DAY 3
DATE: 1/3/13
Good Morning! My name is Enoch Watt, and I was asked to give you a devotional thought from the book of Leviticus, chapters 25-26.
KEY VERSE:
Leviticus 26:12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
REFLECTIONS:
Leviticus 25-26 deal with the Mosaic covenant that God made with Israel. The Old Testament Israelites had very strict laws concerning their land. They were promised great blessings if they followed the laws, but they were to beware God’s curse if they failed to obey His laws.
After Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, the Old Testament law became unnecessary as God’s grace became available to all who would accept Him. Galatians 3:24-25 says, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” As we grow in our relationship with Christ and become more like Him, we don’t need a list of rules to keep us right. We do right because we are striving to be like Him Who did no wrong.
In Leviticus 25-26, we see the promise of great punishment coming upon the children of Israel if they failed to follow God’s laws for them. While we are no longer under the law, God still chastens us when we fail to follow Him. Hebrews 12:7 says, “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” We are chastened as by a loving Father, and the purpose is to bring us closer to Him.
The children of Israel also saw the promise of great blessing when they followed God, and this principle also extends to us today. Christ says in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” At salvation, we are given not only the promise of Heaven but also a more abundant life on this Earth.
After God instructs His people in Leviticus about the blessings of following Him, and the curses of disobeying Him, He addresses one more principle which also applies to us today. The curses on the people of Israel were to be swift and severe if they strayed from God’s law. However, if at any time they repented and sought forgiveness, God would gladly restore the blessings He had promised to them. We see this principle for our lives in I John 1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When we neglect God and drift away from following Him, He is always waiting with open arms to welcome us back into fellowship with Him.
APPLICATION:
Samuel Johnson said, “People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.” We certainly know that God blesses us when we follow Him and chastises us when we disobey Him, but are we daily aware of it? Are we living as though we know it or is it just knowledge? We know that when we are away from God, we only have to confess our sin and repent in order to be restored to fellowship with Him. But do we live that way? We ought to seek His forgiveness the moment we realize something is not right in our lives.
Thank you for being a part of Route 66. Thanks for reading, and you have a blessed day!
In Christ,
Enoch Watt
SAVED: September 1987
FAVORITE BOOK IN BIBLE: I John
FAVORITE BIBLE CHARACTER: David
FAMILY: Wife – Andrea; Kids – Grace (6), Isaac (2)
OCCUPATION: Ironworker