BLESSINGS OF HOLINESS
The Book of Leviticus should remind us how often God had to repeat Himself to His people. Could it be that the people of Israel just didn’t understand what God meant when He said “Be Holy because I, Yahweh your God, am holy” (Lev. 19:2)? Believers today often have the same trouble. We know what it means to be “holy” unto the Lord. Leviticus 26 paints a plain picture for us to see and behold, yet for some of us we can’t seem to stay on track. Sin, we may rationalize, doesn’t “feel” bad but rather “good” while are engaged in act. We may believe just one more sin will not hurt us. Some even rely on the grace of God’s forgiveness, which is a topic apostle Paul vigorously discussed in Romans and Galatians. However, the way in which we respond to the Holy Spirit’s chastisement shows the true mettle of our Christianity. Will we repent and seek Christ’s forgiveness so that we may grow and experience the blessings of holiness or will we be stubborn and rebellious and harden our hearts? This lesson sets out three great truths, fruitfulness (how to live so that we walk in His Love), Yahweh’s presence (and the blessings that come with an intimate relationship with Him), and restoration (how to allow Yahweh to pick us back up off the floor once again, and make the fall a learning experience.)
Read Leviticus 26:3-10 Fruitfulness
Leviticus functions as a “handbook” for holiness for Israel. Chapter 26 deals with the common conduct of the nation of Israel. There is a two-pronged focus of the chapter- essentially “blessings and curses”, depending on the behavior of the supplicants. Considering first the blessings, verse 3 began with “If you follow My statutes…”. What was God’s blessings contingent upon? (Keep my statutes but also faithfully observe my commands.)What follows this is an examination of the blessings which Yahweh promises the nation are bountiful harvest, supremacy in battle, and a crucial swelling of their numbers. Peace shall come to those who honor God, and none need to be afraid. The Lord will “have regard” for them and bounteously provide for their needs. Most significantly He will “walk among” them, and they will belong to each other. They will live securely in the land, enjoying the fruit of their labors.
The “shock value” of these first few verses is often lost on the Western conscience with the abundance of food to which we have access. In the ancient Near East, Israel and her neighbors were strongly dependent upon a yearly agricultural cycle. This cycle included the grain harvest early in the summer months. If for any reason (drought, blight, or simply bad timing of rains) the cycle was thrown off, then often famine would be a threat. Famine brought death, disease, and destruction, and was often seen ultimately as punishment by Yahweh. We may also be surprised by how peculiar verse 6 sounds if we really think about it. We know that during biblical times wild, exotic animals inhabited Canaan, including lions and bears but God would remove them. Then reference to no sword passing through the land meant a metaphor peace. David had been told that there would always be war in his house (“the sword would never leave your house” 2 Sam. 12:10). However, this passage promises safety (no wars) if the nation would follow Yahweh’s law. So how could the Israelites go against Yahweh and refuse all of these blessings? These are the same type of decisions that we all face.
Read Leviticus 26:11-13 Presence
The wondrous presence of Yahweh promised in verses 11-13 gave Israel hope. It is very significant that He will “walk among” them, and they will belong to each other. The basis for the confident hope is given in verse 13. Imagine the joy of a slave set free. God took the children of Israel out of bitter slavery and gave them freedom and dignity. We, too, are set free when we accept Christ’s payment that redeems us from sin’s slavery. We no longer need to be bogged down in shame over our past sins. We can walk with dignity because God has forgiven us and forgotten our sin. But just as the Israelites were still in danger of returning to a slave mentality, we need to beware of the temptation to return to our former sinful pattern.
In verse 11, Yahweh says “I will place My residence among you”. This is easy to think back to the Garden of Eden when God was with Adam and Eve. A literal translation of the Hebrew in this verse would connote God “tabernacling” with men. In essence, Yahweh was saying that He would tabernacle with man and not reject the Israelites. The tabernacle was that special place where God and man had fellowship. Remember how God would come to the Israelites in a cloud to reaffirm Moses. It was a place where God determined to dwell among the His people as long as their sins were dealt with in the proper manner. What Yahweh desired for His people was that intimate fellowship that signified an ongoing, growing, loving relationship. Paul cited Leviticus 26:12 in 2 Corinthians 6:16 to connote believers as the living temple of God! Christians are that special, living holy temple that the Holy Spirit now inhabits. Yahweh extended to His people the possibility that if they followed the covenant and forsook rebellion in favor of obedience, then they could see the blessing of His presence. Of course, it ultimately would take the life of His Son, Jesus, to even make this possibility a reality. Humanity, it its fallen state, would not nor could not possess this continued reality of living with God’s presence except through the blessings of Yahweh. How does it impact you to know you have Someone in your life you will never lose? (There are a lot of feelings that come to mind—joy, confidence, hope, peace, security, etc.)
Read Leviticus 26:40-42, 45 Restoration
Verses 14-39 recount the consequences of living unholy lives, including the reversal of each aspect of fruitfulness highlighted in verses 3-10. However, God offers to return the blessings of holiness to those who seek restoration. The first step in restoration with God is to confess our sins before Him with a contrite heart. In our popular culture people often think that remorse is the same as repentance. Nothing theologically could be further from the truth biblically than such a false notion. The idea of remorse for some is nothing more than feeling sorry that one was caught in the act of sin. However, remorse does not carry with it the life changing idea of repentance- a turning away from sin and toward God for guidance. So God lays out some very strict guidelines for dealing with our sin.
These verses show what God meant when He said He is slow to anger (Exodus 34:6). Even if the Israelites chose to disobey and were scattered among their enemies. God would still give them the opportunity to repent and return to Him. His purpose was not to destroy them, but to help them grow. Our day-to-day experiences and hardships are sometimes over whelming, unless we can see that God’s purpose is to bring about continual growth in us, we may despair. The hope we need is well expressed in Jeremiah 29:11-12. “For I know the plans I have for you” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.” To retain hope while we suffer shows we understand God’s merciful ways of retaining to His purpose.
The heart of Yahweh desires to restore His people. This is affirmed in 1 John 1:9 where God is pictured as “faithful” and “righteous” as well as forgiving of our sins. Verses 42, 45 picture this faithfulness of Yahweh, especially when He says that He will remember the covenant with their fathers whom He brought out of Egypt. This section is closed with God’s comment that “I am Yahweh”.
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