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.

Today’s passage outlines the blessings which God will give to a people who obey His commands, and the punishments which He will mete out to a people who disobey them.  These blessings and punishments are the consequence of obedience or disobedience.  People often complain about God punishing people for disobeying His arbitrary commands.  What they fail to realize is that God’s commands are not arbitrary.  The blessings are the result of living according to God’s commands, but not just the letter of the commands.  To get those blessings you must live according to their spirit.  The punishments are the consequence of disobeying God’s commands.  I like to compare this to putting oil in your car.  You may not like oilt.  You may think it is dirty and messy, but if you do not put it in your car’s engine your car won’t run very long. 

As I read this passage there seems to be two sorts of dedication to God being described.  The first involves paying an amount to the priesthood/Temple in order to dedicate someone to God.  The second involves giving something to the priesthood/Temple with the option to buy it back.  I started to write this because I hoped that by doing so I would come to a better understanding of this.  However, while I understand what the words mean, I do not understand what principle is being presented here.