The Blessing of Obedience

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 23

PROMISES AND WARNINGS

20 “I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Be attentive to him and listen to him. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for my name is in him. 22 But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23 For my angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. 24 Do not bow in worship to their gods, and do not serve them. Do not imitate their practices. Instead, demolish them and smash their sacred pillars to pieces. 25 Serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and your water. I will remove illnesses from you. 26 No woman will miscarry or be childless in your land. I will give you the full number of your days.

27 “I will cause the people ahead of you to feel terror and will throw into confusion all the nations you come to. I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you in retreat. 28 I will send hornets, in front of you, and they will drive the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hethites away from you. 29 I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animals would multiply against you. 30 I will drive them out little by little ahead of you until you have become numerous and take possession of the land. 31 I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River. For I will place the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you will drive them out ahead of you. 32 You must not make a covenant with them or their gods. 33 They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against me. If you serve their gods, it will be a snare for you.”

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 14

If you love me, you will keep my commands.

CIT: If God’s people obey God’s word, they will be blessed. If they don’t there will be consequences.

CIS: As God’s people we should obey God’s word. If we do, there will be blessing. If we do not, there will be consequences.

SO: For our church to desire to be obedient. Not because we want a blessing but because we want more of God.

Obedience is worship

verse 25

Serve = to worship

heart posture

obey = check the box

worship = motivated, desires, careful

Introduction = Gas mask CBRN (chemical, biological, radioactive, and nuclear)

Two types of obedience found here. Heeding and worshiping

Heed - there is protection and providence

Worship - there is blessing of life

>with heeding there we fall under his protection from evil. with worship we receive protection from evil, providence, and life

In order to expect God’s blessing, His word must be obeyed

First section talks about the blessing of heeding

verse 20 and 21

I am going to send an angel

Not going down the rabbit hole

The angel’s purpose is to protect and bring

Protect from the from evil and to bring (sense is to carry)

God is such a good father!

Gives the why, not just the what.

Why would they want to heed?

He has prepared a place for them. He desired to bring into that place.

Ever have to cary a child who didn’t want to be carried? If they don’t know that you want to get them ice cream they’ll flail and kick. I have something good for you, yes please!

If they believe He is good and a father who gives good gifts, then they should want to heed the angel’s instructions

Why would should they obey, because the name of Yahweh is with him

What the angel speaks carries the authority of Yahweh

Much like a prophet, heeding the word of a prophet sent by God was heeding to God himself.

be attentive = to make sure

listen = to heed

The word used in verse 22, that is translated “carefully obey”

Following instructions to build something - lets say a book shelf

There is a purpose to the book shelf

If we try to build it without the instructions, we are saying that we know better than those who designed the book shelf

But if we pay attention to the instructions, if we heed to them, we are humbling saying that the instruction giver knows better.

When I make food, if it turns out well, my wife Charis, like the good wife that she is, compliments me and tells me I did a good job. I honestly don’t take these complements to well because I simply followed the instructions. You could say, I just heeded to the instructions. To me the instruction giver should receive the praise.

We see this same posture earlier in the book of exodus.

Earlier in Exodus, this same sense is used when Moses spoke to Pharoah

5:2, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him...”

In 7:13, “Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to him.”

The sense is, to carefully obey means to hear and it directs our actions. These aren’t general guidelines, these aren’t good suggestions. These are commands from the Lord they are to be followed as such. In verse 21 be attentive means to make sure. The Israelites are to make sure their focus is on this angel and to heed his words.

If they want to count on or be assured or expect God’s protection and providence, they had to heed to God’s word given through the angel

This second section is about the blessings flow from worshiping

In order to receive the blessing that , the Israelites had to worship

Verse 25 - Serve the lord your God = worship the lord your God

What is the outcome? the blessing of heeding and Life

He will bless the bread and the water. He will remove illnesses. No woman will miscarry or be childless - again more life

The lord will give the full number of your [the Israelites days] - more life

What’s the difference?

One aspect of the obedience is heeding - paying attention to being careful

out of fear

The other that we find in verse 25 - is appreciation/gratitude/joy

Those Soldiers, no matter how closely they paid attention still weren’t worshiping. They were heeding because they were afraid of what might happen.

Now if they turned to the instructor, the creator of the power point presentation, the maker of the gas mask and expressed gratitude and heeded to the instructions

The blessing of heeding is protection and providence

The blessing of worship is life

Survival vs thriving

obey

1 John 2:3-6

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

3 This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.

There are consequences for disobedience

He will not forgive in verse 21

in verse 21, may catch you off guard. If this angel’s instruction carries with it the authority of Yahweh, a merciful God, how are we to understand this text?

It goes back to posture. We should go to God knowing we do not deserve forgiveness. We do not deserve mercy. We can rest in the assurance that we will be forgiven but we should not live a life full of sin because we are deserving of it.

Spoil verses spoiled.

So serious are these instructions that if want to find under his protection we should pay close attention to it

verse 33

they will make you sin against me and the snare

We find an example of this in Judges 1 and 2.

Where the Israelites enter into battle with the Canaanites and perizzites and failed to be careful to drive all the Canaanites and Perizzites out and what was the result?

in short, not good.

It’s not that they were a threat and could harm them and effect the peace of the Israelites. But

“The greatest danger of allowing the inhabitants of the promised land to live was not the threat they could do harm to Israel’s peace but that they might keep Israel from being close and faithful to God, who was to be their exclusive focus.

This is because, there are consequences for disobedience and obedience is required to receive God’s blessing.

I caught myself

There are two sides of this coin

God’s people

Not God’s people

1 John 2:3–6 CSB

This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.

If we are his people, there are only two warnings and 9 (maybe 11 depending on how you read it) promises

No forgiveness

We will get caught up in sin

If we are not his people, there are, there are 9 to 11 threats and no warnings.

Jesus obedience was counted on our behalf neighbor

Isaiah 41:10 CSB

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.

We get to enjoy the God’s blessing through Christ’s obedience

Romans 3:22 CSB

The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction.

Romans 4:23–24 CSB

Now it was credited to him was not written for Abraham alone, but also for us. It will be credited to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

Because of Jesus’ obedience we get to enjoy God’s blessings. We get to enjoy the protection that comes from the father. Not that we might boast because we contributed nothing to it.

Does that mean that we can stop seeking to obey?

Romans 6:1–2 CSB

What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Romans 6:12–14 CSB

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.

Obedience in community

There are still consequences for disobedience

Heeding vs worshiping

Surviving vs thriving

Surviving

1 John 1:6–7 CSB

If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Loss of fellowship

Psalm 1:1–3 CSB

How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Joy, delight, and enduring

Prayer

Communion

If God is merciful, why won’t he forgive our rebellion?

Is this a picture of salvation and sanctification?