King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Saturday, February 22, 2020
Chapters: Leviticus 26-27
Message: Be Honorable
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters today the one thing that kept going through my mind is what Jesus says, “No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.” – Mark 2:21. Jesus took it very seriously when He gave His life on the cross to redeem those who actually want Him in their lives. He does not force Himself upon anyone, so, if we come to Him seeking salvation He expects us to take it seriously, and if we do not, then there will be a price to pay. “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” – II Peter 2:19-21.
“after they have known it,” You know, we are not perfect, God does not expect us to be, and since we all grow at certain levels we are not going to know everything that God wants from us all at once. In fact, He will lead us and guide us, and as we grow, step by step, Jesus will perfect us. God did not expect Israel to know every one of the six hundred and thirty commands He gave, but what He did expect was faithfulness, if they sinned, just confess it, bring their offerings for atonement, and He would respect and protect them. And let me tell you, the blessings that come with choose Christ are endless. As God finishes giving Moses His commands, He enforces the importance of their keeping them, that is, if they wanted the blessings that come from their obedience.
“Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; 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. 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. 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. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.” – Leviticus 26:1-6,9-13.
“And I will give peace in the land,” This means that there will be no war, or enemies coming in and taking over the land. Nations that keep God in them are protected by God Himself, and let me tell you, the reason America soil is not being attacked right now is because there are many Christians defending their faith, but it will not last if is keeps going in the direction it is going. I believe that the only reason why God has prolonged His judgment here is because we have a president that has done more, even though he is not perfect in the LORD, to defend the faith. “For I will have respect unto you,” When we obey His commands, and He is talking about not willingly living in sin, He respects us, and will continue to bless us. Of course, God chastens His children, but He has great respect for us as long as we are faithful to Him. However, if we come to Christ in vain, if we remain in sin without one hint of repentance, He will not respect us, nor will He hear our prayers or pleas for help. God warns them what will happen if they refuse to obey His commands.
“And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.” – Leviticus 26:15-18,30-33.
“then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.” If you think this only applies to Israel, think again. This applies to both, Jews and Gentiles. We make the choice to come to Christ, and He responds accordingly to our faith. Salvation by grace is not just cause to live a sinful life, we must repent or we will suffer in our sin, and it will be seven times worse. And this is exactly why Jesus says that many will come to Him, and He will tell them to depart because He never knew them. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” – Matthew 7:21-23.
“but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” This is the key to it all, being in the will of God. Let me tell you, we are not always going to be in the will of God, which He knows, again, He just wants us to be faithful to Him, to confess our sin, to be sincere about our coming to Him, and to repent of our sin. As long as we are working at removing sin, God has no problem with us, what He does have a problem with is knowingly living in sin, with no intention of turning away from it. As God continues, He explains this.
“If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes. And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.” – Leviticus 26:40-45.
“and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:” God will not allow us to live a sinful life with no consequence, and then go into heaven. Why? If that is a question that needs to be answered, then it is definitely time to stop to think about what Jesus did for you, and what exactly He is saving you from. It took for me to almost die before I realized what He did for me. And at that time I was ignorant to a lot of His Word, which is why I stress that ignorance will not save anyone or keep them from facing the punishment for their sin. When we confess our sin He is always faithful and just to not only forgive the sin, but cleanse us from it (I John 1:9). “I will not cast them away,” Why does not God cast them away, even though they live in sin? The promise He made. Yes, they will suffer in their sin, but He will not cast them away. “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” – I Peter 4:1-2.
“but to the will of God.” There is that phrase again. God does not and will not force Himself upon anyone, so, if we choose Him He expects faithfulness. When we choose Christ, we make a vow with Him, we promise to trust Him alone for our salvation and He promises to keep us out of hell. He paid that price with His life, and while salvation is in fact a free gift, we must understand that we actually when we receive Christ as our Saviour we no belong to God, and that is when our works count, God actually estimates us for what we devote to Him. Through Moses, God institutes the estimation of the vow.
“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation. And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver. And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him. And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy. Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD’S firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the LORD’S. None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.” – Leviticus 27:2-9,26,29.
“And if it be from a month old even unto five years old,” Estimation; Esteem; regard; favorable opinion; honor. An opinion or judgment of the worth, extent or quantity of any thing. Even children that were dedicated to God were estimated, and this was according to what they were capable of doing. If someone dedicates their young child to God, it is learning and growing as we teach them how much God loves them. I use to teach the kids in the nursery, I would even gather the babies around our circle on the floor and we would sing songs about Jesus. My two year old nephew’s favorite song is, “The B-I-B-L-E”, we sing the entire song, over and over again, and he cannot wait to make the motions of Jesus coming soon. We are not all going to be preachers or teachers, and that is perfectly fine because God does not expect us to be. What He does expect is that we use the talents He gives us to show the world His Son, it may only be that we might pray specifically for someone, nevertheless, He will honor all who dedicate themselves to Him. “Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:” – I Corinthians 12:22-24.
Today’s Prayer: God, It is because of the great love of Your Son, Jesus, and His willingness to take on our sins to redeem us that we can receive eternal life through our faith in Him. It is truly amazing, the love You have for me and every soul, when I was lost, broken, and without hope, You found me, You took me in, accepted me, and made me one of Yours. Amen! Your mercy endures forever for those who do endure with You. I know I am not always in Your will, and I know I mess up every day. Forgive me where I have failed You, search my heart, know my thoughts, see if there be any wickedness in me, and lead me in the way that is everlasting. Lord, lead me and guide me in Your will and Your way, let me live a life that will always bring honor and glory to You, not to keep my salvation, or to even be relieved of any chastening, rather to give thanks for all that You have done for me. I ask these tings in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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