The knowledge, promise, and offer God makes for Israel was that regardless of what the other nations did, regardless of how they boasted about their gods, regardless of how pretty their gods looked, they were duds. Fake. Powerless.
God promised that because they belonged to God and were His children that He would not fail them. God promised that when He told them to march in and take the land, it would be theirs. Deuteronomy 1:21, says “Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’
Pretty clear, huh?
So guess what they did?
They chickened out. Didn’t believe Him. Did NOT believe. REALLY?
Yup.
Really.
But did God dump them? Nope. God promised he would be their God and he stuck with them. He stuck with them because He is God, the one and only God. THE God. I AM. Since we aren’t God and He is, there is grace. God hangs in there with us...forever!
Forever, God is our God and we are His people. So what did that mean to the other nations? Remember what God said to Abraham in Genesis 12:3…”I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.”
That means it’s their choice. If they hang with God they will be blessed. If they choose not to hang with God they will not be blessed.
But here’s the thing. It’s not a threat. It’s a promise. God was saying anyone who chooses Him can join the party. That’s why Rahab who was a prostitute from Jerico (Joshua 2) was IN when she joined the party. Rehab was chosen. Big time.
There were others, too. Ruth was from Moab and she joined the party.
They aren’t the only people who joined the party. There were many who joined and agreed that God IS the one and only God.
Gentiles joined the party. Whoa.
Gentiles were blessed because they joined. Romans 9:30-32 says, “Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path.”
The Gentiles who believed that God is the ONE, the only one, joined the party and were blessed!
The blessing or the curse is a choice, because God gives everyone free will. God gives us the right to choose Him, to surrender and turn to Him. When we turn and face the living God we experience his holiness and we realize we are human. God is God and we are not, we are human, fallible. We fall down. We fail. We are not God. God knows we are human and He loves us for who we are. When we turn to God He receives us. The truth is that God is sad when we don’t receive what He has for us...His love. When we really realize how deeply God loves us we are humbled to the core. We don’t have words to describe what His love means. We know we really are forgiven for EVERYTHING. There are no buts...no exceptions.
That’s humbling.
God offers us free grace, the promise of blessings, and the promise to be with the one true God forever. Forever we are invited to stay in His light. That means NOW forever. It doesn’t start out there. It starts here and now IN you. God’s promises to you that He is the ONE and only for YOU are in the NOW. Today. IN you.
That means that everyone around you can join the party. Now. Let me tell you a secret. You don’t need to force them to join. All you need to do is love them like Jesus loves you. You don’t even really need to say anything churchy.
If you love them, they’ll know it. Eventually they’ll start wondering what’s different about you and they’ll figure it out. God will help them see it. Just keep loving them.
For yourself, receive God’s love and promise all the time. That’s what God wants. He wants you to turn to Him all the time. That means when you are sad, turn to Him. When you are happy, turn to Him. The absolute BEST thing is turning to Him and not saying anything at all. When you just want to sit with God in silence, it’s really special.
The blessing we are thankful for? The first covenant thankful words tell us, the ONE true God IS the blessing. The eternal covenant, the promise that God will always be there for us is the knock out absolute BEST thing EVER to be thankful for!
The offer God makes in the covenant includes:
Grace 2 Corinthians 12:9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”
Love 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Promise Genesis 28:15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”
Hope Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Faith Hebrews 11:1-3 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
Blessings Numbers 22:6b “I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse.”
The Way John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Today’s Spiritual Practice: BE thankful for God.
Thank God for the covenant He made to YOU in the Ten Covenant Words (Ten Commandments). Be specific with God. Tell God why you are thankful. Maybe make a list of things you are thankful for, draw/paint God a picture, or write a song to God. Use the gifts God gave you to express your thankfulness!
And BE Thankful, Deb
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