"You shall make for yourselves no idols and erect no graven image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land, to bow down to them; for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my sabbaths [sic] and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. If you walk in my statures and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall last to the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last to the time for sowing; and you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land securely. And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; and I will remove evil beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. And you shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase then thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. And I will have regard for you and make you fruitful and multiply your, and will confirm my covenant with you. And you shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. And I will make m abode among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will b your God, and you shall be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect." Leviticus 26: 1-13
In my Bible (RSV), this passage is subtitled "Rewards for Obedience". God made a covenant with his people; he entered into a contract, really. He asked his people to follow him and not the dumb idols and false gods of the world. He asked that they abide in him. He gave them the Law of Moses so that they could begin to understand what about the world is so dangerous and by avoiding them grow in their knowledge and love of God. In doing all that, God promises to take care of them, to provide for them, to protect them. Now, contrary to the teaching of some misguided, modern "profits" (that is a pun), God does not promise that if you do everything just right, you'll get the Cadillac you always wanted or have a huge mansion or be happy and carefree all the time. No! He does promise that through obedience to his will, we will find all the things necessary to be joyful in the Lord. He will see to that we have what we need. He will see us through times of trouble and grief. He will console, and he will elevate us when we obediently turn to him.
The next passage: "Penalties for Disobedience". It is quite long.
Fr. Michael+
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