Forgetting the Lord will result in weeping and more...
Deuteronomy 8:19-20: “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.”
Israel was no more immune to destruction and being removed from the Promised Land than were the people God had there before them (Cf. Amos 3:2).[6] There is a very important passage in Genesis to which the author of Deuteronomy is referring: it is the covenant ceremony whereby God ratifies His covenant with Abraham that
a) all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him (Genesis 12:1-3); and
b) Israel will (for a time anyway) occupy this Promised Land (Genesis 15:17-21)
Genesis 15:13-16 records one reason why the land promised to Abraham’s descendants by God is not given to Abraham in his lifetime. This is because God is extending four hundred years of mercy to the current inhabitants of the land. As the Amorites don’t shape up in this 400-year grace period that God is giving them then God will take this land away from them and give it to the descendants of Abraham. Our text today, like so many others in the Old Testament, is telling us that as the Israelites are unfaithful they too will be removed from the Promised Land (Leviticus 26; 2 Chronicles 36:20-21; Jeremiah 25:11-12, 29:10; Amos 3:1-2; cf. Lamentations 4; Ezekiel 21,22; Joel 1-2:10; cf. also Romans 6:23).[7] And as they were unfaithful, they were removed. Judah fell in 586 BCE. Israel fell in 721 BCE. The Israelite Kingdom never rose again.[8]
1) Deuteronomy 8:3 – God hungered Israel causing them to rely on Him but
2) Deuteronomy 8:10-11 – when they entered a time of abundance they forgot to give thanks to the Lord, indeed they forgot Him altogether and
3) Deuteronomy 8:19-20 – that resulted in their destruction
This is sad but there is some good news. Having just celebrated Thanksgiving Day this month in Canada we can still give thanks and experience God’s blessing. In Canada there is still time to return to our Lord. As long as we exist as a nation there is still the opportunity for our nation to return to God. We, as Christians should do our best to help build God’s Kingdom here as it is in heaven. As long as we exist as a nation it is not too late, we can still return to the Lord and one good way to start doing this is to obey Canadian law and give thanks today to God Almighty for His bountiful provision (cf. TSA doc. 10).
We know that as far as Israel is concerned, their Messiah has come already. Jesus was their Messiah. Jesus was born, died, and rose from the grave. We know that there is even more good news than that too. We know that Jesus will come back and he will reign forever not only as King of the Jews but also as King of the whole world (cf. TSA doc. 6). We know that Jesus Christ is the Messiah of not only Israel but also Jesus Christ is the Messiah and the saviour of the whole world (John 3:16-18; cf. Revelation 21). There is no other saviour. We know that Jesus died and rose again fulfilling God’s promises to humanity and we know too that Jesus is coming back. This is certainly something for which we can all give thanks today: Jesus is coming back and he is coming back soon and when he does what a day of rejoicing that will be.
[2] Captain Michael Ramsay, Salvation, Take it or Leave it! Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 02 October 2011. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/09/judges-4-numbers-14-salvation-take-it.html
[3] Cf. J.A. Thompson,: Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1974 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 5), S. 151
[4] Cf. Robespierre, Benjamin Franklin’s journals and Thomas Jefferson’s Bible that strips the Word of God of the miraculous among other evidence of the horrors of the Franco-American Revolutions, the reign of terror and ensuing wars.
[5] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Not an Atheistic Society in Tisdale Recorder (November, 2011). Available on-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com./Not%20an%20atheistic%20society.htm
[6] Cf. Ronald E. Clements, The Book of Deuteronomy, (NIB II: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1998), 355.
[7] Other reasons for their removal from the land include their contempt for Him, and their disrespect for the land (Leviticus 25:1-23), and the poor, the widow, the immigrant (Cf. Exodus 23:6,11, Leviticus 19:10,15, 23:22, 27:8, Deuteronomy 15:7, 15:11, 24:12-15, 1 Samuel 2:8, Psalms. 22:26, 34:6, 35:10, 82:3, Isaiah. 61:1, Ezekiel 16:49, 18:12, 22:29, Amos 2:7, 4:1, 5:11-12, 8:4-6, Zechariah 7:10.); and their disregard for His very important covenant (Cf. Genesis 12-17; Deuteronomy 4-26, 31; Leviticus 25:1-23; Jeremiah 52:4-27; Amos 3-4; Lamentations 4; Ezekiel 21,22; Joel 1-2:10). The people are removed from the land, just like the Lord told them they would be if they disregarded His covenant and they are removed for the period of time that God told them that they would be removed for disregarding His covenant (2 Chronicles 36:21; Jeremiah 25:11-12, 29:10). God told them that they would earn the loss their territorial inheritance if they continued to sin but they continued so they earned the wages of their sin (cf. Romans 6:23). They did. This was a traumatic time and it caused a lot of people to lose their faith and even their identity – the whole concept of the ‘missing tribes of Israel’ relates to the deportations starting with Assyria and some of these deportees’ descendants never did come back home. Cf. Donald E. Gowan, Amos. (NIB VII: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1996), 347, 383.
[8] Cf. Thomas E. McComiskey, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Amos/Introduction to Amos/Theological Values of Amos/The doctrine of election in Amos, Book Version: 4.0.2; cf. also Willy Schottroff, “To Perceive, To Know,” in Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, Volume 3 eds. Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997),516.
Deuteronomy 8:19-20: “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.”
