(11) Beware that.--From Deuteronomy 8:11 to Deuteronomy 8:18 inclusive is one long sentence in the Hebrew, and may be taken thus: "Take heed to thyself lest thou forget Jehovah thy God (so that thou keep not, &c.); lest thou eat and be satisfied (while thou buildest, &c.); and thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah (thy deliverer, thy leader, thy sustainer), and say in thine heart, My power, &c.; and (take heed) that thou remember Jehovah thy God, that it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth," &c. The caution is prophetic, as may be seen by the following examples:--
"When Rehoboam had . . . strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him" (2 Chronicles 12:1).
"But when he (Uzziah) was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction" (2 Chronicles 26:16).
"Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up" (2 Chronicles 32:25).
Verses 11-14. - Wealth is apt to engender in the possessor of it a spirit of self-gratulation and pride, and abundance of good things to induce men to be luxurious, "to trust in uncertain riches," and to be forgetful of the bounteous hand from which all that they enjoy has come. Against this the people are here cautioned and warned.
8:10-20 Moses directs to the duty of a prosperous condition. Let them always remember their Benefactor. In everything we must give thanks. Moses arms them against the temptations of a prosperous condition. When men possess large estates, or are engaged in profitable business, they find the temptation to pride, forgetfulness of God, and carnal-mindedness, very strong; and they are anxious and troubled about many things. In this the believing poor have the advantage; they more easily perceive their supplies coming from the Lord in answer to the prayer of faith; and, strange as it may seem, they find less difficulty in simply trusting him for daily bread. They taste a sweetness therein, which is generally unknown to the rich, while they are also freed from many of their temptations. Forget not God's former dealings with thee. Here is the great secret of Divine Providence. Infinite wisdom and goodness are the source of all the changes and trials believers experience. Israel had many bitter trials, but it was to do them good. Pride is natural to the human heart. Would one suppose that such a people, after their slavery at the brick-kilns, should need the thorns of the wilderness to humble them? But such is man! And they were proved that they might be humbled. None of us live a single week without giving proofs of our weakness, folly, and depravity. To broken-hearted souls alone the Saviour is precious indeed. Nothing can render the most suitable outward and inward trials effectual, but the power of the Spirit of God. See here how God's giving and our getting are reconciled, and apply it to spiritual wealth. All God's gifts are in pursuance of his promises. Moses repeats the warning he had often given of the fatal consequences of forsaking God. Those who follow others in sin, will follow them to destruction. If we do as sinners do, we must expect to fare as sinners fare.
Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God,.... The Father of mercies and fountain of goodness, the author and donor of every good and perfect gift. Plenty is apt to induce a forgetfulness of God, when on the contrary one would think it should keep him in continual remembrance, and engage to daily thankfulness to him:
in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day; gave a repetition of, and in the name of God afresh enjoined them, even laws moral, ceremonial, and judicial, which, when not observed, God is forgotten.
"When Rehoboam had . . . strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him" (2 Chronicles 12:1).
"But when he (Uzziah) was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction" (2 Chronicles 26:16).
"Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up" (2 Chronicles 32:25).
Other instances might easily be added.
in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day; gave a repetition of, and in the name of God afresh enjoined them, even laws moral, ceremonial, and judicial, which, when not observed, God is forgotten.