Deuteronomy 8 is a speech by Moses urging the Israelites to remember God’s provision during their 40 years in the wilderness and to avoid pride when they enter the prosperous Promised Land. There are several “life lessons” in chapter 8. AI:

• The Wilderness Test (Verses 1–5): Moses reminds Israel that God humbled and tested them with hunger in the desert, providing manna to teach them that “man does not live by bread alone”, but by God’s word. Their clothes and sandals did not wear out during this time. It had to be humbling to know that you had to trust God for daily food and water, one day at a time, and there was nothing you could do to change that and get more food. I have 2 refrigerator/freezers and a pantry full of food so it is hard to relate to that. Many refugees worldwide depend on others for all that they eat.
• The Promise of Abundance (Verses 6–10): God is leading them into a fertile land filled with water, wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and rich mineral resources like iron and copper. These are old covenant promises to Israel so keep that in mind when you read the Old Testament. The new covenant promises spiritual blessings and eternal life. Many Christians have died horrible deaths through poverty or at the hands of their enemies, but God takes care of them in eternity.
• The Warning Against Pride (Verses 11–20): Moses warns the people not to become proud and forget God when they become wealthy and successful. He reminds them that it is God who gives them the power to produce wealth, and turning away to worship other idols will result in destruction. It is so easy in the US to forget God. We complain a lot about our cost of living, but most of us have nice houses, nice cars, plenty of food including eating out a lot, nice expensive vacations, maybe a boat or membership in a club, nice retirement plans for financial security, nice well paying jobs with benefits, etc. It is easy to forget God and think that we have accomplished all these things by our own ingenuity and hard work.
  Financial choices show what a person depends on, trusts, and loves the most. On average, American Christians give between 2.4% and 2.5% of their household income to their church or charity. While 77% of American Protestant churchgoers state that tithing (giving 10% of income) is a biblical command, only 5% of all churchgoers actually tithe. Households making over $75,000 are statistically the least charitable when measuring giving as a direct percentage of their total income (they don’t increase their giving in proportion to increases in income).

Deuteronomy 9 is Moses’ stern reminder to the Israelites that they are receiving the Promised Land through God’s grace and faithfulness, not because of their own righteousness. Again AI:

Not Because of Your Righteousness

• Conquering Canaan: Moses tells the people that they will cross the Jordan to drive out strong, tall nations with fortified cities. Apparently Israel is about to cross the Jordan when Moses gives this sermon. 9:2“Hear, O Israel! You are crossing over the Jordan today to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you… ”
• Reason for Victory: God is clearing these nations out because of their own great wickedness, and to fulfill the promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• Warning Against Pride: Moses explicitly warns Israel not to say in their hearts that God gave them the land because of their personal righteousness. He stresses that they are a stubborn and rebellious people.

Remembering Past Rebellions

• The Golden Calf: Moses recalls how Israel provoked God to anger at Mount Horeb (Sinai) by making and worshiping a golden calf while he was receiving the stone tablets. God threatened to destroy them completely.
• Moses’ Intercession: Moses fasted and prayed for 40 days and nights, pleading for God’s mercy and reminding Him of His covenant with the patriarchs so that God spared the nation.
• A History of Disobedience: Moses notes that Israel rebelled repeatedly, mentioning other instances of defiance in the wilderness (such as Taberah and at Kadesh-barnea), proving that their survival relies entirely on God’s mercy rather than their own goodness.

Deuteronomy 10: Moses reminds them of how he received 2 new tablets of the 10 commandments after he broke the first two during the golden calf incident. Then comes one of those great statements and a great “life lesson”: ¹²“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” What does the Lord require of us? Attend church, give money, get baptized? Yes, but much more than that b/c you can do those things with impure motives (Matthew 6 hypocritical giving, praying, and fasting). 10:12-13 says it all. 6:¹⁶So circumcise your heart (cut off any evil desires in your heart just like you cut off the foreskins in circumcizing male babies) , and stiffen your neck no longer.” Show your love for widows, orphans, and aliens (strangers). 6:²⁰You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. ²¹He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen.” Do you see why I said earlier that Deuteronomy has many principles that apply to us today as Christians?

Deuteronomy 11 again promises many physical blessings if they will obey and love God with all their hearts. He tells them to read the belessings and curses on Mt Ebal and Mt Gerizim when they enter the land. They did this under Joshua (Joshua 8:30-35).

Deuteronomy 12 focuses on all offerings to be done at the tabernacle when they enter the land. 12:5 But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. ⁶There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7 There also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you.” The tabernacle would initially be set up at Gilgal where they camped as they destroyed Jericho. Later, after the conquest and division of the land among the twelve tribes, it was moved to Shiloh (located in the territory of Ephraim), where it remained as a central place of worship through the period of the Judges and for 300-360 years. The physical Tabernacle structure later relocated elsewhere, functioning later in places like Gibeon during the reigns of Saul and David, before eventually being superseded by Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. The pagans had “high places” where they worshipped their gods so Yahweh wanted all sacrifices to come to the tabernacle where the priests worked. Of course, today worship and spiritual sacrifices are not restricted to any one place. Jesus told the woman at the well: John 4:²¹ Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. ²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.””