Let Us Choose Covenant Blessings

As we begin this new year, we want to consider the blessings God gives to his people who live in obedience to him. We are responsible to hear and do the will of God. Jesus Christ has received all authority in heaven and on earth; therefore, he must be obeyed, and his delegated authorities must be obeyed. We must not live in the deception of self-declaration; rather, we must make our calling and election sure through our present glad obedience.

The Philippian jailer asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you and your household will be saved.” Paul wrote in Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

All have sinned. All are under God’s wrath. All are condemned. But there is good news. God saves everyone who believes in him and confesses him in truth as his covenant Lord. Yet no one can truly confess Jesus as Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Only the regenerate will repent, believe, confess, and obey.

Paul declares, “What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.” Paul is speaking about the total depravity of all people. He continues, “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one’” (Rom. 3:9–10). That is why he says elsewhere, “Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). We confess Christ as Lord only when we are regenerated.

Who Is the Covenant Lord?           

Deuteronomy 28 speaks of the blessings for those who obey the covenant Lord, and the curses that will come on those who disobey him. But who is this covenant Lord? He is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God’s eternal Son, God incarnate, who became man so that he might redeem every elect sinner by his precious blood that he shed on the cross as perfect God/man. Paul summarized this work of Christ: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25).

This Jesus, who was raised from the dead, is Lord of all, and he alone is Lord of all. Jesus himself said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’” (Matt. 28:18). He has the authority and power to destroy all unbelievers in eternal hell. The purpose of a minister of the gospel is to make people miserable so that they will repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And when that happens, they will be filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

If you are not convinced that he has all authority in heaven and on earth, consider Paul’s words: “[That you may know] his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Eph. 1:19-23).

Are you still not yet convinced? Paul writes: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:5-11).

If you are still not convinced, read what the psalmist said: “I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Ps. 2:7–12). Jesus Christ is Lord.

Are you not convinced yet? In Daniel 2 we read, “While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth” (Dan. 2:34–36).

The rock is Jesus Christ. I pray we will be convinced that Jesus is Lord of all. Man’s arrogance and pretension has no value against God. It is just imagination. It is madness. It is confusion of mind. Jesus spoke about himself, saying, “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed” (Matt. 21:44).

People easily say that if we confess Jesus as Lord, we will be saved. But do we truly understand who this Lord is? In Daniel’s prophecy we also read, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days [God the Father] and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13–14). This is speaking about Jesus Christ.

If you have truly believed in Christ the covenant Lord, you will be happy because he is saving you. He is sovereign. He is the suzerain. He is the great King who enters into a covenant of grace with elect sinners. In this unilateral covenant, God is taking a people to be his own. He redeems them from death and demands a certain behavior on their part, which he has authority to demand. He makes his demands and declares his blessings and curses—blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. The great King imposes his covenant upon his vassals, upon his nothings.[1]

The Covenant Structure

This covenant as found in Deuteronomy 28 has four major sections. First is the preamble in which the covenant Lord identifies himself. We see this also in Exodus 20, which also follows the covenant structure. There, the preamble is, “I am the Lord your God” (Ex. 20:2a). He is our boss, in other words. He is the sovereign covenant Lord and we are nothing. Yet this sovereign Lord condescends to make a covenant with nothings to make them something. The book of Deuteronomy follows the same structure. The preamble is found in Deuteronomy 1:1–5.

The second section is the historical prologue. In other words, what did this Lord do to us before? How did he help us? We read, “who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Exod. 20:2b). That means he saved us. He did so by Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. We were nothings, under the wrath of God. But he saved us, and paid the highest price to do so. Peter writes, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Pet. 1:18–19).

The third part is stipulations, which are laws given by the great king to govern his vassals’ lives. Stipulations are found in Exodus 20:3–17 and Deuteronomy 5:1–26:19. Essentially, the covenant Lord is demanding exclusive love and loyalty from his subjects. And if he saved us, we will follow and obey him. We will not turn to the right or to the left of his ways.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). If we do not obey him, he did not save us. We can go around pretending that we are saved, but he did not save us. The proof that he saved us is our exclusive love to him, and we demonstrate that love by gladly obeying his commandments. Jesus also said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. . . . If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:21, 23). God dwelling with us is ecstasy for a child of God. The heart of the commandment is, “I will be your God, and you will be my people.” John also writes about this: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God’” (Rev. 21:3). This is what eternal life is.

The fourth component is sanctions, which consist of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. In Exodus 20:5–6 we read, “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.” We cannot say we love God if we do not keep his commandments. Love is expressed through obedience.

