I have been listening to Pastor George Pearsons and Gloria Copeland the past couple of weeks. They have been speaking on the Blessing of Abraham in Deuteronomy 28:1-14. According to Galatians 3:13-14 this Blessing has come upon us through the death of Jesus Christ. all we have to do is have faith in His promise!
"Christ
purchased our freedom [redeeming us] from the curse (doom) of the Law
[and its condemnation] by [Himself] becoming a curse for us, for it is
written [in the Scriptures], Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is
crucified); [Deut. 21:23.]To the end that through [their receiving] Christ Jesus, the blessing
[promised] to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through
faith might [all] receive [the realization of] the promise of the [Holy]
Spirit." (Galatians 3:13-14, AMP)
So there was one verse in particular that stuck out to me this time. The crazy thing is earlier that week I had read that verse and it really struck me. When you see a verse twice in a week you know God is speaking to you. Deuteronomy 28:7 says, "The Lord
shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten
before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee
before thee seven ways." The word "smitten" here means: sudden, quick, decisive fatal blow with the intent to utterly conquer and destroy. What a promise! 1 Samuel 17:49 is a great example of a quick decisive blow that resulted in victory. "And
David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it,
and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his
forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth." After Goliath was slain the entire army fled. Exodus 23:22 (ESV) tells us how He will be any enemy to our enemies and an adversary to our adversaries. "“But
if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be
an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries." Exodus 23:27 (NLT) says, “I
will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people
whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run" Knowing that He goes before me and causes my enemies to flee is awesome! I want to define flee just so you get more of a sense of what it is saying here. Flee means to chase away; drive away; fain (gladly, willingly), flee away, put to flight, make haste (quickly run away), panic. Imagine a person running quickly away and they are running every which way just to get away.
Here is another version of Deuteronomy 28:7 in the Message translation. "God will defeat your enemies who attack you. They’ll come at you on one road and run away on seven roads." I really like the way the version says your enemies will run away from you on seven roads. So what is so significant about about the number 7? I had this question when they first brought this up when they were teaching. In the Bible the number 7 means perfection, completion, and total victory. Did you know that there are seven redemptive names of God? I certainly didn't. Each one of these names defeat the seven major lies that the enemy tries to to bring against us. "They will run away on seven roads." I am going to share with you these names and a little about what it means to me.
The first enemy that is defeated is the enemy of lack. Jehovah Jireh- The Lord will provide. The story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22:13-14 (NLT) is a perfect example of how the Lord will provide. Abraham believed wholeheartedly that He would provide a way out of having to kill his only son. Abraham believed in the promise that he would be a father of many nations. What great faith he had. Throughout the Bible there are a countless number of times where the Lord provided. We as Christians can believe that the Lord will provide for us everyday! "Then
Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he
took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the lord it will be provided.”
The second enemy that is defeated is the enemy of sickness. Jehovah Rapha- The Lord that heals. The Lord promised us that as long as we listen carefully to Him and obey Him, He would not allow the diseases of the Egyptians( the world) to come upon us. "He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the lord
your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and
keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the
diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the lord who heals you.” Exodus 15:26 (NLT) I wish everyone would grasp this! God wants you healed and healthy all the days of your life. Think of it this way, if you are sick how can you be out spreading the gospel? It benefits not one for you to be sick. You can go read more about how to claim your health here.
The third enemy that is defeated is the enemy of failure. Jehovah Nissi- the Lord our banner and victory. Exodus 17:8-15(NLT) "While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. Moses
commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of
Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding
the staff of God in my hand.” So
Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek.
Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As
long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the
advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the
advantage. Moses’
arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and
Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of
Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
After the victory, the lord
instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder,
and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from
under heaven.” Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the lord is my banner”)." When we feel like a failure we can always shout the Lord is my victory! He will make everything work together for my good. (Romans 8:28) "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."
The fourth enemy that is defeated is the enemy of worry. Jehovah Shalom- The Lord our Peace. Judges 6:24 (NLT) "And Gideon built an altar to the lord there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means “the lord is peace”). The altar remains in Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer to this day." There are so many verses in the Bible that say don't worry. So many people worry about every little thing. When you understand how much the Lord loves you, you will understand the peace that comes with it. There is nothing He can't do for you. This kind of goes back to how He provides for us. We have nothing to worry about.
"Casting
the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your
concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully." (1 Peter 5:7, AMP)
"Cast
your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will
sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be
moved (made to slip, fall, or fail)." (Psalm 55:22, AMP)
The fifth enemy that is defeated is the enemy of confusion. Jehovah-Ra-ah - The Lord my Shepherd. Psalm 23: 1-3 (NKJV) "The Lord is my shepherd;I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake." I have dealt with a lot of confusion. I know it is from the enemy but sometimes I still struggle. These verses remind me that He is here with me guiding me along the the path He has for me. I am thankful that He is always there and that as long as I look to Him there will be no confusion. He leads me!
The sixth enemy that is defeated is the enemy of condemnation. Jehovah- Tsidkenu- The Lord our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:5-6 (NLT) “For the time is coming,”says the lord, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. And this will be his name: ‘The lord Is Our Righteousness.’ In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety." Through His sacrifice we were made righteous. Romans 5:9 says, "Therefore, since we are now justified (acquitted, made righteous, and
brought into right relationship with God) by Christ's blood, how much
more [certain is it that] we shall be saved by Him from the indignation and wrath of God." This shows just how much He loves us. Even in all of our messiness He still loves us. He still wants us and He chose each one of us for a purpose. Once we receive His gift of grace we can live with Him. He doesn't remember any of your sins any longer.
"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:12, NKJV) So when condemnation comes you can tell the devil to get out, I am the righteousness of God.
The seventh and final enemy that is defeated is the enemy of fear. Jehovah- Shammah -The Lord is There. Ezekiel 48:35 (NLT) “The distance around the entire city will be 6 miles. And from that day the name of the city will be ‘The lord Is There.'" This has been my biggest struggle for me in the last year. The devil came at me with a crippling fear and I let him have his way for months. It was to the point where I was physically sick. One day I just said, "NO MORE!" I started speaking verses like 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God
did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and
cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and
of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control." and 1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and
expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of
punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity
of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection]." over myself. The Lord has done a miraculous work in my life since then. I am healthy and free from fear. The devil still tries to creep in with fear but I know how to stop him dead in his tracks. There is no turning back! God has promised me a long, healthy life that is free from fear! I choose that! Knowing everyday that the Lord is There with me is enough for me. Everyday He shows me something new and I don't every want that to stop. I will continue to seek His face everyday until the day I die or He comes back for us.
There is one last verse I want to leave with you and it seems fitting for the story I just gave. James 4:7, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you [as in Stark (complete) Terror]." The devil will flee from me in complete terror! God is greater than anything we will ever face and the devil has to flee from God!
So I thought this was awesome and I had to share. I might do more blog posts on each verse in Deuteronomy 28:1-14. I am going to dig deeper in to each verse and learn more about God's promises. I would encourage you to go to www.kcm.org and listen to these broadcasts on Deuteronomy 28:1-14.
~Until Next Time~
