Leviticus 26
THE BEST BLESSING
Of the blessings Israel were to be given for their obedience, one of the blessings stands out above the rest. It’s the last one. If you thought plenty of food, peace, safety and being powerful were blessings to covet, then this one eclipses them all. Listen: “I will put my tabernacle in your midst and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you, and I will be your God and you will be my people.” (Leviticus 26 v 11 – 12 NET).
God will be with us if we obey him. He will make his home with us. He will love us. If this was the only blessing we ever had, it would be the only one we ever wanted or needed, because when we are surrounded by perfection, we won’t need anything else.
Imagine what it was like for Adam and Eve before they sinned, when they walked and talked with God each evening in the paradise of the garden of Eden. With the blessing of God with us, this is what we can look forward to. It is what Israel would have had if they had obeyed wholeheartedly.
Let’s obey God. There are so many blessings for obedience, but the one we will be most blessed by is having God with us. Awesome!
Leviticus 27
TEN PERCENT
Our devotion to the Lord needs to show in every area of our lives. It may be that we read the Bible and pray, but that also needs to show in the way we live, in our time given to the Lord, in our generosity and in our energy.
God’s requirement for Israel was this: “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it. Every tithe of the herd and flock – every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod – will be holy to the Lord.”
What would it look like for us to devote a tithe of everything to the Lord? Would it make a big difference to our finances if we gave a tithe? What would it do to our free time if we gave ten percent of our time to God? How much would our prayer lives change? How much more time would we have to read the Bible? How much more time would we have to spend caring for the needs of others?
Let us give God what he wants and make sure that it is the best that we can give.
May our lives be dedicated to our God this week.
With love in our Lord,
Robert
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