View source for Terror: The Beginning of God's Judgement

====Terror: The Beginning of God,s Judgement====
Outline of Comments on Leviticus 26:1-39

God's Commands (verses 1-2).

Blessings for Obedience (verses 3-13).

Punishments for Disobedience (verses 14-39).

Especially notice that the beginning of God's Judgments upon the nation of the disobedient Professed Saints-- is terror (verse 16)-- which means that the Professed Christians need to repent as much as their nation needs to repent. <span style="color:darkred">"For the time is come that Judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God?" <span style="color:darkred"> (1Peter 4:17).

•	"1 <span style="color:darkred">Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God." </span style="color:darkred">
The Almighty reminds us of the Second of the Ten Commandments. <span style="color:darkred">"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them" </span style="color:darkred"> (Exodus 20:4, 5). These may be the icons of secular business, or statues of the Virgin Mary.  Since an idol is any work of men's hands that receives the trust and affection that belongs only to God, idolatry may wear a business suit or prostrate itself before images in a Buddhist shrine-- they are the same. "15 <span style="color:darkred">The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands... </span style="color:darkred"> 18 <span style="color:darkred">They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them" (Psalm 135:15, 18).

•	"2 <span style="color:darkred">Ye shall keep My Sabbaths, and reverence My Sanctuary: I am the LORD." </span style="color:darkred">
In perspective of this Old Testament passage, Sabbath keeping in Christ's day became more than the rest from their labours coupled with the teaching of the Holy Scriptures; instead, it became traditions and pageantry that served only to confuse the Truth and impress the ignorant. <span style="color:darkred">"The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath" </span style="color:darkred"> (Mark 2:27). However, the present neglect of the Fourth Commandment is no badge of honour against legalism, but it robs God's people of rest, spiritual re-creation, and further transformation into the Image of Christ through the ministering of the Word of God. <span style="color:darkred">"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy"</span style="color:darkred"> (Exodus 20:8).

•	"3 <span style="color:darkred">If ye walk in My Statutes, and keep My Commandments, and do them;" </span style="color:darkred">
Obedience to God is no more or less than an honest heart complying in Faith with all that is understood of God's Commandments, because of heartfelt Love to the Saviour. "15 </span style="color:darkred">If ye Love Me, keep My Commandments... </span style="color:darkred"> 21 <span style="color:darkred">He that hath My Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him"<span style="color:darkred"> (John 14:15, 21).

•	"4 <span style="color:darkred">Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit." </span style="color:darkred">

Prosperity comes from God and results from obedience to God. Cursed are the Professed Saints when they believe that the prosperity of their land is due simply to their labour, acumen, or skill. "11 <span style="color:darkred">Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping His Commandments, and His Judgments, and His Statutes, which I command thee this day: </span style="color:darkred"> 12 <span style="color:darkred">lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; </span style="color:darkred"> 13 <span style="color:darkred">and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; </span style="color:darkred">14 <span style="color:darkred">then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage... </span style="color:darkred"> 17 <span style="color:darkred">and thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth"</span style="color:darkred"> (Deuteronomy 8:11-14, 17).

•	"5 <span style="color:darkred">And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely." </span style="color:darkred">
The Proverbs teach us that <span style="color:darkred">"safety is of the LORD"</span style="color:darkred"> (Proverbs 21:31), and not our trust in a strong national defence-- as important as it is. In the security that God provides, we are promised that the threshing of our amber waves of grain will last until the vintage, which is the yield of wine at the gleaning of the grapes, and will complete the cycle of plenteousness until the next season of threshing. <span style="color:darkred">"And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the Name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and My people shall never be ashamed"</span style="color:darkred"> (Joel 2:26).

•	"6 <span style="color:darkred">And I will give Peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land." </span style="color:darkred">
Peace is given by God for obedience. <span style="color:darkred">"Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid"</span style="color:darkred"> (John 14:27). Obedience to Jehovah Jesus' command-- <span style="color:darkred">"Let not your heart be troubled"</span style="color:darkred">-- not only gives us immediate Peace of heart, but will grant us and our unbelieving neighbours a ridding of <span style="color:darkred">"evil beasts"</span style="color:darkred"> (26:6) and the absence of the sword going through the land. Remember, God promised Abraham that He would have spared even wicked Sodom and Gomorrah, if there were but ten righteous found therein-- meaning that those who are actively practicing righteousness, are the preservation of their cities and nations. <span style="color:darkred">"I will not destroy it for ten's sake"</span style="color:darkred"> (Genesis 18:32).

•	"7 <span style="color:darkred">And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. </span style="color:darkred">8 <span style="color:darkred">And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword." </span style="color:darkred">

Your enemies will still be your enemies, but they will fear you and <span style="color:darkred">"fall before you"</span style="color:darkred"> (26:8), if they should foolishly attack you. Obviously, a Righteous Nation must have the right and necessity of self-defense granted to it by God, for it to be able to put its enemies to flight. <span style="color:darkred">"These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time"</span style="color:darkred"> (2Samuel 23:8). It is immaterial to God whether or not a Righteous Nation should possess more or fewer men or logistics than its enemies. He has promised, <span style="color:darkred">"Five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight"</span style="color:darkred"> (26:8). <span style="color:darkred">"He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered"</span style="color:darkred"> (Proverbs 28:26).

