You are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are truth. Of old I have known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever. Psalm 119:151-152
Covenant Blessings
As we have been studying, after Adam sinned against God, God made a Covenant Promise to Adam and Eve that though they had abandoned him, God would never abandon them. I will never leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6
We see this Covenant pattern throughout the Bible starting with Adam. God appeared to Noah, Genesis 9, Abraham, Genesis 15, Moses, Exodus 19-23, David, 2 Samuel 23, and Jeremiah, Jeremiah 31:31-34 and in each occasion, following the Covenant structure:
- God revealed himself as the Sovereign Creator who made the people in his Image
- God recounted the mighty deeds that he had done throughout history on behalf of His people.
- God gave laws by which mankind could live productive and joyful lives and
- His people took an oath agreeing to both blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.
- God promised to be with and save the future generations of his faithful Covenant children.
In this section God reviews for the people the blessings that they will receive by following God’s law.
Leviticus 26:1 “‘You shall make for yourselves no idols, and you shall not raise up a carved image or a pillar, and you shall not place any figured stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am Yahweh your God.
2 “‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am Yahweh.
3 “‘If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments, and do them, 4 then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 Your threshing shall continue until the vintage, and the vintage shall continue until the sowing time. You shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
6 “‘I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one will make you afraid. I will remove evil animals out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. 7 You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
9 “‘I will have respect for you, make you fruitful, multiply you, and will establish my covenant with you. 10 You shall eat old supplies long kept, and you shall move out the old because of the new. 11 I will set my tent among you, and my soul won’t abhor you. 12 I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. I have broken the bars of your yoke, and made you walk upright.
God has given us his law because he longs for his children to experience peace, abundance, and blessings.
Practicing God’s law brings freedom, blessing, life, and peace. Humans are made like God; and the law, which is holy and good, describes what our lives are to be like in order for us to reflect God’s character. The law describes the way we are intended to live… The law is not arbitrary, nor is its intention restrictive. Rather, the law shows us structure within which we can live a free and blessed human life, avoiding the pitfalls of sin. (Ranald Macaulay, Being Human, Inter-Varsity Press)