“But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham, My friend — I brought you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said to you: You are My servant; I have chosen you and not rejected you.” Isaiah 41:8-9 HCSB https://www.bible.com/72/isa.41.8-9.hcsb
Abraham obeyed God and He was called by God as friend. Because of the love Abraham had for God He was blessed and all mankind will be blessed by God. Blessing does not mean noting bad will happen it just means that God will turn around the bad to make it into something great. God did not just blessed Abraham all at once but over time and Abraham had to wait longer than most of us for God to provide.
“Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected. So the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, and he was called God’s friend. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
James 2:20-24 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/jas.2.20-24.hcsb
Because Abraham believed God His kids would see the blessings of God in their lives to up 1000 Generations. This includes Isaac, Jacob (Israel), His 12 sons, David, Solomon, Jesus, the 12 disciples, Paul, you and me. We are been grafted into the blessings God is pouring out to the descendants of Abraham.
“Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.”
Exodus 20:4-6 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/exo.20.4-6.hcsb
“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.”
Galatians 3:27-29 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/gal.3.27-29.hcsb
But here is the kicker you must obey God. Blessings do not come through disobedience, consequences do. And punishment to does not come after obedience, blessings do.
We are God’s servants. We must want to follow and Obey Him. God calls the sinner to repentance and then He calls the righteous to Himself.
“In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, ‘We are good-for-nothing slaves; we’ve only done our duty.’ ””
Luke 17:10 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/luk.17.10.hcsb
““If you love Me, you will keep My commands.
The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”
Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me.”
John 14:15, 21, 23-24 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/jhn.14.15,21,23-24.hcsb
Love and obedience go hand in hand. You cannot have one with out the other. If you obey it is because you either love them or you fear them. And if you love them you will want to obey them. If you fear them then you are only obeying because you have to. With God it is not to be half hearted obedience, but a genuine obedience out of love. We fear God because He is the only true absolute power, but He does not force anyone to believe and obey Him. It is still up to us. He want you and me to want to obey Him.
““Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/deu.6.4-5.hcsb
““This is the most important,” Jesus answered: Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. “The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.””
Mark 12:29-31 HCSB
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