Does Exodus 23:25 Promise God’s Blessing if We Worship Him?

When God covenanted with Abraham that nations would come from him as recorded in Genesis, Abraham was an old man with no children. But God kept His promise and gave Abraham a son – Isaac. Abraham’s grandsons Jacob and Esau both went on to have many children.

The account of Exodus continues to follow the line of Jacob as they grow from 12 sons into a nation that had a unique relationship with the God who created the universe. After they left Egypt, God formalized their relationship with law, with blessings for when they are pursuing Him rightly, and outlining the ramifications for when they are not in one accord with Him. During this time in the wilderness at Mount Sinai, God declared,

“You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you” (Exodus 23:25).

This blessing, which was made at the same time the law was established, assured the soon-to-be nation of Israel that if they loved Him and kept His ways, He would bless them with good food, an abundance of water, and health. This covenant with the nation of Israel gives insight into the patterns of strength and weakness through the centuries, and can encourage believers today as an assurance of God’s love, though it does not apply to the church the same way.

What Does This Verse Mean?

What Is the Context of Exodus 23?

In many cultures, the relationship between a person’s tribal and ethnic identity can be deeply tied to their religious practices. Tribes and cultures had their specific deities they worshipped. As a general pattern across time, this has held true.

After Adam and Eve sinned, God told the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). To bring about the family line from which this man (Jesus Christ) – who would bruise the head of the serpent – would come, God identified a man, Abram. Through him, God would create a family which would become a nation.

Abram became Abraham, who begat Isaac, who begat Jacob, who became Israel. Through Jacob’s 12 sons, 12 tribes developed. During a time of famine, Jacob and his sons settled in Egypt, leading to the enslavement of their descendants.

Why Will God Bless Those Who Worship Him?  

God blessed the nation of Israel during their times of obedience because Israel was called to be a nation that demonstrated His love, power, justice, and mercy to the world, so they may be drawn to Him. “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:6-7).

God made covenants with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the entire Hebrew people. When they kept their part of the covenant, they received God’s blessings and protection. When they did not, He allowed them to experience the consequences of their actions, but always restored them.