And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 28:2)

Today’s church has developed an environment that loves to celebrate grace, however, we mustn’t forget that obedience to God is still expected of us. Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD, yet he was still expected to do what God told him to do. If he had not, the outcome would have been quite different. And so then, blessing comes upon those who obey God and pursue righteousness. In that line of thought, consider that the verse for today is written as if the blessings are actually pursuing those who are pursuing righteousness. It is almost as if the blessings of obedience are some kind of entities that “overtake” the people who obey the voice of the LORD.

That thought immediately spurs this one: blessings overtake those who are pursuing righteousness and not the other way around. In other words, do blessings overtake those who want only the blessing but not the responsibility that goes with the blessing? In yesterday’s devotion, I mentioned such a person — Esau. He wanted the blessing of his father but cared nothing for the birthright, that is, the responsibility that goes with being in covenant with the Almighty. In short, he pursued the blessings but not righteousness. In the end, he was considered rejected by God; on the other hand, Jacob — the one who saw the value of the birthright — was blessed.

The Bible has a lot to say about the benefits of striving to live in accordance with God’s will. Likewise the Bible has much to say about those who pursue their own path. Solomon put it this way: “As righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death” (Proverbs 11:19). No one who pursues what is contrary to God’s purpose should expect to live a blessed life. Therefore, that the blessings of God may overtake us, let us heed the words Paul shared with Timothy: “But you, O man of God, flee (evil) things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11).

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill 

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