“DON’T FORGET”
(Deuteronomy 4:1 – 8:20)
And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. – Deuteronomy 6:10-12
It is approximately 500 years from the covenant God made with Abraham until now, in Deuteronomy, when God is fulfilling that promise – the Israelites are about to enter Canaan. In today’s reading, God is giving instruction to prepare them for what lies ahead. In these particular verses, we see that prosperity can be just as dangerous as hardship, maybe more so, in leading us to self-sufficiency apart from God and forgetting His hand in our lives and blessings that come from Him.
In the years to come, Israel failed to heed this warning and lived generation after generation in a cycle of obedience-prosperity-backsliding-chastisement-repentance-restoration. God’s blessings, forgotten and misunderstood, led to their downfall.
How do we protect ourselves from this danger? Moses offered three ways for the people to remember God (v. 13):
1. Fear the Lord only.
This will provoke us to holy living.
2. Worship (serve) God.
This would be a way of remembrance.
3. Swear by His name.
Keeping God’s name before them as supreme rather than the many gods that were worshiped around them.
Pray for…
- A heart of thanksgiving for God’s blessings and faithfulness in your life.
- Awareness in times of prosperity and seasons of abundance keeping mindful of His provisions.
- God to guard your heart against pride and self-sufficiency, being reminded that every good gift comes from your Father above.
About our Author
John A Pra was born and raised in Queens, NY and has lived almost all of his life in the metropolitan area. After graduating from Bible college (now University of Valley Forge) he entered into full-time pastoral ministry. John and his wife, Diana, have been living in Carlstadt since 1990, pastoring Cornerstone Church and now at Transformation Life Church since 2022.
John and Diana have been married for 39 years and have three children and one granddaughter (who owns them). Besides loving time spent with family, he enjoys sports, reading, travel, and the golf course.
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