Powerball God (Deuteronomy 8)

“And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy‬ ‭8:3-4, 7-20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Whether you play the lottery or not, you gotta admit that suddenly coming into 1.5 billion dollars wouldn't be the worst thing that could ever happen to you, right?

Just imagine never having to work another day in your life. No bills ever again. You could do so many good things and bless so many people. Or so we think.

The thing about cash is that has a dark side. Like Darth Vader belting Adele it longs for us to join him on the other side of the universe- an empty place void of God dependence.

Remember the time the Israelites won the powerball?

Of course you do. God made it all happen and they all got filthy rich almost overnight. Did they honor Him? Yeah, at first. But let's back up.

Consider for a moment that God rescued the Israelites from Egypt and performed one of the most powerful miracles in history by parting the Red Sea with better special effects than Hollywood. He led them safely through the wilderness for 4 decades and they never missed a meal. At the edge of the promised land, like a parent on Christmas morning, the time had finally come to pour out the riches of His blessings upon His children.

God had taken great lengths to ensure that they would live without want in the land of promise for generations but before he turned over the keys, like a good father, he warned them of the dangers of the deceitfulness of riches that could soon cause them to forget Him.

Hold on. Forget the Lord?

How is that even possible?

They had seen His miracles. They had experienced His power and glory first hand. They had come too far to ever consider going back, right?

God blessed them, seriously. They were rich. Filthy rich vs. 10-13. They had it all, or so they thought. They were so blessed that needed nothing! Sounds too good to be true. But it was only a matter of time before the trust they previously placed in God was slowly eroded by the deceitfulness of riches that blinded them to the fact that God was their source. Within a generation they had almost all but forsaken the very One who had rescued them from slavery.

I'm sure you're thinking to yourself, "I'd never" or "Not me", ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:6‬  reminds us that "these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did" and a few verses later (vs. 12) "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall".

Fact is we are all depraved enough that given the right amount of time, opportunity, and circumstances we have no idea what evil our hearts are capable of, even outright apostasy. Lest we ever forget the Lord in the midst of His many undeserved blessings, may we remember again God, the sources of all things, gives and He takes away so that in all things we may bless His name. Whether we hit the jackpot or the jackpot hits us up side the head, may we discover the secret of true contentment that it is Christ that strengthens us (Phil. 4:12-13).