Christians and the Law

The same way that there is no escaping the topic of the current world-situation and the coronavirus; there should be no way to avoid thinking that the nations of the world need to turn their eyes toward God, repent and reclaim their place as His children.  However...is that happening?  Are His "people, who are called by [His] name," actually humbling themselves and praying and seeking His face and turning from their wicked ways, so He "will hear from heaven, and ... forgive their sin and ... heal their land"? (2 Chronicles 7: 14)

I'm not sure...

The strange times we are living in should, indeed be a time to reconsider our ways and to go back to our faith in the Most High.  But, is our nation doing that?  Or are we like the ancient Israelites, who having walked with God and received His law, abandoned it, rejected it or neglected it?  Are we repenting or are we stuck on forgetting what He has told us?

One quick look at Leviticus 26, the chapter about the rewards for obedience and the punishment for disobedience of the law should make us shudder today.  God revealed to His people through Moses the privileges of abiding in Him and following His commands v. the consequences of the opposite :  the magnificent "I will" statements of God in which He promises His peace and His favor to those who would "follow His decrees and are careful to obey His commands" (Leviticus 26: 1-13) are followed by the statements of the "sudden terror and wasting diseases and fever" that would basically destroy us if we don't. (Leviticus 26: 14-18)  The antidote? To remember Him and His Word.

“‘But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me, 41 which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, 42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land." (Leviticus 26: 40-42)

To listen and to repent...

I know we are not Jews...but...as Christians we follow Christ's Way and He said:   Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Matthew 5: 17

As I understand it, our relationship with the law is through Christ.  The purpose of the law is to point to Christ.  Since it is impossible for us as humans to fulfill the law, and without fulfilling it, we are separated from God...God sent His Son, the Only One who could ever fulfill it on our behalf.  Therefore, the need for a personal relationship with Christ, since it is through Him and Only through Him, that we can be saved.  He is Our Redeemer.  He is Our Perfect Lamb.  He is Our High Priest.  He is Our Savior and Our Lord.  Our surrender to Him and our constant seeking of His face is how we meet our adherence to the New Covenant that is met in Jesus...it is how we fulfill the law and are reconciled to Our Heavenly Father.

What Leviticus states as our part of the agreement between humanity and God is accomplished by our surrendering to Christ.  Christians fulfill the law by following Jesus.  Therefore, walking away from the path that leads to Him, will bring forth the consequences of God retrieving His favor.  Our reluctance to confess our sins and repent, causes the terror that surrounds our circumstances.

I'm no theologian, so, of course, my words reveal nothing more than the meditations of my heart.  But, it seems to me that the Word is calling us to coming back to God in times like these.

May the Holy Spirit guide our path as individuals and as a nation so we can find our way back to confession, repentance and obedience as we seek His Face and dwell in His Presence.  In the Precious Name of Jesus.  Amen!