I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. Leviticus 26:11-12
This evening, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter twenty-three (the final chapter) - Either-Or - covering Leviticus 26-27, looking specifically at the second theme for the chapter - God Blesses Our Faithfulness. Here, the commentary for today focuses on v3-13 which describes how God blesses our obedience to Him in response to His commands, all of His commands, including the commands He gave in v1-2 (see also post yesterday) where we are to worship Him and not other gods and how we are observe Sabbath. Leviticus 26:3-13 describes blessings that, according the commentary, can be categorized as prosperity, protection, and His presence - of course all wonderful and amazing blessings. Yet, lest believers fall into the trap of believing that God promises us (in return for faithfulness) health, wealth, and other earthly blessings, the commentary (and John MacArthur and John Piper) warns us to not read into Leviticus 26 to find the keys to health, wealth, etc. While God does promise blessings for obedience in v3-13, the commentary instead makes the following points, emphasizing that "we should apply such promises in a way that is consistent with God's entire revelation in the Bible":
- "God made these promises not to individuals, but the Israel as a whole"
- "God does bless our faithfulness, just not in the way the prosperity preachers claim. In some places in the world, faithfulness to Jesus results in persecution, not prosperity. When some Muslim people leave Islam to follow Jesus, their families disown them and sometimes physically assault or kill them. Does God take care of them? He takes care of them for eternity! He blesses our faithfulness forever in heaven." See also John 16:33
- "God blesses our faithfulness in many ways, best of all with Himself." See also John 1:14
My Prayer: Jesus, You are amazing and I know You bless me in ways that the world does not understand and in ways that I will fully appreciate when I meet You face to face in Heaven - thank You Jesus! I am not deserving of how You bless me. My sin - of many kinds - continues...daily. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
