Lent — Forty Days in the Wilderness · Day 2
Deuteronomy 8:1-6 — a devotion
Deuteronomy 8
- 1내가 오늘날 명하는 모든 명령을 너희는 지켜 행하라 그리하면 너희가 살고 번성하고 여호와께서 너희의 열조에게 맹세하신 땅에 들어가서 그것을 얻으리라All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.You shall observe to do all the commandments which I command you today, that you may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers.
- 2네 하나님 여호와께서 이 사십 년 동안에 너로 광야의 길을 걷게 하신 것을 기억하라 이는 너를 낮추시며 너를 시험하사 네 마음이 어떠한지 그 명령을 지키는지 아니 지키는지 알려 하심이라And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
- 3너를 낮추시며 너로 주리게 하시며 또 너도 알지 못하며 네 열조도 알지 못하던 만나를 네게 먹이신 것은 사람이 떡으로만 사는 것이 아니요 여호와의 입에서 나오는 모든 말씀으로 사는 줄을 너로 알게 하려 하심이니라And 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 bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the LORD’s mouth.
- 4이 사십 년 동안에 네 의복이 해어지지 아니하였고 네 발이 부릍지 아니하였느니라Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.Your clothing didn’t grow old on you, neither did your foot swell, these forty years.
- 5너는 사람이 그 아들을 징계함 같이 네 하나님 여호와께서 너를 징계하시는 줄 마음에 생각하고Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.You shall consider in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
- 6네 하나님 여호와의 명령을 지켜 그 도를 행하며 그를 경외할지니라Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.You shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
KJV and World English Bible — Public Domain · 개역한글 ⓒ Korean Bible Society
Background
Deuteronomy is Moses' farewell sermon, delivered on the plains of Moab before his death to a new generation of Israelites. This new generation either had not experienced the Exodus firsthand or had lived through it as children, and they now stood on the verge of entering Canaan. Chapter 8 recalls the meaning of the forty years in the wilderness and warns them not to forget God even after they enter a land of abundance. After re-proclaiming the Ten Commandments and the law in the preceding chapters 5-7, chapter 8 sums up the lessons of their past wilderness experience. That Jesus quoted this passage during the wilderness temptation shows that He completed the lesson Israel was meant to learn.
Reflection questions: 1. Have you experienced your trust in God deepening through a season of lack or hardship in your life? 2. What habits could you build to keep from forgetting God in times of abundance?
Today's reflection
In this passage Moses has the Israelites, on the verge of entering Canaan, look back on their forty years in the wilderness. There was a reason God led them into the wilderness: to humble them and test them, to know what was in their hearts. The giving of manna, too, was not merely a supply of food but was meant to teach them that a person does not live by bread alone, but by the word of God.
What is worth noticing here is that the wilderness was a place of education, not of punishment. God trained Israel as a father disciplines his son. Through the experience of hunger and manna, He led them to learn how to depend entirely on God.
The wilderness experience is not necessarily all bad. It is uncomfortable and hard, but in that process we can learn what truly matters. God sometimes teaches us in lack the truths that are easy to forget in abundance.
If you are passing through a hard time right now, this time may not be meaningless suffering. God may well be touching your heart more deeply through this process.
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