Blessings Pt.1

Deuteronomy 8:18 “You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your ancestors, as it is today.”

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 [1] "Now it shall be, if you will diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. [2] And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God.” [3] “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. [4] Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. [5] Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. [6] Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. [7] The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way and shall flee before you seven ways. [8] The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. [9] The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you will keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and walk in His ways. [10] So all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of you. [11] And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. [12] The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. [13] And the Lord shall make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only be above, and you shall not be underneath, if you will listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, [14] and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods and serve them."

Wow, that’s a large amount of blessings. What does blessed mean?

blessed:

1. consecrated; sacred; holy; sanctified:

the Blessed Sacrament.

2. worthy of adoration, reverence, or worship:

the Blessed Trinity.

3. divinely or supremely favored; fortunate:

3 cont. to be blessed with a strong, healthy body; blessed with an ability to find friends.

4. blissfully happy or contented.

5. bringing happiness and thankfulness:

the blessed assurance of a steady income.

Does blessing mean happy? Does it mean peace? Does it mean success? Does it mean favored by God? Does it mean prosperity?

Blessing means all of these and more! Salvation, healing, family, health, finances, children, crops, property, livestock, and more are the things God blesses.

How do we get God to bless us. He Himself tells us in the very first two verses.

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 [1] "Now it shall be, if you will diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. [2] And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God.

So it is by obeying God and being careful to do all His commandments that we receive His blessings. Let's listen to what Psalm 119:1-4 has to say about being blessed.

Psalm 119:1-4 [1] “How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. [2] How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart. [3] They also do no unrighteousness; they walk in His ways. [4] Thou hast ordained Thy precepts, that we should keep them diligently.”

What does that mean for those of us who know Christ? What commandments are we to keep? Well, what does the Lord Jesus Christ Himself have to say regarding keeping the law and the commandments? Christ says to keep all of the law and its commandments. Most people might think that is the ten commandments. The ten commandments are great, but Christ says to keep all of the commandments.

Matthew 19:17 "And He said to him, "Why are asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."

Matthew 22:35-40 [35] "One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, [36] "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" [37] And He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' [38] This is the great and foremost commandment. [39] The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' [40] On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

Listen to what Jesus has to say in verse 40, ‘on these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.’ So all of the Law and commandments that are given by God, are instructions from Him on how to love Him with all that we are, and how to love our neighbor as ourselves.

It is by the keeping of the commandments that we enter into the life that Christ has obtained for us by His sacrifice on the cross.

John 14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."

John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him."

Christ died to save us from the penalty of sinning against God, which is death. Christ didn’t die to do away with the law or its meaning. He satisfied God’s requirements which is the death of the transgressor.

Matthew 5:17-19 [17] "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. [18] For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. [19] Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

The penalty of breaking God’s law is death. The shedding of blood to the point of death satisfies God’s law. Jesus kept all of the law of God according to Moses, perfectly, completely, to the point of death. He was circumcised, did not round off the side growth of His head nor shave or trim His beard. Christ attended all of the appointed festivals and feasts, in obedience to the commandment of attendance by all of the males of Israel according to the law of God. Jesus died on the cross and paid the penalty for us, not to free us from the Law, only the penalty of the law.

Leviticus 17:11 [11] “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.”

Christ fulfilled the law by having His blood shed to the point of death and satisfied the requirements of God, who applied it to all of us who believe. Christ the perfect, flawless, blameless, holy, and righteous Lamb of God. He who having done nothing wrong, took upon Himself the penalty of sin, which is death.

All of the laws of God, from beard, to clothing, to what to eat or not eat, to how to grow crops, are instructions in holiness and righteousness.

Isaiah 42:23 "The Lord was pleased for His righteousness' sake to make the law great and glorious."

The law, morals, standards, holiness, and righteousness of God are eternal. They do not change, grow, or evolve.

Malachi 3:6 "For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed."

We are to do our best to keep God's law as He has commanded us. If we should make a mistake, we have Christ to save us from death and the penalty of the law. We receive God's blessings when we are living in such a manner that is pleasing to Him.

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Until next time, keep Christ first, and may God bless you.