Scriptures with Stipulations-You will be the Head and not the Tail

November 24, 2024

Scriptures with Stipulations-You will be the Head and not the Tail

The Word of God is filled with so many assurances and guarantees that He has allowed His children to take advantage of. The unfortunate thing is that a lot of us don’t see those promises manifest in our lives because we don’t apply them correctly. There are so many Scriptures in the Lord’s Word that have stipulations attached to them that need to be carried out properly in order for them to be effective.

The problem is a lot of Christians today do not take the time to study the Scriptures for themselves. Instead they rely on a preacher on a Sunday afternoon to spoon-feed them the Word of God. The pastor may leave out parts of the verse of Scripture that he is preaching from if it doesn’t line up with his or her sermon.

So what ends up happening is you get bits and pieces of God’s Word but not in its entire context. It is so important that we study to show ourselves approved, 2 Timothy 2:15. Meaning that we have to open the Bible and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into absolute truth. There is no better Teacher than the One that inspired the Word of God to begin with.

We cannot afford to live a lackadaisical Christian life where we don’t pray, we don’t study the Scriptures, and we don’t develop our relationship with the Lord. What that will do is prevent you from gaining all of the promises that the Lord intended for us to have. That is why the devil fights you so strongly when it comes to reading your Bible.

He knows that the key to your breakthrough, an abundant life, and a victorious life, etc. are saturated throughout Scripture. I cannot tell you how important it is to read God’s Word for yourself! I learned this lesson the hard way. I could not understand why the Lord’s promises were not working the way that they should in my life. It wasn’t until I understood that a great amount of God’s assurances came with stipulations attached to them that I began to apply them accurately!

Let’s take a look at one of the most popular passages of Scripture that a lot of people hear but miss the condition associated with it.

Deuteronomy 28:13

“And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.”

When we read this entire passage of Scripture completely it reveals a stipulation connected to it. God is very specific letting us know that we will be the head and not the tail, and above and not beneath but then He mentions the word “if.” What is the requirement that the Lord is giving us here? He is telling us that in order to validate this Biblical Principle or Spiritual law we need to heed to His commandments and observe them.

The spiritual realm is governed by spiritual laws established by the Lord that both the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness have to abide by, 1 John 3:4. The Lord will never go against His Word and in fact places it above His own Name, Psalm 138:2.

This is so significant to understand when it comes to accurately applying God’s Word to your life. We have to learn how to properly apply Scripture because if we aren’t following the Word of God in its entirety but only submitting to parts of the Bible we aren’t going to see any results in our lives.

Let’s take a closer look at the passage of Scripture out of Deuteronomy. The words “the head” being used here is the Hebrew word “rō’š” which means: relating to dignity, power, and influence. The words “the tail” being used is the Hebrew word “zānāḇ” which means: of common people that are opposed to rulers.

When we piece these significant words together we can determine that the Lord is telling us that His will is that we are the ones with power and influence in the world instead of just a common person that disobeys the rulers in charge. God wants to give His children every promise that He has established for us in His Word. However there are stipulations that need to be met in order for His promises to work effectively.

Moses lays out the stipulation that is attached to this passage of Scripture Deuteronomy 28:13. He uses the word “if” meaning that if you do what the stipulation is telling you to do then you will receive the outcome. The words “take heed” being used is the Hebrew word “šāmaʿ” which means: to obey and be obedient. The words “to observe” being used is the Hebrew word “šāmar” which means: to keep. Then Moses references what we are to take heed and observe God’s commandments.

So breaking it down we can see that the Lord is making it plain to us that we will receive the promise of being the head and not the tail and above and not beneath. There is a prerequisite that needs to be made in order to receive this guarantee and that is that we are to be obedient and keep God’s commandments.

The thing that a lot of people fail to understand is the fact that what God will do what He said He will do. Numbers 23:19 describes, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Every word that the Lord gives us is absolute and He will do what He says He will do.

Unfortunately we don’t study to show ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15) and so what happens is we don’t accurately put the Word of Truth into proper context. When we follow God’s precepts and Biblical law found in the New Testament and the Old Testament, we will see God’s hand move on our behalf. What an amazing assurance!

Conclusion

The Lord has so many promises scattered throughout the entire Bible. Every one of them is for was put there for His children. The thing is that a lot of the guarantees that He has given us come with stipulations or conditions attached to them. If you are not reading the Word of God for yourself, you are going to miss some of these promises that the Lord wants us to have.

God wants His children to be the head and not the tail, above only and never beneath, but He has given us the prerequisite to these amazing assurances and that is that we are to take heed to His commandments and keep them. What that means is that you cannot just live your life any kind of way not abiding by the Lord’s stipulations found in His Word. He requires obedience and full submission.

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Scriptures with Stipulations-Resist the Devil

Scriptures with Stipulations-Trust the Lord with all of your heart

Scriptures with Stipulations-Seeking God’s Kingdom

Scriptures with Stipulations-No Weapon Formed will Prosper

Scriptures with Stipulations-All Things Work Together For Your Good

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Confess and Repent

Recognizing Spiritual Strongholds

What are Spiritual Strongholds?

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 1

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 2

The Spiritual Laws of God-Restoration

The Spiritual Laws of God-The General Principles

The Spiritual Laws of God-The Power of Your Tongue!

The Spiritual Laws of God-Having an Understanding

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