The spiritually obedient person never lacks anything (Psalm 23:4). The Lord gives the ability to produce, invent, and earn (Deuteronomy 8:18).
Pride is the greatest danger in Christian life. One of the identities of Satan is Pride. Satan is happy about a proud believer over the most notorious sinner identifying with him and says, “Now there’s a man just like me!”(ref: enduringword.com). After many years of sweat equity, a person sees a business, career, child care, or other work has become a success. Then, one will have a justifiable sense of pride. But the joyful pride will slip into arrogance. We are not self-created. The illusion of self-sufficiency makes us hard-hearted. As always, the proper worship and awareness of dependence on God provide the antidote. (ref:theologyofwork.org).
“None of us live a single week without giving proofs of our weakness, folly, and depravity. To broken-hearted souls alone the Saviour is precious indeed. Nothing can render the most suitable outward and inward trials effectual, but the power of the Spirit of God” (Matthew Henry-ref: christianity.com).
So, serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling (Psalm 2:11). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). Therefore, revering the Lord means walking in all his ways, love him, serve him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 10:12). Throw away the gods of your forefathers – evils systems, practices, and customs (Joshua 24:14). The whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13). He is the only one holy to regard and to fear and dread (Isaiah 8:13).
Revere God leads to a proper respect for everyone, fear of God, and honoring the Kings (1 Peter 2:17). The great goodness of God is waiting for those who fear God (Psalm 31:19). His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation (Luke 1:50).
Revalidate your life in Christ (Deuteronomy 8:19-20)
The Lord has displaced the nations destroyed the race from the pace of the earth (Deuteronomy 8:20). He hated Esau and his generations. He hated Canaan and was displeased with Ammon and Moab the generations of Lot (Genesis 19:36-37). God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19: 28). The Lord decided to eradicate the race of Amalekite (Exodus 17: 14). God destroyed the family of Eli, for their disobedience and dishonoring God (1 Samuel 1:30-31).
Belshazzar never humbled himself, never revered the Lord, and behaved arrogantly and spoiled the sacred vessels of God. So the validation had come upon him. The inscription had written by the finger of the Lord, Mene, Mene, Tekel Parsin was the sentence pronounced upon the king (Daniel 5:22-23, 25-30). God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. You have been weighed on the scaling and found wanting. YOUR KINGDOM is divided and given. But the Careful Obedience to his voice leads to observe the commandments of God, which are universal. This lead to forming good principled life, concerning God as the Lord, and their God, and with a holy fear of him (Matthew Henry).
Paul warns us from the history of Israel in 1 Corinthians 10:1-12. They were redeemed, baptized, ate, and drank the holy food and drinks, but God was not pleased with all of them because of their attitude and behavior. Their bodies were scattered throughout the desert. These had happened as examples (1 Corinthians 10:6,11) to keep us away from setting our hearts on evil things.
Conclusion:
Dear brothers and sisters let us remember the Past, revere the Lord in day-to-day life situations, and revalidate our life through the Word of God.
