David Bahn – Reflections

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These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Leviticus 25-27, Psalm 65.

Leviticus 26:1-6

“You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. ² You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

³ “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, ⁴ then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. ⁶ I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land.

There are those who take passages like this and leverage them to prop up a theology of glory — the so-called prosperity gospel. In that view the Christian life becomes a quid-pro-quo exchange with God: I do good and he blesses me. I give and he gives back. After all, isn’t that what God promises? So they build large and impressive edifices, wear Rolex watches, drive luxury cars, and live in expansive mansions. “God has blessed me because I have been faithful,” they say.

But the fact remains that there is no quid-pro-quo with God. He is God. When he makes promises such as these, he is not offering a simple exchange of good behavior for blessing.

Rather, God is describing something that can often be seen at the level of a whole community. These words are spoken to the nation, not as guarantees of personal prosperity for any one individual. When a community lives with integrity, mutual respect, and justice, life tends to go better within that community. That is the kind of blessing God is describing.

Even so, troubles can come — even to communities marked by integrity and faith. The world promotes values that undermine the ways of God, and the devil does everything he can to destroy lives and fracture communities.

On September 15, 1999, a gunman entered the sanctuary of Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, opened fire, killing seven people and wounding seven others. It was a terrible tragedy and a profound loss. Faithful people experienced the devastating work of evil in the world.

I recall the church’s pastor, Rev. Al Meredith – in the face of that tragedy – quoting the words of Habakkuk:

“Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation”

I was reminded of this when I read this Leviticus passage. God has promised good to us and we can be absolutely confident of his promises. And as we see his goodness and faithfulness, we can and should give thanks and praise to him. But even when the fields yield no food, we can praise him. For he is good, and he is the One who endured the greatest loss for us. Jesus bore our sin, our sorrow, and even death itself upon the cross. And on the third day God raised him from the dead, assuring us that evil does not have the final word.

So we rejoice not because life is always easy or prosperous, but because the God of our salvation is faithful. Whether the barns are full or empty, whether our days are peaceful or troubled, the Lord remains our God. And that is reason enough to rejoice.