120. You Will Observe
Deuteronomy 11:31, 32 For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the Lord you God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein. And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day.
God promises: 1) you shall pass over Jordan, 2) you shall go in to the land, 3) you shall possess the land, 4) you shall dwell in the land, and 5) you shall observe to do all the commandments. The first four of these promises were fulfilled in the Conquest of Canaan under Joshua. These promises are fulfilled spiritually when the Lord gives us the kingdom. We enter into the Kingdom of God by Baptism and by faith in Jesus, possess the kingdom and live in it. The Kingdom actually comes into us, and there, in the heart, we possess it, drive out sin, and live in it daily.
The fifth promise (observe to do) is a little more challenging, and it is a little stretch to construe this as a promise. The interesting Hebrew verb “Thou shalt and thou shalt not…” is taken as a command (therefore they are called The Ten Commandments). But the words “you shall” can also be understood as a future promise. If so, this is mind-blowing to think about. God actually promises that we will observe to do all the Commands. We know that is not true and the promise cannot be kept. We will not “observe to do.” Sin blocks the fulfillment of the promise.
But the promise is true in two ways: already and not yet. Already in this life we are in the Land and keeping commandments. We are not yet fully and physically in the Eternal Land and keeping commandments, but we definitely will be in the next life after the resurrection. The “not yet” we can understand and believe: we will be made perfect and wholly righteous in truth and in actual living behavior in eternity.
The “already” aspect is harder to see and believe, for we see sin and non-observance of the commandments on a daily basis. “My sin is ever before me.” But it is extremely helpful to believe that we are actually getting better by the Spirit’s sanctifying work, The promise of observing is being slowly perfected until the day when we are finally “changed in the twinkling of an eye” into righteous perfection. So we don’t give up, for God is not finished with us yet. Trust the promise: God is making you to become what you already are.