Yahweh Purposes To Make Wonderful Provision For Them (Deuteronomy 8:7-10).
In these verses we have a glowing picture of all the good things which Yahweh has ahead for His covenant people.
Analysis in the words of Moses:
a For Yahweh your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of wadis of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills (Deuteronomy 8:7).
b A land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarceness. You shall not lack anything in it (Deuteronomy 8:8-9 a).
b A land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper, and you shall eat and be full (Deuteronomy 8:9-10 a).
a And you will bless Yahweh your God for the good land which He has given you (Deuteronomy 8:10 b)
Note that in ‘a' Yahweh their God is bringing them into a good land, and in the parallel they will bless Yahweh their God for the good land which He has given them. In ‘b' it is a land in which they will eat bread without scarceness and not lack anything and in the parallel it is a land in which they will eat and be full. The idea is presumably that the iron and copper will make them wealthy and thus able to buy even more food.
‘For Yahweh your God is bringing you into a good land,
A land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs,
Flowing forth in valleys and hills,
A land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates;
A land of olive-trees and honey;
A land in which you will eat bread without scarceness,
You shall not lack anything in it,
A land whose stones are iron,
And out of whose hills you may dig copper.'
For God's intentions were good. Let them recognise what kind of a land it is that Yahweh is leading them into. It is in complete contrast with the wilderness that they have known for so long. It is a good land. It is a land of wadis (streams produced by plenteous rain) of water, made full by refreshing rain, a land of gushers and springs flowing forth in its valleys and hills, it is a land of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig trees and pomegranates. It is a land of olive tress and honey. It is a land of bread without shortage, so that they will lack nothing in it.
Moreover it is a land ‘whose stones are iron'. This indicates a plentiful supply of meteorites from which men had always been able to obtain useful iron. To come across a meteorite was considered a boon. Metorites were always seen as one of God's special gifts. They came from heaven to provide, with their fused iron content, a useful material to men. And from the hills of the land they will be able to dig copper. Copper mining had been know for over a thousand years before this time, being well attested elsewhere. So every provision is there. They will go short of nothing, and they will have valuable metals to trade..
Water was the thing above all others that ancient man gloried in for it was the very basis of life. It was essential both for drinking and for growing food. Agricultural abundance was also necessary, for it provided full bellies for all. And recent excavations in the Arabah have revealed copper mines and smelting equipment there, while surveys have demonstrated the abundance of veins of copper ores in the hills. These were necessary for the provision of everyday utensils. Such a description of the assets of a land were often included in covenants to demonstrate how good the suzerain was being to his subjects.
But this was not a time when iron was in regular use in most places. The ‘land whose stones are iron' must therefore probably have in mind meteorites which had landed and which were seen as a special treasure to man, for from the most ancient times they could provide easily usable iron for men to make use of (Genesis 4:22). The way it is described confirms this. It came ‘from stones'.
Alternately it may have been a way of stressing the amazing goodness of the land. Iron was a rare material whose secrets were mainly only known to the Hittites, and which everyone dreamed of being able to possess. The idea in Moses' mind may have been that the land would be so good that they would even find iron there in such a form that they did not need the secrets of the Hittites, and thus they would be independent of the Hittites, which in those days would be like finding large supplies of oil would be for many countries today. In the event, of course, as God knew, iron was there, but they would only be able to benefit from it for themselves when they did learn the secrets of producing and working iron, although they could still have traded the iron ore.
This may be another example of a poem or song which was popular in the camp to keep their spirits up, taken up and used by Moses as they chanted it along with his speech (compare Deuteronomy 6:11).
‘ And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless Yahweh your God for the good land which he has given you.'
Once in the land they would eat and be full, and would bless Yahweh for the good land which He had given them. They would not be dependent on God's provision of the manna, and of water from unusual sources, but would have food and drink in abundance. One thing, however, would still keep their thoughts on Him, the need for the provision of rain (which would become an important aspect of the feast of tabernacles).