Feb 22: Leviticus 26-27

Feb 22. Leviticus 26-27

Congratulations! You have just gotten through another chapter of the Old Testament that a lot of people have not gotten through. I am proud of you! As we close out today’s study, we got to see what blessing comes with being obedient and walking with God and what happens when we disobey God and what God will do to us, if we choose to sin. 

Leviticus 26 God lays out the blessings and the sanctions of their covenant. It starts out with what I refer to as a dream relationship with Yahweh. IF they obey God’s laws, He will bless them beyond their wildest dreams. Bless their crops, safety, old age, and above all - He will be with them. This is the Holy God talking - He promises to be with them! He also shows that He is the one that gives all the blessings in life. One thing that I am instantly reminded of when reading this is that they are being commanded to not just be hearers of the Word of God, but doers of the Word of God. This is echoed in the New Testament by James. Then comes the sanctions part - the consequences of disobedience… Basically, if their heart is not for Yahweh and obedience is not their top priority, then God has consequences for them. God will bring pestilence and set His face against them - basically God is going to be reminding them that He is supposed to be first and they are to remember Him, love Him, and obey Him. When you are reading about the sanctions, you should be asking yourself if you would rather have God walking with you, or having God walking against you; and which one you desire to have. As a believer in Yahweh and Jesus, we should desire heavily to be walking with God, in obedience. If you are currently not, you should evaluate your heart and find out what idols have stolen your attention from Him and also ask God to get you back on track, serving Him. God disciplines those He loves, if you are walking in disobedience and if you are, then you are being disciplined because God loves you and you probably are not walking with Him. After a brief layout of consequences for disobedience, God throws in some irony - if you disobey and are taken away to live in your enemies' land, then at least the land can rest and enjoy its Sabbath, in obedience. The land obeys God and is blessed for it!

Leviticus 27 is the closing chapter of Leviticus and serves more as an addendum to the book, but is intentionally put at the end. If a person makes a pledge/vow and dedicates him or his family to the Lord, the Lord sets forth the requirements and parameters to do so. Notice over and over again, if done properly, what is pledged properly - is considered holy to the Lord. These vows made to God are above and beyond the normal sacrifice offerings - they were done willingly for those who loved God. Once a vow was made it had to be kept. Not much different than today - at the heart of this chapter, it teaches us to be a man or a woman of your word.

To sum it all up:

• If you are currently not walking with the Lord, you should evaluate your heart and find out what idols have stolen your attention from Him.
• God disciplines those He loves, and if you are being disciplined it is because God loves you and you are not walking with Him.
• Don’t make a vow, but if you do, honor it and keep what it is you have pledged before God.