Cost of Obedience

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 - "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God..." 

In our Hebrews Bible study we have learned, although it's nothing new, that God is a God of covenant. A covenant is an oath. And since God is the one who covenanted with us, and since God does not lie, this oath and covenant to us from God, is sure. 

There is a catch, though. He has promised us great things...if we follow after Him, obey His commands, live our lives as unto the Lord and not the world. When we choose to agree that the things of this world are not nearly as important than Him, we will be blessed and not cursed. Of course, the greatest promise we have is Jesus Christ. And as obedient followers we will be blessed.

I was surprised, and yet not, that as I read in Deuteronomy, God was telling Israel after their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, how if they kept His commands He would do the same, bless them.

Here are the blessings He promised Israel thousands of years ago, and which, if we follow Jesus Christ today, include us:

• Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. 
• Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 
• Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 
• Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 
• The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 
• The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 
• The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself...
• Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. 
• The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 
• And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath...

The cost of obedience is blessing, blessing, blessing. We can apply these blessings to our own lives and that of our country. We have seen our country blessed for so many years. We have defeated our enemies, our land has had plentiful crops. We have had enough prosperity that we have been able to lend to others and we have not had to borrow. We have always been the nation others have looked up to.

Do I see a change? I wonder why this change is happening? Do you suppose it's because we, as a country, have been trying so hard to eliminate God in all that we do? Somewhere along the way a seed was planted. That seed, which could be deceit, has begun to grow and the seeds are being scattered into the hearts of people who do not know the God of this universe, only the gods of the world. We have chosen to take on the wrong form of pride, the wrong type of wealth, the bad attitude of it's all about me and my stuff.

Forget "mother nature" and global warming. I see 9/11 as an attack by our enemy. Who's to say God hasn't lifted His hand from our nation to let us fend for ourselves for awhile? Yes, the events taking place in the Middle East are and will have an effect on us. It's part of what I see as a worldwide curse. But our God is greater than anything that takes place in this world. Thankfully, for some, we are blessed spiritually in our knowledge of this great God...if we have chosen to follow Jesus Christ. The things of the world needn't cause us worry. We realize we don't need all the things of the world because we have the one great promise.

We need to bring God back into the picture. We must see a need in Him again. If we fail to do this, all the promises listed above will negate themselves. We will be cursed. That is the cost of disobedience.

When we are in relationship with Jesus, despite anything we might encounter in our lives, we have the assurance, the promise, that He brings to us. We will be blessed...always. The things we see happening in the world today might just be the blessings turning into curses until such time as the LORD our God brings us back from the captivity we have created in our self-centered, self-indulgent lifestyles. I think that might be when He returns again.

If we are truly in the last days as so many seem to believe (including myself), we may never see the blessings again in our nation. But that doesn't mean we can't be blessed in our own personal lives just by knowing and having relationship with the Kings of kings and the Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. I'll tell you, I'm very glad this is one Promise I have. 

If you don't look forward to the future or are anxious about it because you don't know what it will hold or you aren't so sure how you will be able to put up with any disaster we might see, you might want to look up to the One where your help could come. The only way you can successfully go through with what life dishes out is with the help of Jesus Christ who wants to be your Savior.

Even in the midst of tribulation you can rely on His strength and His provision. If you look to Him He will give you a real life worth living for and a real assurance, His covenant, His oath, that you will have eternal life.

Deuteronomy 30:3,5-6 - [And the LORD your God will] have compassion on you...He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.