Saturday 21 Jan 2017

January 21: Leviticus 26:3-8

Key Verse: Leviticus 26:8
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.

Devotion:
Have you noticed how the strong will always gain respect from others? They build themselves up into a position by showing strength and being able to establish themselves as leaders of the packs – but the person who is strong and abuses that power may well simply make others afraid of them, but will never gain the same respect as the just one. Before too long there will be plots against the unjust one and they may well be brought down to size.

There have been tyrants who have ruled for many years in countries (and there still are) because of the powerful position they have made for themselves. They have ruled without care for the people. They have ruled with pride, selfishness and greed. Some of those tyrants have been forcibly removed from their countries in what many deem to be unjust wars, but God has allowed it because He alone knows what those tyrants were capable of.

His promise to the people of Israel was simple, keep my laws and I will make sure you remain strong and able to defend yourself from anything. Keep my laws and I will provide you with food all year round whilst those around you struggle. God wanted Israel to stand up and listen, He wanted to show them just how beautiful life can be when in a just and powerful position. Yet man's greed, spitefulness, pride and lust tempted him away from God's laws to such an extent that all of those gifts which were promised had to be removed whilst Israel sorted themselves out again. God continues to love His people throughout history, yet they continue to break the rules and continue to pay dearly for breaking those rules.

God wants each of us to live in a just and powerful position which will allow others to see His power and glory through us. The only way others will be able to see that is if we act like Christians and trust in God for everything, including the power to defend ourselves from everything!

Points to Ponder:
Do you bully for respect or work hard at gaining it?

God is all powerful and just, we need to fully respect Him!