I think it is hard to imagine all the blessings that God desires to pour out upon His people. After all, He is the one who “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Philippians 3:20).

God’s heart is for us and He has plans for us that are amazing. There is no doubt in my mind that God wants to bless you.

1 “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 28:1-2)

There’s a perfect passage of Scripture that speaks of the manifold blessings that the Lord wants to give to His people. It comes from Deuteronomy Chapter twenty-eight where Moses brings the children of Israel and tells them of the all the blessings that will come upon them as they enter into the promised land if they obey His ways and the curses that will come upon them if they don’t.

So what are the blessings God is talking about? He lists them in Deuteronomy 28:3-14:

3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

4 “Blessed shall be the [d]offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 “The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 9 The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you. 11 The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14 and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

God’s Blessings Come Through Doing Things His Way

Since God is our creator He knows what is best for us. He knows the things that will cause us to grow and increase and prosper. He also knows that things that will hinder our growth, bring decrease, and lead us to poverty.

God has graciously given us knowledge of His ways and the wisdom we need to live life to the fullest. His commandments are for our good. A lot of people look at His commandments as a list of restrictions seeking to hinder their freedom and keep them from experiencing life. But, quite to the contrary, they are the things that ensure we can experience life as God intends it to be.

For example, every piece of equipment I get comes with a manual telling me about my product and telling me the best practices to keep it running at its best. My car manual tells me the type of gas I should use, how often to change the oil, the air pressure in my tires, and a ton of other instructions.

Why in the world are there so many instructions? I just want to drive my car.

Do you know what would happen if I filled my car that uses unleaded gas with diesel fuel? It would run for a while and then slowly deteriorate as the fuel injectors, filters, and fuel lines clog up. If left this way the diesel fuel could damage the engine and I would not be able to drive my car any longer.

Why does the manufacturer only allow a certain kind of fuel? Why are they so restrictive? The commonsense answer is that the engine was created to use unleaded fuel. If you want it to work right you must follow the commandments of the manufacturer.

I’m sure you see the parallel. God is our creator and He created us a certain way. If we desire to have a life that runs to its full potential, then we need to listen closely to the Creator’s instructions. God’s commandments are for our good and ensure the blessings of God in our lives.

God’s Blessings Will Pursue You

I love how verse two pictures the results of obeying God. Moses says that if we obey God all these blessings will come upon us and overtake us.

If we walk in God’s way we are assured that the blessing will come to us. They will arrive in due season. They will overtake us. The word is used to describe someone who is chasing after someone to catch up with them.

Can you picture in your mind all the blessings we just read in the passage above running after you and catching up to you because you are doing things God’s way? Well you should, it’s what Moses is saying.

The Scope of God’s Blessings

Prosperity

The first part of verse eleven says, “The LORD will make you abound in prosperity.” It doesn’t matter if you live in the country or in a city, God will make you prosper. It carries the idea of whatever is “good, pleasant, beautiful, delightful, glad, joyful, precious, correct, righteous” (TWOT). It’s everything God wants to pour out upon us.

God wants to bless the offspring of our bodies, the produce of the ground, the offspring of our beasts and herds. If your not a farmer or rancher, then God wants to bless the work of your hands. He wants to bless you in your job and see you increase.

Whatever we put our hand to, God will send blessings to catch up and overtake us.

The story that comes to mind is that of Joseph. His brothers sell him into slavery and he sold to Potiphar. Potiphar senses the presence of God on his life and places Joseph in charge of everything he owned.

Joseph is them falsely accused and cast into prison. The chief jailer senses the presence of the Lord upon Joseph and he is promoted to run the things in the prison.

Then one day Joseph is called out of the prison to tell Pharaoh the interpretation of his dream and suggestions on how to prepare because of it. He is elevated to the second-in-command of Egypt. That is definitely a story of prospering wherever you may be, whether in bad or good situations.

Protection

The Lord promises His protection against our enemies. All the plotting and planning of our enemies will come to naught. They will come in one way, but God will send them out in seven ways.

The one who comes to mind is David. The shepherd boy who slew Goliath and sent the Philistine army fleeing for their lives. He was soon the one fleeing for his own life as King Saul sought to kill him out of jealousy and fear of losing his kingdom to David.

Many times in the Psalms, David cried out for help from the Lord. Even when he was in the depth of despair he would lift his eyes to the Lord and declare His trust in Him. In Psalm 28:7-9, David says:

7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart exults,
And with my song I shall thank Him.
8 The Lord is their strength,
And He is a saving defense to His anointed.
9 Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;
Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.

Spiritual Well-Being

Moses reveals that part of the incredible blessings of the Lord is that we are the Lord’s people. He says in verse 9, “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you.”

We are the people of God and hold a special relationship with Him that the world doesn’t have. We are called to be holy or set apart to Him. In our love and trust in God, we walk in His ways.

An interesting thing takes place. As we walk in God’s ways His blessings come upon us and other people see and they glorify God. All the people of the earth will recognize that we are Lord’s people.

This reminds me of the story of King Solomon who requested from God wisdom to lead the people. God gave Him wisdom and riches so great that the people came from all over the world to marvel at his understanding and learn from him. Listen to the story in 1 Kings 10:1-10:

1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with difficult questions. 2 So she came to Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king which he did not explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba perceived all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. 8 How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 9 Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” 10 She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

We are a marked people. God wants to pour out His blessings at every level of our lives so that people will see the effects and come and seek the wisdom and blessing of the Lord.

Prominence

Moses says it a couple of different ways. If we choose to follow after God, He will make us prosper to the point that others will recognize the hand of the Lord upon us and hold us in esteem. Remember Joseph.

The idea of us being exalted is not so we can lord it over others but so we can be a light shining in the darkness and drawing people to Him. Remember Solomon.

This exaltation is not for personal gain or glory. It is for the glory of the Lord. It is those who are humble before God and submitted to His ways that are exalted. Even Peter understood this and told us in 1 Peter 5:6:

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time

God told Israel that if they would follow His ways He would “set [them] on high above all the nations” (v. 2) and they would be “the head and not the tail” (v. 13).

The Lord truly wants to bless and elevate us in the minds of the people around us so that they will be drawn to Him. We may never stand before Kings, Queens, or Presidents, but He can elevate us before the eyes of those with whom we have contact so they will seek us out for help.

I remember I got a job making walk-in freezer and coolers for restaurants. On my breaks, I would read the Bible. One guy saw this and made fun of me. Every day he would mock me before the rest of the crew.

I just ignored him and let him have his fun. I didn't appreciate it much, but what was the point of arguing and making a scene in front of the others?

After I was there a few months, something happened in this man’s life. He came back to where I was working humble and broken asking for my help. I gladly sought to help him.

In his time of need, this man knew to come to one who knew the Lord. He saw something in my life and when he was in trouble he sought me out. Remember that people are watching your life. There may come a time when they seek you out because of your witness. This is a time to be a blessing to them.

My Blessing to You

May the Lord bless you.
May the blessings of the Lord come upon you and overtake you.
May the Lord prosper the work of your hands.
May He protect all that is yours.
May the Lord establish you and give you prominence.
May people be drawn to you and come to the knowledge of the Lord.