Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living from The Global Church of the Nazarene of Lenexa, Kansas, United States for Monday, 18 May 2015 - "God Will His Covenant" Scripture: Deuteronomy 7:7-16

Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living from The Global Church of the Nazarene of Lenexa, Kansas, United States for Monday, 18 May 2015 - "God Will His Covenant" Scripture: Deuteronomy 7:7 Adonai didn’t set his heart on you or choose you because you numbered more than any other people — on the contrary, you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 Rather, it was because Adonai loved you, and because he wanted to keep the oath which he had sworn to your ancestors, that Adonai brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from a life of slavery under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Maftir) 9 From this you can know that Adonai your God is indeed God, the faithful God, who keeps his covenant and extends grace to those who love him and observe his mitzvot, to a thousand generations. 10 But he repays those who hate him to their face and destroys them. He will not be slow to deal with someone who hates him; he will repay him to his face. 11 Therefore, you are to keep the mitzvot, laws and rulings which I am giving you today, and obey them.

12 “Because you are listening to these rulings, keeping and obeying them, Adonai your God will keep with you the covenant and mercy that he swore to your ancestors. 13 He will love you, bless you and increase your numbers; he will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground — your grain, wine, olive oil and the young of your cattle and sheep — in the land he swore to your ancestors that he would give you. 14 You will be blessed more than all other peoples; there will not be a sterile male or female among you, and the same with your livestock. 15 Adonai will remove all illness from you — he will not afflict you with any of Egypt’s dreadful diseases, which you have known; instead, he will lay them on those who hate you. 16 You are to devour all the peoples that Adonai your God hands over to you — show them no pity, and do not serve their gods, because that will become a trap for you.

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"God Will His Covenant" by Author: Juanita Weir Nobles
At creation God’s plan of redemption was already in place. Consider Deuteronomy 7:6, “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” Delight yourself in the knowledge that you are one of God’s chosen ones!
God graciously reveals His plan. He told His people what would happen if they continued to love and obey Him and the consequences if they did not. Just as we teach our children, God teaches His covenant people–over and over again. He taught them as they went through cycles of sin, punishment, repentance, and forgiveness. Still He teaches us today as we sometimes go through the same cycles.
I can remember sadness on my dad’s face when he had to punish me. He loved me and wanted me to do right, but I didn’t always do it. When I didn’t, I had to be corrected so that I would know the way to go. How sad if I had not been corrected. I learned through those experiences, just as God’s people learned through theirs.
Hymn for Today: "God of the Covenant"

1. God of the covenant, Triune Jehovah,

Marvels of mercy adoring we see;

Seekers of souls, in the counsels eternal

Binding Thy lost ones for ever to Thee.

2. Not now by words bringing death to transgressors,

Grace unto life the new covenant brings,

Jesus our Surety, our Kinsman Redeemer,

Round us the robe of His righteousness flings.

3. Blessings on blessings through age unending,

Covenant fullness in glorious flood;

Ours is a hope which no mortal can measure,

Brought in by Jesus and sealed in His blood.

4. God of the covenant-changeless, eternal,

Father, Son, Spirit in blessing agree;

Thine be the glory, our weakness confessing,

Triune Jehovah, we rest upon Thee.

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