A Good King, A Just Judge
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Jesus’ words in John 10:10
Sin and obedience both have consequences.
God promises blessings for those who obey His commandments (Deuteronomy 28). He promises to bless those in the city and the fields, the fruit of the womb and the fruit of the ground, cattle and herds and baskets. He promises blessing when you come in and go out, and that enemies will be defeated and flee. There are many more, including that God will bring rain in season and bless the work of our hands.
Is it because we don’t believe God will give these blessings, or that we don’t know about them, that we refuse them in our disobedience? We turn away from them every time we knowingly step into sin or refuse to give up a sin. We communicate a lack of interest in God’s blessings.
On the other hand, when we obey the Lord, when we follow His commands, and live according to His word, His blessings will overtake us – yes, His blessings will overtake us! God makes this promise in Deuteronomy 28:2, “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.”
Are they right there, pursuing us all the time, waiting to be poured out? Is the Holy Spirit, as He convicts us of sin, ready to shower us with blessing when we repent in response to His prompting? Jesus said that He came so that we can have abundant life (John 10:10 above). In His grace He died for our sin so we can be forgiven for past sin and turn away from future sin. Both of these put us in a position to be overtaken by blessings.
From these verses in Deuteronomy 28 we can see that the blessings do not mean we won’t work. The works of our hands are something God blesses as they demonstrate our obedience. God’s promises of blessing also don’t mean that our enemies won’t attack, but they will be defeated.
Receiving these blessings may take a change of thinking for some. In order to trust the Lord enough to obey Him, we need to truly believe that He is good, that He is trustworthy, and that He has our best interest in mind when He gives us His commands (Hebrews 11:6; Romans 2:9-10). It means taking the understanding that Jesus is King in my heart and promoting Him to the position of King of my life, and in fact, King over all of life (1 Chronicles 29:11-12)
God, in Christ, is both good King and just Judge, offering abundant life. For His children, the blessings approve where we are and what we are doing. In His judgment He is calls us back to a place where He can bless us again.
The life-giving consequences for obedience to a good King are so much more fun to think about than the fearful consequences of sinning against a just Judge. In either, when we respond to our good God, He will overtake us with blessing.
Are you and I being overtaken by blessing, or are we living in the fear or consequences of God’s just judgment?
Sin and obedience both have consequences from the One who is both the Good King and the Just Judge.