Difficulty Can Be An Expression Of Grace

Deuteronomy 11:13-14---And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

Many of the promises of God are conditional. There is an "if you..." and a "then I will..." In this passage, God tells the Children of Israel that their economy is dependent on their obedience. God did give them certain laws that would make their agrarian lifestyle more productive. He also brought them to a land that was dependent on seasonal rains. Farmers throughout the ages have had to depend on the Weather Maker. It was an incentive to obey God. When they turned from God and had a drought, they tried other gods that claimed to bring rain, like Baal. At the moment of writing this, the place I am living is experiencing extreme drought. The government of the area recently repealed what they called 'antiquated laws', laws that had to do with sexual morality. "Those came from the Bible and we don't all believe in the Bible anymore," they say. But that is not true. All western law is Biblically based. Society has just chosen to pick and choose the laws they will enforce. That does not change the promises of God. In this drought with devastating forest fires, I have not heard one person say there is a need for us to repent. I hear, "Pray for rain." That is general enough so as to offend no one. We have forgotten that God is the Weather Maker and that many of His promises are conditional.