Leviticus 26 is a good read. It's the blessings and punishments the Lord details to the Isrealites for obeying or disobeying the decrees and laws handed down at Mt. Sinai.
First God lays out the blessings and they are wonderful. Abundant crops, peace, victory over enemies, God dwelling and walking among the people...the first 13 verses are brimming with promises of rewards for obeying God's decress and law.
Then, dude, there's a lot of punishments. And yes, they are terrible. The consequences of disobeying God are numerous and destructive and, quite frankly, depressing. Four times, in verses 18, 21, 24 & 28, God says that He will punish their sins 7x over. That's heavy.
But all this despair is not without hope. Starting in verse 40 God shows the way out of disobedience and wrath....confess their (the Isrealites) sins, humble their uncircumcised hearts and pay for their sins (by the sin offering set up earlier in the Law). THEN God says He will not reject them, He'll remember His convenants with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. He'll remember their land that's laid in waste.
So there's even more hope today. Since we have Christ who died for our sins as the perfect sacrifice (so we no longer need to make sin offerings annually through a high priest), we repent and confess our sins, humble our hearts to follow God and He will remember us.
The repent part is hard. Sometimes I'm truly sorry for disobeying God; other times honestly, I'm sorry for getting caught. God honors and acknowledges true repentance, which is more that just being sorry. It's being sorry for your sin and then turning away from the sin; it's changing your mind and heart and choosing God's path not your own.
Lord, today I want to walk your path, though it is narrow and reaches into the high places. Show it to me so I may follow it. And give me the strength and the desire to stay true to it.
First God lays out the blessings and they are wonderful. Abundant crops, peace, victory over enemies, God dwelling and walking among the people...the first 13 verses are brimming with promises of rewards for obeying God's decress and law.
Then, dude, there's a lot of punishments. And yes, they are terrible. The consequences of disobeying God are numerous and destructive and, quite frankly, depressing. Four times, in verses 18, 21, 24 & 28, God says that He will punish their sins 7x over. That's heavy.
But all this despair is not without hope. Starting in verse 40 God shows the way out of disobedience and wrath....confess their (the Isrealites) sins, humble their uncircumcised hearts and pay for their sins (by the sin offering set up earlier in the Law). THEN God says He will not reject them, He'll remember His convenants with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. He'll remember their land that's laid in waste.
So there's even more hope today. Since we have Christ who died for our sins as the perfect sacrifice (so we no longer need to make sin offerings annually through a high priest), we repent and confess our sins, humble our hearts to follow God and He will remember us.
The repent part is hard. Sometimes I'm truly sorry for disobeying God; other times honestly, I'm sorry for getting caught. God honors and acknowledges true repentance, which is more that just being sorry. It's being sorry for your sin and then turning away from the sin; it's changing your mind and heart and choosing God's path not your own.
Lord, today I want to walk your path, though it is narrow and reaches into the high places. Show it to me so I may follow it. And give me the strength and the desire to stay true to it.
I love this! This is great!! I'm so glad I'm not the only one who loves to read Leviticus. Prayers of confession can be hard especially if you think that God is too upset at the moment to hear your confession. That however is a deception. God yearns for our cries of repentance, not always with tears but always out loud. What do you think pleases God more: a silent prayer of confession or an outward cry of repentance? Check the Psalms if you're not sure. Thanks for your personal insight into the Word. I'll be looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteThank you big brother!
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