God's behavior is never random. One of the great points of the Bible. And so a Christian who is struggling in life. should be reassured that All things work together for the good. Those who love God, called according to his purposes.
They're not random events. He is in control. Why is very often not revealed? But in Israel's case, In this chapter, God's behavior is not random. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston.
Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Leviticus. Please stay. Stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio. specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Leviticus, chapter 26, as he begins his message. Consequences, not coincidences. Leviticus chapter 26, consequences not Coincidences And I think that title is very important. has within it a very important lesson for us. The Bible never teaches The doctrine of Predestination by itself.
Always together with the fact of man's responsibility. and accountability.
Now that bothers a lot of people, but Uh that's the way it is. Each person will be held accountable. Because Each person counts. And you look at it that way. It makes perfect sense.
It's actually quite encouraging. But how many anti-God people Would it take to ruin heaven. If God let one Antichrist into heaven. How long before it would be shot? Because people count.
It does matter what a person thinks. how a person behaves. God told Israel that they count. and that they would be held accountable. They face the consequences of The aberrant behavior.
In this chapter, it is one of prophetic consequences. I think it's a very important chapter. It's God. Just uh backing up what he says. and requiring his people to back up what they claim to believe.
Israel is told that they will suffer. Not because there's a curse on them, not because they're victims of some injustice by God. but because they will Turn on God. And because They publicly turned on God. God publicly held them accountable for all history.
It's right there. which is very perplexing uh when you think about why More Jews do not embrace their deliverance from Egypt. and their prophets And their Messiah. When you begin to add it all up, God's behavior is never random. That's one of the great points of the Bible.
And so, a Christian who is struggling in life. should be reassured that All things work together for the good. Those Who love God, called according to his purposes. They're not random events. He is in control.
Why is very often not revealed? But in Israel's case, In this chapter, God's behavior is not random. His judgments are connected to something. They will make perfect sense. from verses 3 through 13.
We have the blessings that follow obedience. From 14 to 39, the calamity that follows disobedience. I like when I get ahead of myself, it just tells me I'm excited about something. And what I'm excited about here is. I've always struggled with Mount Gerizim, when the Jews were into the Promised Land, they were told ahead of time that they would go up to Mount Gerizim, one half of the Jewish Representatives, and they would pronounce the blessings, and the other half would go up Mount Ebal.
And they would pronounce the curses. But the curses were always more, a longer list. There were more details to the curses than the blessings. It scratched my head, why aren't they balanced? It seems disproportionate.
And so, well, just to keep your attention, I won't give you the answer that at least I've come up with until we get there. From verses 40 to 45. The grace of God. Provision for repentance. Available to those who offended God.
Always balanced.
So, verse 1: You shall not make idols for yourselves, neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar. Shall you rear up for yourselves? nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it. For I am Jehovah, your God. In verse 2, you should keep my Sabbaths.
And reverence my sanctuary. I am. Jehovah.
Now I'm changing up. I usually use Yahweh. I think that's the preferred pronunciation, but Yahov. Is not wrong. It has become.
Part of our Christian learning.
So I'm going to switch up and use Jehovah for this evening. Um In case you're wondering. It's just a matter of choice. He, of course, is referring in verses 1 and 2 to the Ten Commandments. particularly no idolatry.
And one of the commandments, don't make idols. Don't put gods you've made up gods before me And he also brings up the Sabbath And he adds the sanctuary, because they go together. Not enough to rest on that day if there's no offering. There's no sacrifice. And so the Jewish temple was not.
An assembly place like the synagogues. The word synagogue means assembly. The sanctuary was a place of sacrifice mainly. It had within it the fellowship with God for sure, assembling before God the presence of God. But it was not a church building.
with seats and accommodations for audience to sit and Receive as the synagogues would be, and as the church is modeled. The church is modeled after the synagogues, and rightfully so.
So, to turn to an idol, visible or invisible, and very important because there are still people that fashion idols in their imagination without ever putting it on paper or on a sculpture or anything else. The same thing, to turn to an idol, visible or invisible, is to pick a fight with the only true God. To reject God's truth by default, you consent to Satan's lies, whether you know it or not, whether you believe in Satan or not, by default. Jesus said, If you're not with me, you are against me. And of course, he being divine.
Adds to the point that he makes when he makes that statement. People under the influence of hell. make up things about God. If a Christian starts going down such a path, they're under the influence of Satan. It's not God egging them on.
Deuteronomy 32, verse 17. They sacrificed to demons, not to God. Gods they did not know. to new gods, new arrivals. That your fathers did not fear.
In other words, Johnny come lately has stolen your heart away and is all a lie. And this still goes on in some form today.
So they make and defend Their version of God. They did it in the days of the patriarchs. And they've done it ever since. They make up God's And they defend. what they've made up.
We see this in universities. Atheists do it all the time, without even trying. They do it.
Well, the Jews came out of idle infested. Egypt and were put by God into idol-infested Canaan. It's like God was saying, you're not going to get away from this. There's sinners everywhere. And this is the neighborhood.
That you're going to. And if I put you anywhere else, you'd have the same problem.
