God handed down His laws of redemption and how to handle those who were poor among them. Basically, God was providing Israel with more guidelines so that it would know how to function properly in the land of Canaan.
However, the most important part of our reading today was God’s
warnings concerning Israel’s national obedience. He promised, “If you keep My
laws and are careful to obey My commands, I will send the seasonal rains. The
land will yield its crops, and the trees will produce their fruit” (26:3).
He went on to describe all of the many blessings that would come as a
result of the nation’s faithfulness to Him; but, then He spelled out what would
happen if they chose the other path, “If you do not listen to Me or obey My
commands, and if you break My covenant by rejecting its laws and treating My
regulations with contempt, I will punish you” (26:14, 15). From there, God added many specific
details regarding His response in the case of Israel’s unfaithfulness. These
warnings surely caused Israel to fear Him.
It is not difficult to get the message that the Lord intended to
communicate — obedience is rewarded with blessing, while disobedience
warrants consequences. Is this not a lesson that we learn early in life, when we are
children? When I obeyed my parents, things typically went well for me. I
enjoyed a favorable relation- ship with Mom and Dad; but, when I defied their
authority or disobeyed their rules, I suffered the consequences and my
relationship with them was hindered by my rebellion.
Why would we expect anything different in our relationship with God?
Shouldn’t we expect a favorable response for our obedience to His words?
Likewise, shouldn’t we expect that there would be consequences for sinning against Him? Of
course, we cannot expect the blessings of God in our lives while we
disdain the words and commandments of God.
I want to be clear regarding God’s blessings for obedience; I am not
advocating a “health and wealth” doctrine, that by following all of His
statutes we will become millionaires and live to be a hundred. We have already
seen that God’s people experience hardship and suffering. Let us not forget
Abraham, Joseph, or Job. I am also not advocating salvation by works or
obedience to God out of fear of judgment. For the followers of Christ, there is
no judgment of sin (Romans 8:1, 2); rather we obey God’s commandments out of love not fear (John 14:15, 21).
Daily Reflection
So then, what am I advocating, if not these things? Your
obedience to God demonstrates your love for Him and faithfulness to Him. Your obedience also
glorifies Him and brings His blessings on your life (Psalm 1:1-3; James
1:22-25).
You will live in freedom, with joy and confidence in the Lord, with the
blessing of an intimate, fruitful relationship with Him.
Imagine a life in which you did your best to obey God’s Word. What
would that life be like?
It is when we say no to God that a lock is placed on the door of His
blessings and our spiritual lives seem mundane and uneventful. Obey
the Word of God and see what He will do!
BiAY.org | Day 56 — 309 Days to Go
No comments:
Post a Comment