BLESSINGS FOR OBEDIENCE

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 / Keywords 28:1-2

1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

Blessings for Obedience

28:1 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

7 The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

8 The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. 11 The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.

12 The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

1. God wanted to keep blessing his covenant people in the Promised Land. However, a blessed life doesn’t come by accident. The secret to enjoying God’s blessing is to take God’s word seriously and obey it carefully and fully. God lists his abundant blessings for those who obey him in detail (1-13): God will set them high above all the nations; every area in their lives will be blessed; protection and victory over their enemies are promised; and all the work of their hands will be richly blessed so that they will be the head and not the tail, a good influence, and a blessing to the nations.

2. However, God’s blessings are not limited to visible or material things. When God’s people keep his commands and walk in obedience to the LORD, God will set them apart from all nations and make them a kingdom of priests and a holy nation for him. To grow in the holiness of God and to be used as a blessing in God’s redemptive work is the best blessing from God. We all want blessings. But we have to remember that our purpose of life is not to receive and enjoy God’s blessing, but to obey and please God. God’s blessing is a by-product of our obedience to God’s word. Our obedience to God’s word should be our expression of love for God.

Prayer Lord, you are the source of blessing. Help me to walk in obedience to your word. Please bless the work of my hands so that my life may honor you and be a good influence to others.

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