1 Kings 9: 2 Chronicles 8: Deductive Reasoning and God's Favor

The Bible has many examples of deductive reasoning. According to Math Planet "If we instead use facts, rules and definitions then it's called deductive reasoning."


1 Kings 9:4-7
Amplified Bible (AMP)

4 And if you will walk before Me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, keeping My statutes and My precepts,

5 Then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, There shall not fail you [to have] a man upon the throne of Israel.

6 But if you turn away from following Me, you or your children, and will not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you but go and serve other gods and worship them,

7 Then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them, and this house I have hallowed for My Name (renown) I will cast from My sight. And Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all the peoples.

Deductive reasoning is logical, and God is the Author of logic.  The "if" statements in the above verses lay out man's actions, while the "then" statements reveal God's response.

If we obey God, then He will pour out His favor on us!  But God cannot be limited by human logic or by a mathematical formula.

I know plenty of Jesus-loving Christians who obey the Lord and are in right standing with Him who don't appear to be basking in His favor.  The "if, then" statement in their lives seems false.

Maybe it's our faulty understanding of favor.  As Americans, we tend to conceptualize favor as the manifestation of material blessings...a nice car, a big house, a high-paying job, but even though favor may include material blessings, it is so much more than the material, which fades away.

God's favor looks like eternal attributes...peace, protection, wisdom, love, etc.  A person can be in the midst of extreme difficulty, yet still be basking in the favor of the Lord.

What is the point, I'm attempting to make?

As Christians, we should be mindful of how we view the favor of God.  

• God's favor does not necessarily equal material blessings.

• God's favor does not necessarily equal a disease free body.

• God's favor does not necessarily equal a perfect life free from trials.

Because I love You, Lord, I will obey You and You will pour out Your favor on me because of Jesus!