“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.” (Deut. 8:1-2)
A danger that the Israelites would face in Canaan would be in the form of the prosperity they would experience. God promised to bless and provide for them in abundance just as He had done in the wilderness. Yet such prosperity would breed complacency. As the people relaxed and felt safe and at ease they would also tend to be filled with an attitude of self-reliance. They would forget that what all they possessed was given by God and would begin to think that all their own work had brought them riches and success.
The remedy to this delusion was to constantly remember that the Lord was responsible for all they had. The community as a whole and the religious leaders had a responsibility to keep the truth always before their eyes, to hold each other in mutual accountability. Thus they had to be in fellowship and in God’s word so that they would not forget.
The application to modern day Christians is obvious. Too often we in the church adopt the ways of the people of the world and emulate the celebrities, political leaders, the movers and the shakers and all those who and seek praise and recognition for their accomplishments, deeds, talents and prosperity. Yet we must never forget that the blessings that we have are all given us by God. We must never become so self-centered and proud that we demand for ourselves the praise and honor that belongs to God alone.