Deuteronomy 2:7, “For the LORD your God
has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this
great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you. You
have lacked nothing.” (ESV)
As Moses continues to
recount the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, it is more than just a
boring narrative. Rather it is the exciting account and testimony of God’s
faithfulness towards His covenant people.
In verse 7 of this
chapter, we see Moses declaring the faithfulness of God, and not just God’s
faithfulness, but also how God has regarded and treated the people of Israel.
Moses tells the people that God has blessed the work of their hands, from the
work of building the tabernacle, to the work of trying to cultivate crops
whilst on the move and growing their herds of livestock. But God’s blessing is
more than just some distant charitable act of kindness. Moses states, “He knows your going…”. God is not
distant and aloof, uncaring and dis-interested in His people. God is present, amongst,
in the midst of His people. His knowledge is complete and intimate, He knows
down to the finest detail the full extent of the people, the journey and the
challenges that lie ahead for them.
God’s blessing and
knowledge are good and encouraging, but do they abide, do they remain with God’s
people, especially in the difficult times? How do we know that God will always
know and will respond in faithfulness to bless us? Moses tells us, God has proved
Himself to be steadfast, true and faithful through the past 40 years. In fact,
such has been God’s faithfulness, blessing, knowledge, presence and provision,
Moses can confidently declare that, “These
forty years the LORD your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.”
We must agree with Moses here, as we can read through Exodus, Leviticus and
Numbers, and there we see this to be true. The people of Israel have no reason
to complain, nor to doubt God’s faithfulness and goodness towards them.
This reminder would have
served to encourage this new generation as they stand on the brink of entering
into a new land. They could go into the Promised Land with the assurance that
God would continue to be faithful, He would be present, amongst them and
because of this, God will not fail them, they will lack nothing.
It is so tragic to see and
hear many Christians lamenting about all the things they don’t have, of all
that they lack. There are many who call themselves Christians and yet they are
discontent with that which God has given to them. It is equally heart-breaking
to see Christians laid low in despair and fear, for they doubt God’s presence,
knowledge and ability to help them, to provide for them in the midst of their
trials and difficulties.
These words of Moses were
true of the people of Israel, but how much more are they true of those who are
true believers?
We who have placed our
faith in Christ, not only receive these very same promises, but even more, for
we are taught that if we have Christ, then we lack nothing, we have all things.
Christ is quite literally everything.
We can also testify to the
many ways and means that God has proved Himself true over this year. In just
over three weeks we will be at the end of another year, and we have the joy of
being able to look over the past 12 months and say, “Truly, I have lacked
nothing.” God has blessed the work of our hands, He knowing our going in and
going out, He has been with us through all our years and we lack nothing. When
we look at and understand God as Moses does in this passage, our response will
be that of humble gratitude, thanksgiving, strengthen trust and a stronger hope
for the future. As long as we are His, we will lack no good thing.
Blessed,
faithful, all-knowing and ever-present God, we thank You today that You never
slumber nor sleep, but constantly watch over us. Thank You that You know our
needs before we even know, and You are already at work making provision. Thank
You that You know us, You know us completely and exhaustively. Thank You for
the promise that we can rest in You and in the knowledge, that as we faithfully
follow after you, we will lack nothing. May we learn to rest and trust in You more
and more each day, and to give thanks for all Your goodness towards us. May You
receive our thanks, praise and adoration. Amen.
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