•	"9 <span style="color:darkred">For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish My covenant with you." </span style="color:darkred">

When God orders prosperity upon the land in which obedient Professing Christians dwell, the population will grow, and will be benefited by His Covenant of Peace. "10 <span style="color:darkred">For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My Kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the Covenant of My Peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath Mercy on thee... </span style="color:darkred"> 13 <span style="color:darkred">And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the Peace of thy children. </span style="color:darkred"> 14 <span style="color:darkred">In Righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. </span style="color:darkred"> 

15 <span style="color:darkred">Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by Me</span style="color:darkred"> [i.e., if anyone assaults you, it will not be from Me]: <span style="color:darkred">whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake"</span style="color:darkred"> (Isaiah 54:10, 13-15). The absence of Peace in a nation is the absence of Righteousness in the multitudes of the Professed Christians that constitute its citizenry. <span style="color:darkred">"But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king"</span style="color:darkred"> (1Samuel 12:25).

•	"10 <span style="color:darkred">And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new." </span style="color:darkred">
The cycle of the old producing the new, which becomes the old, continues as the material prosperity of a Righteous Nation is manifested from God's own hand. But, the unbelieving world will only covet the material prosperity, while rejecting the God that gave the prosperity. Even worse, what calamity, if Professed Christians forget the Source of their prosperity! "11 <span style="color:darkred">Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping His Commandments, and His Judgments, and His Statutes, which I command thee this day: </span style="color:darkred"> 12 <span style="color:darkred">lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; </span style="color:darkred"> 13 <span style="color:darkred">and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; </span style="color:darkred"> 

14 <span style="color:darkred">then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; </span style="color:darkred"> 17 <span style="color:darkred">and thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. </span style="color:darkred"> 18 <span style="color:darkred">But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. </span style="color:darkred"> 19<span style="color:darkred"> And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish"</span style="color:darkred"> (Deuteronomy 8:11-14, 17-19).

•	"11 <span style="color:darkred">And I will set My Tabernacle among you: and My soul shall not abhor you. </span style="color:darkred"> 12 <span style="color:darkred">And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be My people. </span style="color:darkred">13 <span style="color:darkred">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." </span style="color:darkred">
For the Saints of the New Covenant, God's Tabernacle and dwelling among His people, is within His people. <span style="color:darkred">"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His"</span style="color:darkred"> (Romans 8:9). His assurance to us that we are His own, is based upon our walk in present obedience-- not on our recollection of any past actions on our part. <span style="color:darkred">"And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep</span style="color:darkred"> [present tense, are keeping] <span style="color:darkred">His Commandments"</span style="color:darkred"> (1John 2:3). And, any right actions committed on our part, are <span style="color:darkred">"according to the Gift of the Grace of God given unto</span style="color:darkred"> [us] <span style="color:darkred">by the Effectual Working of His Power"</span style="color:darkred"> (Ephesians 3:7).

•	"14 <span style="color:darkred">But if ye will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these Commandments;" </span style="color:darkred">
Our relationship to God is to be based upon our love and appreciation of Who He is and what He has done. <span style="color:darkred">"For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life"</span style="color:darkred"> (John 3:16). <span style="color:darkred">"If ye love Me, keep My Commandments" </span style="color:darkred"> (Jn 14:15). <span style="color:darkred">"He that loveth Me not keepeth not My Sayings" (14:24). <span style="color:darkred">"He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His Commandments, is a liar, and the Truth is not in him"</span style="color:darkred"> (1John 2:4).

•	"15 <span style="color:darkred">And if ye shall despise My Statutes, or if your soul abhor My Judgments, so that ye will not do all My Commandments, but that ye break My covenant:" </span style="color:darkred">
It is impossible to separate between our heart attitude toward God and His Statutes, Judgments, Commandments, and Covenant, for He identifies Himself as One with His Word. <span style="color:darkred">"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"</span style="color:darkred"> (John 1:1). To despise, abhor, not do, and break His Word, is to commit that against Himself. <span style="color:darkred">"His Name is called The Word of God" </span style="color:darkred"> (Revelation 19:13).

•	"16 <span style="color:darkred">I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague</span style="color:darkred"> [fever], </span style="color:darkred">that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it." </span style="color:darkred">

The opening salvo of God's contention with His Wayward People-- is terror. Intense, overpowering fear is promised upon us, when we obstinately continue in disobedience. <span style="color:darkred">"Behold, the LORD, the LORD of Hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled"</span style="color:darkred"> (Isaiah 10:33). Before He begins any further dealings with the nation of His Disobedient Professing Saints, He conducts a warfare upon their hearts and minds, in preparation for even greater and more difficult judgments. <span style="color:darkred">"For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword"</span style="color:darkred"> (Jeremiah 20:4). All of this from the Almighty for the purpose of the repentance of those that still may repent. <span style="color:darkred">"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent"</span style="color:darkred"> (Revelation 3:19).

