Wait. What God?????
I don’t Understand Completely.
I feel inadequate to talk about your word.
This Old Testament passage leaves me feeling frustrated – unsure and without all of the answers.
I am not a natural writer and I don’t always write with the eloquence of talented writers; but I do like to make sure that I have a complete thought explained or a plan when I begin to write. Today I write to you without all of the answers. I will give you my thoughts, ideas and unanswered questions.
Leviticus 26 and 27 are two chapters that address Blessings for Obedience, Punishment for Disobedience and Vows for God’s people written by Moses during the events happening in Exodus.
In Summary:
Blessings for Obedience – if you walk in my statutes and observe my commands I will give you a great harvest, multiply your people, and give you peace throughout your land.
Punishment for Disobedience – if you spurn my statutes and if your soul abhors my rules I will visit you with panic, the crops will not yield their fruit and I will set my face against you.
Vows – for another day…
My Takeaway:
Obedience produces blessings and disobedience produces destruction. If leaves me to ask the question that many of us have asked, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” According to Leviticus obedience = blessing and disobedience = destruction.
What about Job? What about our world being broken and sinful? What about NOT being able to earn God’s blessing and that salvation is a gift?
I don’t have all the answers and I am still wrestling with how this passage fits with the New Testament; however, I do have a couple ideas…
Prior to investigating this passage I believed and still believe that bad things can happen to good people and that God is not a simple formula to produce a simple blessing filled life. I still believe that to be true today.
Here is where I am landing for the moment – Perhaps, just perhaps, this passage is figurative as much as it can be literal. There are times when my life feels pulled out from under me or when I feel like “God, I am doing all the ‘right things’ yet my life is complicated and messy – why?” and He reminds me of his presence. He brings me rest and he provides my soul with a great harvest by speaking his truth into my life.
God is never changing.
The God of the Old Testament is the same God in the New Testament. God cannot change because that would be out of His nature. This passage must still be in alignment with the other passages in the bible I know to be true.
This is why I have Jesus – I cannot perfectly follow and receive blessings for obedience all the time – I am a sin filled person. Even my best is filthy rags in comparison to the greatness of my God.
When Jesus was asked why He ate with tax collectors and sinners his response was simple: “I came not to call the righteous but the sinners.”
He came to call me, to call us, to call the world! God knew that his chosen people would never be able to perfectly obey – that I would never be able to perfectly obey – and that we needed Jesus.
While I do not have all of the answers for every single detail of every single law in the Old Testament, I do know that God is consistent and His word is true. If I stay in close relationship with Him (see yesterday’s post by Courtney – it was incredibly encouraging!) He will continue to guide, answer questions in His timing, and bring peace for of the questions and inadequacy I can feel.
Sixty-six books in a year 