Tag: Pursue you

52.p. Wilderness – 16.v. “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart”

 

Deu 28:21  The LORD will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. The LORD will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed. “The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away.  The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.

Deu 28:34  so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see.

Deu 28:37  And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the LORD will lead you away.

Deu 28:45  “All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you.

Deu 28:47  Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,

Deu 28:58-59  “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the LORD your God, then the LORD will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.

Deu 28:61  Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the LORD will bring upon you, until you are destroyed.

 Deu 28:63  And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you.

Deu 28:66-67  Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see.

The same variety of expression is used in these terrible curses, as in the preceding blessings, to intimate every kind of prosperity or adversity, personal, relative, and public.

If we do not keep God’s commandments, we not only come short of the blessing promised, but we lay ourselves under the curse, which includes all misery, as the blessing all happiness. Observe the justice of this curse. It is not a curse causeless, or for some light cause. The extent and power of this curse. Wherever the sinner goes, the curse of God follows; wherever he is, it rests upon him. Whatever he has is under a curse. All his enjoyments are made bitter; he cannot take any true comfort in them, for the wrath of God mixes itself with them. Many judgments are here stated, which would be the fruits of the curse, and with which God would punish the people of the Jews, for their apostacy and disobedience. We may observe the fulfilling of these threatenings in their present state. To complete their misery, it is threatened that by these troubles they should be bereaved of all comfort and hope, and left to utter despair. Those who walk by sight, and not by faith, are in danger of losing reason itself, when every thing about them looks frightful. (Henry)

Oh that our hearts and minds would grasp the holy blessings of God in light of the wrathful curses. Sin has a way of blinding us to only see blessings from God. Sin blinds us to the holiness of God. Neglect of His Word deafens our ears to the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin. 

May the Word of God open your hearts and minds to His holiness and give you a deep desire to honor and glorify Him more and more each day.  We do not honor and glorify Jesus christ for the blessings we receive, but for who God is.

34. Be sure your sin will find you out.

Numbers 32:23  But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Deuteronomy 28:15-68     “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.  Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.  Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.  Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.  Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.  “The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do,…  The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind,  and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness…. and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually,  so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see….“All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God,… They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever.  Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,… And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you…. Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life.

Leviticus 26:14-46    “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments,  if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant,  then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic,…And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins,  and I will break the pride of your power,…“Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins….“But if in spite of this you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me,  then I will walk contrary to you in fury, and I myself will discipline you sevenfold for your sins….their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me,

Of all the ways, says Dr. South, to be taken for the prevention of that great plague of mankind, Sin, there is none so rational and efficacious as to confute and baffle those motives by which men are induced to embrace it; and among all such motives, the heart of man seems to be chiefly overpowered and prevailed upon by two, viz. secrecy in committing sin, and impunity with respect to its consequences. God assures us, that how covertly and secretly we move into sin our sin would infallibly find us out. Though the subject and occasion of these words are indeed particular during the proclamation of the law, yet the design of them is universal in application. Isaiah 3:11   Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him. Isaiah 59:1-2     Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;  but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. 1 Corinthians 4:5  who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

Sin, obedience, and serving God with a humble heart and mind are not spoken of much anymore.  What is being spoken of are Grace, Mercy, and Love of God and neatly tied with a little red bow of prosperity, blessing, and problem free life.  God has not changed and just because we are living in a time where it appears His wrath is being restrained does not mean we are guiltless.  If we are not approaching each new day with our deepest heart and mind’s desire to humbly honor, glorify, seek, serve, follow, and obey Him, we are being very neglectful and complacent with our walk with Him.  How do you know if you are sinning against God if your eyes are blind and your ears are dull or deaf to His word?  How can you have wisdom and knowledge of His holiness and your sinfulness if His word is not seen as a means to gain wisdom, knowledge, and understanding?  How can He be a light in your life if you choose to live in darkness caused by a complacent approach to serving Him?

The truth is you cannot.  Living in complacent neglect allows the heart and mind to be influenced by culture, society, and human nature – “doing what seems right in your own eyes”

There are consequences – God assures us, that how covertly and secretly we move into sin our sin will find us out.   Choose to walk each day in the light of His word for the single purpose of humbly serving and honoring Him.

Out numbered

“Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands”

Judges 7:9
Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. During that night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”
When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.
“Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon. ’”
Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords

Joshua 2:24
And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands”

Deuteronomy 28:42
The cricket shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground.The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
“All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you”

300 men were outnumbered by more than they could count.  Yet God fought their battle even before they arrived.  He had put fear and confusion into the hearts and minds of their enemy.  I love how God encouraged Gideon – if you are afraid take  take your servant with you and listen to how they are speaking.  As soon as Gideon heard the fear in their conversation he bowed down and worshiped God for he heard and realized God’s hand was with him.  Remember Gideon had said that he was least in his fathers house and his father house was least in their clan.  Listening to God and being encouraged by what He has done, will do, and is doing it is good for us to bow down and worship Him.  This is God’s battle not Gideon’s.  Sometimes we are in battles that are our own doing because we do not spend time in His word and have abandoned listening to His voice.  These battles are only overcome by bowing down and seeking forgiveness before God.  Other times God stirs our heart and leads us into areas we,  like Gideon, do not feel at all equipped to face.  These too are times we need to bow down and seek Him.  I keep being reminded of this questions “how are we to know Him and his power, strength, love, and mercy if we spend no time reading His word?”  “How are we to obey His leading if there is nothing from His word speaking into our heart?”  How are we to know His purpose for our life without seeking the source through His word?”