Israel was no more immune to destruction and being removed from the Promised Land than were the people God had there before them (Cf. Amos 3:2).[6] There is a very important passage in Genesis to which the author of Deuteronomy is referring: it is the covenant ceremony whereby God ratifies His covenant with Abraham that
a) all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him (Genesis 12:1-3); and
b) Israel will (for a time anyway) occupy this Promised Land (Genesis 15:17-21)
Genesis 15:13-16 records one reason why the land promised to Abraham’s descendants by God is not given to Abraham in his lifetime. This is because God is extending four hundred years of mercy to the current inhabitants of the land. As the Amorites don’t shape up in this 400-year grace period that God is giving them then God will take this land away from them and give it to the descendants of Abraham. Our text today, like so many others in the Old Testament, is telling us that as the Israelites are unfaithful they too will be removed from the Promised Land (Leviticus 26; 2 Chronicles 36:20-21; Jeremiah 25:11-12, 29:10; Amos 3:1-2; cf. Lamentations 4; Ezekiel 21,22; Joel 1-2:10; cf. also Romans 6:23).[7] And as they were unfaithful, they were removed. Judah fell in 586 BCE. Israel fell in 721 BCE. The Israelite Kingdom never rose again.[8]
1) Deuteronomy 8:3 – God hungered Israel causing them to rely on Him but
2) Deuteronomy 8:10-11 – when they entered a time of abundance they forgot to give thanks to the Lord, indeed they forgot Him altogether and
3) Deuteronomy 8:19-20 – that resulted in their destruction
This is sad but there is some good news. Having just celebrated Thanksgiving Day this month in Canada we can still give thanks and experience God’s blessing. In Canada there is still time to return to our Lord. As long as we exist as a nation there is still the opportunity for our nation to return to God. We, as Christians should do our best to help build God’s Kingdom here as it is in heaven. As long as we exist as a nation it is not too late, we can still return to the Lord and one good way to start doing this is to obey Canadian law and give thanks today to God Almighty for His bountiful provision (cf. TSA doc. 10).
We know that as far as Israel is concerned, their Messiah has come already. Jesus was their Messiah. Jesus was born, died, and rose from the grave. We know that there is even more good news than that too. We know that Jesus will come back and he will reign forever not only as King of the Jews but also as King of the whole world (cf. TSA doc. 6). We know that Jesus Christ is the Messiah of not only Israel but also Jesus Christ is the Messiah and the saviour of the whole world (John 3:16-18; cf. Revelation 21). There is no other saviour. We know that Jesus died and rose again fulfilling God’s promises to humanity and we know too that Jesus is coming back. This is certainly something for which we can all give thanks today: Jesus is coming back and he is coming back soon and when he does what a day of rejoicing that will be.
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[1] Earl S. Kalland and Kenneth L. Baker, Note on Deuteronomy 1:1 in NIV Study Bible (ed. Kenneth Barker; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 244.[2] Captain Michael Ramsay, Salvation, Take it or Leave it! Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 02 October 2011. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/09/judges-4-numbers-14-salvation-take-it.html
[3] Cf. J.A. Thompson,: Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1974 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 5), S. 151
[4] Cf. Robespierre, Benjamin Franklin’s journals and Thomas Jefferson’s Bible that strips the Word of God of the miraculous among other evidence of the horrors of the Franco-American Revolutions, the reign of terror and ensuing wars.
[5] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Not an Atheistic Society in Tisdale Recorder (November, 2011). Available on-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com./Not%20an%20atheistic%20society.htm
[6] Cf. Ronald E. Clements, The Book of Deuteronomy, (NIB II: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1998), 355.
[7] Other reasons for their removal from the land include their contempt for Him, and their disrespect for the land (Leviticus 25:1-23), and the poor, the widow, the immigrant (Cf. Exodus 23:6,11, Leviticus 19:10,15, 23:22, 27:8, Deuteronomy 15:7, 15:11, 24:12-15, 1 Samuel 2:8, Psalms. 22:26, 34:6, 35:10, 82:3, Isaiah. 61:1, Ezekiel 16:49, 18:12, 22:29, Amos 2:7, 4:1, 5:11-12, 8:4-6, Zechariah 7:10.); and their disregard for His very important covenant (Cf. Genesis 12-17; Deuteronomy 4-26, 31; Leviticus 25:1-23; Jeremiah 52:4-27; Amos 3-4; Lamentations 4; Ezekiel 21,22; Joel 1-2:10). The people are removed from the land, just like the Lord told them they would be if they disregarded His covenant and they are removed for the period of time that God told them that they would be removed for disregarding His covenant (2 Chronicles 36:21; Jeremiah 25:11-12, 29:10). God told them that they would earn the loss their territorial inheritance if they continued to sin but they continued so they earned the wages of their sin (cf. Romans 6:23). They did. This was a traumatic time and it caused a lot of people to lose their faith and even their identity – the whole concept of the ‘missing tribes of Israel’ relates to the deportations starting with Assyria and some of these deportees’ descendants never did come back home. Cf. Donald E. Gowan, Amos. (NIB VII: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1996), 347, 383.
[8] Cf. Thomas E. McComiskey, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Amos/Introduction to Amos/Theological Values of Amos/The doctrine of election in Amos, Book Version: 4.0.2; cf. also Willy Schottroff, “To Perceive, To Know,” in Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, Volume 3 eds. Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997),516.
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