In Deuteronomy 28, twenty percent of the verses (vv. 1–14) speak of blessings, while eighty percent (vv. 15–68) are curses. Why? The vast majority of people are cursed. If someone does not want to believe in Jesus, it is because God himself cursed that person. In fact, he has been condemned from all eternity. And God has no obligation to save totally depraved people. So if you are saved, you can rejoice and be glad.

Deuteronomy 28 is similar to Leviticus 26, which was probably given during the first year in the desert. Deuteronomy 28 comes later, as part of a covenant renewal ceremony that took place in the fortieth year after the exodus from Egypt. It came after the death of all the men of war who were unfaithful. They had been present at the beginning of the exodus, but they were cursed for their unbelief. They all died except two, Joshua and Caleb, who were covenant keepers with a different spirit (Num. 13–14). The word “covenant” appears seven times in Leviticus 26 (vv. 9, 15, 25, 42 [twice], 44, 45). God did not have to enter into a covenant with us, but he did, by his mercy and grace.

Disobedience Brings Curses

Disobedience brings curses on us, on our children, on their children and their children, for generations to come. In Deuteronomy 28, there are fifty-four verses of curses. These curses, found in verses 15 through 68, include:

1. Cursed parents, cursed children, cursed fields, and cursed cattle—the people and everything they own will be cursed. People experience the curses brought on by their parents, their parents’ parents, and so on.
2. Confusion and sudden ruin
3. Plague, diseases, and destruction
4. Drought and dust everywhere
5. Defeat in war
6. Dying, but not being buried, but being eaten by birds and animals
7. Boils, tumors, and sores
8. Madness and blindness
9. Women being raped; people building houses but not living in them; planting but not harvesting.
10. Sons and daughters exiled
11. Daily cruel oppression
12. Boils that spread to the head
13. Objects of scorn
14. Sowing much but harvesting little
15. Worms destroying vineyards
16. Captivity of children
17. Locusts destroying
18. Aliens ruling
19. Aliens lending, God’s people borrowing
20. In verse 47, the Holy Spirit interjects the reason for these curses: it is because they did not serve God, the covenant Lord, gladly in the time of prosperity. Prosperity is most dangerous. People tend forget God. In Hosea 12:8 we read, “Ephraim boasts, ‘I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin.’” And Paul says, “If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. . . .  Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim. 6:8, 6). More money means more problems and more disobedience unless God shows mercy. Consider what the church of Laodicea said: “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing’” (Rev. 3:17). Their trust was moved from Christ the Lord to the wealth he gave them. But Jesus said, “‘You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.’” I am not impressed with education, money, or houses, and neither is the Lord Jesus Christ, because we all had nothing; he gave these things to us. We must not use what God gives us to oppose him for, in reality, we are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.
21. Children inherit curses from parents
22. They serve their enemies in hunger and nakedness
23. They go far away as slaves
24. Fierce nations kill all, whether old and young
25. High walls will not protect them
26. Cannibalism
27. Not obeying the covenant Lord
28. Plagues and severe diseases
29. All the diseases of Egypt coming upon the people of God
30. New sicknesses not recorded in the Bible.
31. The Lord will be pleased to destroy his people.
32. He will scatter them all over the world to worship idols, that is, demons (1 Cor. 10:18–22)
33. They will be restless, anxious, and afraid, by day and by night.
34. They will be filled with dread all the time
35. Terror will fill their hearts
36. They will be sent back to Egypt
37. In Egypt, they will try to sell themselves as slaves.
38. There will be no demand; no one will buy them

Think about these things. There are blessings or curses waiting for all of us, depending on what we do with God’s word.

Obedience Brings Blessings

Those who obey God’s commands will be blessed. Yet we will not obey God unless God causes us to do so by pouring out into our hearts love from God. Paul writes, “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Rom. 5:5). The first fruit of the Holy Spirit is love. John says, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God makes us able to love and obey him.

The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer is, “To glorify God and enjoy him forever.” We can never be truly happy unless we are glorifying God. That is what Jesus did. He perfectly kept the covenant; he perfectly obeyed. In John 8, he challenged anyone to convict him of sin; no one could. In the high priestly prayer he prayed, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). (PGM) And from the cross, he cried, “Tetelestai,” “It is finished” (John 19:30). He accomplished the work of redemption.

As we consider blessings, we read, “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God” (Deut. 28:1–2).

We are blessed when we obey God’s commands. And notice, God always commands; he never begs. He commands us to repent: “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). He also commands us to believe and to love one another: “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us” (1 John 3:23).

