If the Israelites: (26:3)
- Live by God's decrees and obediently keep His commandments
Then God will: (26:3-13)
- Send the rains in season
- Cause the ground to yield crops
- Give them more than enough to eat
- Make the country a place of peace
- Get rid of wild beasts
- Eliminate war
- Defeat Israel's enemies
- Cause them to prosper
- Cause them to grow in numbers
- Keep His covenant with them in good working order
- Set up His residence in their neighborhood
Else God will: (26:14-39)
- Step in and pour on the trouble - disease, fevers, blindness
- Allow Israel's enemies to reap their crops
- Turn His back and allow their enemies to defeat them
- Break their strong pride
- Set wild animals on them
- Cause them to live in a ghost town
- Let war loose on Israel
- Send a deadly epidemic
- Allow famine leading to cannibalism
- Turn their cities to rubble
- Scatter the Israelites all over the world and keep after them with a sword at their backs
- Give them over to fearful timidity
- Allow them to rot away in enemy lands
Pretty straightforward, huh? The Israelites have only one decision to make: will they obey God, or will they not? And from that decision, God will either bless or curse. They make their choice, but God determines the consequences. The ball's in their court.
Sounds familiar. Everyday I get to make the choice; it's the one decision that most affects the outcome of my day, my week, my life.
Will I choose to obey God today? Will I yield myself to Him and His ways, or will I give in to my fleshly desires to do things my way? Either way, there are consequences.
Don't be misled: No person makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others - ignoring God! - harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvest a crop of real life, eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8
I pray for a harvest of real life, for me and for you!
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We made it! Today is the last day of reading in the book of Leviticus.
So what's lingering with you from this book? What is God whispering (or shouting) to you?
We'd love to hear your thoughts, whatever you'd like to share.
6 comments:
Staci and Cici,
Thank you for leading us on this adventure and taking the time to provide such insightful posts. I have to say that I am totally digging reading the Message version of the bible.
Honestly, I have not spent much time in the old testament and I literally jump out of bed in the morning to see what God has to say. It is fascinating to learn more about the character of God. I think there is a tendency to spend a lot of time in the new testament and it is "nice" ya know, the "good news" and sometimes I can get a little lax, but in the old testament you get to see where it all comes from and just how SERIOUS God is about it all!
Rambling...all to say thank you for leading us such an illuminating and spirit filling adventure.
Liz
"I am God, your God," is what shouted to me during this book. It seems that when I'd get bogged down with the details of offerings or deals between people and priests, this declaration would show up. It would bring me back to the "main theme", if you will. So, while Levticus is heavy with tedious detail, I see it in a new light and part of His big love letter to us.
Thanks, Cici and Staci. for your commitment, perseverence, and shared insights in this study.
A couple of things struck me in these last two chapters. ( I thought hey were really powerfrand really enjoyed hearing God's summaries ).
1) In chapter 26, God repeatedly says that He'll punish their sin seven times over. He usually followed that by saying something about needing to do whatever it takes to get their attention, to discipline them, to break their stubborn and sinful spirits. I can relate to this. My oldest daughter (only 4.5) is incredibly strong-willed and stubborn. My husband and I have to discipline her constantly because she just has a naturally rebellious spirit. We are always exhausted at this effort, but we love her enough to not give up on he and just allow her to grow into a reckless, disobedient, rebellious teen and adult whom nobody can stand. God is like that with us. He loves us so much, and He really *gets* the severity of our sin, that He will make every drastic attempt to discipline us
and get our attention so that we don't stay selfish sinful brats whom nobody can stand, and even worse, destined for an eternity of torture in Hell.
2) In chapter 27 v.28, God says,
“But nothing that a man irrevocably devotes to God from what belongs to him, whether human or animal or family land, may be either sold or bought back. Everything devoted is holy to the highest degree; it’s God’s inalienable property."
I LOVED this! What great news!! Did you hear it? Whoever is devoted to God is FOREVER His property!! HALLELUJAH!!!! :)
I'm glad to be done with the oozing, the endless rituals, the blood splattered everywhere. But, somehow I feel a sadness that I didn't really get it -- I still haven't fully grasped what God was trying to say to me in Leviticus. I know that I'm an unholy mess with no hope outside of His purity. But, I'm still excusing my sins, blaming others, wrapped up in myself, and, at times, avoiding God because it's just too hard to go there with Him. I'd rather handle it myself. So glad there are many more love letters ahead...
What lingers with me? The presence of a holy God in my unholy life. Lev 26:11-13 "I'll set up my residence in your neighborhood, Mesa Park in Austin. I am your personal God who rescued you from darkness, from yourself. What lingers with me is that I cannot obey 613 commands in the OT because of my perverted relational energy. I can't even obey the 2 big commands without messing up. But I have a Redeemer who is my Friend who keeps roaming in my neighborhood and He is after me, determined to make me holy. May I be undone with myself.
Liz - So glad you chimed in! And thrilled to hear that you're enjoying the OT and the Message version.
Stacey - That's what's lingering with me as well - "I am God, your God." I keep repeating that to myself over and over and over again.
Della - That's a lot to type on a phone! :-) But so glad you did. I love hearing what God is saying to you.
Staci - Agreed. Glad we're done with Leviticus. I've had enough schooling for now (I think) but not sure I'm ready for adolescence!
Bev - Amen, sister! I can't obey the two big ones successfully either. (Had a mother-in-law encounter today that sent me down an irritated path...) I definitely have bad relational energy.
Love being on this journey with all of you! I look forward to "seeing" you everyday on here.
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