Bible Study: Deutoronomy 8. (Further reading in Philippians 2). This is an interesting time for the Israelites on their journey to the promised land – having travelled through the desert for 40 years completely depending on God for everything, they were about to occupy the promised land. Moses wanted to ensure that, even in the good times, the Israelites would remain humble and put God first. He begins to address the people:
1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna,which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
Questions
Read Verse 1-5. What do we typically think about God when we go through difficult times? How does this compare to the teachings of this passage?
Read Verse 10-18. Why is it easy to forget God in the good times? Name some ideas on how to avoid this pitfall.
Read Philippians 2:3-11. What is humility?
Bonus Round: Name anyone else in the bible that did something humble (not Jesus, too easy!) What did they do?