“That your days may be multiplied,
and the days of your children… as the days of heaven upon the earth” (Deut. 11:21)
If we obey the Lord and keep away from every kind of strange God, He will give us everything in plenty from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year (Deut. 11:12). In sickness or in poverty, He will give you all that you need: perhaps not too early, but never too late; perhaps not too much, but never too little. The Lord promised to give enough not only for the children of Israel but also for their cattle (Deut. 11:15). This means that we need not be anxious about anything, for the Lord will supply not only our obvious needs but also our smaller unknown needs.
Then the Lord gave a warning to them that they should not be deceived. I have seen many cases where people have prospered and their income has increase, and then they have drifted away from the Lord. At one time they were full of zeal, but now they have become cold. When they were in need they used to come regularly for the meetings and again and again they would ask for prayer. But now that their requests have been granted in answer to prayer, we do not see much of them, not even on Sundays! They have evidently been deceived by prosperity. So I would warn those of you who are prosperous, never cut short your time of prayer, and never keep away from the House of God.
Some people have been in the practice of giving their tithes regularly to the Lord. But now that their income has increased they wonder, “How can I give so much as tithe? It is such a large amount!” When we fail to give God’s portion to Him, we are actually robbing God! (Malachi 3:8-10). Do not rob God of His time either. Perhaps before you got married you used to spend hours in prayer but now that you are married you have no time for Him at all! This kind of robbing will bring you into spiritual barrenness. If you take God’s warning and see that you are not deceived by the attractions of the world, He will bless you richly.
We can take many valuable lessons from the instructions given to the children of Israel in Deut. 11:18. They were asked to lay up His words in their heart and in their soul: we also should let the Word of God dwell richly in our hearts (Col. 3:16). They were to bind them for a sign upon their hands, we too should carry our Bible with us wherever we go. They were to keep the words of God as frontlets before their eyes: we too should keep God’s promises before us always, and claim them daily for all our needs. They were to teach the Word of God diligently to their children. “And thou shalt teach them…unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest…and when thou walkest…when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deut. 6:7). We also have to do the same.
If we obey God in all these matters the Lord promises to multiply our days and give us days of heaven upon the earth (Deut. 11:21). All these promises can be our experience the whole year around, not only on Sundays but every day of the week. The grace of God will come flowing down upon us from heaven.