Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 26-27.

God told the Israelites that if they followed His decrees and obeyed His commands they would not face drought and their crop yield would be plentiful.  Further, wild animals would not be a threat and hostile forces would flee from them.  Then God goes on to tell them that if they failed to do that and rejected His decrees, they would face illness and disease, debt, and be dominated by their enemies.  If they failed to turn back to God after experiencing these woes, the illnesses would become plagues. wild animals would attack and their children and animals, and crops would fail.  Finally, if even after that they failed to turn to the Lord, He would bring devastation upon them and turn their land into a wasteland.  Now while this prophecy was part of God’s covenant with the children of Israel, I believe it also represents a truth about how the world works.  If a society behaves justly and its members treat each other well, that society will prosper, and the land in which it lives will be beautiful and healthy.  On the other hand, if a society is decadent and its members treat each other as things to be used, it will suffer economically and its land will be polluted and ugly.  A society which is just and righteous will be peaceful and prosperous.  The more just and righteous the society, the more peaceful and prosperous it will be.  On the other hand, societies which are unjust and unrighteous suffer with disease, poverty, and violence.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 26-27.

I like how in this passage the consequences of a people obeying God are simple and straightforward: we will have enough to eat, we will have no reason to fear anything, and we will be successful (as followers of Christ our definition of successful is different from that of others).  On the other hand, the passage tells us that the consequences for a people of disobeying God are progressive.   First, it tells us that we will have to work harder to supply our needs.  Then, if we continue to refuse to obey God, we will suffer natural disasters and tragedies.  If that does not turn the people back to God, we will suffer plagues, shortages, and defeat at the hands of our enemies.  Finally, if we still refuse to turn to God, we will suffer famine, destruction, conquest, and exile.  But even when we reach this last stage, God will remember us, and if we confess our sins and turn to Him, He will welcome us back and start us on the path to prosperity once more.  So, let us turn from our sins now and beg the Lord to make us able to live righteously.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 26-27.

There is a saying which is usually brought up as a false belief (and accurately so) which says that might makes right.  Even so, there are a remarkable number of people who believe that because they have the power to do something it is right for them to do so.  This passage tells us that the opposite is true: might does not make right, but right does make might.  That is, if we do the right thing we will have the power to continue doing the right thing.  When we do right, when we do God’s will, no force will be sufficient to stand against us.  Further, we will have a surplus of the resources necessary to do God’s will.  On the other hand, as we fail to do God’s will we fail at everything we attempt to even the weakest opposition and will find ourselves with barely enough resources to keep ourselves alive.  This passage tells us that as we refuse to follow God’s guidelines, He will progressively visit troubles and disasters upon us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 26-27.

We can learn a lot about what it means to be faithful to God’s commands by seeing how the blessings for being obedient correspond to the curses for disobedience.  If we faithfully obey God, the land will be productive and produce more than enough food to feed us.  If we break God’s commands, the land will become ever more unproductive and famine will come upon us.  If we faithfully obey God, we will live in peace, even the wildlife will leave us in peace.  If we refuse to be faithful, we will beset by wild beasts and then by foreign enemies.  As we are faithful to God, the environment around us will become more and more hospitable to us.  As we rebel against Him, the opposite will happen.  At any time, if we confess our sins, turn to God, and make amends for our wrongdoing, God will reverse the trend of destruction which He began visiting upon us for our sin.  It is never too late for people to turn to God.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 26-27.

God promised the people of Israel blessings if they obeyed His commands and the punishments they would suffer if they failed to obey.  Some people read these blessings and conclude that godliness leads to wealth.  There is some truth to this, but it misunderstands what this passage promises.  First, God’s promise here is for the people of Israel, not everyone.  More importantly, these promises are for an entire people, not for individuals.  I believe that any large group of people who faithfully follow God’s commands will experience blessings similar to those recorded here, and any such group which violates God’s commands will suffer the punishment.  I believe that God built this into the world when He created it.  Having said all of that, I believe that choosing to obey God brings joy and choosing to rebel against God will bring pain.