Tag: Consequences

Spurn the LORD and…

“14But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, 15if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, 16then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.” – Leviticus 26:14-16 (ESV)

And what you see in the above verses is just the tip of the wrath of God. It is up to me to follow the LORD and obey His commandments and statutes. When I am in concert with the LORD, I will receive His bounty in my life. And when I am contrary to Him, I get the opposite.

The LORD is a jealousy God and is deserving of my worship and love. When I turn from Him, He will not provide for my pleasure. The LORD will work contrary to me when I am contrary to Him.

“21Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins.” and “27But if in spite of this you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me, 28then I will walk contrary to you in fury, and I myself will discipline you sevenfold for your sins.” – Leviticus 26:21 & 17-28 (ESV)

There are consequences to actions. When we are obedient to the LORD, the consequences are bounty provided. When we are contrary to the LORD, He will discipline us accordingly. I have to remember this as I proceed through this life here in this world. I have a choice to be obedient, but when I spurn the LORD, I will be held to account.

What does your obedience look like with the LORD? Are you spurning Him? What if you understood that there are consequences, even with the LORD for your actions?

The LORD Disciplines All

I am again in the passage from Genesis known as “The Fall”. This is the story of the serpent deceiving the woman to eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and feeding Adam. Where there is a lot to the story, I would focus this morning on the discipline God passes to each of those involved.

“14The Lord God said to the serpent,…

‘15I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.’”

“16To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;

in pain you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,

but he shall rule over you.”

“17And to Adam he said,

‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree

of which I commanded you,

“You shall not eat of it,”

cursed is the ground because of you;

in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

and you shall eat the plants of the field.’”

— Genesis 3:14a & 15-18 (ESV)

Notice here that all involved in “The Fall” were counted as responsible and were disciplined by God. First, the serpent who started it all was dealt with most harshly. The serpent was separated from man who there was a relationship before. We don’t know the full extent of the relationship, yet there was one as there was with all that were created by God. The positive relationship was removed and the serpent would be forever believed to be evil.

Next there was the woman. She was responsible for being deceived. She made the decision to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. She chose to sin and her discipline was to be more conscious of childbirth and continue to be at odds with her husband who would now be counted as the ruler of the household.

And then there is Adam. When reading the story, it appears as though he might be in the clear as he may not have know where the fruit came from. Except, as noted quickly at the end of verse 6, he was with her at the time. Adam was disciplined to work the ground for his food as opposed to having things handed to him by God. He would now be subject to hard labor and know that it was labor whereas before, it was just work done to manage the garden.

Regardless of the scenario, there is discipline to be had by all. Whether the starter of it (the serpent) the receiver (the woman) or the apparent bystander (Adam). God will discipline all. There are consequences to any and everything that goes on. What I have to remember is that where there are consequences, they are there for me learn and grow in the LORD.

What scenarios have you been in where you are one of the three identified? Are you thinking that somehow you are immune from discipline? What if you were to take on that the LORD will discipline all, and that discipline is for our good?