It’s been quite a while since I’ve written a blog. Embarrassingly too long. I can make all the excuses I want about being busy (work, schedules, etc.) but it’s been too long. Anyway, not sure if this will start a trend of blogging again or not, but God put a word so strong on my heart this morning that I had to write it down and share it. Hope you enjoy! 😊
A Perspective On Deuteronomy 28
The book of Deuteronomy is the 5th and final book of Moses and records the covenant between God and Israel. Chapter 28 specifically outlines the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience. There are 60 verses in Deuteronomy 28. Interestingly there are 13 verses that describe the blessings and 47 that describe the curses.
47! That is 77% of the chapter.
I point this out because today there are many pastors and preachers who speak only to how God wants to prosper us. Typically they are speaking only to financial prosperity which then leads them into tithing and how if you will simply test the principle God will bless you abundantly financially. While tithing is a Biblical principle and we are called to and should be generous, tithing is widely misrepresented by pastors and preachers today to help put money in their pockets and their church’s bank accounts. I digress, this isn’t a blog on tithing.
I truly believe God wants to prosper us and wants nothing but the best for us. While His prosperity might include financial prosperity, it is not simply about our finances. His prosperity is having the peace that our God cares for us and knowing that we will spend an eternity with Him when we pass on and go to Heaven. His prosperity comes from a relationship with Him, believing and following His Word as written in the Bible, and believing that Jesus Christ His son came to Earth to pay the price for our sins that we could never pay. There are no amount of manmade “church rules” you can follow to gain His favor even when those “church rules” come from a pastor or preacher who has twisted scripture to make you believe the same.
More importantly (and the point of this blog) is what many pastors and preachers shy away from teaching – and that is the vengeance of God. While God wants the absolute best for us, He is a jealous God. He has, can and will lay down a punishment on all of those who oppose Him. It is written all throughout the Bible, in particularly in the Old Testament. While Jesus did come to preach a message of love don’t be misled to believe that somehow God has changed and will not strike down His opposition. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Go read the Book of Revelation. Not to mention Jesus himself did once flip tables in anger for what he saw happening in His Father’s House. There is a severe and eternal price to pay to opposing God and disobeying Him. Interesting how God took more than ¾ of Chapter 28 in Deuteronomy to describe the curses and less than a ¼ to describe the blessings. Seems like He may be trying to stress a point.
You don’t hear this message in many churches today. It’s a truth that pastors and preachers are scared to teach because it can’t be packaged up into a neat little sermon series that sounds more like a motivational speech than a Biblical teaching.
I encourage you to take the time to read your Bible. Read it every day and don’t rely on a pastor, preacher or priest to read it for you and teach you what it means. I’m not saying that going to church and being taught by a formally trained man of God is not important. What I am saying is to be careful of who you are taught by and to open your heart to God’s Word. Ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit to give you the wisdom and discernment to understand what it means. You’ll be amazed to find out that you don’t need years of theological schooling to have God speak to your heart.
Be blessed my friends!