The Good, The Bad, and The Forgiven

Scripture: Leviticus 26 Key Verse: 26:3, 14,40-42
"This is what I will do if you will live by my laws and carefully obey my commands:...If you will not listen to me and obey all these commands,...But if thy confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors-the treacherous things they did to oppose me--I will oppose them and bring them into the lands of their enemies. Then, if they humble their uncircumcised hearts and accept their guilt, I will remember my promise to Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham. I will also remember the land."

Objective:
This chapter is all about the consequences of action. God says there are good consequences and bad consequences. We achieve the good by following His commands, and receive the bad by choosing to go against Him. God spends 10 verses talking about the good consequences and 26 verses talking about the bad. The chapter ends with hope for those that have received the bad consequences, all they need to do is accept their guilt in order to be restored into the promises of God.

Application:
As I was reading this It became obvious to me that God understands that we tend to be more motivated by understanding what negative things are going to happen to us. It doesn't mean we can stay away from receiving those consequences, but the motivation is there. Even more interesting is that despite the way God has been very harsh with the people, at the end of this chapter you see a glimpse of the God that we truly come to know in the New Testament, a God of Forgiveness and Second Chances. This God offers hope when it would seem the darkest. When the people are captives of another land and have been all but destroyed, God says then you may be ready to be humble and accept the guilt. "[If you do this] I will remember the promise to their ancestors"

Prayer:
Lord, I must be ready to accept the consequences of my actions. However you have paid the price for me. You took the consequences for all of us. We need to live into that promise and remember what you have done for us. There are still good and bad consequences today, and just as it was before it is a choice to take the good or the bad. I believe and accept the gift that was given to me when Jesus died upon the cross for my sins. I thank the Lord that there is a way for me to be "Forgiven" and brought back into communion with God.