The Encourager
“A Holy Nation; by Jeff Curtis”
A Holy Nation
By Jeff Curtis
The book of Leviticus was written with the intention of helping the nation of Israel learn how to be a holy nation. To that end, it informed the people of God that they had been cleansed by the blood and were to remove uncleanness from their midst. In addition, they were also to worship regularly, offer sacrifices, and act lovingly toward others. These requirements can be summarized in two words: “Obey God!” If the people obeyed His laws, they would, in fact, be doing everything that the Lord required of them to be a holy nation. Obedience to God was the foundation for acquiring and maintaining their status as a holy nation. It was the key to having God’s approval. It is also the key to having God’s approval today.
What encouragement did the Israelites have to obey God? One answer to that question is found in Leviticus 26, near the end of the book. In that text, God, through Moses, gave a twofold reason for obeying Him. (1) If God’s people would obey Him, He would bless the nation. He promised to bless his obedient children with abundant rain, good crops, plenty of food, relief from predatory animals, victory over their enemies, large families, and His presence (26:1-13). (2) Conversely, od would curse the people if they didn’t obey Him. He would send upon them “a sudden terror, consumption and fever” (26:16). They would be defeated by their enemies (26:17). He would send drought upon the land (26:19-20). He would plague them with predatory animals (26:22). He would cause them to be so hungry that would even eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters (26:26-29). If they refused to be obedient, God would make their land desolate, destroy their cities, and scatter their people among the nations (26:31-33).
Why should we obey God today? For similar reasons; If we do, we will be blessed; and if we don’t, we will be cursed. This doesn’t mean that we will be blessed and cursed in the same ways that Israel was. God has not promised us physical blessings and protection for doing His will in this Christian age, and He has not threatened us with physical pain or economic harm if we fail to His will. His covenant blessings today are spiritual, not physical. Even so, it should be enough to know that, if we obey, we will be blessed abundantly with “every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3).
