Leviticus 26:3-18
3 “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, 4 then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit….
14 “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, 15 if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.17 I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you. 18 And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins.
In this chapter we are shown a vivid contrast between God's blessings for obedience (verses 3-13) and God's punishments for disobedience (verses 14-39). Because of His protective love for us, God will act differently toward us based on how we act toward Him. This is not a tit-for-tat kind of relationship, but an attempt by God to teach us to walk with Him by experiencing some of the consequences of our actions. If there were no consequences we would probably become spoiled brats and never learn to act rightly. God is not going to be codependent and protect us from our own mistakes. He is going to let us fail so that we learn to take responsibility for our actions.
The other thing to note is how God warns of progressively worse punishments (“sevenfold” verse 18) if we persist in our sin. Although God is patient and loving with us, there are times when He purposely "turns up the heat" in order to get our attention. Let us beware of trying His patience!
Heavenly Father, I imagine I must try Your patience sometimes, as even I get frustrated with myself! But I want to grow and improve, so help me to accept Your correction and learn from my mistakes.
3 “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, 4 then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit….
14 “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, 15 if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.17 I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you. 18 And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins.
In this chapter we are shown a vivid contrast between God's blessings for obedience (verses 3-13) and God's punishments for disobedience (verses 14-39). Because of His protective love for us, God will act differently toward us based on how we act toward Him. This is not a tit-for-tat kind of relationship, but an attempt by God to teach us to walk with Him by experiencing some of the consequences of our actions. If there were no consequences we would probably become spoiled brats and never learn to act rightly. God is not going to be codependent and protect us from our own mistakes. He is going to let us fail so that we learn to take responsibility for our actions.
The other thing to note is how God warns of progressively worse punishments (“sevenfold” verse 18) if we persist in our sin. Although God is patient and loving with us, there are times when He purposely "turns up the heat" in order to get our attention. Let us beware of trying His patience!
Heavenly Father, I imagine I must try Your patience sometimes, as even I get frustrated with myself! But I want to grow and improve, so help me to accept Your correction and learn from my mistakes.