Keep and Seek
Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever. ~1 Chronicles 28:8
As a kid growing up, my cousins and I would play hide-and-seek for hours. With hide-and-seek, one person is designated to close his eyes and count to a certain number. While he is doing this, the other children would find somewhere to hide. When the person counting is done, he would then start looking for the others. The aim of the game was for the one counting to find everyone whom he could within a limited time frame. This morning, we want to consider a word of encouragement that David gave to his son, Solomon. As the kingdom responsibility was being handed to Solomon, David told him that he was to “keep and seek for the commandments of the LORD your God.”
There are the reasons.
God gives commandments to His people for the purpose of establishing boundaries. These boundaries are meant to keep us from straying off into areas that will get us in trouble. Boundaries are designed to keep us from trespassing. Commandments are also given to us for blessings. The keeping of God’s commandments results in the blessings of God upon us. The keeping of the commandments enables us to have the good hand of the Lord upon what we do and keeps the enemies of our faith at bay. Commandments are for our benefit and not our hurt.
There is the responsibility.
David told Solomon that he was to keep and seek. The keeping implied complete obedience to God’s Word. Obedience requires a strict adherence with no deviation. The keeping was to be done with a heart of devotion. The keeping meant a thorough understanding of what God said we could and could not do. The seeking implied, "We are to be continuously reading and studying God’s Word to know what the commandments are." There is no excuse for ignorance or saying, "I did not know God said this." The seeking requires us to seek counsel from men of God who know the Word of God. The seeking requires us to study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that does not to be ashamed and rightly dividing the word of truth. The keeping and seeking is to be daily and diligent.
There is the reward.
The psalmist said that in the keeping of them there is great reward. That reward is a clear path upon which we walk in. It is an increase of our faith. It is a closer walk with the Lord. It results in relationships that are a blessing to us. It is the answer of our prayers. It is fruitfulness in our service. It is the spread of the gospel and the start of church plants. It is the demonstration of our love for God! It is the promise of good success and the prosperity of God upon what we do.
Just as David told Solomon to keep and to seek, God desires that we also keep and seek. Make it your daily quest to keep and seek the commandments of the Lord. Are you keeping what you already know? Would you ask the Lord to temper you so that your life goal will be always to keep and seek?
Have an obedient God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Nehemiah 8-9