Moses expounds on the meaning of the first commandment of the Ten Commandments.
Deuteronomy 8: 1-4, Remember
Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers.Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
The Israelites are to remember how YHWH carried them.
The first verse of this chapter might be marked as a theme for the book of Deuteronomy. It will appear in a number of passages in the book.
Deuteronomy 8: 5-10, A father disciplines his son
Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land--a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.
As a father disciplines his son, so YHWH has guided and disciplined the people of Israel. Shortly they will see their reward, a good land with many resources.
The list of riches produced by the land are seven: wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey. It is possible the choice of seven riches is deliberate.
Deuteronomy 8: 11-16, When you become full, you will forget
Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.
Remember the One Who led you from the dangerous desert into this lovely land!
Currid says the same Hebrew word is translated "grow large", "increase" and "multiply" on verse 13. Everything will increase: "herds and flocks", "silver and gold", "all you have"! In all of these riches Israel is the passive recipient. It will be easy for Israel to forget that it is YHWH who brought them through this desert furnace of snakes and scorpions.
Deuteronomy 8: 17-20, "My power and my hands produced my wealth!"
You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."
But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.
The stinger at the end of the paragraph is the standard reminder -- look at the other kingdoms and be warned!
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