Leviticus 26:3 ~ IF I do...? ~ Reciprocity: Part Two

Good morning!  What a blessing it is to meet fellow seekers of the truth, on our journey through this land called earth.  Welcome to our humble tent ... please come on in, sit down and relax,  as we prepare to share the amazing manna that God has so graciously given us today.

At our last meeting, we had a sort of "appetizer" as we began Leviticus 26:1-2: click here to review.  GOD began to lay down the conditions of blessings for Israel, who were now in the Promised Land.  (1) No idolatry (2) Keep the Sabbaths (3) Reverence the sanctuary.  He reminded them of the strong and sure Foundation upon which everything good is built; "I AM the LORD your God"!

The LORD is now about to lay out 24 Conditional Blessings ~ blessings that are based on conditions being met: the principle of reciprocity (responding to a positive action with another positive action).

Today's measure of manna seems small in amount (only one verse).  However, it is very, very rich; best taken in smaller portions, so we can digest it properly.

LEVITICUS 26:3 
"If you walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them; ... "

Here we have 3 more conditions, to which our GOD so graciously responds with blessings.  The first 3 were commands; the next 3 seem to imply our free choice.  Free-will choices are, sometimes, the more difficult for us, aren't they?  They are certainly the most precious to our Father!

:3(a) "IF you ... "

This is the HUGE condition, right here!!  We must choose to obey.  Will we ... or won't we?  It is a moment by moment, day by day, choice!   God has already established His absolute Authority, Ability and Power. He is now about to tell us what He will do, predicated on what we decide to do.

:3(b) ~ "walk in My statutes,"

Action: walk ~ come, go, accompany, follow, move, travel, walk around in, come and let us go (wow! I love this definition ... thank You, Jesus!)

Where: statutes ~ something prescribed, an enactment, appointed, fixed order, ordinance

*NOTE: GOD set up statutes, ordinances, commandments, laws, precepts and boundaries for our safety and blessing ... not to be rigid restrictions of our actions.  Bless His heart;  He loves us SO much!

:3(c) ~ "and keep My commandments,"

Action: keep (8104) ~ preserve, take heed, pay attention, observe, look narrowly, watch(man), protect

What: commandment (4687) ~ whether human or divine (collectively, the Law) -- (which was) commanded(-ment), law, ordinance, precept, order, obligation.

:3(d) ~ "and do them;" 

Action: do (6213) ~ accomplish, practice, perform, carry out, bring about
What: commandments ~ same as above ... GOD wants us, not only to keep His commandments safe and close, in our hearts and minds.  He also wants us to do them, which requires our action!

Sounds simple, yes?  Well, it is.  And ... it is not.


WALK ... KEEP ... DO:  these are all verbs ... action words!

Walk in them, keep them and do them ...

Doesn't seem so simple ... after all ... 

OK, we have plenty here to ruminate on.  Let us just relax here and chew over the conditions that we have so far, before we go on to the on the blessings that the LORD promises to us.  I am feeling full to overflowing, myself ... I need to digest what is my part in this lesson.  Wow ...

A Quick Review ~ To Do List:
GOD commanded us: 1. No idols
2. Keep His Sabbaths
3. Reverence His Sanctuary

Here, the LORD gives us the privilege (and responsibility) of choice (if we):
4. Walk in the His statutes
5. Keep His commandments
6. Do His commandments

For study purposes, we may want to keep a list handy.  We are no longer bound by the Law (thank You, Jesus).  However, according to God's principles and promises, every choice we make does have consequences.  Which makes this measure of manna, as all of God's Word, a truly a "Super-Food."

Surely, knowing that our Lord is the Great I AM is enough.  I should do as He says.  He made me.  He knows what is best for me ... but, is that enough for me?  Is that knowledge and belief really all I truly need, to obey Him?  Do I really believe Him?  How do I show it?  Do I act on His commands and instructions, or (gulp) do I sometimes walk away and forget, or ignore, Him?  I would like to want to be obedient in all these things, before even knowing what He promises will follow my obedience.

