Deuteronomy 8:18
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The verse isn't just saying God allows wealth, but that He actively gives the ability to acquire it. This shifts the focus from passive reception to active empowerment, reminding us that even our skills and opportunities are divine gifts meant to uphold His promises.
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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Moses is reminding the Israelites, as they stand on the brink of entering the Promised Land, not to forget God once they experience its abundance. He warns that prosperity can easily lead to pride and a forgetting of the LORD's provision, just as they were sustained by manna in the wilderness. This verse stresses that any wealth they gain in the land is ultimately a gift from God, intended to confirm His covenant promises.
Ever feel like your hard work alone made you successful? This verse challenges that idea, reminding us where true ability comes from.
Deuteronomy 8:18 is a profound reminder that our capacity to acquire 'wealth' – whether it's financial, relational, or spiritual – isn't solely our own doing. The text emphasizes that it is God who 'giveth thee power to get wealth.' This isn't to diminish human effort, diligence, or skill, but to place them in their proper context. Think of it like a skilled carpenter: they have talent and work hard, but the tools, the wood, and the physical strength to swing the hammer are ultimately enabled by God's provision and sustaining power. Our abilities, opportunities, and even the very earth that yields its bounty are gifts. Attributing success solely to oneself is a subtle form of pride that God warns against.
Why does God give us the ability to prosper? It's not just for us, but to keep an ancient promise alive.
The verse links our ability to gain wealth directly to God's desire to 'establish his covenant that he swore to your fathers.' This means that the prosperity Israel experienced in the promised land was meant to be a tangible, ongoing sign of God's faithfulness to His promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When they saw their fields yielding and their herds multiplying, they were to remember that this was not an accident, but the fulfillment of God's sworn oath. It served as a constant, visible reminder of their identity as God's chosen people and His unwavering commitment to them. This covenantal aspect of prosperity calls us to view our own blessings as potential signs of God's faithfulness, encouraging us to live in a way that honors the 'covenant' He has established with us through Christ.
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Success can be intoxicating. This verse acts as an urgent warning against letting prosperity lead us astray.
Moses delivers this warning specifically in the context of Israel entering a land of abundance, a stark contrast to their wilderness journey. He foresaw that comfort and plenty could easily breed pride and lead them to forget the Lord who provided it all. The human heart, as the commentators note, has a natural tendency toward ingratitude and self-reliance when things are going well. Prosperity can 'intoxicate' us, making us feel powerful and independent, leading us to neglect God's commands and His covenant. The verse is a crucial reminder that remembering God isn't just a nice thing to do; it's essential for spiritual survival, especially when life is good. We must actively guard against the subtle 'forgetfulness' that can creep in when we feel secure and self-sufficient.
Understand the original words
berît · Hebrew Noun
A binding, solemn agreement between God and His people, characterized by divine promise and the requirement of faithful obedience.
This passage echoes the sentiment of Deuteronomy 8:18 by stating that the Lord makes people poor and makes them rich, highlighting His ultimate control over worldly possessions and our ability to acquire them.
1 Corinthians 4:7Paul's rhetorical question, 'What do you have that you did not receive?', directly challenges human pride in achievements and possessions, aligning with the Deuteronomy passage's call to remember that God gives the power to get wealth.
James 1:17This verse emphasizes that every good thing and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights, reinforcing the idea that wealth and the ability to gain it are divine gifts, not solely the result of human effort.
Proverbs 10:22This proverb states that 'the blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it,' directly correlating wealth with God's favor and blessing, which mirrors the concept in Deuteronomy that God is the source of the power to acquire riches.
gillDeuteronomy 8:18: "But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day."
But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God,.... That he was the author of their beings, the God of their lives and mercies; what great and good things he had done for them in Egypt, and in the wilderness; and particularly in putting them into the possession of such a fruitful country, abounding with…
calvinDeuteronomy 8:11-18: "Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:"
- Beware that thou forget not [263] We may easily estimable the necessity of this admonition from the common corruption of human nature, which is even yet only too general and too influential; for scarcely shall we find one person in a hundred in whom satiety does not generate headiness. Moses will hereafter speak in his Song…
The verse isn't just saying God allows wealth, but that He actively gives the ability to acquire it. This shifts the focus from passive reception to active empowerment, reminding us that even our skills and opportunities are divine gifts meant to uphold His promises.
Moses is reminding the Israelites, as they stand on the brink of entering the Promised Land, not to forget God once they experience its abundance. He warns that prosperity can easily lead to pride and a forgetting of the LORD's provision, just as they were sustained by manna in the wilderness. This verse stresses that any wealth they gain in the land is ultimately a gift from God, intended to confirm His covenant promises.
Moses is reminding the Israelites, as they stand on the brink of entering the Promised Land, not to forget God once they experience its abundance. He warns that prosperity can easily lead to pride and a forgetting of the LORD's provision, just as they were sustained by manna in the wilderness. This verse stresses that any wealth they gain in the land is ultimately a gift from God, intended to confirm His covenant promises.
"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." — The verse isn't just saying God allows wealth, but that He actively gives the ability to acquire it. This shifts the focus from passive reception to active empowerment, reminding us that even our…
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Last reviewed October 2026
