33 B'CHUKKOTAI (in my statutes); Lev 26:3-27:34, Luke 23&24

[Bruce Bertram]

3‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, (Leviticus 26:3 NASB95)

Starting right off in this section we get another reminder that obedience to God is not only required but will bring blessings, including an abundance of food, peace, success in battle, and being the dwelling place of God. Ignoring what He says will bring curses, including terror, consumption, fever, and fear of enemies. There will be a phased punishment for disobedience, meaning that if these first things don’t cause repentance, then He will step it up seven times and make the sky like iron and the earth like bronze, and the land will not yield crops in abundance, if at all. If this doesn’t work then the process will be increased another factor of seven (or length of time) with plague and beast attacks. Again if these things do not bring about repentance He will add pestilence and more famine (again with the seven times factor), and if these do not work then He will make things so bad that people will eat their children, He will make the land desolate, and scatter Israel among her enemies where they will be terrified and rot away (seven times over). He makes sure that the land gets its Sabbaths. On the bright side, God tells Israel that if they repent and confess, He will ‘remember His covenant with Abraham Isaac and Jacob.’

Chapter 27 has rules for the valuation of people, animals and land, for vows or consecration purposes. Among the rules are provisions for redemption and that the tithe of the land (verse 30) belongs to God.

In Luke 23 Jesus is taken to Pilate. The Jewish leaders want Him executed, but Pilate can find no fault in Him. He attempts to set Jesus free, but the leaders will have none of it. Pilate tries to find a way out of executing an innocent man by sending Him to Herod when he finds out that Jesus is from the Galil. Herod is delighted, but delight turns to disgust as Jesus refuses to talk to him. He has Jesus dressed in a robe and after his soldiers mock Jesus some more they send Him back to Pilate. This results in a friendship between Pilate and Herod. Again Pilate tries to release Jesus because he can find no evidence that the Jewish leader’s accusations of inciting a riot or leading a revolt are true. But the leaders are insistent that Jesus be executed, and a known rebellion leader and murderer be released instead. Reluctantly Pilate orders that Jesus be crucified. As He is led out to the crucifixion site, a man named Simon is ordered to help carry the cross, and Jesus tells weeping women to weep for themselves instead because of what will happen after this. The procession gets to the hill of the Skull, and Jesus is nailed to the cross in between two criminals. Jesus asks God to forgive the people for not knowing what they are doing, the religious leaders hurl insults, and the soldiers mock Him as He begins to die under a sign saying ‘King of the Jews.’ One of the two criminals abuses Jesus by saying that if He was the Messiah He should save Himself and them, while the other rebukes him and asks Jesus to remember him when Jesus comes into His Kingdom. Jesus tells the man ‘today you will be with Me in paradise.’ From about the sixth hour till the ninth hour there is darkness over the land, and then Jesus cries out ‘Father into your hands I commit my spirit’ and breathes His last. A centurion becomes convinced because of these events that Jesus truly was innocent, while others mourn His passing. Because it is a Preparation day for the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea asks for the body of Jesus and lays it in a new tomb. The women who followed Jesus watch where His body is laid and go to prepare burial spices for after Sabbath.

On the first day of the week, the women go back to the tomb, find the stone rolled away, and the body missing. Perplexed, they are confronted by two men in white who ask why they are looking for the living One among the dead. They remind the women that He said He would be handed over, but resurrect on the third day. The women return and tell the disciples, but are not believed. Peter goes to the tomb to check out the story, but is also puzzled by the lack of a body. Meanwhile, on the road to Emmaus, two disciples are talking when Jesus walks up to them. They are prevented from recognizing Him, and continue their journey, explaining to Jesus all of the recent crucifixion events. Jesus corrects their thinking by using Moses and the prophets to help them understand all that had to happen. He makes as if to go on when they stop at the end of the day, but they persuade Him to stay for dinner. As he breaks the bread their eyes are opened to recognize Him and He disappears.

32They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32 NASB95)

They got up right away and returned to Jerusalem, where they told the 11 what had happened. While they are explaining, Jesus appears in their midst. They are afraid at first, thinking He is a spirit, but He reassures them by showing His hands and feet, and asking for something to eat. Then He opens their minds to understand the Scriptures and explains how everything had to happen, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins was to be preached to all nations, starting in Jerusalem. He tells them to wait in the city for power from on high, then goes out with them to Bethany where He begins to bless them and as He does so is carried up into Heaven.

Shalom

[Bruce Bertram]

Beautiful and overflowing blessings are promised in Leviticus 26 to His people who follow His ways. The grape harvest (fall) will be so abundant that it will overtake the grain harvest (spring), and there will be so much food that old will be thrown out to make room for the new (26:5, 10). The land will be so productive because God will be there in their midst (26:11). In some ways these blessings may only apply to Israel when she is in her land and doing what God says, but in other ways they can also apply to those who may not be physical Israel yet nevertheless do their best to follow God’s ways. Perhaps not identically, since we aren’t able to live in the land, but close.

However, if His people refuse to follow His ways, a whole ‘nother experience is waiting.

