Let’s keep in mind that Leviticus chapter 26 is speaking in terms of NATIONAL obedience and disobedience.
It is treating the nation of Israel as whole, which actually brings to me an interesting topic I want to explore a bit today, namely, how God, the Creator of the universe, deals with humanity.
In a nutshell, there are 3 different ways God deals with humanity as follows:
–As individuals
-as a family unit or a community
-as a nation
Now here’s the thing.
When you’re studying Scripture, it’s vital to determine which way the portion of Scripture you’re reading is operating in.
You need to ask yourself…
…is God dealing with somebody on a individual basis, like he did when He singled out Moses to be His prophet to free Israel from slavery in Egypt?
Or is He dealing with some folks on a group basis like when He judged Korah and those who sided with him to rebel against Moses (to be studied in the Book of Numbers)?
Or is the Lord dealing with Israel as a whole nation like He is here in Leviticus chapter 26?
Of course, one of the most perfect examples of YHWH dealing with people on an individual basis is our salvation.
Your current relationship with YHWH is determined by your individual faith, NOT by what your family or community believes.
Your parent’s faith or lack of neither guarantees nor excludes you from salvation.
The same goes for which nation you’re currently living in.
You could live in a communist nation being ruled by a communist government and it wouldn’t matter.
It is YOUR INDIVIDUAL FAITH in the Messiah that makes or breaks your relationship with the God of Israel.
But, having said that, understand that some of the severe consequences Israel suffered as a nation were due to the individual actions of their leaders who YHWH viewed as representatives of the nation.
Since a nation is nothing but a collection of individuals, leaders are those people who are representing the collective whole.
For example, the actions that King David and Solomon took resulted in Israel becoming tremendously blessed by God as a nation.
On the other hand, when Jeroboam assumed the throne and started worshipping pagan gods, his idolatry led the people astray leading to internal national chaos leading to a civil war which ultimately led to Israel being split up into two kingdoms, one of which was taken over by the Assyrians leading to the 10 tribes of Israel being scattered all over the planet.
Also consider those instances in Scripture where whole family lines and tribes were cursed simply because of the disobedience of one person.
Consider the curse placed on all the descendants Ham and later on all the descendants of the Tribe of Dan.
Or how about all the descendants of Reuben losing their right to be the leaders of Israel?
There are scores of examples of how one individual affected their descendants through many generations.
On the positive side, think of the long-term blessings that have resulted from those born from Abraham’s line, or from Judah’s line, or the descendants of Shem and even the descendants of Japheth to some degree.
The important takeaway here is that there are some blessings and curses that apply to individuals, some that apply to the family or community and some that apply to nation as a whole.
And of course, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that there is mutual influence between these three different spheres.
If one’s family members are believers, there’s a high chance that that person is also a believer.
And if a nation has a large enough number of families that follow the Lord, then this may lead to the community and then ultimately the whole nation as being marked by God as a nation after His heart.
Unfortunately, this principle can work in an opposite fashion as well.
When Yeshua first came, it was to save us on an individual basis.
When He returns, it will be for the national salvation of all Israel.
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