Eikev/As a consequence
Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25
Isaiah 49:14-51:3
As I was reading this week’s portion, I felt the words “contract vs covenant”. In the reading, God keeps pushing the idea of covenant, yet the people (me/us), tend to live like a contract. The idea of contract is like an agreement that I need to fulfill on my own merit or strength; and we know from history (ours and theirs), that it tends not to work out to a lot of blessing or success. You might have good days and some bad, but the weight of ‘success’ or ‘failure’ is upon your shoulders. It’s so easy to forget that we have a Father Who is more committed to our success and wellbeing than we are capable of. Let’s look at God’s ‘built in sprinklers’:
Deuteronomy 11:10 For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot (foot pumps), as a vegetable garden; 11 but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12 a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.
Isn’t that awesome! He is committed to the ‘success’ of this/His endeavor; He is committed to the blessing of the people that are to possess this land. Sure, you have to show up and do your part; but the Lord God Almighty; the Holy One of Israel, wants to make sure you ‘look good’. If you were merely under contract; you would have to use those foot pumps that Egypt that were supplied when you were a slave. Now for another line from this ‘covenant of grace’:
Isaiah 51: 1“Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. 2 Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and increased him.” 3 For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
We weren’t just rescued from hell! We were brought into the household of God; complete with a history and promises for our ‘success’ as members of this family! Let’s try to quit living like hired slaves, just working in the ‘man’s field’. He wants to turn our ‘desert’ into the Garden of Eden! He doesn’t want us just to survive each day, but to have us filled with joy, gladness, thanksgiving and song! So this week, let’s try to identify those ‘foot pumps of Egypt’ we have been slaving on, and turn to our Heavenly Father, and ask for the “rains of Heaven” to water the gardens of our lives that He has given us and begin enjoying the fruits of having a covenant with the Living God…go ahead and tear up that contract you have been living under and look for the rains to come; let’s get drenched…! by john eisner
I heard a great word recently: “We weren’t made to love God…We were made to be loved by Him! Even we can believe and fully receive that, then our hearts will hilariously and full love Him!” Wow! Not false grace that gives your sorry rear end a reason to sin; but love that sets you free to live and love…go for it! by john eisner
Fight against being transactional (expecting a return for you actions; whether good or bad), but look unto to the One Who loves you and wants intimacy and relationship.
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