Scripture:

Leviticus 26:3-10

3 ‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,
4 then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid;
I will rid the land of evil[a] beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. 7 You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. 9 ‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. 10 You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new

"Blessing of Obedience"

I think we miss that there is a reward for being obedient when we seek to please the Lord, pursue Him in obedience.   You even see a provision in this chapter for when you fall short, how turning back, how repenting can restore you.  In 1 Samuel 15:22, we understand that God desires obedience more than sacrifice; this becomes evident in the contrast of blessing and cursing for obedience.  

Today I want to focus on the blessing of obedience.   If you and I walk with the Lord, we seek to please Him, to walk in His ways, obedience promises that we would not lack, that we would be kept under His provision, His protection, we would see victory over our enemies, we would be fruitful what we put our hands to would have success, what we build would be lasting.

• Abundant Provision: Rain in due season, with crops so plentiful that threshing lasts until the grape harvest.
• Safety and Security:Peace in the land, removing harmful animals, and protection from the sword.
• Military Success:A small number of Israelites would defeat a vast number of enemies.
• Fruitfulness:God promises to increase their population and keep His covenant with them.
• Sustained Resources: The harvest will be so great that they will need to remove old stored crops to make room for the new.

We must not only read the word, but as James says, we should do what it says (Jam 1:22). In our pursuit, and our obedience, we will see our lives changed, we will see life and life more abundant.   As we draw closer to the Lord with our hearts and not just our lips, we draw closer to His provision, and that touches every area of our lives. 

Lord, forgive us for any areas of disobedience, known, unknown, we set our hearts right with you, we ask for your work in our lives to be fruitful, that we would set ourselves to be obedient, to not just hear your word, but to put them into practice, that not only would we be blessed, but that we would be a blessing, changing the very world around us, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Leviticus 25:4

4 but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.

"Everything Needs Rest"

To this day, many farmers practice crop rotation in the 7th year.   This allows the land to recover, to regain nutrients, reduce pests, and to produce better crops in the coming year.  This is a reminder of how vital the word of God is in our everyday lives, but it reminds us that everything under heaven needs rest.  I also love that God addresses the concern even before the people ask it. He tells them that in the 6th year, the land will produce enough for three years; isn't that amazing?  It tells me that when I am intentional about sabbath, God is able to produce more in my life, I can do more, produce more fruit in my obedience then if I never take sabbath.

I think it's in the title today, "Everything Needs Rest."   The application here for those who have busy lives to take rest, Sabbath, to realize that the work will still be there tomorrow and that God is able to make you more productive in the six days than you would be in seven.   That, like the soil, it produces better when it takes a Sabbath, its nutrients are replenished, the enemies  (pests) are reduced, its recovery time is critical... Application: TAKE REST.

Lord, thank you for your word that instructs me, the guides my life, that reminds me of what a loving Father you are, how you know the details of my life, what will bless me, what will not, how I should live and if I lean on you, on your word I will truely be blessed, and I will truely have life and life more abundent, so today I praise you in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Leviticus 16:2

and the LORD said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

'Access to the Holy of Holies" 

Until Jesus' death on the cross, only one person and only once a year could access the Holy of Holies to atone for their sins and the sins of Israel.   Today, we are again reminded that God is Holy and that we should have complete reverence for Him, that having access to the Lord and His presence is a privilege, and it comes at a high price.  For you and I, it came at the price of Jesus' life; you and I have access to the Lord, uninhibited access, the veil has been torn, the very thing that separated us from this most holy place has been removed, and we have been granted access, let that sink in...    You and I we have the privilege, the honor of coming into the Holy Presence of God, to stand before the great I AM... that should hit you differently...

The application today begs the question, are you taking this truth seriously, are you claiming the benefits of Christ's sacrifice, to atone once and for all so that you and I can have direct access to Father God, to come into His Holy Presence?   The call to action here, the application is that we would take time to "Come Into His Presence," to stand in Awe of His Holiness, to understand the power of this access, to have access to Him who has no limits, means my life got so much more powerful... let that sink in...

Lord, thank you for your sacrifice, thank you that we can gain access to your Holy Presence, that we have access to your infinite power, your wisdom, your purpose, your promises for our lives, may we enter as often as we can into your Holy Presence, to be with you, to experience the freedom that comes in your presence, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Leviticus 14:18

The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. So the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD.

"Atonement" 

As we read the Levitical laws, we might get lost as to what we are supposed to get from this book.  But, there is much to understand,  one of the biggest things is to recognize the effects of the fall of man, that sin's ripple effect all the way from Adam and Eve, has made its way even into things that are out of our control.   Today's verse, Leviticus 14:18, is the atonement ritual for a person made clean of leprosy, while this disease is not a result of the person's sin, it is a result of the fallen world, and it is a reminder that God is Holy, and thus He expects us to be Holy, "Qadosh," set apart for Him. 

For us this is a reminder of the atonement of Jesus for our sins, that we have been made right, cleansed from our unrighteousness, that Jesus paid the price that we could be clean, atoned for, that there was a cost involved in doing so, and Jesus paid it with His very life for us.

Lord, I pray that we would see the depth of your word, that it would affect and transform our hearts, that we would not pass by verses and miss your story in them, that we would form this reverence in our hearts for you. I thank you for your sacrifice, for the price that you paid for me, for all those who have received you. I praise you, Lord, it is in your name we pray, in Jesus' holy name, Amen!

Scripture:

Leviticus 11:45

For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

"Holiness,"  this word in Hebrew (qadosh) means set apart.  How we handle ourselves, what we eat, how we take care of ourselves, our bodies, our health, physical, emotional, mental, they matter to God, for we are to be "Qadosh" set apart, Holy because God is Holy and we are His people.   Notice that He says that He brought them out of the land of Egypt, "out of slavery" to be their God.   This is the most important thing that God has delivered us from slavery to be with Him, to establish this divine relationship, to be with us, to be our God, our Father, our Lord.

The application here is that we would consider Him in all that we do, how we manage our lives, that we have been called to be "Qadosh" to be Holy, to be "Set Apart,"  His special possession (1 Peter 2:9), we are to be different from the world, not looking like the patterns of the world.    

Lord, it is easy to live without thought, to live aimlessly, but you have called us to be set apart for you. Help us to manage our lives in a way that brings you glory and honor, that we would be Holy, set apart for you. Let us not neglect the little things, and help us in the weightier matters, that we might not miss our call to be "Qadosh."  In Jesus' name, Amen!