So you're going to have to learn to adapt. and overcome in righteousness. Always Israel has had bad neighbors. Eleven times in Leviticus, Moses reminds them that God brought them out of Egypt. It was supposed to resonate with them.
And it did with this generation that is here with the second generation out of Egypt. It resonated with them. But it wouldn't be long. before other generations would come along and depart He tells them this so that they would Reminds them about God delivering them from. Egypt So they would continue to walk with Jehovah.
Same thing for the Christian. God reminds us of things that He's done. He puts memorials in our heart. To remember, to make us say, yeah, I remember that. In a low moment in life when we're just struggling and to have the cheer of our faith.
And we remember something that only God could do. and did. Leviticus 18, according to the doings of the land of Egypt. Where you dwelt you shall not do. And according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do, nor walk.
in their ordinances.
So, I'm taking you out of the fire and I'm putting you in the frying pan, or the other way around, however, you want to look at it.
Well, that's verse one. But in verse two, The Sabbaths are plural because it includes not only the Weekly day of rest, but the sabbatical year every seven years, and the Jubilee year, and all the feast days, they're all packed into that. And as I mentioned, the sanctuary. Together, the Sabbath and the sanctuary, they were supposed to be. Countermeasures against idolatry and corruption, and idolatry leads to corruption.
In every sense of the word. You have enough people, you're going to fill in all of the little cubbies of darkness.
So these laws of God. were to be antidotes to resist evil influence. But it still comes down to the Individual believer. But much of this is addressed to the nation. And the church has to be clear about a lot of these things because our identity is.
further developed. Then Israel's. Verse 3 If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments and perform them, verse 4, then I will give you rain in its season. The land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Verse 5: Your threshing shall last.
till the time of your vintage. and the vintage shall last The time of sowing. You shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
Now remember, We're covering first the blessings if they will obey. If God wanted to. discipline his people. He would withhold the reign. as in with Elijah and 1 Kings chapters 17 and 18.
when the drought was given to deal with the wicked king, But the impenitent sinners still tend to crave lies more than God. Hello. All of this has to do with The people weird. come in contact with. Because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and so are sinners.
In a sense. Truth becomes something to destroy. If God is going against your self-will. And you're not and you refuse to submit.
So they eventually stopped seeking Jehovah. and started seeking the gods of the Canaanites. And there's a consequence for that. In verse 6, I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid. I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land.
So God promised to shield them. If they just obeyed. Uphold the Sabbath, yes. Go to the sanctuary with your offerings. Yes.
Don't have made-up fake demonic gods. That's where they stumbled. And it didn't take long.
Now the Jews their promise to be shielded if they obeyed. The church is promised to be persecuted if it obeys. All those, I'll read it because he starts off in an emphatic word. He says, yes. And all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
In some form, you're going to feel the pressure. of unbelievers. Rejecting the faith. When Jesus said, I send you out as sheep among wolves, He's saying to the church, your mission is not identical to that of Israel's mission, though it is connected, it is further developed. And then he went to the cross and showed us How to do it.
Verse 7. You will Chase your enemies, speaking to Israel. And they shall fall by the sword before you.
Now, this, however, is true. In a metaphoric sense, the true Christian handling Scripture as a sword. will defeat the enemy. And I think we always do. When Isaiah said to the people, No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment, you shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness is from me, says Jehovah.
Well, such has been the case. Of those who are defenders of our faith. Just, for example, the ark that answers in Genesis has. They can't refute that. The world can try to, oh, it's all fake relations.
No, they can't. Scientifically, they cannot. Archaeological evidences. The scientific facts behind The Genesis record? We defeat them.
But They insist, as a rule, to disbelieve nonetheless.
Well, nothing new about that. In Jesus' day, he did look what he did, and they still. They still turned against him. How do you do that? How do you raise someone from the dead?
According to the scriptures, and still find yourself rejected by the religious leaders.
Well, sin is nothing to play with. Verse Eight. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight. Your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. Verse 9: For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you, and confirm my covenant with you.
Well, we've seen that over the years in Israel, in the promised land, we've seen their troops turn back multitudes. You know, one Israeli tank turning back whole tank battalions single-handedly. We have seen this happen in the recent wars against Israel. Here he is saying, if you obey me, you will be undefeatable on the battlefield. In verse 10, you shall eat.
the old harvest and clear out The old because of the new.
So, their abundance, their blessing would be so abundant, whatever they stored up. They would have to get rid of it because they wouldn't finish it in time for the fresh harvest that comes in. It would just be an abundance. Verse 11: I will set my tabernacle among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you.
And be your God. and you shall be my people.
Well, that's Emmanuel in action, God with them. Incidentally, the fact that he mentions, I won't abhor you, means God has the capacity to abhor people. Don't get on that list. It's an easy list to stay off of. Deuteronomy 23:14.
Jehovah, your God, walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and give your enemies over. Over to you. Therefore your camp shall be holy. that he may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.