14‘But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, 15if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant, 16I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up. 17‘I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you. (Leviticus 26:14-17 NASB95)

God goes on to outline more misery and pain if the disobedience continues. If the first series of penalties does not result in repentance, He will multiply them by seven (Lev. 26:21). If those don’t do the job, He will do another round of multiplication by a factor of seven (Lev. 26:28). We see some of the culmination of this horrifying multiplication table by the time of Jesus, when not only are there still a lot of Jews dispersed in the nations, the land of Israel is ruled by a grip of iron through a foreign power. At this time there is still hope for repentance, but sadly, instead of repentance Israel’s heart gets harder and the Messiah is rejected and executed. Not much further into the future and the temple is destroyed, then the city flattened, and the Jews will begin a much longer and darker time of discipline. Still, there is hope.

44‘Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. (Leviticus 26:44 NASB95)

God in Jesus forges the means of individual salvation for any whom repent of their deeds and accepts the Messiah anyway, pointing to the future time of salvation for all who are truly Israel.

45Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (Luke 24:45-47 NASB95)

Yes! Through the rejection and partial blindness and disobedience of the people of God He brings forth the realization of His promise in the Garden, that is, ‘God with us’ for the redemption of our souls.

12Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! 13But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. 15For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (Romans 11:12-15 NASB95)

Ultimately, the disobedience of Israel, a representation of the disobedience of the whole world, will not be allowed to stand, in the same way all disobedience will not be allowed to stand. And if their rejection is reconciliation for all, as Paul says, then how much blessing will come if Israel accepts Him? Only life from the dead! Truly a harvest of blessings flow from Him who is our fullness and peace!

8But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” (Romans 10:8-13 NASB95)

Shalom

[Bruce Bertram]

Leviticus 26:3 - 27:34; Jeremiah 16:19-17:14; Luke 23 and 24; John 14:15-21, 15:10-12; 1 John

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. (1 John 2:3–8, ESV)

Love is a funny word. We use it and abuse it on a regular basis. We love certain foods. We love summer weather. We ‘make love.’ Movies and TV shows are always talking about finding love. Songs lament the passing of love or exult when true love arrives. Christians speak of “loving the sinner” while hating the sin. Buttons and bumper stickers declare a love for Jesus. We seem to know a lot about love. Or do we?

Judging by how many times we hear the word love in a day, you’d think that the world was a warm, wonderful place full of warm wonderful people doing warm wonderful things for each other. But that, obviously, isn’t the case. In fact, it seems the more we talk about love the less of it we see. Could it be that we don’t know love like we think we do?

The human definition of love is frequently out of whack and mixed up. We confuse sentiment or strong feelings for love. We call sex ‘making love.’ We say that allowing people to engage in harmful life choices like homosexuality is love. We ‘fall in’ love in the blink of an eye, and fall out of love just as easily. We use love as an excuse to murder, as a name for rock and roll stars, or to describe how we feel about ice cream. We use the word casually, without thought, and without almost any foundation. In fact, we use the word love in almost every way except how it’s supposed to be used.

God defines love a little differently. In fact, He is love. In order to love, we have to be with Him. We cannot love without Him. We can experience parts of love, like in a marriage, sex, or an ice cream sundae. But marriage without God is just two people living together. Sex without God is soul-numbing sensation. Ice cream without God is a brain freeze. Love is part and parcel of His character. When we are not connected with Him, we are disconnected from love.

Love is a combination of things. In the true definition of love there is mercy as well as justice. There is kindness in addition to steadfastness and faithfulness. There are elements of patience, self-control, forgiveness, joy and peace. Yes, you probably recognize these as the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and so they are. That is why a person who has the Spirit of God shows this fruit. These are not individual fruits, as though they could be plucked one at a time from a tree. They are all together and parts of one another. When you pick one you are picking them all.

Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:7–10, ESV)

God’s word has the same character as He has. We abide in the love of God by keeping/observing/following/obeying His commands. Humans do not love if they do not want to do what God says. He is love, and every word He speaks is saturated and motivated by love. When we take action on His Word, we are participating in love. When we follow His Law, we are drinking of His Spirit, which is love. It doesn’t matter whether you call His Word a word, a law, a statute, command, suggestion, whim, or thought, it is still love.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. (John 15:9–14, ESV)

Part of the problem with the human definition of love is that it is one-dimensional. We only look at parts of love, then define the whole thing from the part. Romantic love without God is just lust. Sex without God is self-abuse. Another problem with the human definition of love is that it is solitary. Sentiment plays a large role. We say that if someone feels like they love someone or something, then they do. But love is not divorced from action. It is defined by the action it takes. Love is a verb, and to love one must act. If one has love, then actions are in line with that love. Love that is spoken but not supported by loving action consistent with God’s Word is hypocritical and false.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, ESV)

I have often been told that such and such a person “loves God” or “loves Jesus” but they don’t see that following The Law, or parts of the Law, is a part of it. These people are supposed to love God but decide that they don’t have to do all or parts of what He says. This is like saying I love cake but I only want the flour. We cannot sit in judgment on the Word, cherry picking what we will and won’t do, and call that love. How can we say that we only want part of sunshine? Can we function if we only breathe part of the air? Do we really know love if we filter out part of what God says?

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:16, ESV)

Shalom
Bruce