Primary Reference Deuteronomy 8 (Do Not Forget the LORD)
The key verses that draw out why at meals we stop to pray; to remember and to bless God are Deuteronomy 8: 10-19. Although this has a much deeper impact on our hearts and spirits if prayerfully and humbly we read these words within the full context of the whole chapter (and truthfully within the context of the Exodus and Numbers so that we have fuller understanding of the history that God is asking the Israelites to remember). Even further, if we read these words within the context of the new testament cross references so that the depth of the importance of stopping to pray at meal is emphasized within the new covenant promise and commands as well. For the sake of time we will just read verses 10-19. This is from the New International Version.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness,that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
19 If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.
The Message bible, in my opinion, gives a very good paraphrase emphasizing the application to our hearts and lives. Let’s read it together.
10 After a meal, satisfied, bless God, your God, for the good land he has given you.
11-16 Make sure you don't forget God,your God, by not keeping his commandments, his rules and regulations that I command you today. Make sure that when you eat and are satisfied, build pleasant houses and settle in, see your herds and flocks flourish and more and more money come in, watch your standard of living going up and up—make sure you don't become so full of yourself and your things that you forget God, your God,
the God who delivered you from Egyptian slavery;
the God who led you through that huge and fearsome wilderness, those desolate, arid badlands crawling with fiery snakes and scorpions;
the God who gave you water gushing from hard rock;
the God who gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never heard of, in order to give you a taste of the hard life, to test you so that you would be prepared to live well in the days ahead of you.
17-18 If you start thinking to yourselves, "I did all this. And all by myself. I'm rich. It's all mine!"—well, think again. Remember that God, your God, gave you the strength to produce all this wealth so as to confirm the covenant that he promised to your ancestors—as it is today.
19-20 If you forget, forget God, your God, and start taking up with other gods, serving and worshiping them, I'm on record right now as giving you firm warning: that will be the end of you; I mean it—destruction. You'll go to your doom—the same as the nations God is destroying before you; doom because you wouldn't obey the Voice of God, your God.
I will take a brief moment to summarize the context of the whole of Deuteronomy chapter 8. It starts with Moses speaking of coming out of a time of trial and into a time of blessing; speaking about the time of trial and the good that it produced, the testing of our obedience and how God’s discipline taught us (teaches us still) to rely on Him and His provision, that we do NOT live on bread alone, but on the very Word of God, which provides for our every need. It speaks of God who is able and who does disciple and teach, and provides for us in ways not seen before, the God who loves us and keeps His covenants and promises, who showers us with blessings because of His covenant and love; and further, who redeems us through a new covenant.
Redemption through the new covenant is cross referenced in the new testament by Jesus as the bread and wine. (See John 6, Matthew 26, Luke 22, Mark 14, & I Corinthians 11) In John 6:25-62 Jesus makes a direct correlation to what Moses is speaking of here in Deuteronomy 8. Teaching us that He, the Son of man, the Son of God, is the Bread of Life, a better bread than the manna provided in the desert. Teaching that we must eat of His flesh and drink of His blood in order to be saved. This was such a hard teaching that many of Jesus’ followers fell away for the offense that came through lack of understanding. But to those that remained He assured them that His words were full of Spirit and Life. Later, right before Jesus was betrayed, at the Passover meal, He broke the bread, and poured the wine telling us that it was His body and His blood and telling us to eat and drink it, and to do these things in remembrance of Him. The “in remembrance” is another very strong cross reference to Deuteronomy 8
Throughout Deuteronomy 8 God through Moses tells us again and again that we must remember all that God has done for us in the past and in our present; to remember that it is God who is providing and blessing us. So that we may never worship anyone or anything other than God, and to prevent us from becoming proud (again) so that we may continue to enjoy His favor and blessings (but not out of selfish desires rather out of humble grateful admission that we are blessed, so that we may not fall away from the things that God has taught us in the past and then become foolish and return to our sins and former ways. (see also 2 Peter 2
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APPLICATION:
Here is my verse by verse application (with cross reference as well, of course):
Verse 10:
"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. "
This is why we do this at meal time, because God through Moses said “when you have eaten”.
New testament cross reference:
1 Cor 11: 28 "Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup."
Verse 11:
Coming out of the new testament application of verse 10 into verse 11 of Deuteronomy 8, deeply impacted my heart. For I come out of a place of examining myself, into do not forget God and do fail to observe his commands. So in light of this time to stop and reflect, in that reflection we stop, remember who God is our LORD, and reflect upon His commandments. Have our lives shown honor and obediance?
New Testament cross reference(s):
In reflection ask ourselves: Have we loved the LORD our God with all of our heart and mind? Have we loved others as much as we love ourselves giving deference the others? Have we love others sacrificially, extending forgiveness and setting aside our rights for the better of another?
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HAVE TO STOP AND GO TO WORK – I WILL FINISH THE VERSE BY VERSE APPLICATION STUDY LATER
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