Now some of that has to do with Sanitary conditions in the literal camp of Israel, but it also just has to do with the spiritual facts regarding the people of God. And Paul Anointed enough to see how this applies to the church. 2 Corinthians 6, verse 16. For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
And we see this carried out. Whenever we assemble. Whenever we're around other believers, no matter what struggles we have going on. Verse 13, I am Jehovah, your God. who brought you out of the land of Egypt that you should not be their slaves I have broken their bands of your yoke, and made you walk upright.
Nine times In Leviticus, God reminds them of this truth, delivering them from Egypt. Their security in the land. contingent upon obedience.
Okay, we're done with this part now. We've talked about the blessings. for being obedient.
Now come the consequences, the catastrophes. disobedience. Verse 14.
Now If you do not. Obey me. And do not observe all these commandments, verse 15. And if you despise my statutes, or if Your soul abhors my judgments.
so that you do not perform all my commandments. But break my covenant. Verse 16, I also will do this to you. I will even appoint Terah over you. wasting disease or consuming disease.
And fever. Which shall consume the eyes? and cause sorrow of heart, and you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set my face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you.
She'll reign over you. and you shall flee when no one pursues you. The detail that belonged to the consequences of disobeying God. They are more certainly they are chilling. Three ifs or four ifs of consequence, if you, if you.
Very, very clear. That is choice involved. In Judges, in the third chapter, and the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah.
So Jehovah strengthened Eglon, king of Moab, against Israel because. They had done evil in the sight of Jehovah.
So, already we see in this third chapter, and I've already skipped so much other stuff already taking place in Judges. We just get right to. Eglon Elid would deal with him. Um What we're going to get now are six. Waves of chastisement as consequence For disobedience.
In verse 16, He says I will do this to you. In verse 18, and after all this, And then verse 21, then if you walk contrary to me, and that word contrary in the Hebrew is closer to our word. Combative. If you're hostile, We'll come back to that one too. Verse 23: And if by these things, if you don't fix it, In verse 27, and after all this, and then verse 32, I will bring the land to desolation.
God is saying, I'm not kidding with you. But it works two ways. When God says, turn to me and I will forgive you. He's still not kidding, he's serious about that. He wants people to come back, to repent.
And that's why Paul could say. with full confidence. Where sin abounded, grace did much more. God knows how. to make a distinction between Those who are not serious and those who are serious.
That's the whole point of the woman. who had the issue of blood. and she just touched the hem of his garment, And he recognized it because he distinguished the jostling of the crowd. From a broken and contrite heart and he singled her out And he blessed her. The first wave of consequence, verses sixteen through seventeen.
Judgments upon the nation of covenant breakers. That's critical to all that's happening here. This is not for individuals.
Some of it certainly applies, spills over to individuals. Because nations are made of individuals. But it's with the nation of Israel in mind. The significance of that is seen to this day. You can have a nation, and not that they are, but the majority of Jewish people in Israel do not believe Jesus is their Messiah.
And yet God's still blessing that nation because they're part of his plan. You cannot help but to rejoice. How well Israel terrorizing the terrorists. Right now, there are a lot of Terrorists in Hezbollah that aren't answering their phone today. They're not going to their mailbox.
They're curled up in some closet somewhere, afraid to leave. The spectacular Miracle. This is a miracle. Who else could pull that? In case you don't know what's happened, you are missing it.
So Just the genius of God and how He has protecting his people because we're that close. to the time of Jacob's trouble where that protection is going to be moved away. And this is why you have so many people that hate America in America because they want this globalization, because Satan needs to get the protection of Israel. America's help on Israel out of the way. I would like to go into it more, but I don't have time.
I want to get back to what they've done.
So The Israelis We're able to Tap into the phones. Of these terrorists, that's too nice of a word for them, these demons. Don't forget they have no problems with horrific leap. butchering even children. People have, they cause it all.
Anyway.
So, Israel was able to take out some high-value targets because they're getting this information.
So, the bad guys say, well, we're going to stop using phones.
So they cannot Breaking, you know, get there'll be no security breach. And somehow, Israel, and even though Israel is not. They're not coming out saying, yeah, we did that. Nobody else did. Israel was able to get to the supply chain.
of the pagers that they decided to use instead of phones. and they put explosives in the pagers. by infiltrating the supply chain. And there they are, the Hezbollah. And they've got these little pages on, and then they say, okay, let's do it.
So they page them. And they all blow up, almost 3,000 of them. It's incredible. Unprecedented in human history. It's it's amazing.
Anyhow, I'm not relishing in The evils of war, I am delighted to see God at work. And he is backing up his word. They've been pushed out of their land twice because of themselves. they will not be pushed out again. But there will be the time of Jacob's trouble.
when they almost will, but God will rescue them. Thanks for tuning in to today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. Pastor Rick Gaston is currently going through the book of Leviticus. We're glad you joined us. We trust that you're gaining some valuable insights into God's Word as we go through this Old Testament book.
Cross-reference radio comes to you from Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia. If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast, you can do so by going to your favorite app store. and downloading from there. For any additional information about this ministry, we invite you to visit our website, Crossreference Radio.com. Make sure to come back again for the upcoming edition in the book of Leviticus, as Pastor Rick has much more to share.
We thank you for being with us right here on Cross Reference Radio.
