Blessings from Obedience
God reminds His people that there is blessing and treasure that comes from obedience. We can see this in the following verses:
Exodus 19:5-6 - Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
God wanted the Israelites to keep His law and covenant. With this covenant, the Israelites were given a choice - obey and be blessed or disobey and be cursed.
God’s intent was that the Israelites would be a treasure to Him - a special nation
This is also seen in Exodus 23:22 → Your enemies will be my enemies…called God’s own nation
Deuteronomy 4:40 - You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”
In light of all God did for Israel and who He is, it is logical that we should obey Him. God promises early blessing for it.
Deuteronomy 12:28 - Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 15:5,6 - only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
Deuteronomy 28:1 - “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
God continues in the rest of scripture to pronounce blessing on those who obey:
Zechariah 3:6,7 - Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here.
Continue to have position as high priest
Privileged access to God
Leviticus 26:3 - ‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,
God would reveal Himself to the world through the nation of Israel either by blessing or curse, so that all would know only God could have done it to them. But the choice was up to the nation. If they obeyed, they would be blessed.
1 Kings 2:3 - And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;
Prosperity for obedience
Exodus 15:26 - and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”
Physical health for obedience
Deuteronomy 7:12 - “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers.
Covenant and mercy across generations
When we look at these verses, the common thread is that the word ‘obey’ isn’t really used. It wasn’t simple obedience; it was a choice to keep the law and statutes of the Lord, walk in His way, and keep all aspects of the covenant.
Please note these examples are all from the Old Testament. While we as believers do have blessings for obeying God, our ultimate gift of salvation is never lost due to our disobedience.
