"And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no."
Deuteronomy 8:2
Part 1
“And thou shalt remember.”
Never forget! We are in grave danger of our own pride if we forget what God has done for us.
“I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old” (Psalm 77:11).
“He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion” (Psalm 111:4).
If we forget what God has done for us, how can we teach these things to our children? And what about teaching our grandchildren? (Psalm 78:5-8).
“All the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness.”
It was not a mistake that the children of Israel spent all those years in the wilderness. God never wastes experiences on His children, He uses life events to teach us. If Israel learned nothing, they should know for sure that it was their God who led them there.
“And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot” (Deuteronomy 29:5).
Each step of the way, the LORD was loving His children, leading them, and teaching them.
Why do we believers today have painful wilderness type experiences? As with Israel, these three reasons apply to us as well.
1. “To humble thee.”
God led the children of Israel through the wilderness to humble them. But why will God do this, humiliate His child? We seek God differently from a heart of humility, then we do from a spirit of pride. When we are proud, we never see God correctly, and we question His ways and sometimes even His motives.
If we do not humble ourselves, God will humble us, all for His purposes. When proud King Manasseh almost lost his kingdom to Assyria, he was humbled, and here is what God did in his heart and in his nation.
“And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God” (2 Chronicles 33:12-13).
Why did God allow Satan to humble His servant Job? It gave him a greater understanding of who his God is, and a better view of himself.
“I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).
We may not know God’s reasons why we are humbled until we get to heaven. But when He humbles us, let us trust Him, we know it is for our good and His glory.
God gives believers “wilderness experiences” to humble us when we need it. What are the other reasons for these experiences? Come back tomorrow and let’s see.
Quote: “None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves”[1] (Charles Spurgeon).
[1] Spurgeon, Charles H. (2015). “The Salt Cellars”, p.366, Delmarva Publications, Inc.