“For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing”. — Deuteronomy 2:7 (New Living Translation)

Our text is taken from the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth and final book authored by Moses, commonly known as the Pentateuch (comprised of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). Deuteronomy, to a large extent is a retrospective summary of the previous four books.

Genesis details the “in the beginning” of creation and the early history of mankind. Exodus is primarily about the Israelites bondage in Egypt, their miraculous flight from Pharaoh Ramses and their plight and deliverance in the wilderness – including God’s delivery of the “Ten Commandments” through Moses.

Leviticus is a compilation of additional laws, statutes and commandments for God’s chosen people, while Numbers is a census report of the Israelites prior to their entry into the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy reviews much of what was presented in the previous books, particularly Genesis and Exodus. However, when Moses wrote Deuteronomy he was much older and wiser, and he knew his time was nearly over.

Moreover, he was fully aware that he would NOT be going into the “Promised Land” because he’d displeased God in the wilderness – along with an entire generation which died out (as God’s punishment) during more than forty (40) years of wandering there.

God, however, did let Moses live long enough to SEE the “land flowing with milk and honey” his descendants would eventually inhabit. As such, we can safely assume that Moses definitely wanted to emphasize some points with his people. In Deuteronomy he underscores three points forcefully and repeatedly.

The three (3) points which Moses drives home in Deuteronomy are these:

1) God has chosen you (Israel) as His people and has delivered you time and time again – from slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness even unto this Promised Land and beyond,

2) If you obey God wholeheartedly, serving him diligently and obeying his commandments, then blessings in your promised land will be FREELY given to you. Moreover, nations larger, more powerful and mightier than you – inhabiting that land today (with no intention of leaving) – will be driven out by God’s awesome power and might. Power which is reserved for you as His chosen, AND

3) If you obey His Word then EVERYTHING you touch will prosper and you will lack no good thing.

My point is that these three promises are no less true for ALL believers today then for the Israelites in the wilderness centuries ago. First and foremost, through Jesus Christ, not only are we God’s chosen but we are his children, and therefore HEIRS to His entire Kingdom!

In his second letter to the church at Corinth the Apostle Paul writes, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate … and I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” – II Corinthians 6:17a, 18 (KJV). What an inspiring promise. Our Daddy is the KING!

Secondly, by obedience to God’s will – given to us through His Word, fasting, prayer, etc. – each of US has a royal birthright to our own “promised land”. That land may be mental, financial or spiritual. Or, indeed, it may be truly physical. Ever wonder why some obedient folk can buy a great house – undervalued – even in a lousy market? Because it was PROMISED to them! Through obedience to God’s will they’ve obtained His unmerited, gracious favor. And as the old saying goes, “favor ain’t fair”! ;>)

Finally, Paul echoes the words of Moses when he writes to the Thessalonians: “But as touching brotherly love … ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing” – I Thessalonians 6:9, 12 (KJV). If we simply LOVE God and one another – the essence of all Biblical statutes and prophecy – then every good thing is ours for the asking!

So, cherished reader, I ask you to examine yourself and see how you measure up concerning God’s Holy Word, His will and His ways. If you are fully and completely committed and obedient to each, then prepare yourself for a deluge of blessings too bountiful for you to even imagine, much less fully receive!

If not, then sincerely ask our Heavenly Father the following question:
Lord, what am I LACKING?

Larry W. King is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (Magna cum Laude) and heads the music group Kingdom Kru. He serves as Minister of Music at Faith Community Baptist Church under the leadership of pastors Rev. Douglas and Katherine Farley.