Leviticus 26:3-4a, 14-16a  – “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, 4 then I will give you… 14 But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, 16 I also will do this to you:”  NKJV

 

 

            In the Old Testament we find some incredible promises and provisions of covenant between God and Israel and as we read the New Testament we find many incredible promises of God to believers.  In both groups there are often ‘conditional’ aspects to receiving the promises and blessings.  Unfortunately some in today’s church believe that they have unconditional rights to the promises of God regardless of their participation or lack thereof.  I would suggest that we would be better to err on the side of caution than to fail in presumption.

            Consider what God is telling Israel here and then expand that principle to believers in the 21^st century.  He gives them both sides of the coin or equation:

 

• If You Walk In My Statutes and Keep My Commandments, and Perform them, THEN I WILL….

1. Rain in its season
2. The land will produce.
3. The produce of the land will last from harvest to harvest.
4. Divine Protection.
5. Peace in the land.
6. Evil beasts eradicated.
7. They would overpower their enemies and 5 would defeat 100 and 100 would defeat 10,000.
8. The presence of God would be real in their midst.

 

• But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statues, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you…

1. Terror will come to the land with devastating disease and sorrow.
2. Crop failure.
3. God’s Face would be against them allowing their enemies to defeat them.
4. Seven-fold punishment for sin.
5. Pride would bring them low.
6. Drought.
7. Labor without realizing any real productivity.
8. Plagues will be seven-fold.
9. Wild beasts would overrun the land killing their children and livestock.
10. God’s presence would depart

            It is clear that God expects obedience and as I consider our present world I sometimes wonder how much what is now transpiring is the direct result of our disobedience and how much we would see if we were to ‘return to the Lord’ with a whole heart.  God will not and cannot wink at sin and disobedience and remain a Holy God.  He will never cease being the Holy God of all creation so I would call to all who name the name of Christ to cry out to God to reveal to each of us any and all areas in which we may have drifted from His covenant and purpose asking His mercy and seeking to be restored.

 God bless you as you go through your day!