Month: January 2021

1. Fruitful and Multiply

Leviticus 26:9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.

The promise of continued blessings for obedience to the commandments follows here: God will respect us, make us fruitful, multiply us, and establish his covenant with us. These blessings are consequences of keeping the Law. Jesus kept the Law for us, we are forgiven, and the promises are for us.

God promises to respect us, hold us in honor, grant us a position of high esteem, and treat each of us a special person. We all want to be respected, thought well of, and regarded highly by others, but we will never experience the respect we think we deserve. We cannot even respect ourselves as much as we need to. Self-esteem is very important, but we get it from God, not from the self.

God promises to make us fruitful. Jesus says the purpose of life is to bear fruit, and that our fruit should remain. Christians grow and show the fruit of the Spirit. It is God who makes us fruitful and beautiful, which is an amazing accomplishment when we remember the ash heap and dung pile we came out of. The greatest miracle is God turning filth into fruit, and so the Lord promises.

God promises to multiply us, not just physically with descendants, but He promises to extend our influence into the world around us. That influence is always for the better and for the improvement of humanity. We don’t see the multiplication that actually takes place, that is, the influence on other people, but we believe the promise that God will use us to influence others.

God promises to establish His covenant with us. He has chosen each believer in a special way to set His blessing upon. He has bound himself by covenant oath to keep all His very great and precious promises to us. All in all, He makes us special.

1. Enemies Shall Fall

Leviticus 26:8 And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

The similar promise of the defeat of enemies follows in this verse. Your enemies will fall before you by the sword. For us, God promises that our spiritual enemies will be defeated through the Word of God. The Word is the sword that fells the enemies of the soul. “One little word can fell him.” The Word of God is a word of power and grace and truth and life and forgiveness and love and salvation. For this reason there is much practical use and value for us to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word of God. When the Word gets into the heart we may call upon it and use it to fell the enemy in a time of need. It fells the enemy.

We need this promise since we do have enemies, and we are so frequently under attack. We don’t always see the issues of our lives as enemy attacks, for the enemies are invisible to the physical senses. But when we have this promise before us and in us we can more readily discern when sin, death, and Satan are preparing a spiritual attack of lies, temptations, threats, fears, and accusations. When we recognize the real source the Spirit helps to bring the Word of God to mind. When we wield the Word the temptation and the threat ends. We also remember that so often the “enemy is us.” This is why the enemy is hard to recognize. But with the help of the Word and the Spirit we see the strategy, prepare the sword, speak it in faith, and see the enemies fall. This kind of recognition (of self as the enemy) is called up by daily repentance and faith.

Another helpful part of this promise is that it doesn’t take it doesn’t take meaty, in-depth knowledge of Scripture. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred put ten thousand to flight. We may just use what Scripture verses we know. It doesn’t take much (“one little word…”). There are times when overwhelming evil force seems to be coming at us. Do not fear; pull out the sword. A little does a lot.

1. Chase the Enemies

Leviticus 26:7 And ye shall chase your enemies and they shall fall before you by the sword.

This promise is meant for war leaders like Joshua and the Judges, for David and the kings, but spiritually the promise is for us. We are also called to warfare, spiritual warfare, if we believe in Jesus. Faith in Christ puts us in spiritual battle against Sin, Death, and the Devil. And we will be at war with these enemies until final victory in the Great Battles of all Battles is fought and won at the End of the Age by our Lord of Lords. At the end of the story, the end of the age, the end of the war, the end of life on earth as we know it Jesus Christ comes to earth the second time to do battle against all sin and evil. And We Win!

Meanwhile, while we remain in spiritual struggles between the two Comings of the Christ, we have this promise that we shall chase our enemies, and they will fall before us by the Word of God. The Word is the primary weapon in this spiritual war by which we chase the enemies. The Word is the sword of victory. We use the Word of Grace against Sin in various ways employing the power of the Law and the Gospel to chase away Sin. Forgiveness is stronger than guilt. The Word of Truth is used to overcome the Devil, just like Jesus wielded it in the Temptation. When resisted he must flee. The Word of Life has great power in its effects to chase away Death, even forevermore. Death cannot come and take us into the Second Death. The Word says that we have eternal life, which is for now and for forever.

