And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 8:18)
I believe it is safe to say that all the difficulties Israel was subjected to — and then expected to overcome — was training for a national existence. The patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had their own personal struggles — struggles they endured and gained victory over. But with Moses’ generation, it was a corporate struggle — to see if a body of people, a nation, could endure hardship and overcome difficulty and remain intact. According to the passage, this was so the covenant given to the patriarchs might be permanently established within the people and in the land of Promise. He would fulfill the promise but continuance of blessing depended on Israel’s commitment.
Let’s put it this way: God is a good general and doesn’t send a green recruit to the front line of battle. Likewise, He was not going to send them into the land until they had been proven as a nation. We could also say that the training provided by the wilderness was a reminder to them of who they came from, what was expected of them and, once in the land, remember the training they were given. Most importantly, it was important to remember who called and sustained them. In that line of thought we should take note of the statement, “He gives you power to get wealth.”
They, nor we, should say “My power and might has accomplished this.” It is not “good ole American know how” that has brought this nation prosperity but the goodness of Almighty God. He gives us the power and strength to attain the resources we need to do what He has called us to do. But more importantly, He gives us the power of the Spirit to do what He has called us to do as individuals and as a people. In short, He doesn’t expect us to do something that He doesn’t provide what we need in order to do it. In that vein of thought, there is no greater resource than the power of His Spirit and the power of His Word. That is something we should never forget but always, each and every day, remember to act upon.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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