Isa 48:18 (ESV)
18 Oh that you had paid attention to my
commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your
righteousness like the waves of the sea;
NOTE: This is
certainly an old covenant-based statement. It goes back to the provisions in
Deuteronomy 29, the curses and the blessings. We misinterpret the old covenant
as applying to us and that is not true. We are under the new covenant. But the
old covenant does teach us and does provide insight into God's plan and
workings with people (Rom 15:4). Additionally, the book of Hebrews teaches
about discipline as a father disciplines his son for disobedient believers (Heb
12:7). So, there is a certain amount of truth in this verse that is applicable
today. We are NOT in a health and wealth gospel, but God does bless obedience.
The blessings may not be material as in the old covenant, but God does bless
his children. Peace and righteousness are internal blessings which relate very
nicely to the new covenant. I don't think it is unusual to expect a certain
amount of peace by living obediently to God. And an obvious effect would be for
our righteousness and our witness to be affected by our obedience. Finally,
there is a reward in heaven for us at the end of times that will be dependent
upon how we lived on earth.
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