Deuteronomy 30:15 "Look! I am presenting you today with, on the one hand, life and good; and on the other, death and evil - 16 in that I am ordering you today to love ADONAI your God, to follow his ways, and to obey his mitzvot, regulations and rulings; for if you do, you will live and increase your numbers; (CJB)
This scripture couldn’t be any clearer! We see YHWH throughout the Torah constantly admonishing His people to obey Him so that they would “live” and “be blessed,” and so that “all would go well with them.” (After all, that is why He kept them in the wilderness for 40 years! - Numbers 14:34 and 32:13 – so they would learn to follow, obey and trust Him in everything.)
This is not to say that YHWH promised His people that proverbial “rose garden” where everything would be constantly hunky-dory and free of stress and strife; rather, it means that life lived according to His Holy Instructions is more pleasant in every way because His ways are holy, good and perfect. His ways allow us to “sow spiritual seeds” that reap a “spiritual” (rather than a “carnal”) harvest - which is pleasing to Him. And pleasing Him is, after all, what really matters!
It appears as though mankind would rather please and seek the praise of mankind than His Creator and Redeemer. Those who aim to please and praise man only end up disappointing themselves.
ReplyDeleteRight on, Kevin!
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