Surprise, Suspicion, And Panic

They are hard to read, but necessary.
And I take them in slowly, as to see them all clearly.

The Blessings and the Curses in Leviticus, chapter 26.
And while our heart is tempted to focus solely on the blessings, we must hard examine the punishments received for disobedience.
And it’s never for chastisement and shame, but always for the heart renewal.  For repentance, that causes us to return, and be ultimately fully restored.

And after five warnings found in verses14-35, there comes one final word for the survivors.  In other words, if you managed to endure the punishment as a result of all the sin you’ve committed, there’s a warning of conclusion, and this one takes the cake.

Verse 36 says this, “And for those of you who survive, I will demoralize you in the land of your enemies.  You will live in such fear the the sound of a leaf driven by the wind will send you fleeing.  You will run as though fleeing from a sword, and you will fall even when no one pursues you.”  Verse 37 continues, “Though no one is chasing you, you will stumble over each other as though fleeing from a sword.  You will have no power to stand up against your enemies.”

And I had just read it in Psalm 44, verse 16.  The Psalmist is lamenting over the absence of God’s presence among them, even though they had only recently been recalling former experiences which should have excited them to deeper trust in their faithful God.  He says, “All we hear are the taunts of our mockers.  All we see are our vengeful enemies.”

And why?

Because they had forgotten the Lord’s kindness and provision.
With improper focus, they had failed in their fixation of what God was saying and what God was doing.

The ones “punished” here in the text in Leviticus, suffered finally from surprise, suspicion, and panic.

And we do the same.
In part… a large part… by not being prepared.

1 Peter 4:12 says this, “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.”  In other words, expect that all that’s happening is part of life - especially the life of the Jesus people.

And so we often suffer from a surprise of a trial, when in reality, we’re refusing preparation of the examination which leads to heart transformation.

We also suffer, often, from suspicion.
These scriptures tell of a suspicious mindset of danger where none truly existed.
Suspicious means = “questionable, inclined to suspect evil, distrustful, a vague notion of something, a feeling that appearances are not reliable, the positive tendency to doubt the trustworthiness of appearances and therefore to believe that one has detected possibilities of something unreliable, unfavorable or menacing.”

Wow.

The strict warning is to live un-suspicious.  To stop the cynicism, too, that comes with a skeptical attitude.

And the final warning is that of panic.  Our ever-growing susceptibility to fear and panic.  The panic that causes you to flee even at, “the sound of a leaf driven by the wind.”

Because there’s a fine line between expecting the worst and believing for the best.
To suppose the trial while hoping for the victory.
To foreshadow the curse at the same time we’re anticipating the blessing.

And so it’s things I must keep before me at all times.
How am I living?
What am I putting my hope in?
Where is my focus?

I must stop living with surprise that leads me to suspicion and eventual panic.
I must, instead, fix my mind on the promise God made to His people.  “But despite all this, I will not utterly reject or despise them while they are in exile in the land of their enemies.  I will not cancel My covenant with them by wiping them out, for I am the Lord their God.”  (Lev 26:44)

For our sake, He remembers His covenant, and doesn’t allow us to suffer long in our deportation.  He is a Father who is redeeming all things.