If you heed these ordinances, by diligently observing them, the Lord your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors; he will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, in the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you. You shall be the most blessed of peoples, with neither sterility nor barrenness among you or your livestock. The Lord will turn away from you every illness; all the dread diseases of Egypt that you experienced, he will not inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. You shall devour all the peoples that the Lord your God is giving over to you, showing them no pity; you shall not serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you. If you say to yourself, ‘These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?’ do not be afraid of them. Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover, the Lord your God will send the pestilence against them, until even the survivors and the fugitives are destroyed. Have no dread of them, for the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to make a quick end of them, otherwise the wild animals would become too numerous for you. But the Lord your God will give them over to you, and throw them into great panic, until they are destroyed. He will hand their kings over to you and you shall blot out their name from under heaven; no one will be able to stand against you, until you have destroyed them. The images of their gods you shall burn with fire. Do not covet the silver or the gold that is on them and take it for yourself, because you could be ensnared by it; for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God. Do not bring an abhorrent thing into your house, or you will be set apart for destruction like it. You must utterly detest and abhor it, for it is set apart for destruction. (Deuteronomy 7:12-26, NRSV)
If we are obedient and follow what God has asked us to He will bless us…
Sounds like the start of works talk to earn our way to heaven… But you see you and I both know we can not earn our way to heaven. We can do nothing that would make us to be worthy of being with God for all eternity. That price was paid for us, and the covenant was sealed through Abraham and the promise fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah! We can do nothing to earn our way into heaven, so that does that mean we do nothing?
We are to love and fear God and keep His commandments, not because it will save us, but because we are so moved by the love and mercy we have received, and because we need to show the world the love He has given to us. Not so we get, but so we can give! We have been blessed by God through the life He has given us, and so in return we are obedient to the calling He has given us and follow through. Just like Jesus who was faithful to go to the cross so that we might be reunited with our creator!
If we live in the faith that Christ has given us and follow what He has asked us to do, our life will be the abundant blessing He has prepared for us. And He will always be with us!
aSacredRebel 