These enemies are always lurking around, looking for openings in our spiritual defenses to attack. They attempt to bring us into misery and defeat. Look around and see that you are still in the world where there is no lack of sin and trouble; pinch yourself and see that you are still in the sinful flesh with its selfish desires; and be aware that the devil is always around with his lies to steal the peace of God and the joy of the Lord.

But we take heart, we repent, we believe the gospel, and we chase with the sword; we overcome with the Word of God. The promise is for us every day, and every week. We take hold of this promise and apply it to every present issue.

1. Peace and Safety

Leviticus 26:6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.

The spiritual promise inherent in this physical promise is again a result and consequence of keeping the commandments. It is Jesus Christ who has kept the commandments for us, and by His innocent death He has earned for us the righteousness of God as a grace gift. Therefore, for Christ’s sake the spiritual promises of a spiritual kingdom of God (and later a physical kingdom in eternity) are ours to enjoy. It is God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom, which He has sealed into our hearts by faith.

In that kingdom there will be peace, the peace that only Jesus can give. In that kingdom we will lie down in comfort, for all our spiritual needs are taken care of by the Good Shepherd. In that kingdom there will be nothing and no one that can make me afraid. I truly have God’s Word and Promise to fear not, to worry not, to fret not, to stew not, to doubt not. In that kingdom the Lord will drive away the evil spirits that seek to plague me, tempt me, bring doubt and despair, cause trouble, and make me live in fear. In that kingdom there will be no more war and strife, for the enemy has been conquered. The sword and spear and darts of the Evil One have been taken away and Jesus has stripped the Enemy’s power.

War, strife, enmity, bitterness, fighting and fear are always lurking near us and in us to take away our peace, but the peace of God that passes all understanding is a strong and overwhelming force. And so the Lord promises to those who have kept His Commandments, and by faith in Christ He has kept them perfectly in our place. The merits of Christ earn for us a safe and secure place to enjoy the peace, joy and love of God in the spirit.

1. Prosperity

Leviticus 26:5 And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.

The Promise of Blessings as a consequence of keeping the commandments of God continue in this verse. If you keep the commandments, then you will have abundant peace and prosperity and overflowing crops and blessings.

You thresh so much wheat that you will thresh until it is time to harvest the grapes, and you will harvest so many grapes that it will take you until it is time to sow again in the Spring. You will have so much bread that you will be continually full and satisfied. In all of this prosperity you will dwell safely and peacefully with no threat from enemies. In Amos 9 God promises a similar abundant prosperity: “The days are coming when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed, the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.”

This image of abundance and plentiful fertility is fulfilled in the coming of Messiah, who gives the sign of changing water into plentiful and tasty wine. The same provision was shown in the feeding of the 5000 and the 4000 and in the miraculous catch of fish. The kingdom of God within flows with milk and honey, brings water out of the rock, drips sweet wine, and drops manna from heaven

These signs of physical and earthly prosperity point to the abundance, fertility and prosperity of the spiritual life of believers in the days of Messiah. God promises spiritual wealth and riches, extravagantly more than we need for simple forgiveness and salvation. Sadly, most Christians do not even know how wealthy they really are in the spirit. They are too busy complaining about their material poverty and worrying about what they will eat, drink and wear. We gain a different perspective when we set our eyes on the things above and look at what is not seen. The physical blessings are only signs of the spiritual blessings, which we enjoy because Jesus keeps the commandments for us. Therefore the Lord showers abundant spiritual blessing.

1. Rain, Increase, Fruit

Leviticus 26:4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 are the classical chapters on Blessings and Curses as conditional promises. A happy or a hard life is a direct cause of keeping or not keeping the Law as given in the Ten Commandments. Sin causes death and hardship; Upright moral living causes life and prosperity. The effects of the Law apply to this temporal life, as well as to the meriting of eternal life. Of course, everyone fails the test for eternal life and reaps only eternal death, but there are degrees of living and dying during this life. The degree of happiness does depend on the degree of obedience. We cannot make all the connections that lead to blessings or curses, but the Lord keeps track. The difficulties of life, the suffering, the shortening, the embittering, etc., are all the consequences of sin and disobedience. It is not a punishment. God punishes sin either on Jesus or in eternity, not in this life. However, He allows the consequences to take effect as a means of discipline.