So, dear friends, I am going to make myself an action list.

How and where do I walk?  Do I always walk humbly with my God? (Micah 6:8)  How, exactly, do I depend on Him?  Have I been heeding God's statutes, or do I still rebel?

Am I always aware of God's commandments?  Where do I keep them ... on my wall or bookshelf?  Or, in my heart and forefront of my mind?  What do I do about protecting our right to display them? (oh my, this is getting a little uncomfortable)

OK, how exactly do I do His commandments?  Have I memorized them?  Have they yet become habits, that I do without thinking ... or not?  How can I improve my performance of my Father's commandments?

On these things, I must sit quietly and meditate ... or, as Nike says; JUST DO IT!!!


Until we meet again, may God bless you, Tot ons weer ontmoet, mag God jou seën (Afrikaans)

I am blessed every day

with some new revelation of God's Word.

I will be sharing my measure of manna

with all who come to my "tent."

Please, let me know if you have been blessed

by the way it was prepared for you this day.

 ~Shalom~

Exodus 20:8-11 ~ Remember the Sabbath Day!

Photos: by myshilohranch~see bottom of page.

We were last looking into the third commandment that God gave Moses from Mt. Sinai:

EXODUS 20:7 ~ "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

That study was a three course meal in itself!

As we continue to gather: I am beginning to see a correlation between Psalm 23 and the fourth commandment ... a brand new revelation to me! It has to do with our coming aside and how the Lord goes ahead, prepares, then leads us into His rest ... and for what reasons. Isn't our God SO awesome?!!!!

PSALM 23

1 The Lord is my Shepherd: I shall not want,

2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul:

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

I will fear no evil: for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me, in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

Photo from Picasa: photographer, please contact me.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

How beautiful ... and thorough ... is our God??!!!!

**SUGGESTION: Go over Ps 23, slowly; let it sink in ... and see what the Lord shows you. Please, share your blessing with us: tell us what you "got" from pairing the two Scriptures!!!

OK, finally, we pick up our study at:

EXODUS 20:8

8 ~ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Remember: means literally: to mark in the mind. I like that! I need my mind marked by God's will for me. Not by the other stuff that clutters it up, much like grafitti! Actually, in Deuteronomy 5:12 , "remember" was replaced with "keep." NOTE: More food for thought here!

Shabath: to desist from exertion. How could we possibly keep the day holy, when we are busy exerting our energies in every different direction, except towards God??? Additionaly, we usually busy ourselves with something we should have done or could have done on other days of the week. We so do not observe our rest-day as the so-very-special one that our God gave to us! SO special, to Him, as to call it holy. Wow!

9 Six days shall you labor, and do all your work:

Yes, we were created to rest 1 day out of every 7... BUT ... we were also ordered to work ... and get all of our work finished in 6 days! This is a part of the commandment that we have all chosen to ignore at one time or other. God did not suggest to us to work 4 days or 5 and rest for the whole weekend or holiday.... although, that is what seems right and fair to us!

He did not say, "do most of your work." He offers up no exceptions here. He does not say, "if you can," or "unless something else comes up." He said to do it all in 6 days ... then rest. YIKES!!! Here I thought I was a star-quality rester, but God's Word shows me otherwise.

I must confess; I often misuse the rest-days God gives me, by doing work that I don't get finished throughout the week! :( There just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day, or the week, or the month, ... year.... Oh dear, it seems I have been minimizing the Lord's sufficiency, haven't I? Another trust issue??!!! I think so. :/

I am SO sorry LORD ... You are my Provider and my Provision ... You are All-Sufficient! I do KNOW You are!!!

10 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates.

Only the Levites worked on the Sabbath. They were actually commanded to work, butchering and offering the sacrifices ... oh whoa, you pastors, what an honor!

God commanded man to work 6 days and to rest on the 7th, for many good reasons, physical and spiritual. As human beings, we were created to function in this manner. For healthy bodies, minds, and spirits ... we need to rest from our work on that 7th day!

