Our God can ease our burdens

Dear friend

The third book of Moses, Leviticus, is full of priestly instruction about sacrifices, ordinances and living under the Law of Moses. It was aimed at the ancient Children of Israel. The Lord offered them great blessings if they would obey His commandments. They were to be an holy nation in a holy homeland, whose religious rituals pointed to the Atoning One, the ultimate sacrificial Lamb.

Within all the detail on offerings and ceremonial there is a passage that I believe can easily be applied to us, all these years later. It is from the Old Testament, Leviticus 26:9, 12, 13.

9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
...
12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
13 I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.

I think these verses include a renewed commitment to the Abrahamic Covenant, especially the wording of verse 12. If we have accepted Christ as our Saviour, I believe we have part in this; He will be our God too. The Lord promises to ensure our efforts are fruitful by enhancing our capacity ("I will multiply you"). This could be interpreted as relating to material prosperity or population growth, but I think it is just as relevant to individual spiritual development. Indeed that kind of fruitfulness is perhaps of greatest value.

I love how He says He will walk with us. Isn't it preferable on a dark cold night to have someone walk beside us, just as at other times when we feel vulnerable or need our spirits lifted?

The Lord reminds the Israelites how He rescued them from bondage in Egypt. I especially love the phrase "I have broken the bands of your yoke". For us it is not about slavery to Egyptian overlords. For us that yoke could be sin, sorrow, trials, troubles, illness or ignorance. If we are bowed down with a burden, our God will remove it, or make it tolerable. The result is that we can "go upright". We can stand up, with appropriate humility, having confidence through divine decree.

I hope we can gain the benefits of obedience and covenants, for they are great. I pray God's presence strengthens us and lifts the weight of whatever yoke we may be under at this time.

Samuel.