"Blessings and Curses" February 24 Readings: Leviticus 26-27, Mark 4:1–20, Psalm 28:1–3, Proverbs 6:32-33

Today's Readings - Leviticus 26-27, Mark 4:1–20, Psalm 28:1–3, Proverbs 6:32-33

Devotional - Blessings and Curses 

There is little doubt what Leviticus 26 meant to the Israelites; it is about as plain as it gets. God called his people to put him first and to honor him with their lives (verses 1-2). He then set forth a series of blessings that would come to the nation if they walked as God commanded (3-13). They would see prosperity as their crops produced abundantly and they would be protected from harm. The power of God would work through them and their enemies would flee before them. Best of all, God promised his presence and power to dwell among them. He would be their God and they would be his people. All they had to do was to obey.

But, in verse 14, things turn dark. As God would bless his obedient people, he would also discipline them for their disobedience (14-39). First, he would remove all the blessings he had promised for obedience. If that did not bring them to repentance, he would multiply their suffering, over and over again. As God once had brought ten plagues on Egypt he would bring repeated and escalating disaster on his people in retribution for their sins.

But God is still a gracious God. His discipline is always designed to restore and rebuild the nation he loved and had chosen as his own. No matter how far down the path of sin they went, God promised them he would renew his grace and goodness to them whenever they would repent (40-45).

Unfortunately, this passage became a sad prophecy of the future of Israel. They followed the path of sin far more than they walked in the ways of God. God was amazingly faithful whenever Israel was obedient, but those times were rare. They experienced much more of God's discipline than his blessing.

The hard part is how to apply these scriptures in our lives today. Many would say that because of the death of Christ and our acceptance in him, principles such as this no longer apply. God does not bring discipline on wayward believers anymore but only responds with grace. That is a misunderstanding of God's Word. Things have changed in the New Testament era, but more than one passage reminds us that God still disciplines us for being wayward children.

Israel's blessings were physical and temporal. Our blessings are often spiritual and eternal. But the fact is that today, as in the days of the Old Testament, God pours out blessings on our lives when we walk in obedience to him and he disciplines us in love when we disobey.

Our relationship with God is based on the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, not on our own works. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. But our daily experience of the blessings of Christ does depend on our walk of faith. Too many Christians walk in sin and ignorance of the ways of God, yet still expect God to give them everything they need or want.

Faith brings us into an eternal relationship with God. But obedience is the key to the daily experience of all the goodness of God.

Father, may I walk daily in obedience to you that I might experience all the blessings of life!  Your goodness is beyond compare. 

Think and Pray

Which of the readings spoke most powerfully to you today?
Is the Spirit of God moving you to repent of something you are doing, to begin something new, or to change something about your life as a result of your readings? What?

Are you making the choices that bring the blessing of God into your life, or are you incurring the discipline of your loving Heavenly Father by your disobedience?
Can you see circumstances in your life that are the natural or logical consequences of your own foolish or sinful choices?