Charles Spurgeon Commentary Deuteronomy 8

All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.

Every word here seems emphatic. Like the children of Israel, we are to observe all the commandments of the Lord our God; not merely some of them, picking and choosing as we please. It is a very bad conscience that regards some of God's statutes and pays no attention to the others; in fact, the very act of making a selection as to what commands we will observe is gross disobedience.

All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do. Notice that we are not only to do as we are commanded, but to do it with carefulness: ye shall observe to do. God would not have a thoughtless, careless, blind service; but we must bow our mind and heart as well as our will to his service.

Remember also that it is not sufficient to observe the commandments so as to note what they are, but we are to observe to do them. That observation which does not end in right practice is like a promising blossom upon a tree, which never sets, and which therefore produces no fruit.

Further notice that walking in the ways of God is for our own benefit as well as for his glory: That ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers.

There are, doubtless, many good things that we miss because we are not careful in our walking. I am sure that the happiest life will be found to be that which is most carefully conducted according to the principles of holy obedience to God's commands. There are certain blessings God will not give us while we are disobedient to him. Many a father feels that he cannot indulge his child as he would wish to indulge him when he finds the child negligent concerning his father's will.

So, if we please God, God will please us; but, if we walk contrary to him, he will walk contrary to us. Let me read this most instructive verse again, that it may be further impressed upon your memories and your hearts: All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers. To help you in obeying these commands, it is added—

And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, and to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or not.

Look back, and derive from your past experience a motive for more careful obedience in the future. He does not read his own life rightly who does not see in it abundant causes for gratitude; and how can gratitude express itself better than by a cheerful, hearty obedience in the present and the future?

All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.

Observe, dear friends, that the Lord demands of his people universal obedience to his commands: All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do. Christians, although they are not under the law, are under the sweet constraints of love; and that love incites them to complete obedience, so that they desire to leave undone nothing which the Lord commands.

And this obedience is to be careful as well as complete: All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do; not only do them, but do them with care. When the commandment applies to a certain duty, obey it in full, both in the letter and in the spirit, for there are numerous and weighty blessings attached to obedience, – not of merit, but of grace. If we walk carefully in the fear of God, we shall find that in keeping his commandments there is great reward.

And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

It is good to have a good memory, and that is the best memory which remembers what is most worth remembering. There are many things we would gladly forget, yet we find it hard to forget them; they often rise up at the most inappropriate times, and we loathe ourselves to think that we should ever recollect them at all. But, whatever we forget, we should always remember what God has done for us. This should inspire our gratitude, create deep humility, and foster our faith for both the present and the future. The Scripture says, Thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness. If forty years of the Lord's leading should make some of us bless His holy name, what should you do, my brothers, who, perhaps, are getting near eighty years?

What praise and gratitude you should offer to Him who has led you all your life long!

Consider what God intends to accomplish through our wilderness experience. His purposes are:

1. First, to humble us. Has it had that effect?
2. Then, to prove us. Ah, I am afraid it has had that result, and has indeed proved what poor, wretched creatures we are! That has been proved in our experience again and again.
3. And also, that it may be known what is in our heart—whether we will keep God's commandments, or not.

And he humbled you, and allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you did not know.

What a wonderful sequence there is in these short sentences!

He humbled you, and allowed you to hunger, and one would think that the next sentence would be, "and allowed you to starve."

No; it is, and fed you with manna. They had a better appetite for the manna, and were more ready to see the hand of God in sending the manna, because of that humbling and hunger which God had previously allowed them to endure. Fed you with manna, which you did not know. The very name by which they called it was, "Manna," or, "What is this?" for they did not know what it was.

And fed you with manna, which you did not know.

Neither did thy fathers know; 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.

God can make us live on bread, if it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer; he does make our souls to live upon his Word. He could, if it so pleased him, make our bodies live by that Word without any outward sustenance whatever.