Deuteronomy 8-9 | God the Provider

In our pride, we are quick to forget the order of things. When good things happen, we assume it was all because of us. When our possessions grow, we vainly stick out our chest and glory in what we have done. But this is simply a reaction borne out of our pride.

A REMINDER

Israel needed to remember, right before they entered the Promised Land, who had led them and provided for them. They needed to get this straight. God comes through Moses and gives them a strong course correction.

Deuteronomy 8

11 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today;

12 otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them,

13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies,

14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

15 “He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint.

16 “In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end.

17 “Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’

18 “But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

God is the Leader. He is the One who sees beyond and takes us where we need to go.

God is the Multiplier who takes bread and feeds a multitude.

God is the Spring that brings the water that flows from the rock and quenches our thirst.

God is the Wealth-Creator. Everything in this world was made by Him and it is His grace that gives us the strength and opportunity to work and blesses the work that we do.

God is the Provider of everything we have.

This is why worship is so essential. King David understood this and this is why His Psalms survive today as our most beloved book in the Bible. When he had an opportunity to give an offering for the building of the temple, he offered it with this humble prayer:

1 Chronicles 29

10 So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

11 “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.

12 “Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.

13 “Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.

14 “But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You.

AN UPWARD VIEW

It is critical that we look up constantly and give credit where it is due. That we remember who is who; our role and His role. Without this constant focus, we will quickly begin to think the origin of everything is ourselves. And we will forget the Source of every good and perfect gift we have.

It would be wise to pause right now and give thanks. To re-adjustment your thinking and look up to the One without whom you are nothing and have nothing … and give Him praise.

Father, forgive me for stealing glory from You. Everything I have, as David said, is “from Your hand.” Everything I see around me is by Your creating. Every ability and opportunity I experience is something You’ve given. Lord, keep me humble in my estimation of my own abilities and continually focused in praise to You. Let me never lose perspective on where I fit in the grand scheme … and who You are.