BLESSINGS FOR BEING OBEDIENT

Proclamation:

"If you fully obey The Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands ... The Lord your God will set you high ... All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey The Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.  The fruit of your womb will be blessed ... You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.  The Lord will send a blessing on ... everything you put your hand to.  The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.  Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of The Lord, and they will fear you.  The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity ... The Lord will make you the head, not the tail ... you will always be at the top, never at the bottom." Deuteronomy 28:1-14 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Moses again told the people of God about the promise of God's blessings if they keep the covenant with God.  He follows these promises of blessings with a warning of the curses that would come to them with their disobedience. (Deuteronomy 28:15-68)  There are six blessings presented for being obedient followed by twelve curses for being disobedient.

Application:

The Bible clearly states what we are to do and not do, as well as what we are to say and not say, as Christians.  But even as believers we frequently choose to do what we want to do.  We choose to read only portions of The Bible and although we know what it says, we choose not to follow The Word of God.  Even though it spells out the consequences of being disobedient, we still choose to disobey.  Then we wonder why so many things go so wrong in our lives.  Thankfully, The Lord God allows us to receive some blessings in spite of our sinful nature.  However, there are many more blessings "with our name on them" that are conditional blessings which we could receive if we would follow God's Holy Word.  Let us become both readers and doers of The Word of God.  Let's change one or more of our sinful ways each day and begin to enjoy more of the blessings of obedience.