Leviticus 26:3, 6 “‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no-one will make you afraid.'”

The whole section of wonderful promises, from verse 4 through verse 13, is dependent on the first word of verse 3: if. God isn’t a “sugar daddy,” indulging us indiscriminately, He’s our perfect heavenly Father, providing discipline along with everything else we need. He knows what is good for us, so that’s how He tells us to live. He delights to give us good things, up to and including His kingdom, (Luke 12:32) but He knows what is bad for us as well. The blessings in this section, as well as what are called “curses” from verse 14 on, aren’t so much things God does to/for us as they are the natural consequences of our behavior. We can no more ignore His moral laws successfully than we can ignore His physical laws, like gravity. If we walk off a cliff, God doesn’t kill us out of spite; death by blunt force trauma is simply the natural consequence of our action. In exactly the same way, if we walk away from God instead of toward Him, we will suffer consequences, and “suffer” is the correct operative word. We live in a fallen world with thousands of years of rebelling against God, so not all suffering is the direct consequence of our personal disobedience, but if we disobey personally, we can count on suffering, in the next world even if not in this one. This simple truth is one that many people refuse to accept, to their own great loss. Any parent can testify of their own pain when their children get into trouble and injure themselves by failing to obey instructions. God is exactly that way. As He told Ezekiel, “I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32)

This is something I have to remember for myself, and it is certainly something I preach and teach. Actually, it is at the core of the Gospel, because God sent His Son to take the consequence of our sin, death, on Himself so that we through faith in Him might live. (John 3:16) The biggest pain/frustration of my life is how few people really accept that and believe it, repenting so that they may live. However, I am never to give up, but keep speaking the truth in love so that the Holy Spirit may take my words and lead at least some to salvation.

Father, at times I am painfully aware of my own weakness and inability. Thank You for using me in spite of myself. I pray that I would not ignore Your rules myself, but by obedience receive all that You have prepared for me. I pray that I would be increasingly effective in drawing others to receive Your gracious provision in every area of their lives, so that together we may delight in You, allowing You to delight in us. Thank You. Hallelujah!