WHEN WE WALK WITH THE LORD

"I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people." (Leviticus 26:12 HCSB)

God has created us with the inexpressible privilege of walking with Him. Of all God's creation, only men and women, created in His image, can have such a relationship. We were made for it. Adam and Eve enjoyed it--until their disobedience disrupted that communion. If you walk with God, you must go in the same direction. They turned to their own way--off the path of obedience--and instead of walking with God, ran from Him and hid.

God's love would not let them go. He reached out to them, made a way for them to return to Him and be restored to that relationship.

We see Him establishing a covenant people, Israel. They would be His people--the object of His affection and the means by which He would reach out to wandering humanity. To them and through them, the call would come to return to His path and walk with God again. Have you responded to that gracious invitation?

When we walk with the Lord there are THE BLESSINGS WE EXPERIENCE. Read Leviticus 26:1-13. God promises His people that if they will walk with Him, He will lead them into abundant life.

He would bless them with fruitfulness. "If you follow My statutes and faithfully observe My commands, I will give you rain at the right time, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit." (Leviticus 26:3, 4 HCSB)

He would bless them with fearlessness. "I will give peace to the land, and you will lie down with nothing to frighten [you]. I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land." (Leviticus 26:6 HCSB)

He would bless them with fellowship. "I will place My residence among you, and I will not reject you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people." (Leviticus 26:11, 12 HCSB)

He would bless them with freedom. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so that you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to live in freedom." (Leviticus 26:13 HCSB)

The song writer expressed it this way,

"When we walk with the Lord

In the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will,

He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey."

When we walk with the Lord, there are not only the blessings we experience, but THE BURDENS WE ESCAPE. Ponder Leviticus 26:14-39. God warns us that if we wander away from the Shepherd, we will suffer the consequences. The fence of His will that He has placed around us is to keep us in fertile pastures, but also to offer protection. To stray outside of that is to our peril.

There is the burden of disease. "But if you do not obey Me and observe all these commands- if you reject My statutes and despise My ordinances, and do not observe all My commands-and break My covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring terror on you-wasting disease and fever that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will sow your seed in vain because your enemies will eat it." (Leviticus 26:14-16 HCSB)

There is the burden of defeat. "I will turn against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even though no one is pursuing you." (Leviticus 26:17 HCSB)

There is the burden of discipline. "But if after these things you will not obey Me, I will proceed to discipline you seven times for your sins." (Leviticus 26:18 HCSB)

There is the burden of desolation. "But I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw a sword [to chase] after you. So your land will become desolate, and your cities will become ruins." (Leviticus 26:33 HCSB)

Will we not learn that God wants us to escape such burdens by walking in His will? But, even when His sheep wander outside His course, they are never outside His care! He reaches out to us. Even His rod and staff are meant to bring us the comfort of His correction. The discipline is done in love, that we might seek Him. God told Israel that though they forsook Him, He would not forget them. Consider this as you read Leviticus 26:40-46.

The place where confession could be made and communion would be restored was the altar. Forgiveness would bring back God's favor and fellowship. In ancient Israel, the place where that would happen was the tabernacle. Its ministry was provided by the priests. That ministry was to be supported by the giving of the people. You can read about that in Leviticus 27.

When we walk with the Lord, there are the blessings we experience and the burdens we escape. But, there are also THE BATTLES WE ENTER. Reflect on Numbers 1-2. The book takes its title from the numbering of the men who were eligible to serve in the army. We transition in our study from a book--Leviticus--dealing with our worship of God, to Numbers and our warfare for God. This should not surprise us, for the Lord is leading us into battle to seize what is ours that is now occupied by the enemy. Every inch of ground will be contested. Satan does not want you to know the abundant life God has for you, so expect a battle.

We read of the organizing of the military in Numbers chapter one. God commanded Moses, "You and Aaron are to register those who are 20 years old or more by their military divisions-everyone who can serve in Israel's army." (Numbers 1:3 HCSB)

We read of the ordering of the march in Numbers chapter two. "The Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; they camped by their banners in this way and moved out the same way, each man by his clan and by his ancestral house." (Numbers 2:34 HCSB)

This world is not a playground--it's a battleground! But, when God leads us it is victory. The end result is glorious!

"Then in fellowship sweet

We will sit at His feet,

Or we'll walk by His side in the way;

What He says we will do,

Where He sends we will go,

Never fear, only trust and obey."

This is what is promised when we walk with the Lord!