Deuteronomy 8

You must faithfully obey all the commandments that I am giving you today. If you do that, you will live a long time and you will become very numerous. Your people will occupy the land that God solemnly promised your ancestors {that he would give to you}.

And think about how God our God led us as we traveled through the desert during these past 40 years. He {caused you to have many problems}. This was to cause you to realize that you needed to trust him and not trust in yourselves. He also wanted to test you, to find out what you intended to do, whether you would obey his commandments or not. \*

So he caused you to have problems. He allowed you to become hungry. Then he gave you manna, {food from heaven}, food that you and your parents had never eaten before. He did that to teach you that people need food {for their bodies}, but {they also need food for their spirits. This comes from paying attention to} everything that God says. \*

During those 40 years, our clothes did not wear out. Also, our feet did not swell {from walking through the desert}.

Remember that God our God corrects us and punishes us, like parents correct their children.

So obey the commandments of God our God. Conduct your lives as he wants you to do and honor him. \*

He is about to bring you into a good land. It has streams that flow down from the hills and flow out of springs in the valleys.

It is a land on which wheat and barley grow. It has vineyards, fig trees, and pomegranates. It is a land where there are olive trees and honey. \*

It is a land where there will be plenty of food for you. You will have everything you need. It is a land which has iron {ore} in its rocks and from which you can dig copper {ore} from its hills.

{Every day} you will eat until your stomachs are full. You will thank God our God for the fertile land that he has given you. \*

But {when that happens}, be sure not to forget God our God by disobeying his commandments, rules, and regulations that I am giving to you today.

Do this even when your stomachs are full {every day}, and when you have built good houses and are living in them. \*

One day the number of your cattle and sheep will greatly increase. You will accumulate a large amount of silver and gold. The amount of all your other possessions will also greatly increase.

Even then, be sure that you do not become proud and forget God our God. He rescued your parents from being slaves in Egypt and brought them out from there. \*

Remember that he guided them while they traveled through that huge and terrible desert. There were poisonous snakes and scorpions there. Remember that the ground was very dry and there was no water. In spite of that, he caused water to flow for them out of solid rock.

Remember that in that desert he gave your families manna to eat. Manna was food that they had never eaten before. He did this so they would realize that they needed to trust him and not themselves. He wanted to test them to find out if they would obey him. This is so that he could do many good things for them {when those difficulties ended}.

Be sure that you do not think to yourselves that you have acquired all these things by your own power and ability. \*

Remember that it is God our God who has enabled you to become rich. He does this because he faithfully does what he solemnly promised our ancestors that he would do.

Today I solemnly warn you: If you forget God our God and start to worship and serve other gods, then he will certainly destroy you.

If you do not obey God our God, then he will certainly destroy you just like he will destroy the people groups against which you will fight. \*