139. Blessings Overtake
Deuteronomy 28:2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
Deuteronomy 28 is the classic chapter of blessings and curses of the Mosaic Covenant coming into effect depending on the condition of obedience or disobedience to the Commandments. If you obey, then you will be blessed. He then proceeds to list the blessings. The conditional promise is clear. The Law does not bless us since we can’t keep it; instead, we are cursed. By the Law come the knowledge of sin and the fearful consequence of despair and loss. By the Gospel come the knowledge of the Savior and the joyful consequence of life and hope. Jesus “listened to the voice of the Lord” and kept it in our place. Jesus earns the righteousness of God and gives it to us by grace. This righteousness is certainly good enough to earn the blessings.
Even we cannot stop all these blessings, and our enemies cannot thwart them or hold them back. The blessings will come on you and overtake you. We should see the picture: blessings will chase us and catch up to us, grab us, and tackle us. We cannot avoid the blessings, even if we wanted to. These blessings will then come into us, fill us up, and even overwhelm us with all the goodness of God. Even if we are not experiencing the blessings of the Gospel so that we always “feel” it, the blessings are still real and alive in us when we hear the Gospel.
The Lord is determined to bless His children who believe in Him. His way of blessing may not be our way; His blessings may be more spiritual than physical or emotional; His blessings will definitely be eternal. God uses afflictions to prepare for us an eternal weight of glory. You may count your blessings, but it will be like trying to count the sand or the stars. But it is a beneficial exercise to thank God for promises made and promises kept.