Moses spent considerable time reminding the people of the many benefits in the land they were inheriting, along with the opponents they would face that God would help them overcome:
For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills" (Deuteronomy 8:7-9, emphasis added).
While most of the benefits had to do with food and water, Moses mentioned that the people would also find iron and copper in the Land, This is interesting, for seldom do we hear of any mining going on in Palestine. Why would this be mentioned if it wasn't really that significant?
Copper and iron don't exist in a form that can be harvested or picked. The ore has to be mined, then the metal extracted through heat, and then shaped into some useful instrument or tool. They are both raw materials, which is consistent with how God works with His people today. You can pray for provision, but often God gives you an idea, something you have to work at and develop to extract what is precious. Perhaps the people weren't interested in working that hard to bring forth something in which they could not see the value, and some of God's people are the same today.
Do you have any raw materials in your life—ideas or strengths like writing or painting or teaching—that have to be cultivated in order to receive any return? Where are you asking God for the finished product when He may want to have you produce what you are asking for from an idea through your own ingenuity, creativity, and hard work? There are probably things you can do or produce that have value but you can't see them as such. Ask God to open your eyes so you can derive the full benefit of all the resources He has put in the land He has given you.
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