May The Blessings Of The Lord Be Upon You - Christian Perspectives
God gave the nation of Israel some options to live by in today’s chapter. He said follow my rules and you can live a nice life. If you don’t follow my rules then you will suffer. In other words, may the blessings of the Lord be upon you.
“I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. Yes, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high.” Leviticus 26:12-13 NLT
In the first couple of verses of this chapter, God told His people what He expected of them.
“Do not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars. Or sculptured stones in your land so you may worship them. I am the Lord your God. You must keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 26:1-2
Blessings of the Lord for the Israelites
After He said this, God laid out all the blessings they would enjoy. I will paraphrase them in a list for you.
- “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands . . .”
- God will send the seasonal rains.
- The land will yield its crops,
- The trees produce fruit.
- Growing seasons will overlap each other.
- They will have peace and live without fear.
- God will defeat their enemies.
- Their numbers will multiply
- God will live among them. Leviticus 26:3-11
That is a nice list, but there’s also another list in this chapter. Starting with verse 14, this one deals with disobedience.
“However, if you do not listen to me or obey all these commands. And if you break my covenant by rejecting my decrees. By treating my regulations with contempt, and refusing to obey my commands. I will punish you.” Leviticus 26:14-16
You can read Leviticus 26 here to see what the Lord promised them in the way of punishment.
In reading the historical account of Israel, they did live in disobedience and they did suffer for it. This makes a person wonder, “what in the world was wrong with them?”
Before we become too hard on them, maybe we ought to look at our own lives. Think about all the things you (and I) have done which haven’t pleased the Lord.
What Have Our Lives Been Like?
Were there times you have blatantly sinned against God? I know I have. Just like we may have wondered what was wrong with the Israelites, others may have looked our way. They were asking the same question, “what is wrong with him (or her).”
Then we are prone to turn to excuses. Like, living in this ungodly society makes it much easier for us to live in sin. It is much easier to please ourselves than it is to please God.
Living in obedience to God takes the power of the Holy Spirit. And, He will give us all the strength we need. When we do falter, He will prompt us to seek forgiveness. The Lord wants us to have the blessings of eternal life with Him.
Because the blessings of the Lord are available to everyone you should check out this related post. 7 Reasons to Celebrate our Life in Christ.
Lord, sometimes we step back and wonder, why do we do stupid things which require your forgiveness. Then we realize how thankful we are for your limitless grace. Help us to live in total obedience to your Word.
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