My father never begged; he commanded. He did everything in the imperative mood. We find imperatives in the second half of every epistle. The first half of each epistle tells us what God has done for us. The second half has God’s commands to us of how we should live in light of what he has done.

Jesus told his disciples to teach others “to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:20). In the same way, Christian fathers are to command their children to obey Jesus Christ.  And as we obey, God himself will set us on high, as Peter says: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand [through obedience], that he may [exalt you] in due time” (1 Pet. 5:6). God’s plan for us is glorification.

In Deuteronomy 28:3–6 we find six blessings listed; in Deuteronomy 28:16–19, there are six curses. This parallelism tells us that we will either be blessed or cursed. In Matthew 5, there are nine blessings pronounced (the Greek word is makarioi, “blessed are you”). God’s obedient people will be blessed.

Deuteronomy 28:3–6 says that if we obey, we will be blessed, our children will be blessed, our crops will be blessed, and our livestock will be blessed. The psalmist speaks of the blessed man who obeys God: “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers” (Ps. 1:2–3).

All of life we will be blessed. We will defeat our enemies, and the Lord will establish us as his holy people. All nations will fear us. There will be abundant prosperity, and we will lend, not borrow.

In 1956, when I was in college, the Lord spoke to me in the night, saying: “I will make you the head and not the tail; you will be on the top and not at the bottom.” I did not know where this verse was found. I read from Genesis to Deuteronomy and found it in Deuteronomy 28:13. It is still true. I am blessed, and my family is blessed. And I want all of God’s people to be blessed.

We are a blessed people! In Isaiah 35:8–10 we read, “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” How wonderful is the blessedness of the people of God!

For Those Who Have Sinned

What if you did not obey God, but sinned instead? There is still hope for you. Repent truly and return to the Lord, and he will bless you. But sin is not cheap. You will have to pay for your sins (Lev. 26:41, 43). You will be punished, but, praise God, you will also be brought back to him. Our gracious God forgives our sins (see Lev. 26:40–45; Prov. 28:13; 1 Kings 8:46-51). He promises, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).

God is gracious; he will forgive all our sins. But there are five things we must do:

1. We must pay for our sins. Even in the New Testament, this is true. Paul writes, “That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 11:30). As part of the covenant curse, discipline will be meted out on God’s people when they sin. It never changes. We must pay for our sins.
2. We must confess our sins, as Daniel did in Daniel 9. In Proverbs 28:13 we read, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
3. We must forsake our sins.
4. We must pray. The Lord said, “If my people humble themselves and pray.”
5. When we do these things, we will find mercy and blessing.

Covenant Blessings

The heart of the covenant of grace is summarized in this statement: “I will be their God.” In other words, “I will do for them what only God can do for them. I will save them from their sins. I will justify them. I will adopt them as my children. I will glorify them. And they will dwell as my people in the new heaven and the new earth. Their names are written in the book of life. My people will love me and obey me because I will cause them to do so by pouring out on them the Holy Spirit. They are my treasure, my segullah, my peripoiêsis, people whom I possess. They are my radiant, holy, and blameless bride.”

The Lord says to his people, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession” (Exod. 19:5). Elsewhere we read, “‘They will be mine,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him’” (Mal. 3:17). We also read, “For the Lord’s portion is his people” (Deut. 32:9). God’s inheritance, God’s treasured possession, is his people. That is the most amazing statement in the Bible.

He also says, “I the Lord am their treasure.” That is not surprising. That still calls for celebration, but it is not as important as the fact that the Lord’s people are his treasure. But now God is saying, “I the Lord am their treasure, their inheritance, their portion.” The psalmist says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps. 73:26). He also says, “You are my portion, O Lord; I have promised to obey your words” (Ps. 119:57). He also declares, “In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11, KJV). Eternal life is relational life with God and his people. This is why we sing:

I am my Beloved’s and he is mine, his banner over me is love.

I am my Beloved’s and he is mine, his banner over me is love.

I am my Beloved’s and he is mine, his banner over me is love,

his banner over me is love.

God paid the highest price in heaven to redeem us: the precious blood of Jesus Christ. That tells us how he values us nothings.

Witnesses to the Covenant

Let me ask you: Is this Lord Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior? Have you trusted in him and confessed him as Lord? Do you love him and obey him?

Let us call upon heaven and earth as witnesses to what we preached today. Let us conclude with these words of Moses on this first Lord’s Day, Anno Domini 2018: “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Deut. 30:19–20). And God gives us this wonderful promise: “When Christ, who is your life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:4).

[1] John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008), 20–21.