The IF is in verse 3: “if you keep my commandments and do them…” The THEN follows in verse 4: “then I will give rain and a good yield…” In particular, the first 3 commandments are specified: having no other gods, no idols, and keeping Sabbath and worship. This is not a cause and effect relationship that anyone can see readily, but in some sense, down deep, everyone knows it to be true. So sometimes people make a “foxhole repentance and promise” seeking God’s help, favor, and blessing. The problem with recognizing the fact that ‘bad things happen” is that instead of turning to Christ in repentance and faith, we blame God and others, make excuses, rationalize, or make a vow to do better. But nothing works when we turn to self instead of God.

The only solution is the one provided by God: He sent His Son. Jesus is the answer: Jesus keeps the Commandments for us; His life, obedience, and consequent blessing is shared with us. In Christ, by faith, we have met the condition. Repentance and faith receives the merits of Christ through the gospel.

Now the rain comes at the right time to increase the yield of crops and fruit trees. We prosper and live well. But earthly prosperity is not the point; it is a sign that we can see; it points to the spiritual prosperity of the soul that believes. This spiritual rain (Spirit pouring out), increase (spiritual growth and yield) and fruit (the fruit of the Spirit) is promised by God, merited by the Son, and produced by the Word and the Spirit. We enjoy spiritual blessing, abundance and blessing.

1. Dwell in Safety

Leviticus 25:18,19 Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.

This is a conditional promise: if you keep the commandments, then you will dwell in the land in safety and enjoy abundant harvests. Many blessings and good things come our way if we could obey the commandments of God’s Law. The consequences of good, upright, moral living are numerous. On the other side, many curses will come into effect for disobedience to the Laws of God. Consequences in themselves are not necessarily promises; they are principles, but God promises that He will be faithful to the principles of Creation.

The specific promise in this verse is that you will live in the land in safety. We may take this promise for NT believers in a spiritual way, and claim it for ourselves by faith. We will dwell in the kingdom (or, the kingdom resides within us) in safety from our spiritual enemies (sin, death, devil); we will enjoy perfect peace in the kingdom free from fear and danger; we can rest in the safe place, in the strong refuge, in the mighty fortress, on the solid rock. We are spiritually safe. Sin tempts us but we can resist with God’s help, and the sins are taken away when we repent and believe. Death scares us and we want to avoid thinking about it at all costs; it is a frightful enemy, but the resurrection of Christ defeated death forever and we enjoy eternal life from this day forward. The Devil falsely accuses us and attempts to bring us into despair and shame; he tempts us through the world and our own flesh to fall into sin, disregard for the good, and unbelief in God. Through repentance and faith in the gospel we overcome daily, and we dwell safely in the Kingdom of God. 

This is God’s doing, for He puts the “Land” in us and a shield of protection around us; we dwell in safety. We cannot keep the statutes and judgments and do them; and so we cannot on our own merit expect to be spiritually safe. But Jesus has done it for us; He has lived righteously according to the Law. Be faith we have His life. By repentance we receive forgiveness. The promise is real: dwell in safety.

1. Inherit and Possess the Land

Leviticus 20:24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the Lord your God which have separated you from other people.

The Lord repeats the central promise of Land, which He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve tribes of Israel. You shall inherit the land, and I will give it to you to possess. The Lord did give Israel the land of Canaan, and they did possess it, though not completely.

The Land Promise is a spiritual promise for all the people who are believers in Jesus Christ. The Land is the Kingdom of God, the spiritual heaven where God lives and reigns, or, eternal life with God. The promise came true when the Son of God came to earth, announced it, showed it for all to see, bought it back from the Enemy with his shed blood, victoriously possessed it in the resurrection of the body, and freely gave it to us who would believe, receive and possess it. Heaven enters the hearts of believers in Christ.

The Lord our God has separated us from other people. The Jews were “different,” and the difference was evident when they kept the dietary and ritual rules that God had given to them. They were Holy. The holiness they had received from God separated them from other people. NT believers are also saved to be different than the rest of the world, and we are separated from other people. Unfortunately, we spend our lives trying to fit in, go along, and be like the world’s people. But we are separate and “different.” Humans cannot always tell the difference and people cannot always see what separates us from other people, but God sees. The Lord sees and knows who has the life of God in them and who doesn’t.

