Blessings of Obedience

Every time I read the blessings of obedience found throughout the Books of Moses, especially Deuteronomy, I am struck by the apparent simplicity of the equation: if A then B. It seems as though God told the Israelites that if they were obedient, then He would bless them. I suspect that is true; in a perfect land, perfect people would be perfectly obedient and be perfectly blessed. Israel was not perfect, so we get patches of blessing and patches that were not so blessed – like draught, pestilence, conquering armies and captivity to name a few.

On this side of the Cross of Calvary, it is an academic exercise to wonder if the equation was as simple as it seems. It is also true that from our New Testament vantage point, we no longer look for the same blessings as the nation of Israel. Under the Old Covenant, God promised demonstrable, physical prosperity; read Deuteronomy 28. In the New Covenant, our blessings are first spiritual and only physical secondarily. Certainly we have Jesus’ promise that if we seek the Kingdom of God our physical needs will be met. But notice that Jesus’ promise of “all these things” referred to food and clothing, not unlimited physical blessings.

We cannot honestly look at the life and writings of Paul and draw the conclusion that obedience should bring health and wealth. The Apostle certainly didn’t expect it. He spoke of the tribulations he experienced as par for the course. He considered his trials a badge of authenticity for a servant of Christ. When writing about the “thorn in the flesh” he suffered with (by God’s hand), he chose to boast about it as it magnified the power of Christ in him. Surely, Paul is a stellar example of an obedient follower of Christ, yet far from expecting blessings, he insisted that he was content with whatever circumstances he found himself in.

As I have said before, the so-called prosperity gospel gets it wrong. (See Abraham's Promises = Solomon's Rules) The proponents of the health and wealth message speak of the Old Testament economy as if it still applies with no alterations. They miss the message of Hebrews which announces that the new covenant comes with new and better promises. What is better about the new covenant is precisely that it is NOT physical. Jesus, our true high priest, serves in the true temple, of which the earthly temple was only a shadow.  He intercedes for each one of us personally and perfectly. In place of the physical presence of God in the pillar of fire or cloud, we have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Instead of making annual sacrifices to atone for our sins, we have the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ which assures us of our salvation. That assurance may be the best of the new promises; the resurrection to glory is guaranteed. Old Covenant saints had no clear picture of what to expect when they died.

While these spiritual blessings are tremendous, and it is wonderful that they come to us not through anything we have done, we are not to presume that the way we live our lives is unimportant. God has work for us to do. We are His instruments to bring others into His family. We are agents of His love and grace in a troubled world. And we have a larger purpose as I have written in “Necessary Obedience:”

“I believe that there is another elemental factor in the necessity of works as part of our relationship with God. One of the first responsibilities God gave to Adam in the Garden of Eden was to work: “And Yahweh God took the man and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it.” We know that God’s original plan was for Adam and Eve to spread the Eden-like quality of creation across the globe. Sin, of course, interrupted that, but God is still working toward His original goal via the plan of redemption of man and Earth through the Cross of Christ. The first Adam’s boo-boo is erased, and the Kingdom of God (Eden) is accomplished through the works of the followers of the Second Adam.

I developed the idea of Christians as agents of God’s original plan more fully in “Bringing the Kingdom” and “It’s Not All About You,” but I want to repeat here that our individual salvation is part of a much bigger operation that has truly cosmic dimensions. We are supposed to be agents who fulfill the request found in the prayer Jesus taught His disciples: “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Our salvation is, quite literally that we should work towards God’s ultimate goal: Earth as Eden.”

There is some indication in Scripture that God intended Israel to accomplish that goal. They were supposed to be a light to the nations. They failed. At their best they were insular and exclusive; at their worst they were downright wicked. Now it’s our turn. Jesus called His followers to be the light of the world. Having been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son, we must set our minds on things above; we must not use our freedom as an opportunity for physical gratification; we must make the most of our time because the days are evil; we must count all our physical accomplishments as loss compared to the excellency of knowing Christ. We must share Jesus with the world. It is a blessing that God gives us that responsibility. There’s your blessing.