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Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Isaac, Founder of the Dalmaton Monastery in Constantinople
Kellia: Deuteronomy 8:1-10 Epistle: Romans 1:18-27
Gospel: St. Matthew 5:20-26

Expect Only Good From God: Deuteronomy 8:1-10, especially vs. 3: “And He 
afflicted thee and straitened thee with hunger, and fed thee with manna, 
which thy fathers knew not; that He might teach thee that man shall not 
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of 
God shall man live.” Dionysios the Areopagite, reflecting on the nature 
of God, says, “'Tis the whole Being of the Supernal Godhead (saith the 
Scripture) that the Absolute Goodness hath defined and revealed. For in 
what other sense may we take the words of Holy Writ when it tells us how 
the Godhead spake concerning Himself, and said: ‘Why asketh thou Me 
concerning the good? None is good save One, that is, God [Mk. 10:18].’” 
Let us then expect only the good from God; at the same time, let us also 
understand that it is He Who defines the good even as He gives what is 
the best for us.

In this passage from Deuteronomy, the Prophet Moses reveals four things 
the People of God may expect from the Lord: 1) He will humble us, 2) He 
will test us, 3) He will discipline us, and 4) He will bring us “into a 
good land” (vs. 7). Moses further reminds us that God gives us these 
good things with a desire to evoke right thinking and wholesome actions 
from us.

The successful man of the world may object to the Prophet’s proposal 
that humbling is one of God’s good gifts to His Beloved. Yes, there is a 
painful, bitter side to being humbled, but notice what Moses reveals as 
God’s purpose in humbling us: “to know what was in [our] heart” (vs. 2). 
So that God might know? Not at all, for the Lord already knows what is 
in a man’s heart (Jn. 2:25). Rather, the Lord humbles us that we might 
discover what is in our heart, that we might face whether we are 
inclined to keep His commandments, and that, with this knowledge, we 
might cleanse everything from our heart that is not worthy of us or our 
Creator.

God tests us also, Moses says (Deut. 8:2), and the Prophet closely 
associates God’s testing of His People with His humbling of us. God does 
test and humble us, not only that we should discern what is going on in 
our hearts, but also to learn that “man shall not live by bread alone, 
but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God shall man live” 
(vs. 3).

God tested ancient Israel by leading them into a desert largely devoid 
of resources for food and shelter. In the stark barrenness of Sinai, the 
Lord provided an unexpected food, called manna, a source of nourishment 
they had not experienced before. Furthermore, He took care that their 
clothing did not wear out (vss. 3,4).

Testing and humbling are Divinely provided educational experiences that 
rouse our hearts to utter dependence on God and heighten the acuity of 
our spiritual ears so that we become attentive to the word of God in 
every situation, in every temptation (Mt. 4:3,4), and in all choices and 
decisions (1 Kngs. 3:9).

We may also expect discipline from the Lord that we may grow in the 
capacity to walk in His ways and fear Him (Deut. 8:6). Even when 
discipline is experienced as punishment, so long as it is received from 
the hand of the Lord, not in bitterness or anger toward Him, it can 
guide us through the “narrow gate” and onto that “difficult...way which 
leads to life” (Mt. 7:13).

Finally, God’s humbling, testing, and disciplining have the great value 
of awakening us to the truth that He is bringing [us] into a “good land” 
(Deut. 8:7). For ancient Israel, Moses spelled out the evidence of the 
goodness of the Promised Land, that they might remember (as we also 
should) “to bless the Lord [our] God for the good land He has given 
[us]” (vs. 10). In Christ, we expect a “good land” that is “not of this 
world,” but a Kingdom rich in life, both now and ever.

“Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name: Thy Kingdom come. 
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven” (Mt. 6:9-10).


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