Deuteronomy 8

Chapter 8

8:1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe ^a to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.

(a) Showing that it is not enough to hear the word, unless we express it by the example of our lives.

8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, [and] to ^b prove thee, to know what [was] in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

(b) Which is declared in afflictions, either by patience, or by grudging against Gods visitation.

8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by ^c bread only, but by every [word] that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

(c) Man does not live by meat only, but by the power of God, who gives it strength to nourish us.

8:4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot ^d swell, these forty years.

(d) As those that go barefoot.

8:5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, [so] the LORD thy God ^e chasteneth thee.

(e) So that his affliction are signs of his fatherly love toward us.

8:9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any [thing] in it; a land ^f whose stones [are] iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.

(f) Where there are mines of metal.

8:10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt ^g bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

(g) To receive Gods benefits and not be thankful, is to despise God in them.

8:14 Then thine heart ^h be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

(h) By attributing Gods benefits to your own wisdom and labour, or to good fortune.

8:18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for [it is] he that ⁱ giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as [it is] this day.

(i) If things concerning this life proceed only from Gods mercy, how much more do spiritual gifts and everlasting life.

8:19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I ^k testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

(k) Or take to witness the heaven and the earth, as in ( Deuteronomy 4:26 ).