Leviticus Chapter 26
As I read through this chapter I thought about what exactly God was saying to His people upfront and the contrast of all the other religions of this world. No other god of any religion has told the people exactly how he would bless them, how he wants to give them good things and be their God. Nor has any god told the people upfront what judgment will befall if they disobey. In fact, all other religions are left to guess and to make up rules and hopes and dreams of what they want their god to do for them. Our God is clear and precise, and He never compromises His holy character.
The first section verses 1-13 is the blessings that the Lord will poor out to the people for their obedience to Him. The second section verses 14-46 describes in detail the punishments that will befall those who disobey Him. It is easy to look at this and think about our God demanding obedience only, and He does demand our obedience, but we need to see this call to obey with spiritual maturity. We should respond in obedience because of the very nature of our God. He is holy, loving, gracious, wise, good, merciful, just, long-suffering, and jealous for our affection. In short, God wants to bless His people.
Let's Reflect
1. God starts this passage with a command not to worship any other god, and not to build a god that we would bow down to. What phrase should be taken to heart and repeated several times in this chapter and many times throughout scripture?
2. They hadn’t even left Mount Sinai yet and they have not laid eyes on the Promised Land, but God is painting a picture for them of what life will be like there. It will be far different than the life they experienced as slaves in Egypt. What are some of the beautiful promises they will enjoy in the new land?
3. One of the greatest fears for people when they go through hard times is the fear of having enough food to eat. God promised they would have more than enough. In fact, what did He instruct them to do with “old food” in the new land?
4. What beautiful promise did God make to the people in verse 12 that they would enjoy if they kept their loyalty and obedience fixed on Him?
5. Another aspect that people endure when they have gone through a traumatic bad experience is a lack of confidence in themselves. Having been slaves for so long the people would have lacked confidence and God understood this. In verse 13 God said that will change. How?
6. Verse 16 is the opposite of confidence. What did God say would happen to them if they refused to obey Him?
7. Verses 21 and 27 describe what God will do to those who refuse to listen to Him. What did He say He would do?
8. God even warned the Israelites ahead of time that if they continued to disobey Him that they would be driven out of their land and taken captive by other countries. According to verse 39 what country will the some of the people die in who refuse to listen to God?
9. If a disobedient nation wants to reverse things and get out from under God’s judgment, what must they do?
10. One thing we know for sure is that God keeps His promises. He promised to never destroy the people altogether. What did God say about the promise He made to His people? See verses 44-45
Devotionals
