Leviticus 26:3-4 "If you walk in my statutes and observe
my commandments and do them, (4) then I will give you your rains in their
season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall
yield their fruit.
Leviticus 26:11-13 I will make my dwelling among you, and my
soul shall not abhor you. (12) And I will walk among you and will be your
God, and you shall be my people. (13) I am the LORD your God, who brought you out
of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken
the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
Leviticus 26:14-16 "But if you will not listen to me and
will not do all these commandments, (15) if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul
abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my
covenant, (16) then I will do this to you: I will visit you
with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the
heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Leviticus 26:40-45 "But if they confess their iniquity and
the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against
me, and also in walking contrary to me, (41) so that I walked contrary to them and brought
them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is
humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, (42)
then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my
covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the
land. (43) But the land shall be abandoned by them and
enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them, and they shall make
amends for their iniquity, because they spurned my rules and their soul
abhorred my statutes. (44) Yet for all that, when they are in the land
of their enemies, I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to
destroy them utterly and break my covenant with them, for I am the LORD their
God. (45) But I will for their sake remember the
covenant with their forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the
sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD."
This particular chapter makes for both encouraging and sobering
reading. There are wonderful promises made by God if the people remain faithful
to His commandments. Surely having read of these promises, the people of Israel
would have been adequately motivated to live in obedience. These promises and
the kind of life that they would lead to, is something that all of us desire.
We want to live in peace and security, we want to have all our needs supplied
and for there to be an abundance. As Christians we desire to know close
fellowship with God, to know the presence and blessing of God. Had Israel lived
in obedience to God, they would have been envied by all the world, all mankind
would want to be a part of Israel, to enjoy all these rich blessings from God.
Unfortunately the chapter gives more time to the consequences for
their disobedience than the blessing for obedience. We must not think that this
is because God would rather punish them, or that God takes delight in thinking
up all kinds of suffering that He can inflict upon them. This lengthy section
on the consequences for their disobedience gives evidence of the fact that God
is no fool, and God knows the future. Despite all the promises and pledges made
by the people to walk in faithfulness and obedience, God knew that they would
fail and quickly turn aside to disobedience. These consequences are stated
clearly and explicitly to warn the people that God was serious about obedience,
God was serious about His glory and He should not be taken lightly, taken advantage
of or disregarded. To do so would be to invite the judgement and discipline of
God.
However it is important for us to note that God’s wrath, judgement and
discipline are not without mercy. God clearly tells them that if they should
acknowledge their guilt, their sin, repent of it and return to Him, then He
will forgive them, He will heal them and He will restore them. God is holy, God
will deal with sin, but God is merciful and willing to forgive.
For us as believers in Christ we need to give attention to this
chapter and not make the mistake of thinking that there is no application to
us. We have been given more, we have been given a greater privilege, position,
promise and possession. God’s grace towards us is beyond what we can fathom,
for it is not the blood of a lamb that was shed to secure our lives and
salvation from slavery, but it was the blood of the Lamb, God the Son shed for
us. We now live in a state of tremendous blessing, in fact if we take time
meditate upon this we will quickly realise that amongst all mankind we are the
most blessed. Who else apart from the believer in Christ can call God, Father?
Who else apart from the believer in Christ is called a child of God? Who else
apart from the believer in Christ has the Spirit of God living within them? Who
else apart from the believer has the certain promise of a glorious eternity in
God’s Kingdom?
We are blessed beyond what we deserve! But let us not make the mistake
that the nation of Israel made by taking all this out pouring of God’s grace
and favour for granted. They presumed that because they were God’s covenant
people, God would always be faithful to them, He would never punish them. They
failed to remember that God is holy, just and jealous for His glory. This led
them to become casual about obedience, which quickly led to compromise and sin.
As believers in Christ we may have eternal security and all the promises of
Christ, but let us not become casual about the holiness, glory and honour of
God. Let us not because casual about obedience towards God and the service and
worship of God. If we seek to live in obedience, for the glory and honour of
God, we will know in greater measure the blessings and presence of God, our
relationship with God will grow closer and all the more precious. But if we
turn aside from obedience, we will come under the hand of God’s discipline, a
discipline that will not be pleasant, but is necessary, is for our good so as
to bring us back to repentance and renewed obedience.
We are the most blessed of all men, both here on earth and for all
eternity, we have all the promises of Christ, heaven is our home, God is our
Father and His Spirit is within us. What more could we ask or want for? Let us
therefore walk in joy-filled, loving and willing obedience to our good and
gracious God.
Holy, glorious, just Father, thank You
for the many, rich and undeserved blessings that You have given to us in Christ
Jesus. They are truly beyond what we can fathom and what we know now on this
earth is but the beginning, is but a small foretaste. Help us to set our eyes
upon You, upon Your awesome holiness, majesty, glory, goodness and grace. May
we keep in our minds all that which Christ has done for us and given to us. We
pray that this would help us to walk in greater obedience of You, for the glory
of Your name. Amen.
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