By Kyle Beshears
Instructor of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
Set Futures
Leviticus 26:3–16,40–45
Promise (3–13)
God promises Israel their obedience to Him would lead to human flourishing. He promised sustained life, peace and crops — all the necessary ingredients for a healthy and godly culture. But there is something very important hidden in this promise. If verse 9 sounds familiar, the phrase “to be fruitful and multiply,” that is because we have seen it before. In the Garden of Eden, God commanded humanity through Adam and Eve to create families and cultures that honored Him (Gen. 1:28). We failed. Then after the flood, God reiterated His command for humanity to create families and cultures that honored Him (Gen. 9:1). We failed again. God issued the same command to Jacob (Gen. 35:11) and finally to Jacob’s offspring, Israel (Lev. 26:9). Guess what? They too eventually failed. However, hidden in verse 9 is a promise in the command. “I will turn to you [and] make you fruitful and multiply.” It is God who is fulfilling this task because obviously we cannot do it alone.
Much later the Lord Jesus echoed this same commission to be fruitful and multiply as His disciples who go into the world and make more disciples (Matt. 28:19–20). Unsurprisingly, He makes the promise of His presence “always, to the end of the age” as we obey Him in our task (Matt. 28:20). It is always God who wills and works in us to bring about glory to His name.
Warning (14–16)
Sin brings severe consequences. Not only does it disrupt the order that God desires and brings death, but also it invites God’s discipline for those whom He calls His own. Whenever Israel failed, God committed to reprimand and correct them. Yet even the punishments were within His sphere of control. His punishment was done with the ultimate hope that Israel would recognize her sin, repent and return. The goal then was restoration. While it may seem strange, Israel ought to take comfort in these words. No other nation garnered God’s affection like theirs, “for the Lord disciplines the one He loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights” (Prov. 3:12). Yes, sin brings consequences but those consequences are a sure sign of God’s favor.
Return (40–45)
God promised Israel that repentance from sin would always stir His memory to remember the covenant that He made with them. He would remember the covenant He made with Abraham to bless the whole earth through his offspring (Gen. 22:17–18). We know that blessing was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus (Gal. 3:16). This is the great comfort of the gospel. John wrote, “If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
Notice that he did not say when we sin but if we sin. Just as the goal for Israel was obedience, the default mode of the believer ought to be obedience. But if we sin, God has promised to forgive us through repentance in the Lord Jesus. That repentance ought to be followed by amending our wrong so far as it is possible. In doing so we further God’s desire for blessing and flourishing. Never forget this incredible truth: the kindness that God showed Israel for repentance has spread to the whole world through Christ. Everyone, regardless of gender, race or nationality, can place their hope in the offering of forgiveness from God through His Son to all those who would repent from sin and follow Him.
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