Bless the Lord

Thanksgiving Eve 2008

Deuteronomy 8:1-14

Rev. Steven D. Spencer

Our text for this evening is from the Book of Deuteronomy Old Testament the eighth chapter verses 1-14.

 1 “Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you. 6 “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.  11 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

So far the text.

For most people November tends to be a very busy month. We have elections, we honor our veterans, we wrap up the high school football season, and of course, we set aside a Thursday as a day of thanksgiving for the many blessings we have received. Thanksgiving is really just a national holiday; nevertheless, it is based in the idea of giving thanks to God for blessings and sustaining us with all that we need. Of course, as you may know, many in our present society today would rather ‘Thank’ their lucky stars, than the Almighty God. However, that doesn’t change the fact; Thanksgiving Day has faith-based roots in the English Puritans who gave thanks to the LORD for seeing them through a turbulent first year in this New World nearly four hundred years ago. And while our nation, at least in the public realm, has turned this day into a day of thanksgiving without specifying whom we thank.  We Christians ought to have no problem giving thanks to our gracious God, who led the children of Israel out of bondage to Egypt. Likewise, God has led us out of bondage to sin, death and the devil, through the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

In our text for this evening, Moses is commanding the sons of Israel to remember all that the LORD their God had done for them. He brings to the forefront the great deeds of the LORD in bringing Israel out of Egypt, as He promised, and for the manna He provided them in the wilderness. Moses frequently pointed to such events when addressing his people. It was not because he wanted just to talk about them! No, he had to constantly remind the Israelites of the LORD’s grace and mercy to them, for they were indeed “A stubborn and stiff-necked people” even as Moses had declared so in Scriptures. Even after of wandering in the wilderness forty years, so that all those who had done evil in the sight of the LORD would die off, their descendants were no better. They, too, grumbled at the mere sight of difficulty and want. They, too, failed to keep the LORD’s commandments, even though they knew they were being tested! As God’s chosen people, they were no better than the barbaric pagans when it came to giving God His due honor.

Nevertheless, despite all of their shortcomings, the LORD remained patient. While the Old Testament speaks of unimaginable displays of God’s wrath and great displeasure, His patience joined with his grace and mercy was all that kept Israel together. It was purely out of His divine fatherly goodness and mercy without any merit or worthiness of their own, that the Lord GOD sustained His people. In doing so, our Heavenly Father throughout time guided the generations of Israel to the reign of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who would oversee the crucifixion of the Son of God who had come in the flesh to dwell with his people and bear the weight and penalty of the sins of the entire human race including theirs. Whether they realized it or not, the children of Israel had much to for which to be thankful.

Throughout the generations, Israel was not exactly a model for godly and obedient living. In fact, there is little wonder that Jesus used the Shepherd-Sheep analogy when speaking of Himself and His people. Like sheep, the Israelites continually went astray and needed to be gathered and herded into the pasture of their lands. They were disobedient and never ceased to test their Shepherd’s patience. But God didn’t cast them out; He disciplined them as a man disciplines his son. Yet every time He did this, He remained longsuffering for their sake, and He reminded them that His chastening was for their own good.

This is what we have heard in the text. Moses here reminds the sons of Israel of their hardships during the exodus from Egypt. As recorded in the Book of Exodus, he reminds them of their great hunger from which God rescued them through manna falling from heaven. He humbled them and tested their hearts, whether or not they would keep His commandments. He reminded them to remember the Lord their God and to bless Him for all the gifts of life. But He also warns of the risk of forgetting Him when they are full and satisfied, and rest in the comfort of dwellings and earthly wealth.

This was the ultimate test. For, in order to be ready to hear and obey God, sinful man must fully and utterly despair of himself. He must look outside of himself and his own strength. This is how the LORD chastened his people and repeatedly brought them closer to Him when they strayed from the path he chose for them. They had to recognize that, indeed, man does not live by bread alone, but rather by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.

 They had to recognize that, while they hungered in the desert, the LORD did not let them perish, but he sustained them by His power and might, even without food! Yet they continued to grumble against Him. What a gracious God He is who cares for the needs of His people and rescues them not based on their behavior, but based on His love for them! Such is our God, who in Christ Jesus has rescued us from the power of sin, death, and the devil.

When the Holy Spirit led our Lord Jesus into the wilderness, He remained there forty days and forty nights and there was tempted by the devil. Scripture tells us that He hungered, and Satan tempted Him with His hunger. He told Him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” But Jesus here quoted the words of Moses from Deuteronomy, saying “It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” This was the whole point of being led in the wilderness without food—to trust in God alone for His needs. As the Son of God, He could easily have turned the stones into bread and nourished His famished body. But He teaches us, in quoting this text from Moses, that we are to trust in and give thanks to God at all times, both in scarcity and abundance. We should thank and praise Him for fulfilling all of our daily needs, for He has blessed each one of us with, as Luther points out in the Small Catechism, clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all that we have. He richly and daily provides us with everything we need to support our bodies and lives. For this is most certainly true!

As we celebrate this day of national thanksgiving—as we travel to visit our loved ones and reflect upon our many blessings by partaking of unusual amounts of food (putting on those first few of the several pounds that the average American puts on between now and New Year!), let us give thanks to Him who has sustained us. Let us give thanks to Him who, though there be wars and rumors of wars, tribulation and persecution, will never abandon His people. Let us give thanks to Him who has given us the precious gift of His word that makes us wise unto salvation in Jesus Christ! Let us give thanks to Him who comes to us with the gift of His own body and blood for the forgiveness of sin. Let us bless the Lord, and give thanks, now and forevermore, Bless we the Lord, thanks be to God! In Jesus name Amen.

Now may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen!