Beware the Lord's Wrath Against Believers who Refuse to Submit

Today's Reading:

• Leviticus 25:47 - 27:13
  
• Proverbs 10:22

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Leviticus 25:47 - 27:13
Chapter 26 of Leviticus was an interesting, yet terrifying, chapter to read.  The chapter starts with the Lord telling the people that He will bring peace upon the lands, the people will prosper and want for nothing.  The properties will be free of wild animals and enemies, and few will chase away many enemies.  The Lord really promised fantastic prosperity and peace for the people.

Then the material of the chapter darkens as the Lord warns what will happen if the people reject the Lord.  We are warned that the lands will dry up and become hardened, the people will starve and eat their own children for lack of food, and wild animals will carry off the people's children.  We are told there will be plagues and sickness and the full range of the Lord's hostility will be shown against the people.

So what type of things would anger the Lord into taking this stance against the people?  Verses 14-16 gives us some insight.  These verses warn that if the people disobey God, if they break the covenant, if they treat the Lord's regulations with contempt, then the Lord will punish them.  Then, the more the people refuse to obey, the more harshly the Lord will punish them.

In this world we often see people whom seem to get away with practically anything, yet no troubles befall them.  Why is this so, doesn't the Lord say that He will punish those who disobey Him?

In this case as it pertains to the Hebrews, we are looking at an entirely different set of circumstances.  These people had God's literal presence living in a cloud above them.  Moses regularly conversed with the Lord Himself.  The Lord led these people on an Exodus from Egypt and literally parted the Red Sea to set them free.

So can chapter 26 of Leviticus be used to warn us of judgement against disbelievers?  I don't believe so.  I think this is a stern warning for those who know the Lord, yet they still refuse to submit to Him.  There is eternal judgement for the wicked and the unbelievers of this world, no doubt, but beware the judgement of the Lord onto those who believe in Him, yet refuse to submit.

Proverbs 10:22

The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

Blessing without sorrow.  That's the promise of those faithful to the Lord -- just like the first half of Leviticus 26 that we just talked about above.  Many times when people think of blessing, they think of money.  And there is the cliche that money comes with a price to be paid.  Well the blessings of the Lord may or may not be monetary, but no matter which way the Lord chooses to bless you, those blessings do NOT come with a price to be paid -- they are given freely and without sorrow.  And that is truly amazing.  Thank you, Lord!