Deuteronomy 8

Deuteronomy contains the sermons Moses delivered on the plains of Moab before Israel entered Canaan. Chapter 8 follows the command in chapter 7 to drive out the Canaanite nations and warns in advance about life after Israel enters the land.

Outline

• Verses 1–6 Moses calls Israel to keep the commandments and to remember the forty years in the wilderness. He explains that the Lord fed them with manna to teach them that man does not live by bread alone but by the word of the Lord. Throughout that time their clothing did not wear out and their feet did not swell, and the Lord chastened them as a father chastens his son.
• Verses 7–10 The land they are about to enter is described: a land of brooks and springs; of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olives, and honey; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills copper is dug. When they have eaten and are full, they are to bless the Lord.
• Verses 11–17 Moses warns that when their houses, herds, silver, and gold multiply, their hearts may be lifted up and they may forget the Lord. He reminds them again of the deliverance from Egypt, the wilderness with its fiery serpents and scorpions, the water brought out of the rock, and the manna. They must not say that they gained their wealth by "my power and the might of mine hand."
• Verses 18–20 Israel is to remember that it is the Lord who gives the power to get wealth. If they serve other gods, they will perish like the nations destroyed before them.

Key Verses

• Deuteronomy 8:3 "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" — Jesus quoted these words when he was tempted in the wilderness.
• Deuteronomy 8:2 "And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness" — This verse provides the basis for interpreting the wilderness experience as a process of humbling and testing.
• Deuteronomy 8:18 "for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth" — This verse attributes the source of wealth to God.

People and Places

• Moses: The speaker of this sermon, though his name does not appear in the text itself.
• The fathers: The ancestors of Israel to whom the land was promised by oath.
• Egypt: Called "the house of bondage."
• The wilderness: The place where Israel spent the forty years in the wilderness.
• Canaan: Described in the text as "a good land."

Points for Reflection

• Verse 3 is the passage Jesus quoted during the temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4).
• The concept of chastening in verse 5 is read alongside Hebrews 12:6–11.
• The fiery serpents and the water from the rock in verse 15 refer to wilderness events recorded in Exodus and Numbers (such as the bronze serpent).
• In connection with verse 4, later Jewish interpretation preserves a tradition that the Israelites' clothes grew along with their bodies. The text itself, however, says only that their clothing did not wear out.
• Verse 18 is sometimes read as a basis for material blessing. Others hold that, in context, it should be read as a warning against pride amid abundance, and the verse is frequently cited in discussions of prosperity theology.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, verse 10 and verses 17–18, which deal with thanksgiving and humility, are frequently used in sermons for Thanksgiving and for the early-summer Wheat Harvest Thanksgiving (Maekchu Gamsajeol). Verse 3 is widely cited in settings that encourage Bible reading and meditation on the Word.