By Robert Olsen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
COVENANT RELATIONSHIP
Deuteronomy 28:1–6, 15–19
Faithfulness (1–6)
God had established a covenant with His people. If they obeyed Him, they would prosper. God lists all the ways the Israelites will prosper if they are obedient to God’s commands.
In the Old Testament whenever the Israelites obeyed, they were successful in their endeavors. However, when they did not obey, all of their activities failed.
These principles that God established are excellent guidelines for us today. Keep in mind that this is not teaching a type of prosperity gospel, which is no gospel at all. The prosperity gospel teaches that if you do certain things, you are guaranteed to be blessed with financial gain or success.
This is a distortion of the real gospel because the focus is on material possessions, not on spiritual blessings. We have to remember that God says that He works “for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
Even if things appear to be hopeless, we need to look at things from God’s perspective (2 Cor. 4:16–18). However, if we obey God’s commands we are likely to benefit from those decisions. For example, one can look at the societies that came out of the Reformation and see how they prospered because of their belief that they were to do all things for God’s glory.
Disobedience (15–19)
After God told His people the blessing He would bestow upon them if they obeyed His commands, God says what will happen when His commands are not followed. Those people will suffer loss and lack of prosperity. This is seen clearly in the Old Testament. Beginning from the time of the conquest of Canaan, the Israelites fail over and over again to obey God’s commands and they suffer for it. The Book of Judges is a testament to this failure. Every time they disobeyed, they were punished by God until they repented and called out for help.
On a personal level, when we sin against God, the Holy Spirit will convict us. Not only that, but sinning is never beneficial. It may feel good at the time, but it always ends up pushing us further away from God and further from His spiritual blessings. Repentance is a wonderful experience.
When we turn away from our sin and to God we experience reconciliation. God’s love and grace are so wonderful that every time we sin and then repent, He takes us back and forgives us. This does not mean there will not be consequences for our actions. For example, selfish behavior ruins relationships with others, breaking the law can result in jail time and sexual immorality can ruin marriages. However, God forgives us and gives us new life.
This has a cultural impact as well. When a society turns away from God, the society is doomed to experience negative consequences. This is evident in our country today. When people turn away from God and toward their own reason and sensibilities, society is harmed. Laws are not followed, people are allowed to act in ways that harm themselves or others and society begins to fall apart.
Christians need to live out their beliefs so they can love their neighbors in action by seeing laws passed that benefit each person and society as a whole. Our beliefs are not to be kept to ourselves. They are to be lived so that God’s blessings may be experienced by those around us.
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