156. Rejoice Over Us
Deuteronomy 30:9 And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every good work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers.
The Lord repeats His promise to make His people plenteous if they keep the stipulations (Ten Commandments) of the Covenant. They will be rich in good works, in children, in livestock, and in crops. These are all the ways in which one is considered rich, bountiful, and plenteous. Of course, as OT history unfolds Israel did not become and remain as plenteous as God promised, because they did not keep the Commandments.
The spiritual promise of plenty comes through in the NT, in which we are told that Jesus kept the covenant stipulations perfectly for us, in our place. By faith in Jesus we are also accounted righteous and covenant keeping. Jesus Christ has deserved the plenteous promises for us and given them to us by grace. We have eternal life by faith. Such a plenteous and fruitful life begins in us the moment we believe in Christ, and such riches keep growing and abounding through all eternity. Thus it is called eternal life, and such a life is promised to us for Christ’s sake. The Spirit, who comes to dwell in believers and to rule over the inward kingdom of God, blesses the work of our hands (which are good works), makes happy families, and multiplies wealth. And all of this He does for our good.
We do not see it, but we can believe it: we are superabundantly rich in spiritual blessings, spiritual abundance and wealth, and the production of fruit for generations to come. Plenteous growth is slowed by sin and neglect of God, but it grows through repentance and faith in the Gospel. Thank God for Jesus; thank God for His promise of spiritual plenty through Christ; thank God for an abundant life that never stops.
The further part of this promise (and more interesting part) is that the Lord will rejoice over us for good. God loves to bless, and it makes Him happy to do so; He loves to be thanked and appreciated for He knows that makes us feel better. The Lord is watching over us always, and we don’t even know how often He joyfully rejoices over us when we get it; neither do we know when He is warmly smiling upon us for good. Think of it: we make God happy! Remember also: we grieve the Spirit within by the sinful things we think and do. So we pray constantly and repent daily to keep a happy communication open between us. It’s always for our good. “If God is happy, we are happy.” He promises to rejoice over us.