God’s Covenant Plan to Bless You

A covenant is a contract … an agreement … a promise between two parties. While people can lie, change their minds, or decide to break their promises, God’s Word assures us:

God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19).

When we obey God, honor Him, and do as He asks, we have a right to depend on Him to do what He says He will do!

Galatians 3:29 tells us, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (NASB). This means the promises God made to Abraham and the children of Israel belong to us as well. Because we belong to Christ, we’ve been made heirs of God’s promises. Isn’t that awesome?

An important part of living in a rhythm of God’s blessings is to celebrate the feasts He’s designated as His appointed times to bless us (Leviticus 23:2). Many of His greatest promises are attached to the covenant He makes with us as we obediently honor Him during these feasts.

Celebrating God’s special feasts is NOT the basis of our salvation, but it IS one of the ways He intends for us to live in a rhythm and cycle of His wonderful provision and blessing in our lives.

God’s Blessings for Givers

If you examine God’s covenant with Israel, you’ll see a significant part of their obedience was giving Him offerings. Giving was a part of their worship of God, not something to rush into and get over with.

The Lord gave clear instructions on what to give … where to give … and how to give. Giving was done with great rejoicing and celebration because God’s people knew what they could expect from Him because of their obedience.

The children of Israel had a relationship with God, NOT a formula for getting their needs met. In this relationship. They knew that if they were faithful to God in their giving and their obedience to His commandments, then God would do everything He promised. It was that simple.

God wants us to live in this same kind of relationship with Him today. Honoring Him with our special offerings during His three special feasts each year is an important part of this, as Deuteronomy 16:16-17 tells us:

Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread [Passover], at the Feast of Weeks [Pentecost], and at the Feast of Tabernacles, and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.

Double-Portion Blessings

When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, God provided manna for them daily. Surely He could have made the manna last longer than a day, but He didn’t. God was teaching His children to be dependent on Him for their needs every day.

In the same way, God set up these three special feasts—Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles—to teach His children to be faithful throughout each season. If they would be faithful to keep their promise to God, He would be faithful to keep His promise to bless and provide for them.

During the Feast of Tabernacles, God’s people lived in temporary booths or tents as a reminder of His care and protection while they journeyed from Egypt to the Promised Land. This is one of the three holy convocations that is to be perpetually observed and celebrated.

God says when you come before Him with your offerings during the Feast of Tabernacles—giving as you’re able … giving according to how He has blessed you—then He promises to bless you in seven specific ways (Exodus 23:20-30):

He will send an angel before you to guard you, be an enemy to your enemies, bless you with provision, remove sickness from you, not let you die before your time, make you fruitful, and return to you what was lost. And that is just the beginning.

Joel 2 lists seven additional double-portion blessings the Lord wants to provide for His people during the Feast of Tabernacles.

1. A double portion. “He will cause the rain to come down for you – the former rain, AND the latter rain in the first month” (v. 23).

2. Financial prosperity. “The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil” (v. 24).

3. Restoration. “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (v. 25).

4. Marvelous wonders. “Praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you […] and I will show wonders” (vs. 26, 30).

5. God’s presence and favor. “You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel … My people shall never be put to shame” (v. 27).

6. Blessings for your children. “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” (v. 28).

7. Deliverance from harm or oppression. “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered” (v. 32).

Don’t Come Empty-Handed!

When God promised to give amazing breakthroughs during His appointed times, He added this important word of instruction: “They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed” (Deuteronomy 16:16).

Today, I challenge you to live in the rhythm and cycle of God’s provision and blessing. Obey Him. Honor Him. He says these days are important to Him. If the feast days are important to God, then surely they must be important to us as well.

Worship the Lord with your Feast of Tabernacles offering today. Honor His appointed times. Then watch as God will be faithful to keep His part of the covenant to bless you! This is part of YOUR inheritance in Christ.

God bless you during this special season on His calendar! I’m praying for the Lord to step into the circumstances of your life with His covenant promises as you are faithful to obey Him.