December 26, 2009

All the commands

Leviticus 26:14 says, "Listen to me and carry out all these commands." This is Israel's side of the covenant. This line comes while God is explaining, if you keep the commands, I will bless you, and if you break them, I will curse you. The choice is up to Israel.

At first glance, it seems like "all" means that Israel would invoke the curse for breaking any one law. But the history shows that God held back his wrath for centuries, only unleashed the curse after years of idolatry. In fact, idolatry is God's most frequent grievance against his nation.

I wonder, what if idolatry, rather than just being God's particular issue, is the last straw? What if idolatry is the final stage of rebellion and disregard for God's law, sovereignty and love?

By not honoring the "least" of the laws, generation after generation took the law less and less seriously. They (we) mistook God's mercy for weakness, for inaction. As the serpent said, "you won't really die." Basically, we think God is a pushover.

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