Then And Now
ICS Daily Devotions
Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15 (NKJV) “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. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:…“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
When King Hezekiah took over the throne of the kingdom of Judah, his priority was to put its spiritual condition into order. To understand why, we must look at the terms of the Mosaic covenant.
The people of Israel had been given a choice between blessings and curses under the Mosaic covenant and were asked to choose life and blessings instead of death and curses. Unfortunately, when King Ahaz sinned against God, the wrath of God was against them, and it brought curses unto the kingdom of Judah. Thankfully, King Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah understood that their transgressions had resulted in curses and hardship, and he wisely opted for life and blessings. He restored the place of worship, put the priests and Levites in their areas of duties, and offered sacrifices according to the teachings. He committed to follow God.
Despite the similarities between the curses that fell on the people of Judah then and people’s conditions today before they accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour (including alienation from God, no hope or standing before God, controlled by the senses, blinded by Satan), Christians today are in a very different position from the people in Hezekiah’s time. Even though the sin nature binds sinners in a continuous cycle of transgression, if they choose to accept Christ, through their faith in the work of atonement of Jesus Christ, they are redeemed from the curse of the law, because Jesus has become the curse of the law for us.
Galatians 3:13 (NKJV) Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),
Temporary appeasement of God’s wrath achieved through animal sacrifices has been superseded by the work of atonement by Jesus Christ, because Jesus’s blood provided a solution to the sin issue once and for all. His blood has satisfied God’s wrath towards sin completely and thoroughly, resulting in the forgiveness and remission of sins. As a result, believers are transferred into the Kingdom of God and become new creations. They are justified by their faith in Jesus’s blood and have peace with God. The curse of the law has ended at the cross of Calvary, and believers today have entered a New Covenant through Jesus’s blood. They have chosen life eternal and blessings!
Sermon Series: Wise Leadership
