12. A Warning Not to Forget God in Prosperity

The wilderness experience of the Israelites was to help them to understand that ‘man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’. Jesus quoted this in response to the temptation of the devil, the temptation of bodily satisfaction. Ultimately it is God who satisfies the human needs. This saying is a reference to the desert experience of the Israelites. They were a nomadic group of people and did not have any established property. God fed His people with manna in the wilderness. He provided for them when they were not able to farm animals or grow vegetables. The Israelites were repeatedly reminded of this desert experience. Now how is this desert experience related to the giving of the Ten Commandments and the keeping of the commandments?