Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament Lesson just read, from Deuteronomy 8. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- We do not always look at the instructions and commandments of the Lord as being good for us. In fact, we spend a good deal of time constructing good “arguments” and “justifications” as to why it is “reasonable,” “okay,” and perhaps even “better” for us not to follow His Word. And we conclude that even if we are wrong, God will “understand” and there will be no real adverse consequences.
- This is part and parcel of our rebellious and sinful nature – which deceives, deludes, and corrupts us. Even if we are unaware, it is a tacit denial of God – Who He is, What He is, and His prerogatives and power. It is a denial that “God is love” to determine that any instruction He gives us is not consonant with love and good.
- So I suppose that even the commandment given at the end of our text would be received with some reluctance, that we should “eat and be full.” We might decide that we could become obese, or decline because we are trying to lose weight, or object that we do not want to be gluttonous. We might even argue that we should do without so that we could give some to the poor.
- It seems that whatever God instructs people will always find reasons to object – even when He commands good things for us, and indicates that He wants us to fully enjoy His gifts.
- Of course, in reality everything that God instructs is good and loving, for God is love. So everything in our text – as well as in the rest of Holy Scripture, is good for us. So it is always good for us – beneficial and a blessing – to do what God says in His Word, the Bible. This includes “blessing” the Lord for all the good things that He has given to us.
- So a “mutual” blessing is encouraged. God blesses us – and tells us to enjoy His blessings; and we bless God, by utilizing His blessings and giving thanks and praise to Him. And all of this ends up being a great and tremendous blessing to us – even our blessing of God. So we are reminded that:
I. God Has Blessed Us In All Ways
A. He Created Us And All Things, And So He Provides For Us
Text: “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land He has given you.”
B. He Has Also Called Us To Faith By Delivering Us From All Harm And Danger, Including Sin And Damnation
Text: “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers.”
Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
C. He Also Provides Us With Discipline And Testing, And Sustains Our Existence
Text: “And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you.”
D. So He Trains Us To Live In Faith And Obedience
Text: “that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”
E. And He Commands Us To Imbibe Of His Blessings – To Eat, To Enjoy, And To Be Full
Text: “And you shall eat and be full.”
Statement: In all these things God continues to pour out His goodness and love upon us. He is Creator of all things, and the great Benefactor of all things living in the universe. His provision supplies the needs and wants of all living creatures. For us men – fallen, infected and plagued by sin, He has also provided forgiveness, life and salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has called us to faith by His Law and His Gospel – that we should repent, because we have been forgiven and redeemed. He continues to patiently and mercifully discipline and train us – because He loves us and seeks to bless us. So that we also might learn to live by His Word! And He commands us to enjoy His good gifts. He does not prohibit us from imbibing in His good gifts of creation, but instructs us to enjoy life to the fullest!
Application: We are sometimes reluctant to do so – because the evil one has somehow convinced us that it is evil and wrong to fully enjoy God’s gifts. This is a terrible thing – a pietistic effort that again disobeys the will and command of God. It is true that God forbids evil; and rightly so. But it is not true that God discourages us from being blessed by Him, or hints that we should be cautious when receiving and using His gifts! No, when it comes to the blessings of God He encourages us to be filled with them, to maximize them, to enjoy and rejoice in them. It is a good thing to do so, good for us, and doing so is obedience and reverence to God!
Transition: And to utilize His gifts fully and joyfully is “TO BLESS THE LORD YOUR GOD,” for it is submitting to His Word and fulfilling His will to bless us! And this also is good and right, and so in our text:
II. God Encourages Us To Bless Him
A. To Put Our Faith And Trust In Him
Psalm 62:8 “Trust in God at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.”
John 1:12,13 “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John 3:36 “He that believes the Son has everlasting life.”
B. He Encourages Us To Give Him Our Thanks
Psalm 106:1 “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!”
1 Thess. 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
C. We Bless Him By Learning His Word And Continuing In It
John 8:31,32 “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
Text: “that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”
D. We Bless Him By Walking In His Ways
Text: “So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in His ways and by fearing Him.”
Statement: So it is not such an onerous or burdensome thing to “bless the Lord.” Rather it is a matter of receiving and rejoicing in His wondrous gifts to us, putting faith and trust in Him, and giving thanks to Him. Part of receiving His good gifts is receiving His Word – which gives us faith and life, and which instructs us in how to enjoy and maximize the blessings of God. And as we do so we become more and more inclined and eager to keep His commandments by walking in His ways.
Application: Although our sinful nature continues to object to all of this – for our sinful nature is suicidal, seeking to drag us to self-destruction and death – the blessings of God continue to come to us through His Word, working all good within us, including faith, new life, and salvation! And so those who simply receive God’s blessings also bless Him – so that He fulfills within us exactly what He wills from us. It is a rather remarkable and miraculous work that He does for us!
Conclusion: So let us be cognizant and understanding of what is at play when we find ourselves disinclined to receive the blessings of God; it is clearly the deadly and damnable influence of our sinful nature. We are not only dragged in the direction of great evil, but we are also tempted to decline the blessings of God. This is surely not His will for us – and we do not have to look long or far to see His blessings all around us.
So He encourages us to “eat and be full” – of all of His blessings, especially those that come to us through His Word, by which we live. In this we will find it compelling to give Him our thanks and praise, and to serve and obey Him. May He continue to grant it to each of us in ever greater abundance. This is His good and gracious will for us! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.