When a man sees the woman of his dreams, he does everything in his power to gain her favor, or to appeal to her. In all honesty, the Israelites owed a tremendous favor to God for all He had done in bringing them out of the clenches of Egyptian slavery, through a tremendously barren desert and into a land lush with food and every good thing they could imagine. In our Scripture today God told them what they could do to gain His everlasting presence. If you would desire such an offer from God, then meditate with me on the simple condition that He gave to them.

DATE POSTED Thursday, 2022-03-16
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BY: Ed Algreen

SCRIPTURE FROM: Leviticus 26:3-4; 9-12;
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 3 “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will ……  9 “I will look favorably upon you, making you fertile and multiplying your people. And I will fulfill my covenant with you. 10 You will have such a surplus of crops that you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest! 11 I will live among you, and I will not despise you. 12 I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people.

APPLICATION: When someone is very special to us, and we feel indebted to them, we will do almost anything to show our gratitude and love to them. However, in the case of the Israelites, God saw that they were weak and set in their ways, so He was extremely patient with them, because they were His chosen people. Think of your own child. When they turn from the ways that you taught them during their childhood, you do everything in your power to encourage them. Perhaps giving them a hand-up, instead of a hand-out that they seem to always want from parents! When they ‘come to their senses’ they pour on the love, for they then realize that it could only have been love that provoked our positive response to their totally selfish and sometimes evil ways/words. So if God gave us the strength and wisdom to deal with our children so well, don’t you know that He was even more forgiving, patient and loving in dealing with the Israelites? Don’t you know that He’s still the same God that will redirect our path and steer us aright again, even though we may feel like no one could ever put up with our rotten attitudes? God instructed the Israelites: ‘look, all I want you to do is follow my laws and obey my commandments’, and this simple condition was followed in the next several verses with a list of things that God promised He would do. Friends, God would never allow more on us than we could handle. His laws and His commandments were given to us so that we would know what pleases Him, and to help us walk a path that imitates Him while here on earth. The more we ‘rub shoulders’ with the enemy, the more we listen to his lies and then we start feeling like perhaps God’s laws were intended for the guy next door, or that very evil person who ….. It behooves us to listen to God and His teachings, and to follow the path He has set before us. I would encourage you to join me in making every effort to draw close to God, so that He may draw close to us. When we love someone sincerely, we will seek to please them in every way. Let’s commune with God each day; seek to know Him better; and obey His laws and commands because of our dedication and love towards Him. He promised a lot to the Israelites in return for their obedience. I can’t even imagine what else He has in store for us, because His daily blessings already seem more than enough.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: No greater and encouraging words that those of our God: ‘I will be you God, and you will be my people’! What a blessing to be reassured that we are children of the Most High God!

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, please teach us to pray; encourage us to read Your Word; and to always call on You for everything we desire here on earth. As we learn from Your Word and receive direction from You, may our heart be willing to live by Your law and obey Your commandments. May we always seek to do Your will, and not follow our own inclinations, because we want others to see Jesus, not anything that might give us credit for. Lord, Your promises are true and we can depend on your Word. Teach us to obedient servants who always honor and worship our King. AMEN!