Leviticus 26; Psalm 72

 READ: LEVITICUS 26; PSALM 72

TEXT FOR MEDITATION: Leviticus 26:2-6

You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

“If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, ⁴ then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. ⁶ I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land.  

REFLECT

In this passage, God was promising blessings that He would bestow on the people of Israel if they walked in the commandments that God had given them. Obedience would bring rich harvests throughout the year, peace in the land, and God would remove harmful beasts from the land.

This passage raises two questions for me: 1) Is God's providence  conditional upon our obedience? Is God like a petty deity who demands that we do things his way or else he will bring down punishment upon us? 2) Is this promise of receiving good for obedience, and evil for disobedience, borne out by experience? Does it mean that the righteous will always receive good things, and the unrighteous receive bad things? If that is so, how about Job who was a righteous man yet, suffered greatly? Or the wicked in the Psalmist's lament in Psalm 73 who prospered all their lives? More personally, can I be confident that I will only receive blessings and not curses from God if I live a good life?

RELATE

The question of whether God really rewards the righteous with good things and punishes the wicked with disasters, has troubled thoughtful persons even in the days of the Old Testament. And theological debates on this issue continue to our day. It affects us deeply and very personally. Because it is most unjust that a righteous person should suffer so much, while the wicked continue to prosper in their evil schemes. And frankly, it hurts a great deal. And we ask, "Does God really care for me? If He does, why is He not protecting me from evil and disasters? Or could it be that He is really helpless and unable to intervene in my situation?

These are painful questions, especially when they affect us personally. And over the millennia, no one has yet found any intellectual answers to these questions.

But while we do not have an intellectual answer, many have found solace in what Job discovered. This is what he said: 

 “I know that you can do all things,

    and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
    but now my eye sees you;
6 therefore I despise myself,
    and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:1-3, 5-6

Job had many of the questions that we have when we feel let down by God. And he found no satisfactory intellectual answers. And then he met with God personally. At that moment he realised that while there were no answers that he could articulate, deep inside he knew that God really cared for him and that God was far more powerful then he could even imagine. He had no more doubts after this encounter. He was completely humbled and silenced. 

Leviticus 26:2 urges us to "reverence God's sanctuary". This is another way of saying to humbly come to God's presence. In practical terms, God invites us to come crying to Him and pouring out our grief and disappointment. Whether we weep or we rant, God invites us to just come to Him. It is in His Presence that we will find comfort and assurance that God is fully in-charge, and that He cares.

REST

Father I am in pain. And there is so much injustice that I suffer every day. I thought that if I was faithful to you, you would take care of me and keep me from the evil schemes of my enemies. But if that was so, why am I the victim of so much injustice? I do not understand. Father, I don't want answers now. Please just comfort me and assure me that you hold me tenderly in your hands. I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.