Oh, how slack we have become ... and I speak of myself as one of the worst offenders! I have not made the Sabbath a priority for most of my life. God however, obviously considers this day so important a priority that He made it His FOURTH commandment!!! Helloooooo!!

11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

We are to keep the Sabbath day holy. Holy to the LORD. HE treasured and hallowed the day of His rest ... should we treat ours with any less reverence???

During Old Testament times, all work was forbidden by law on the rest day, under penalty of death!

Thankfully, we are no longer bound by the Law ... indeed, Jesus took care of all that for us! HALLELUJAH! We are now free to observe any sabbath of our choice, there is no commandment in the New Testament on this subject, no penalty stated for not keeping it.

This does not alter the fact that the purpose of the Sabbath is for our good and for God's glory. He orders our focus on and fellowship with Him only every one day out of seven ... to rest, heal, and refresh our bodies, quiet our spirits, and refill us with and grow His Spirit in us. We thrive in the presence of and in communion with God.

Jesus knows His sheep: we would go on our merry way to destruction and miss our Shepherd's best for us .... if He had not included this special time to come aside with Him in the"big 10."

We need not take this to the extreme, like the Hebrews did in OT times. Unnecessary work is one of the keys. The law allowed for emergencies, necessary care of stock and such. Many of us have necessary chores that must be done, but I believe that we ought to consecrate every ounce of that time to God!

Not that I have attained to this standard yet, as I would like to, but keeping the Sabbath is a vitally important principle of well-being! It is a proven fact, that rest and recharging increases productivity.

God first gave the Sabbath to man in Ex 16:22-26. It was gift to man, meant to be a delight, not a burden. Like all of His treasure, this gift is right here, just waiting for us to accept it! Our LORD is SO good to us!

We really NEED to set aside a sabbath day each week, on the day of our choosing, rest from our finished work, minister to the LORD and allow Him to minister to us and give us direction for the week to come.

Jesus observed the sabbath: how dare we think that we can function properly without observing it?! Granted, He followed Jewish laws and traditions, but He also drew aside as a regular practice.
The LORD, in His infinite wisdom, has a total and complete plan for us. The perfection of detail that He attends to, just blows me away! It is so true: we are totally out of balance, if we fail to acknowledge His laws of work and rest! Again, as with the law of gravity, there are consequences for breaking the law and blessings for keeping it. We can choose to ignore it, but that doesn't change the force and reality of the law.

Also, by consistently stopping once a week, to acknowledge God as the Giver of every good gift and the Provider of our bread; we are letting Him (and everyone else in our realm) know, that we recognize that ALL we have is from Him, not from anything that we have done or earned! Don't you just love WIN, WIN, WIN situations??!

I will tie up this study with an excerpt from Jon Courson's Application Commentary Old Testament~Vol 1:

"Spend time in worship. Take a break. Kick back. Chill out. Pray. Read. Talk. Enjoy. Fly a kite. Take a nap. Listen to your kids. When a day is set apart, conversations begin to flow; people begin to open up. But it takes a chunk of time -- an entire day set aside. One day should be so free, so refreshing, so relaxing that dynamics take place that would not in any lesser amount of time. The Sabbath is a gift. Make it a time when your family, your health, your soul can be restored."

Thanks for stopping by. See you next time :)

Dear Father, thank You SO much for being our Provision

for every single detail of our lives!
Thank You for loving us SO much, that you

GAVE

Your Son, Your Word, and Your Holy Spirit

to be an example and to teach, guide, and direct us in Your ways.

Please help us work as unto You

and to finish our work in Your alloted time.

Then draw us, Lord, into Your perfect rest with You.

Remind us to stop and just be still and know

that You are our God.

Amen

I am blessed every day with some new revelation of God's Word.

I will be sharing my measure of manna with all who come to my "tent.

Please, let me know if you have been blessed by the way it was prepared for you this day.

~Shalom~

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