"So That " Points to Consequences

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I have noticed as I read the Word it is often the smallest words or phrases that have the most profound statements behind them.  Take, for instance, the phrase "so that."  While learning to study my bible inductively, one of the phrases Kay Arthur teaches you to look for is the phrase "so that."  When I first began to interrogate the text, I couldn't quite grasp the importance of those two little word.  But now, every time I come across them a blinking neon light goes off in my head that prompts me to slow down and take a closer look.  Upon doing so, I inevitably discover on either side of the "so that" is two other small, but powerful, words . . . "if" and "then."

King David stood before all of Israel to address them about the temple that his son, Solomon, would build.  He had a very important message to deliver to his people and to the soon-to-be king.  After he reminds them of all that God has said regarding them as a people and the kingly lineage, David speaks the heart of God to all of them.  (I Chronicles 28: 1-10)  In his address to them, tucked between the implied "if" and "then" is a very powerful "so that."  Here is how it reads:

"So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, [the "if you will"] observe and seek after all the commandments of the LORD your God SO THAT you may possess the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you [ the "then you will"]."  

Do you see it?  "So that" so often means what blessings God will bestow on us in return for our obedience to Him.  In the case of the Israelites, it sounded like this:  "If you are obedient to all of My commands, then I will give all of the land to you so that you can pass it on to your children."  It can also mean what consequences might come for disobedience.  God could have just as easily stated this same verse from a negative point of view.  That would have sounded something like this:  "Refusal to obey Me will result in disaster SO THAT you may not possess the land and pass it on to your children." "So that" points to the "then," the action God will take, whether favorably or unfavorably.

 You can see it again in the following verse (vs.9) as David speaks to his son.  "If you seek Him, (then) He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, (then) He will reject you forever."  Either response from Solomon will surely have the appropriate consequence!

Just prior to the if/then of verse 9 you can clearly see the way to avoid the unfavorable consequences in your own life.  It is as true for you today as it was for Solomon hundreds of years ago.  It is simple, and yet profound and eludes the grasp of many Christians.  These 4 points are timeless and will never fail you:

1. Know God
2. Serve Him
3. Give Him your entire heart
4. Willing follow

In every choice you make God wants you to know Him so well that you choose as He would have you.  It matters not how you serve Him, but that you serve Him alone.  God does not want your leftovers, but your whole heart.  God wants you to stop leading so that He can!

"Consider now . . . be courageous and ACT!"  (2 Chronicles 28:10)  As the picture says, "If you'd just do as you are told, then it might all work out right!"  Obedience and disobedience are choices.  What will you choose?