Leviticus 26:14 says, But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; Now, God issued the warning. Obedience or disobedience were both possible, because God gives us free will, but disobedience has a penalty. Verse fifteen adds, 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: God's warning continues to be spelled out. When we defy God's law, we in effect show that we despise Him. Verse sixteen continues, 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. Again. I believe that when God removed His protective hand that these things happened more than that He caused them to happen, but the result is the same. Without God's power behind them, the people of Israel were not really a powerful nation at all, just as we are spiritually powerless without the Holy Spirit guiding us. Verse seventeen states, 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. When God set His face against them, the people of Israel would realize how powerless they were, fleeing from even non-existent enemies. How often today do we flee from imagined enemies because we are not looking to God for guidance and strength? Verse eighteen adds, And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. God said that as long as the people continued to rebel against Him that they would continue to be punished. As long as we refuse to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will be under the judgment of God, and we will stand guilty. Verse nineteen continues, And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: God said that He would break the pride that they had in their power. Until we admit that we are helpless to save our self, we never accept God's salvation made available through faith in Jesus Christ, which is the only way to salvation. Verse twenty says, And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. God had given them a land flowing with milk and honey, but He said that even that would cease to exist if they did not obey His laws. As followers of Christ, we know that we have a home in heaven, but if we disobey God's law after we accept Christ, then life here may become less than blessed. Verse twenty-one adds, And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. Then verse twenty-two continues, I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate. God had freed them from Egypt by sending plagues on the people there, ending with the death of their children, and God said that He could allow the same thing to happen to the people of Israel if the would not obey Him. They were not a special people because of who they were but because of who God is, and the same is true of Christians today. Verse twenty-three states, And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; God said that there was a way to avoid this, and that was to be reformed by Him. We must always come to God on His terms. The next few verses continue to pronounce God's warning. Verse twenty-four adds, Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. If the people of Israel turned away from God then He would turn away from them. Verse twenty-five continues, And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. God said that He would allow other nations to defeat Israel. Verse twenty-six says, And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. The people would not be able to satisfy their physical needs. Verse twenty-seven adds, And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Verse twenty-eight continues, Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. If we do not accept God's salvation and obey His laws, then we can expect His judgment. Verse twenty-nine concludes. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. I don't believe that this means that they would literally eat the flesh of their children, but when we fail to obey God then we may cause our children to face eternity without accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, which is a greater punishment.
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