Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Service » The reward for serving the lord
Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth (pagan goddesses) from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him only; and He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines.”
If you will fear the Lord [with awe and profound reverence] and serve Him and listen to His voice and not rebel against His commandment, then both you and your king will follow the Lord your God [and it will be well].
And if you will diligently heed My commandments which I command you this day -- "to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being -- " I will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, that you may eat and be full.
Behold! God is mighty, and yet despises no one nor regards anything as trivial; He is mighty in power of understanding and heart. He does not prolong the life of the wicked, but gives the needy and afflicted their right. He withdraws not His eyes from the righteous (the upright in right standing with God); but He sets them forever with kings upon the throne, and they are exalted. read more.
And if they are bound in fetters [of adversity] and held by cords of affliction, Then He shows to them [the true character of] their deeds and their transgressions, that they have acted arrogantly [with presumption and self-sufficiency]. He also opens their ears to instruction and discipline, and commands that they return from iniquity. If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness and joy.
And if they are bound in fetters [of adversity] and held by cords of affliction, Then He shows to them [the true character of] their deeds and their transgressions, that they have acted arrogantly [with presumption and self-sufficiency]. He also opens their ears to instruction and discipline, and commands that they return from iniquity. If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness and joy.
Now do not stiffen your neck [becoming obstinate] like your fathers, but yield to the Lord and come to His sanctuary which He has sanctified and set apart forever, and serve the Lord your God, so that His burning anger will turn away from you.
You shall serve the Lord your God; He shall bless your bread and water, and I will take sickness from your midst. None shall lose her young by miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. I will send My terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people to whom you shall come, and I will make all your foes turn from you [in flight].