“And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil” (Exodus 23:25,26).
TEXT — Exodus 23:20-33
Message
D. L. Moody once said, “If people were true to the first commandment, obedience to the remaining nine would follow naturally. It is because they are unsound in this that they break the others.” Breaking God’s commands deactivates His promises.
In concluding the series of instructions to Moses at Mount Sinai, God warned the Israelites that fulfilling His covenant promises would depend on their obedience to His commandments. Notably, the Angel of Jehovah would guide and guard them on their way, but they should not provoke Him by their wrong actions. The Angel of Jehovah in this context is the Lord Himself before His incarnation.
God instructed the Israelites to avoid idolatry and mingling with the Canaanites. If they obey, He will give them victory over their enemies; they will also have prosperity and longevity by averting diseases, premature death, miscarriage and barrenness.
Similarly, today, it takes obedience and loyalty to God to enjoy the blessings of the new covenant. Just as God demanded from Israel a total separation from idols and the wicked Canaanites, He expects His people to separate from the world and its idols. Very much like the Israelites of old, we face the temptation of joining in the corrupt practices of the world and bowing to its idols of money, position, pleasure, and fame. But when we are obedient and remain unspotted by the world, He bestows abundant blessings on us. We stand to enjoy the divine presence, protection, guidance, and establishment in the Lord when we listen and obey His word.
Though these promises do not imply that we would not face challenges in life, they assure us that the Lord will be present to help us in every difficulty we encounter. In turbulence, we will have peace like the birds that sit in their nests on the swaying branches. They feel secure knowing they have wings to fly even if the branches break. The promises of God are wings for believers to fly in all of life challenges.
Thought for the day
God’s promises are like promissory notes, but it takes faith and obedience to cash them.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
