Blessings and Curses, Part 2 of Leviticus 26

Part 2.

Leviticus 26:14-15

But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:

       Brace yourself for a litany of fates far worse than a thousand camels infesting your sleeping bag.

       First, please remember that these awful results come from despising [oam ma'ac] God’s statutes and abhorring [leg ga`al] His judgments [jpvm mishpat]. The choice to follow God’s ways and the choice to not follow His ways are yours and yours alone.

       Verses 16-39 describe the awful consequences of actively going against God’s laws, among them are fear, sorrow, illness, triumph of one’s enemies. There won’t even seem to be logic to it, such as fleeing when no one is pursuing.

       Were I to dump all obedience to God, were I to dump everything to defy Him, what would bother me most are verses where God says things like “I will set my face against you” and “my soul shall abhor you.” I am reminded of (and sobered by):

Hebrews 6:4+
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

       Regardless of how you feel about “eternal security,” (the permanence of salvation by faith), the writer of Leviticus 26 spends a large amount of time describing the imminent dangers of deliberately tossing out God’s commands.

       Were these imminent dangers applicable to the Israelites? Yes, the Bible tells us so. History also tells us so. The cannibalism in verse 29 is also forewarned in Deuteronomy 28, Jeremiah 19 and Ezekiel 5. It is described as having happened in II Kings 6 and Lamentations 4.

       Does this passage apply to us as well? If so, how on earth do we apply this warning in Leviticus 26? First, I should do all I can to not despise God’s laws. Second, if I’m experiencing any of these consequences, is it not worth self-examination? Am I ridiculously nervous? phobic? No matter what I do, am I still losing? Does heaven seem like iron when I pray?

       My faith, our faith, is not a game. It is a war. I am not going to let a particular theology stand in the way of getting myself right before God. When unmistakably bad stuff is happening in my life, I shall ask God to show me where I’m despising His statutes and abhorring His judgments. It’s worth a shot and it might save my life.

       Furthermore, it is definitely pleasing to God when we say,

Psalm 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

       In part 3, we will come full circle and meet the God who remembers.