Deuteronomy 6: The Pitfalls of Prosperity

God wants us to love Him enough to trust Him, no matter what season we’re walking through.

The Old Covenant

The old generation of Israelites had been walking through the wilderness, a time of intense suffering and an opportunity to trust in God. However, they refused to do so, disobeying God and complaining about their situation. As a result, He did not allow them to enter the Promised Land.

The new generation of Israelites learned from the old generation’s mistakes. With Moses’s guidance and reminder of the law of God, they were prepared to enter the Promised Land. But now they faced a new threat: prosperity.

When Israel entered the Land under the old covenant as a theocratic society, God would provide material blessings for obedience to Him. When they kept His commandments, He would bless them with abundance in the Promised Land. But instead of giving thanks to Him, they would forget Him, instead believing that their own hand had done this for them.

The New Covenant

While God does not promise material blessings for obedience under the new covenant (in fact, He promises adversity!—see John 16:33), He still gives us seasons of prosperity. Adversity and affliction bring one set of temptations, but prosperity comes with its own pitfalls.

The world, the flesh, and the devil urge us to fritter our time on frivolities, forgetting our purpose in life. We lose sight of our calling, and we focus on material rather than spiritual gain.

But we need to obey Christ, remembering the legacy of the past. Looking back to the Israelites, we can see that the love of God needs to go from our hearts into our homes and habits. When we abide in Christ and receive His life, we transmute our time on this earth into eternal gain.

Watch part 102 of the 365 Key Chapters of the Bible series, based on Ken’s Handbook to Scripture. 

Related Reading:

• Deuteronomy 6
• Ken Boa’s summary of Deuteronomy 6

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