Christians are continually possessing the kingdom (“seek ye first the kingdom of God…”). We are taking it over from the enemy usurpers. The promise is that Sin, Death, and the Devil are conquered at the cross and the tomb, and through prayer and trust, by repentance and faith, with Word and Spirit, we drive out the unbelieving spirits who don’t belong in our lives and in our land. We exercise this authority based on the promise of inheritance and possession. “The kingdom ours remaineth.”

1. You Shall be Holy

Leviticus 19:2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy. Leviticus 20:26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy.

“You shall be holy.” This is a command, not a promise. But we are going to use an English language trick and make the command “thou shalt” become a promise, “you shall.” This verse is not a promise that you shall be holy, but the Bible does contain promises that “you shall be holy.” You are declared righteous and considered holy by faith in Jesus Christ. In the heavenly transaction, we give Jesus our sins and ungodliness and He gives us righteousness and holiness. Indeed, and in real truth, we shall be holy, through faith in Christ, wrought by the Holy Spirit.

We never can, and never will, be holy in any sense by ourselves without God. We are sinful, we cannot stop sinning, and we are thoroughly corrupt. We cannot change that. But God still commands that we shall be holy, and amazingly, He still promises that we shall be holy. This can only happen through the miracle of God’s grace working through Jesus Christ, and through the outworking of faith worked in by the Holy Spirit. And so it is both a command and a promise: “You shall be holy.” As a command it is impossible; as a promise it become possible.

We need to be overwhelmed with the impossibility of ever becoming anything close to being holy. We are faced with doom and despair. Yes, the Lord my God is holy, but I can never be holy like that. God says, “OK, I’ll make you holy. I give you my Son, and we will send the Spirit.” We then need to be overwhelmed with the possibility of the awesome grace of God, who makes us holy through faith. God did the impossible, and all because He loves us.  We are overwhelmed with amazing love.

All of this “being holy” makes sense, and God must do it, because the Lord is holy. Anything unholy, or even the least bit unclean or stained, cannot be in the Presence of God, or death would immediately result. Therefore, you should be holy. It must be so, for there is no other way to have eternal life, or to live with God in heaven, or to have God, His life, and His heaven living inside us.

Read the sentence three ways: 1) as a command, “Be holy, like I am;” 2) as a requirement, “You must be holy, for I am;” 3) as a promise, “You will be holy, my holiness will make it happen.” We can understand this sentence in all three senses at once.

1. Land will not Spit you out

Leviticus 18:28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.

The conditional promise in this chapter is conditional: if you keep the laws of God and do no sexual abominations, then the land will not vomit you out. The context of Lev. 18 is all kinds of sexual abominations, like incest, adultery, homosexuality, and such. These kinds of things the pagans living in the land were doing regularly and so the Lord would vomit them out. (God did this through Joshua and the armies of Israel.) The Lord is giving you the land, but the uncleanness, defilement, and abomination of sin must be cleared out first.

After the people conquered the Land and drove out the pagans, they are warned to beware that they do not follow the same abominations themselves or God will vomit them out of the land. “Land” is defiled by sexual sin, and other sins, and it becomes unclean so that the Lord cannot dwell there. This physical image symbolizes the spiritual truth that the Kingdom of God comes into the heart by faith. This is the land we enter by faith in Christ. The Spirit of God cannot dwell in a land of filth, and after a time the unbelieving, defiled person will be vomited out of God’s Presence. Eventually, the people of God were “spued out” of the geographical Land in the captivity and exile. 

This warning is a negative threat that can be turned around into a positive promise, namely: The Lord will keep you in His kingdom if you are “clean.”However, we know that we become polluted quickly just living in this alien world. But the “blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” We must be constantly cleansed to remain dwelling in the blessed kingdom of God. Repentance and faith keep us there. It is possible to drift away from God and His Kingdom by allowing defilements to live and grow and thrive in a cleansed soul. Therefore, we repent before abominations get a strong hold on us. And God promises, “The kingdom will not vomit you out.” I will keep you, hold you, and finish what I started. “You shall be holy,” and the Lord makes us holy. Then we stay in the “Land.”