Remember Di Road

Look down for your legs. Imagine say you wear di same sandals for forty years, dey waka for sand and rock and thorn. And for di end of everything, your legs no even swell. Moses want make im people remember dat one.

Di people of Israel dey camp for di plains of Moab, for di edge of di promised land. Old Moses dey give dem im last words before dem cross Jordan. Most of dem no know anything apart from di wilderness: tent, sand, moving from one camp to di next. Now everything wan change. For front, farms and towns dey, houses and harvests. Moses know say good times fit carry danger too. So for chapter eight, e talk one word, again and again. Remember.

Remember di whole road, Moses talk, wey Di Lord your God take lead you dis forty years for di wilderness. E allow hunger catch you. Then e feed you with manna, food wey you never see, wey your parents never see. Every morning e dey lie for ground, enough for each day. Why? To teach you say person no dey live by bread alone, but by every word wey dey comot from di mouth of Di Lord. Your clothes no tear for your body. Your legs no swell, all dis forty years. Think am, Moses talk. As papa dey train im pikin, na so Di Lord your God don dey train you.

And now look where e dey carry you go. Di Lord dey bring you enter one good land. Land wey get streams and springs, with water wey dey flow for di valleys and di hills. Land of wheat and barley, of grape vine and fig tree and pomegranate, of olive oil and honey. Land wey you go chop bread and nothing go ever lack you. Land wey iron dey inside im rocks, and you fit dig copper from im hills. You fit hear how di people heart go jump? After forty years of sand, land like dat. And Moses tell dem wetin dem go do when dem reach there. When you don chop and you don full, bless Di Lord your God for di good land wey e give you. Talk thank you.

Then im voice become serious. Make you careful, e talk, make you no forget Di Lord. One day you go get fine houses to live inside. Your flocks and your cattle go grow. Your silver and gold go pile up. And your heart fit begin dey proud, and you fit forget di God wey bring you comot from Egypt, from slavery. Wey lead you through dat big and terrible wilderness, wey snake and scorpion dey, and dry ground wey no get water. Wey bring water comot for you from hard rock. Wey feed you with manna. You fit talk for your mind: na my own strength and my own hands make me rich. No. Remember Di Lord your God. Na im dey give you power to get wealth.

Later, Jewish tradition call di seven foods for Moses list di seven kinds: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and honey, and many people understand dis honey as honey wey dem make from dates. Di Mishnah, one early collection of Jewish teaching, talk say di first fruits wey ripe, wey people dey bring go temple as thanksgiving offering, must come from dis seven alone. Moses list of good gifts become one way to talk thank you.

Remember di road. You go find dis words for Deuteronomy chapter eight. Manna for morning, water from rock, sandals wey no tear, and warning say make you no ever forget who give you everything. When hunger catch Jesus for di wilderness, e answer temptation with words from dis same chapter. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Wetin God don give you wey you fit stop and thank am for today?