Set Apart by Obedience
Deuteronomy 8:11-18 (ESV)
“Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statues, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, which its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware, lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
Reflection
“Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statues, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, which its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware, lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
Reflection
- In this passage, Moses is revealing that obedience to the Lord is greater than self-sufficiency. We, as believers in Christ, are set apart by obedience. Searching your heart, is there something you take full credit for, perhaps something you’ve successfully built (a company, a home, a reputation, a family, a comfortable lifestyle)?
- Everything we have comes from the Lord. How are God’s fingerprints impressed on your story of success? Journal about this and give God the glory for all aspects of your life. Spend time in prayer asking God to reveal your next step of obedience.
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