Deuteronomy 7:12 – 19 “If you listen to these ordinances and keep them carefully, the LORD your God will keep His covenant with loving devotion, as He swore to your fathers. He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil—the young of your herds and the lambs of your flocks, in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you. You will be blessed above all peoples; among you there will be no barren man or woman or livestock.
And the LORD will remove from you all sickness. He will not lay upon you any of the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but He will inflict them on all who hate you. You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
You may say in your heart, “These nations are greater than we are; how can we drive them out?” But do not be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt: the great trials that you saw, the signs and wonders, and the mighty hand and outstretched arm by which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.”
“Have you come for your television set?” The time was January 2020, and we were just bringing our pickup to the dealership from which we had bought it to be serviced. Although the vehicle was new to us, it was actually a three year old floor model. To ensure the sale, the dealer had reduced the price and had made it possible for us to get a number of extras added, such as running boards and a bed liner. But what was this about a television? It turns out that part of the sales pitch had also included a large flat screen TV that was unavailable when we first collected the vehicle. But now the TV was ready. The dealership had made promises and they kept every one of them.
In today’s verses, God is promising things far better than a TV. God is promising to “love you, bless you, and multiply you.” In addition, God promises to bless the Israelites’ children and all the offspring of their livestock, as well as giving them bumper harvests. God promises to keep the Israelites healthy. What were the “terrible diseases you knew in Egypt?” In recent years, CT scans have allowed in – depth study of Egyptian mummies. We have learned that these people suffered with tuberculosis, cancer, and a host of other diseases. God is promising to protect the Israelites from all of these things.
So far, this deal seems too good to pass up! But there are conditions. “You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.” God wants the slate to be wiped clean, so that the Israelites will not be tempted to revert to idol worship and orgies.
Finally, once more God is reminding the Israelites to REMEMBER EVERYTHING that He has already done for them. At the time Pharaoh’s army disappears into that water, it is the most powerful army on earth, bar none. Since God has already wiped out the Egyptians in a single morning, why can’t He also help the Israelites defeat any tribe they encounter in the Promised Land?
APPLICATION: Reading Deuteronomy is like watching a horror movie that starts out with innocent people who are about to make bad choices with deadly consequences. Why? Because we have the perspective of at least 3500 years. We know that despite all the warnings God gives, the Israelites try to do things their way and make a mess of it! Some of us might feel a bit smug; after all, we have never turned our backs on God’s will for our lives…or have we?
God’s promises never outdate. If we are commit ourselves to finding God’s will for our lives and obeying, God will definitely bless us. This does NOT mean that we will not encounter problems. Sometimes those closest to God have also suffered the most. Corrie Ten Boom and her family went to German concentration camps for sheltering Jews from the Nazis. Betsy, Corrie’s sister, died in the camps, as did her father. But God spared Corrie to minister a message of forgiveness to millions around the world. Joni Eareckson Tada has spent most of her life as a quadriplegic; yet, her example, her fifty books, her radio ministry and her group, “Joni and Friends” have brought hope to untold numbers of people. In recent years, Joni has also suffered with breast cancer, being declared cancer free, only to suffer a recurrence three years later.
God wants good things for His children; however, God is not Santa Claus. If we want God to bless us, we must study His Word, learn His Will for our lives, and then do it.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Thank You for the blessings You want to give us. Help us to study Your Word and to love to do Your Will above all else. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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