•	"17 <span style="color:darkred">And I will set My face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you." </span style="color:darkred">
Just as it is true that <span style="color:darkred">"if God be for us, who can be against us?" </span style="color:darkred"> (Romans 8:31); conversely, if we stand against God, He will stand against us. <span style="color:darkred">"Therefore thus saith the LORD GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute Judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations"</span style="color:darkred"> (Ezekiel 5:8). To the degree that the Almighty will bless our obedience, to that degree will He curse our disobedience. He can do it, and He will do it! "24 <span style="color:darkred">But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die... </span style="color:darkred">31 <span style="color:darkred">Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a New Heart and a New Spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" <span style="color:darkred"> (Ezekiel 18:24, 31).

•	"18 <span style="color:darkred">And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. </span style="color:darkred"> 19 <span style="color:darkred">And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your Heaven as iron, and your Earth as brass: </span style="color:darkred"> 20 <span style="color:darkred">And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. </span style="color:darkred"> 21 <span style="color:darkred">And if ye walk contrary unto Me, and will not hearken unto Me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins."

If we continue in impenitence, He will escalate our punishment <span style="color:darkred">"seven times more"</span style="color:darkred"> (26:18). This is much like the series of Seven Judgments of the upcoming Tribulation Week, i.e., Seven Seal Judgments, Seven Trumpet Judgments, and Seven Vial Judgments, each increasing in severity. <span style="color:darkred">"And when He had opened the Seventh Seal, there was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour"</span style="color:darkred"> (Revelation 8:1).  Sin always exhibits itself in pride against God, i.e., the <span style="color:darkred">"pride of your power"</span style="color:darkred"> (16:19). And, Impenitent Professing Christians will not humble themselves to confess that God's Terror or Judgments are because of their disobedience, but they will loudly insist that the ungodly citizenry of their nation is responsible for all their calamities. <span style="color:darkred">"Knowing therefore the Terror of the LORD, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences"</span style="color:darkred"> (2 Corinthians 5:11).

•	"22 <span style="color:darkred">I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate. </span style="color:darkred"> 23 <span style="color:darkred">And '''if ye will not be reformed by Me by these things,''' but will walk contrary unto Me; </span style="color:darkred"> 24 <span style="color:darkred">then will '''I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins."'''</span style="color:darkred">
Wild beasts may be rabid, have Mad Cow disease, be demon possessed, hungry, thirsty, or simply dispossessed of their wilderness. They shall war against the Disobedient Professing Christians, destroying their children, their cattle, and themselves. <span style="color:darkred">"For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through"</span style="color:darkred"> (Ezekiel 33:28). Instead of calling for a government program to control wild beasts, they should repent. <span style="color:darkred">"Be sure your sin will find you out"</span style="color:darkred"> (Numbers 32:23).

•	"25 <span style="color:darkred">And I will bring a sword upon you</span style="color:darkred"> [war], <span style="color:darkred">that shall avenge the quarrel of My covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence</span style="color:darkred"> [epidemic] <span style="color:darkred">among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. </span style="color:darkred"> 26 <span style="color:darkred">And when I have broken the staff of your bread</span style="color:darkred"> [famine], <span style="color:darkred">ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. </span style="color:darkred">

27 <span style="color:darkred">And if ye will not for all this hearken unto Me, but walk contrary unto Me; </span style="color:darkred"> 

28 <span style="color:darkred">then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. </span style="color:darkred"> 

29 <span style="color:darkred">And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat</span style="color:darkred"> [cannibalism, e.g., as Josephus recorded about the siege of Jerusalem]. 

30 <span style="color:darkred">And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols</span style="color:darkred"> [destruction of your places of worship], <span style="color:darkred">and My soul shall abhor you. </span style="color:darkred"> 

31 <span style="color:darkred">And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation</span style="color:darkred"> [urban warfare and destruction], <span style="color:darkred">and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. </span style="color:darkred"> 

32 <span style="color:darkred">And I will bring the land into desolation</span style="color:darkred"> [ruination of the countryside]: <span style="color:darkred">and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. </span style="color:darkred"> 

33 </span style="color:darkred">And I will scatter you among the heathen</span style="color:darkred"> [captivity], <span style="color:darkred"> and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. </span style="color:darkred"> 

34 <span style="color:darkred">Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths</span style="color:darkred"> [as it did during the 70 years of the Babylonian Captivity], <span style="color:darkred">as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her Sabbaths. </span style="color:darkred"> 

35 <span style="color:darkred">As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your Sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. </span style="color:darkred"> 

36 <span style="color:darkred">And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. </span style="color:darkred"> 

37 <span style="color:darkred">And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. </span style="color:darkred"> 38 <span style="color:darkred">And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. </span style="color:darkred"> 39 <span style="color:darkred">And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them." </span style="color:darkred">


'''[[Question and Answer: On Terror]]'''