Reconcile With God
TEXT: Leviticus 26:40–46
“But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 26:45).
God has nothing to lose when man chooses to be rebellious. Rather, the belligerent man will carry all the full weight of his misdeed, which is why, from time immemorial, God has been earnestly pleading with erring folks to turn away from their sins, asking them “why will ye die?” Those who thought they had hereditary links with God through parental covenant relationship have repeatedly taken Him for granted, believing that what God promised for their forebears were automatically theirs for the asking, even if they violated His revered instructions.
But God kept putting the record straight, telling sinners and backsliders that judgment awaits those who broke His laws. It is true that God never changes, but He left no man in doubt that any violation of His commandments will attract severe penalties.
Among the Israelites, persons were not always prosperous or afflicted according to their obedience or disobedience. But national prosperity was the effect of national obedience, and national judgments were brought on by national wickedness. Israel was under a peculiar covenant, which was why they could not afford to commit the sins of those nations round about them and hope to go unpunished.
National wickedness will end in the ruin of any people, especially where the word of God and the light of the gospel are enjoyed. Believers therefore cannot afford to toy with God’s instructions, nor can they hope to break His commandment and go scot free. Sooner or later, sin will be the ruin, as well as the reproach, of every people who live contrary to divine instructions. Oh that, being humbled for our sins, we might avert the rising storm before it bursts upon us! God grant that we may, in this our day, consider the things which belong to our eternal peace.
Thought for today: Familiarity with God ought not to breed contempt.