Not by Bread Alone

¹Be careful to follow every commandment I'm giving you today, so that you will live, grow in number, and enter and take possession of the land the LORD promised to your ancestors. ²Remember the entire journey the LORD your God led you on through the wilderness for these 40 years. He did it to humble you and test you, to find out what was really in your heart — whether you would keep his commandments or not. ³He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna that neither you nor your fathers had known, so that he might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. ⁴Your clothes never wore out, and your feet never swelled during all those 40 years. ⁵Think about this carefully: just as a father disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you. ⁶So keep the commandments of the LORD your God — live the way he wants you to live, and fear him. ⁷The LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, springs, and underground waters that rise up in the valleys and hills; ⁸a land rich with wheat, barley, grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey; ⁹a land where you'll never go hungry or lack anything. Its rocks contain iron, and you can dig copper from its hills. ¹⁰When you have eaten and are satisfied, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land He has given you. ¹¹But be careful that you don't forget the LORD your God by failing to keep his commandments, his laws, and his statutes that I'm giving you today. ¹²When you've eaten your fill and built beautiful homes to live in, ¹³and your herds and flocks have grown large, and your silver and gold have piled up, and everything you own has increased — ¹⁴don't let your heart swell with pride and forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of slavery; ¹⁵who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, where there were fiery serpents and scorpions, and drought where there was no water; who brought water out of the rock of flint for you; ¹⁶who fed you in the wilderness with manna, something your ancestors had never known. He did all this to humble you and test you, so that in the end it would go well for you. ¹⁷And you say in your heart, 'My power and the strength of my hand have gained me this wealth.' ¹⁸Instead, remember the LORD your God, because he is the one who gives you the ability to produce wealth. He does this to fulfill the covenant he swore to your ancestors, just as he is doing today. ¹⁹But I'm warning you right now: if you ever forget the LORD your God and chase after other gods, serving and worshiping them, you will certainly be destroyed. ²⁰Just like the nations the LORD is wiping out ahead of you, you too will perish — because you refused to listen to the LORD your God.