Tyndale Open Study NotesDeuteronomy 8

After Israel settled in the land, they might begin to think that their success came from their own strength and skill. This is a common human tendency.

Moses warned them not to become proud or congratulate themselves. They must remember that God alone gives prosperity and success. All that they achieve comes from him.

• to know what was in your heart: God already knew the deepest thoughts of the Israelites (Psalms 51:6; 139:1, 4, 23). He did not need to learn new information. Instead, he wanted their true character to be shown by their actions.

• in order to know … whether or not: The Old Testament often describes God in human ways. This is called anthropomorphism (speaking about God as if he has human qualities) and anthropopathism (speaking about God as if he has human emotions). These ways of speaking help people understand God better.

  However, God is not limited like humans. He is not limited in knowledge, power, or greatness. In this verse, God is described as if he needed to learn the future. But other passages teach that God knows everything. God knows the past, present, and future (Psalm 139:1–18; Hebrews 4:13).

• The word manna comes from the Hebrew words man hu, which mean "What is it?" God provided this food in a miraculous way to teach his people to depend fully on him (Exodus 16:1–30; Numbers 11:4–9).

  Manna represented the word of God. God’s word is even more important for life and well-being than food.

• man does not live on bread alone: Jesus quoted these words when Satan tempted him (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4). Jesus used this Scripture to answer Satan and show that people need God’s word more than physical food.

Iron was not widely used during this part of the Bronze Age. Only a few cultures knew how to smelt iron (heat the ore to remove metal) and shape it into tools and weapons (see 1 Samuel 13:19–21).

Later, Israel learned to use this much stronger metal. They were able to mine it and make tools and weapons from it (see Joshua 17:16–18; 1 Kings 6:7; 2 Kings 6:5; 1 Chronicles 22:3).

water from the rock: See Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:2–13; see also Deuteronomy 1:37.

• This covenant was not the one God made with the Israelites at Sinai. It was the one he first made with Abraham, then with Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 15:1–21; 17:1–21; Genesis 26:1–5; Genesis 28:1–4, 13–15; 46:1–4).

• For a covenant to be legal and proper, all parties had to swear an oath. Although God, by his nature, could never break a promise, he followed this custom (see Deuteronomy 7:12).