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:
The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come 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.
These words, given to the people of Israel, are so incredibly beautiful and full of life and hope and, well, blessing!
Before I go any further with my thoughts on this passage I would suggest watching the following video.
Ok, so I know these words were given to the people of Israel and were blessings that would be bestowed as a direct reward for obedience to a lengthy list of laws. And there was a list of curses just as impressive that would be bestowed as a direct consequence for disobedience.
I also know that under the New Testament covenant our blessings are not dependent on obedience but on acceptance of the gift of salvation given us through Jesus, which than leads to a natural outpouring of obedience as our eyes are opened to truth.
But I do think there is value in these verses for us today. I feel like these verses reveal a glimpse of the heart of the Heavenly Father. We have a Heavenly Father who delights in blessing us, in filling our lives with reminders of His love for us. And when humankind proved that we could not live up to the standards of perfect righteousness required to receive those blessings He made a way to cover us with a robe of righteousness through His Son, Jesus, so that we could receive them.
And I love how it says the blessings will overtake you, it's awesome to think of being pursued by blessing.
Later in the same chapter there is a list of curses the people could expect if they did not follow and obey all the commands given. It is wonderful to know that in Jesus, we have no threat of these curses hanging over heads if we mess up, because He is covering us constantly with His righteousness.
God is love and He surrounds us with that love daily. This love frees us to live lives filled with expectation of His care, His provision and blessing, and His power to live as His people.
This love is an invitation to go on a journey of discovery with Him.
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