Blessings of Holiness
Leviticus 26:3-13, 40-42, 45
As the title of this lesson says, we will be looking at the blessings of living a life of obedience. The results of disobedience are found in this same chapter.
“Do not make idols – .” While you may not find wooden or stone images in our country like those found within other cultures, you will find many things that people have made more important than God – money, power, reputation, looks, even family. When we make anything more important than God – anything – we are being disobedient, and we will not receive His blessings.
God tells the Israelites that their obedience to His commands will result in immeasurable blessings. They would see fruit from their labor, and He would provide physical protection from their enemies. While blessings are a result of living a holy life, they should not be the reason we live that way. Our obedience should be a loving response to a holy God – a gift of gratitude for a life of freedom rather than a requirement for a future payoff.
We should also realize that those who were blessed did not simply expect God to hand them everything. Rather, they went about their daily lives – working and protecting themselves from their enemies – and understood that God would bless them.
Another result of living in holiness is experiencing the presence of God continually. What a blessing that is! There is something comforting in knowing you can always count on someone’s presence. For me, it is my parents. I can do many things, go through difficult situations, if I know my parents are with me. Even more comforting is knowing that our Heavenly Father is always present for us. If we do not feel His presence, it is because we have moved away, not God. He promises to abide with those who walk in obedience with Him. His presence in our lives is the greatest blessing of all!
In addition to rewards for obedience, God talks about the punishment for disobedience. In the final verses in this chapter, we also find encouragement for those who have chosen to turn away from God. He declares that if those who have walked away from Him will repent and return to a life of obedience, He will restore them. Christians need to understand that God will not reject those who return to Him with true repentance. He desires a personal relationship with us, just as He did with the people with whom He shared His covenant name.
God freed His people from the oppression of the Egyptians, and He has freed us from our sins. We can walk freely and uprightly, unburdened by the yoke of our sins. We must be careful not to take on that burden again.
Register– Lessons in the BSL series for the winter quarter are being written by Laurie Register, executive director-treasurer of Woman’s Missionary Union, SCBC.