The Blessings of Walking with God

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Well, the children of Israel had a special calling and relationship with God, not because

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they were any more special than any other people, but because of God's promises to their

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forefathers.

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They had been chosen long before, and their forefathers had entered into covenant with

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God.

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Now, if they would live in obedience to the commandments of that covenant, they would

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be blessed.

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Now, you and I can walk in those same blessings through Jesus Christ, because God is the same,

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and He never changes, and He rewards those who walk in love and obedience with Him.

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So, welcome to this week's Shabbat Shalom devotional, when I seek to share a little

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inspiration and just bring a little peace to the close of your very busy week.

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This week's Torah portion comes out of Deuteronomy chapter 7, 12, through chapter 11, verse 25.

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It's called Ekev.

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It means, and if you obey, meaning these rules.

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So, now, in chapter 7, verse 6 through 9, God makes it very clear, or through Moses,

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it makes it very clear why they've been chosen for this special relationship.

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Let's listen.

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For you are a holy people to the Lord your God.

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The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all

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the peoples on the face of the earth.

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The Lord did not set His love on you, nor choose you, because you were more in number

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than any other people.

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For you were the least of all peoples.

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But because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your

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fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house

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of bondage from the hand of Pharaoh, King of Egypt.

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Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant

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and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.

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So here, Moses is telling them, you are a special treasure to the Lord.

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You are a holy people, which means a people that have been set apart unto God.

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It's not based on their size, which means their strength or anything about them.

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But it's because centuries before, God had made promises to their forefathers, and He

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had created this people and He loved them.

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He repeats this a couple of chapters later, chapter 9 verse 4, for do not think in your

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heart that the Lord your God has cast them out before you saying, because of my righteousness

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the Lord has brought me into possess this land.

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But it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out

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before you.

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So here we're talking about when they go in and take possession of the land, not to

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think that it's because they're so great that God is giving them the land.

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But Moses is saying here, actually, it's because of the great wickedness of the people in the

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land now.

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And another very interesting thought about the land we read this week in chapter 11 verse

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12, how much God loves the land.

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That's why he's getting rid of the wickedness that's defiling that land, and he's putting

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his children there.

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Let's read it verse 12.

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It's a land for which the Lord your God cares.

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The eyes of the Lord your God are always on it from the beginning of the year to the very

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end of the year.

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So God loves the land that he is giving to his children whom he also loves.

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And then we read, I want to point out one thing this week, that the blessings of walking

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in fellowship with this God and in obedience to the terms of the covenant that he made

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with them.

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Very interesting.

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First of all, one of the blessings was to get wealth.

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Year 8 verse 18, and you shall remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you the

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power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers

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and it is this day.

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So it is God who gives wealth in order to establish his word and his covenants.

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They also, it's because of God that they would get rain.

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Verse 13 and 14, and it shall be that if you earnestly obey my commandments, which I command

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you today, to love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and all your soul,

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then I will give you the rain for your land and its season, the early rain and the latter

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rain that you may gather in your grain, your new wine and your oil.

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So he not only helps them to get wealth, he helps their crops to prosper by providing

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rain.

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God is the source of the rain in times of need.

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And then there's the promise of healing.

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Chapter 7 verse 15, and the Lord will take away from you all sickness.

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So healing and blessing is part of the Mosaic covenant, just as it is part of the new covenant

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through Jesus.

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Because it's the same God, he doesn't change.

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And the rewards for walking in love and obedience with him are the same today as they were then.

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And with that, I wish you Shabbat Shalom.