Blessed – The Rule of Law: Government of the Home (2)

Blessed

The Rule of Law: Government of the Home (2)

The rule of God’s Law brings the blessings of God to the home.

“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.” Deuteronomy 28:1, 2

The Lord God will feel welcome and “right at home” in a home where His people diligently seek to learn and live by His Law. There He will make His presence known in steadfast love and faithfulness, and there, wherever the Lord is present, He will bring His blessings upon His faithful people.

The blessings of God can entail many tangible forms, as Deuteronomy 28:1-14 makes clear. But the blessing of God does not consist, in the first instance, of material possessions or congenial conditions. One may be completely bereft of possessions and freedoms, and even subject to physical discomfort and inconvenience, and still know and enjoy the true blessings of God. Paul and Silas showed us as much in Acts 16; and, as Psalm 22 makes clear, our Lord Jesus Christ was rejoicing in the blessings of God even as the Father forsook Him to bear the sins of the world.

The blessing of God consists of His favor, and the favor of God is supremely known, not through things and circumstances, but in His presence. In the presence we know fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16:11). There we know complete contentment and perfect peace (Exod. 33:14; Phil. 4:6, 7, 11). In the presence of God all fear is banished, confidence grows, joy inexpressible and unquenchable obtains, and salvation in its full measure is increasingly enjoyed.

In the presence of God, in the midst of His blessing, all the hectic pace of our getting-and-spending age pales into insignificance, while we sit at the feet of our glorious Guest and He doles out the blessings of His presence and promises, hand over fist (Luke 10:38-42).

In the presence of God we are refreshed as His creatures and renewed in our redemption, that we might take up our relationships, roles, and responsibilities with a vision and strength not of this world. When the Law of God rules in a Christian home, God Himself dwells there, and His presence is unmistakable and powerful. That home becomes a perpetual Sabbath, an ever-blooming Eden, a microcosm of the Body of Christ, and an outpost for the Kingdom of God—precisely as God intends.

For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Bookstore, then Church Issues.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.