Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Getting Blessed

I hear much about financial needs these days. It seems that many are trying to raise money to pay bills, expand their building, or buy more property. The economy seems to still be in trouble, and people are hurting. I want to be kind, yet I sense a duty to tell the complete truth regarding blessings. Deuteronomy 28:1-8 says: "If you fully obey the YHWH your Elohim and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, YHWH your Elohim will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey YHWH your Elohim: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. YHWH will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The YHWH will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The YHWH your Elohim will bless you in the land he is giving you." These verses promise the blessings of Elohim to be on and overtake who? The promise is to those that obey the commands of YHWH as set forth by Moses.

If I was living a life that was lacking in blessings, the first place I would look would be at the commandments taught by Moses in Deuteronomy. A brief survey of what Moses taught is as follows:
1. The Ten Commandments explained (5:1-21);
2. Ceremonial Laws (12:1-16:17);
3. Destroying idols (12:1-3);
4. Tithing (14:22-29);
5. Clean and unclean things (14:21);
6. Treatment of poor and needy (15:1-11);
7. Social laws (21:1-26:19).

Too often, we don't want to hear about the Laws of YHWH. We don't want restrictions on our lives. However, if you want the blessings of YHWH to run you over you need to place yourself in a position to receive. You are not earning His favor; instead, you are placing yourself in a place to receive His blessings. Now this is not an individual blessing. It is a communal blessing. If you are part of a group that ignores the commandments of Elohim, you will not have the benefit of Deuteronomy 28. Find a community that shares your commitment to the Laws of YHWH and prepare to be overtaken!

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