Leviticus 26:12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
Oh Friends, it’s not every day that God makes this offer. This was after the Israelites had been freed from bondage in Egypt. The Lord was laying down the ground rules for them to live by as His chosen people. When God chose Moses as the leader, He ‘said unto him, I am the Lord: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH, I was not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.’ (Ex.6:2-4) The covenant with their forefathers had already been made, and God had kept His promise to free them from slavery in Egypt. ‘And I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgements…And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burden of the Egyptians.’ (Ex.6:6-7) So by the time they got out of Egypt, the Israelites knew that they were special; God’s chosen people. But how many really realized that that exalted status came with several strings attached, is doubtful. And it’s here, on the opposite side of the Red Sea, that the Lord’s laying His cards on the table. And Friends, they’re not that hard for us to best. ‘Ye shall make you no idols or graven images…or any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God. Ye shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary…If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments and do them…(Lev.26:1-3) And for that Friends, the Lord promised to shower many blessings upon them. For our purposes, we’ll call them the Blessings of Obedience: The first is material prosperity; ‘I will give you rain in due season…the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.’ (Lev.26:3-5) For their obedience, the Lord also guaranteed victory over their enemies. ‘I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five shall chase an hundred, and an hundred shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.’ (Lev.26:6-9) Wow! And it wasn’t like the Israelites didn’t know God’s power. They’d seen Him operate in Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let them go, the atrocities He caused to occur there. And what could be more awe inspiring and encouraging than the parting of the Red Sea, for them to cross over on dry land, followed by the annihilation of Pharaoh’s army, when it returned to its normal state? So they were well acquainted with His capabilities. In addition to material prosperity and peace, the Lord also promised His presence in their land. ‘And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and be your God, and ye shall be my people.’ (Lev.26:11-12) How much more can we ask for eh people? But there was more. The Lord in His magnanimity also offered them the dignity of personal freedom. ‘I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be bondmen: and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.’ (Lev.26:13) Oh Friends, that should have been a day for rejoicing and shouting, ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ For when we have those blessings of obedience and the assurance of God’s presence amongst us, it should encourage and strengthen us; give us some much needed ‘get up and go.’ And the beauty of the whole thing is this: We are also of the flock of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus. God’s covenant hasn’t changed either. Bruh Paul says, ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.’ (Heb.13:8) That means we’re also entitled to those blessings my Friends, if we’re obedient. Ah people, there’s the rub; that’s the fly in the ointment; OBEDIENCE! We keep chastising each other, saying that you can’t get something for nothing, so why do we expect our God to be different eh? Let’s wake up people and get it through our hard heads, that there’s always a price to be paid for everything, even if it’s comparatively small, but there’s always a price. And for the benefits the Lord’s offering, both in terms of quality and quantity, His price is rather cheap. So please, seriously check it out. We have so much to gain, and little to lose. Much LOVE!…on sale…blessings…the price…simple obedience…
Oh Friends, it’s not every day that God makes this offer. This was after the Israelites had been freed from bondage in Egypt. The Lord was laying down the ground rules for them to live by as His chosen people. When God chose Moses as the leader, He ‘said unto him, I am the Lord: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH, I was not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.’ (Ex.6:2-4) The covenant with their forefathers had already been made, and God had kept His promise to free them from slavery in Egypt. ‘And I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgements…And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burden of the Egyptians.’ (Ex.6:6-7) So by the time they got out of Egypt, the Israelites knew that they were special; God’s chosen people. But how many really realized that that exalted status came with several strings attached, is doubtful. And it’s here, on the opposite side of the Red Sea, that the Lord’s laying His cards on the table. And Friends, they’re not that hard for us to best. ‘Ye shall make you no idols or graven images…or any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God. Ye shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary…If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments and do them…(Lev.26:1-3) And for that Friends, the Lord promised to shower many blessings upon them. For our purposes, we’ll call them the Blessings of Obedience: The first is material prosperity; ‘I will give you rain in due season…the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.’ (Lev.26:3-5) For their obedience, the Lord also guaranteed victory over their enemies. ‘I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five shall chase an hundred, and an hundred shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.’ (Lev.26:6-9) Wow! And it wasn’t like the Israelites didn’t know God’s power. They’d seen Him operate in Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let them go, the atrocities He caused to occur there. And what could be more awe inspiring and encouraging than the parting of the Red Sea, for them to cross over on dry land, followed by the annihilation of Pharaoh’s army, when it returned to its normal state? So they were well acquainted with His capabilities. In addition to material prosperity and peace, the Lord also promised His presence in their land. ‘And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and be your God, and ye shall be my people.’ (Lev.26:11-12) How much more can we ask for eh people? But there was more. The Lord in His magnanimity also offered them the dignity of personal freedom. ‘I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be bondmen: and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.’ (Lev.26:13) Oh Friends, that should have been a day for rejoicing and shouting, ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ For when we have those blessings of obedience and the assurance of God’s presence amongst us, it should encourage and strengthen us; give us some much needed ‘get up and go.’ And the beauty of the whole thing is this: We are also of the flock of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus. God’s covenant hasn’t changed either. Bruh Paul says, ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.’ (Heb.13:8) That means we’re also entitled to those blessings my Friends, if we’re obedient. Ah people, there’s the rub; that’s the fly in the ointment; OBEDIENCE! We keep chastising each other, saying that you can’t get something for nothing, so why do we expect our God to be different eh? Let’s wake up people and get it through our hard heads, that there’s always a price to be paid for everything, even if it’s comparatively small, but there’s always a price. And for the benefits the Lord’s offering, both in terms of quality and quantity, His price is rather cheap. So please, seriously check it out. We have so much to gain, and little to lose. Much LOVE!…on sale…blessings…the price…simple obedience…
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