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From Abraham's call to leave Ur of the Chaldees (Gen. 11:31-12:4), to the Exodus from Egypt, God had a special calling and purpose for His people. Throughout the Israelites’ history, there is a common pattern which can be traced on our own journey as well. When the Israelites lived up to their calling, they enjoyed His blessing, and when they didn’t, they experienced failure and defeat. This second generation were on the move towards finally possessing the Promised Land, and Moses wanted them to avoid failure and defeat. In Chapter 7, He gave them God’s instructions for how they were to live up to their calling, which are still God’s instructions for us today.

Four action steps required to live up to your calling:

1. Resist compromise (vs. 1-5)

- Do not settle for anything less than God’s revealed expectations and desires for His children

- The danger of compromise is hearts being turned away from following God, which arouses His anger (vs. 4, cf. Dt. 6:15-16)

Living up to our calling as God’s children requires vigilantly fighting the temptation to compromise on God’s revealed will for our lives (cf. 2 Cor. 7:1, Col. 3:1-10).

2. Embrace our identity as a ‘people holy to the Lord our God’ (vs. 6-11)

- The desire to live up to our calling will be fueled by embracing a true understanding that we belong to the Lord (vs. 6, cf. Jn. 1:12; 15:16; 1 Cor. 6:19-20)

- Realizing the privileged identity we have been given should stir our hearts to live up to our calling (vs. 11, cf. Mt. 5:13-16; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:17-20)

Living up to our calling as God’s children requires knowing ‘whose’ we are, how we became His, and desiring to do what He asks of us (1 Pt. 2:9-12).

3. Obey God’s commands and enjoy His blessings (vs. 12-16)

- Living in obedience to God’s commands provides the greatest opportunity to experience the fullness of God’s covenant love (vs. 12, cf. vs 9; 28:1-2; Jn. 15:9-11)

- Obedience always results in spiritual blessing, and not always material blessing (cf. Heb. 5:7-9; Ps. 119:1-3 Prov. 8:32; Mt. 7:21; Lk. 11:28; 1 Jn. 2:17)

Living up to our calling as God’s children and enjoying His blessings requires wholehearted obedience.

4. Trust and fear our great and awesome God (vs. 17-26)

- Fear of man cannot be an excuse for disobedience (vs. 17, cf. Mt. 10:28)

- God’s presence with us should fuel our obedience (vs. 20-24, cf. Ex. 33:12-17; Num. 14:9)

- Knowing He controls our future allows us to focus on obeying Him today (vs. 22-24; cf. Prov. 3:5-6)

- The fear of God will keep us from being ensnared by our disobedience (vs. 25-26, cf. 5:29; Job 28:28; Prov. 3:7; 8:13)

Living up to our calling as God’s children requires us to learn to live in total trust, and in fear of our great and awesome God.

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