Do not forget

Deuteronomy 8:6-20

God used Moses to lead God’s people out of Egypt, from slavery to freedom. God had to fight Pharaoh for their freedom and do great miracles in order for the Egyptians to agree to let God’s people go. And even then, after agreeing to let them go, they changed their mind and pursue them into the wilderness. There God had to confront them once again to gain Israel freedom.

When they were about to enter into the Promised Land, Moses gathered the people to make sure that they were all on the same page. “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.”

Moses then proceeds to tell them about the dangers of the Promised Land: Prosperity.

1. Prosperity leads to forgetting

a. “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.”

2. Prosperity leads to lack of worship

a. “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.”

3. Prosperity leads to pride

a. “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.”

4. Prosperity leads to independence from God

a. “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. “

1. Forgetfulness leads to destruction

a. You depend on God, even if you do not acknowledge it (18)

b. To forget God is to open space for other gods (19)

c. To forget God is to walk towards destruction (19)

d. To forget God is to lose you uniqueness before other people.

We live in the richest, most powerful nation in the world. We are the people that are most in danger to trust in ourselves. We began as a nation trusting in God, we even place our faith in our currency, but we are slowly trusting more and more in ourselves. We are in dangerous grounds.

We need to combat the pride which comes with prosperity and which rest upon forgetfulness. We need to do it by praising God (10) and there is no greater act of praise and thanksgiving than placing God back in the place God belongs, in the center of our lives.

As we celebrate labor day this weekend let us remember that it is God that give us the strength to work and enjoy the fruits of our labor.