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The Blessing of Abraham from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

God knows how to help people who are going through a hard time, for He is a delivering God. Even when our own actions have landed us there, He can bring us back from the brink of destruction. He always tells the enemy, "Let My people go!" Yet, far too many times, He sets us free, and we return to bondage like a washed sow that returns to wallowing in the mud, because we like the mud (2 Peter 2:22). 

In ancient Israel, if someone got into such severe financial trouble that they had to sell their family land, their closest relative with the means, called a "kinsman-redeemer," could step in and buy the land back for them. 

If they became so impoverished that they sold themselves into servitude to others, their kinsman-redeemer could buy them back from slavery. He could buy their freedom. This is demonstrated in the book of Ruth when she and her mother-in-law Naomi were living in poverty as widows, and their wealthy relative Boaz stepped in and redeemed them (Ruth 4:8).

God valued personal freedom and dignity and wanted to prevent everlasting poverty among His people. His people should not live in eternal lack. There was never a lack of anything in the life of Jesus, but an abundance for every good work.

Jesus Christ is our wealthy Kinsman-Redeemer:

(Galatians 3:13–14 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"), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Also see: (Titus 2:13–14) (1 Peter 1:18–19). 

Abraham's blessing would come on Gentiles, non-Jewish people like me, and Abraham was indeed very blessed.

(Genesis 24:1 NKJV)  Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

Notice "all things." When we listen to the Lord's commandments and love God with all our heart, mind, and strength, we will automatically begin to break free of the things that bind us. The more of ourselves we give to Him, the more free and blessed we will be.

I am speaking of the benefits of a long life of following God's will, not immediate rewards. Righteousness through faith in Christ should naturally lead to obedience to God's commands. Faith without works is dead faith. Each of us faces our own trials and tribulations in this life. We all have to overcome things.

Our faith starts small and grows like a mustard seed. In time, it brings great rewards. In fact, faith and rewards are linked:

(Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Obedient, ever-increasing faith brings rewards:

(Psalm 1:1–3 NKJV)  Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

"Whatever he does shall prosper" sounds a lot like the blessing of Abraham, when God blessed Abraham in "all things." Let's look at another:

(Psalm 37:4–5 NKJV)  Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

Who will the Lord give the desires of their heart? The one who delights in Him. Yet, life is not always a honeymoon and sometimes we get distracted like David with Bathsheba. That was a temporary hiccup in David's life that brought God's judgment on him. It happens, but don't make it a lifestyle, or your new lifestyle will be living under His judgment.

Don't be fooled into thinking that your actions no longer matter because you are "saved." Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus's twelve Apostles and was lost because of his actions. When you make a mistake, repent, ask for forgiveness, and continue on. We are not sinless, but we should try to sin less. If you feel differently, pray about it and see what He tells you.

(Hebrews 12:4–7 NASB)  You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

That's a lot of discipline. The good news is that there is always redemption. In the book of Jeremiah, God warns Israel of the coming judgment because they were worshiping every god under the stars. The first 28 chapters are doom and gloom, but after Babylon captures Jerusalem and carries most of the inhabitants into exile, God's tone suddenly changes in chapter 29.

(Jeremiah 29:11–13 NKJV)  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Judgment is never God's desire. It's given to change our course, to cause us to come to our senses like the prodigal son. In Jeremiah, God rebooted the nation of Israel. He gave the land seventy years of rest and then brought the exiles back to rebuild. 

Their nation's judgment could have probably been avoided by repentance, prayer, and fasting, like Nineveh in the book of Jonah. Instead, they tried to kill His prophets and ignored the messengers He sent them until they were destroyed and carried into exile. 

"Oh, we have God on our side!" No, they didn't. It's called "Ichabod," meaning the glory has departed (1 Samuel 4:21). In that story, Eli was the high priest in Israel, and his two sons who served with him were "worthless men who did not know the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:12). 

When Israel went to battle with the Philistines, they started to lose, so they sent Eli's sons to bring the ark of the covenant onto the battlefield, thinking the power of God would be with them. But it is about our relationship and not objects, so the Lord let those priests be killed and the sacred ark captured. People tend to think God is with them long after He has left. Yet, we can repent and be spared from His judgment:

(2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV)  if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You so much for another day. Please forgive us and our country for ignoring You and chasing every god under the stars. Give us Godly leadership like David. Spare us from judgment a while longer and draw our hearts to You. Revive us, Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!