Leviticus 26
To read this text CLICK HERE
Leviticus 26:40-41, But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
This is a chapter of blessings and curses. If you obey the covenant, you will be blessed. If you don't obey, things won't be so good for you. But we tend to think of things in terms of individual obedience. These blessings and curses were for the nation of Israel as a whole. If the entire nation was faithful and obedient, then the rain would come and the land would be fertile. This did not mean that one faithful man would get rain on his land and his unfaithful neighbor would experience drought.
So what is the application for us today? I think this chapter hints at how we have a tendency to forget God in times of prosperity. When life is good, when we are getting along with our spouse, when the bills are all paid, when there is plenty of food on the table, we don't focus much on God, despite the fact that he is the one who has provided us with all these good things. It typically is when things are really hard that we go to God and plead for help.
This chapter also speaks to another truth. When we find ourselves in sin, we can confess to God and receive forgiveness. While we aren't the covenant community of Israel, we are individual Christ-followers who have a unique relationship with the living God. Because of Jesus, we can go boldly before the throne of grace and ask for forgiveness for our individual sins. I don't believe the blessings and curses apply to us like it did the ancient Jews but we still reap what we sow. Thus, when we have messed up, we need to fall on our face before a holy God and ask for restoration.
Let's pray...Almighty God, God of the Ages, the one who was and is and is to come, we come before you today knowing that we have failed you over and over again. Forgive us for our sins, Lord. We truly want to do better. We want to reflect Jesus so that others can see your love. Restore us today, Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.