*See below for devotional
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Review: Last week we looked at how the Israelites would have to remove the Asherim poles and high places of idolatry and fill the land with worship of the one true God Yahweh, and they were to worship Him in a distinctly different manner from the Canaanite worship practices.
Title: Covenant Relationship
Text: Deuteronomy 28:1-6, 15-19
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 28:9, “The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways.”
Introduction: In this week’s lesson we see that-Theme: Believers find God’s blessings through obedience.
Context:
Have you ever sat down with your kids or seen the parent or guardian at eye level with their kids before a schooldays and run through the rules (1) Be polite), (2) Do what the teacher says, (3) Don’t lose your water bottle, and so on? The child isn’t receiving new information, but reinforcing the old information is so important. That’s what we see God doing for His people here.
Main Points:
- Faithfulness (Deuteronomy 28:1-6)
““And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that 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 voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds 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.”
- Eastern treaties typically began with the curses and ended with the blessings; here that’s switched with seven blessings listed first.
- Note the strong desire of God for His people to experience the blessings He wants for them.
- They were dependent on their obedience though.
- There was a six-tier covenant made repeating the term “blessed” which means prosperity; but before we jump to our 21st Century understanding of prosperity, before we jump to the “health and wealth prosperity so-called gospel” of so many TV preachers, let’s lean into the passage to understand what God actually means, what the nuanced meaning actually is here. It’s not merely material and financial resources. It means having one’s life filled with the benefits only found in God . James 1:17, “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth expounds on this when he asks some helpful, soul-searching rhetorical questions. I Corinthians 4:7, “7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”
- Gospel: Ultimate blessing is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We’ve all sinned. Paul describes the genetical nature of our sin being passed down from one generation to another in Romans 5:15-18 when he says, “15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass[a] led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” The ultimate blessing is the Lamb of God who by His sacrificial act on the cross offered a way that we could be justified before Him if we will turn from sin and believe on him once-and-for-all.
- They would experience the holistic shalom of God’s favor, a peace like none other: fruitfulness, basic needs met, and He would be with them wherever they went and whatever they did.
- II. Disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15-19)
“15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.”
- The curses are listed now, a list of miseries and disasters from verses 15-68, repeated seven times in verses 15-19, mirroring the paradigm of the blessings.
- God is not listing these miseries and disasters in a vindictive sense, but that these would be effective warnings to steer His people toward shalom so as not to stray and back to shalom if they strayed.
Doctrine: Our key doctrine for this week is the doctrine of Man.
Lifeway Explore says, “Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God.”
John 1:16-17, “16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:20-21, ‘20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Gospel:
Gospel Conversation Transition Statement:
We will encounter people facing the brokenness of life outside of the shalom Christ offers. They live in a state of turbulence and disruption instead of God’s peace. One transition statement could be, “I haven’t dealt with that exact troubling circumstance, but I have had my share of troubles. May I share with you the peace I have found in Jesus?”
Big Takeaway(s):
- Believers find and experience God’s blessings through obedience.
- Believers should enjoy the blessing that comes from following God’s commands.
- Choosing to disregard God’s commands leads to humiliation.
Discussion Questions:
- How can we avoid taking God’s blessings for granted?
- How do biblically sound blessings differ from “prosperity gospel” blessings?
- How do you respond on days when nothing seems to be going right for you?
- What do the curses in verses 15-19 say about God’s nature and character?
- What actions can you take to make sure your works come from a pure heart?
- What is one of your big takeaways from God’s Word here?
Devotional: God Keeps His Promises
From Deuteronomy 28 we see the simple but marvelous truth that our God keeps His promises. God will never hold back on any promise to His own from scripture.
God will never forget any of His promises from scripture to you.
God will never skip over you in fulfilling His promises to you.
God is trustworthy-worthy of our trust-when we look at His promsies.
God is not unstable or flighty. He is a rock upon which we can fully depend.
God is constant, unchanging, immovable in His promises.
God’s promises are both warnings to heed and rewards to receive.
God promises us warnings for disobedience and blessings for obedience.
This is why we shouldn’t cherry pick the Bible to fulfill our own desired ends.
Instead, we should humbly, genuinely, attentively lean in and seek to understand God’s intent that we may carefully obey.
God’s promises are illuminated, celebrated, and corroborated in Jesus’ factual resurrection.
When Jesus rose from the grave he confirmed God’s promise keeping word and power to fulfill it. We should enjoy His promises and rest in them as His followers.
How to Pray:
- Thank You for Your promises, both warnings and blessings.
- Help me to lean in and honor and obey You that I may experience Your promises.
Caleb Walker 
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