Deut 7:9    Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

     

This verse is both a statement of the truth about God and a conclusion or outworking of all that the Lord had done. Let's consider it, first of all, as a simple statement about God. The Lord established a covenant with Israel at Sinai. We saw yesterday: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Ex 19:5,6) That was the promised covenant: you obey what I say and I will make you a special people who will be blessed by me. Today's verse declares that the Lord is faithful and will always keep to that agreement. As long as His people obeyed Him He would ALWAYS bless them.

 

But, in context, it is a conclusion of what has just been said: “it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery.” (v.8). The Lord had redeemed them from Egypt and made them a special nation. He had established His covenant with them on the basis of His promises to Abram. All of His activities in respect of Israel reveal that He is a God who has a purpose for this people and He is faithful to that purpose and will bless and bless and bless all those who love Him and keep to the covenant established.

God is faithful then – and He is now. He is unchanging! How much more so under the New Covenant made through Jesus! All of this applies as much to us today as it did to them then. As we never tire of saying, He has redeemed us from the slavery of domination by Satan in 'the world' (see 1 Jn 5:19), and He has established an everlasting covenant with us through Jesus, a covenant that He will always keep - because He is faithful. It is a covenant to bless us and bless us, as His children, and it is there for whoever will receive it, and it is a cast iron, guaranteed certainty - because He IS faithful. Thank Him, praise Him, and worship Him for that.