Leviticus 26:14-33
The LORD had once more seriously forewarned His people against idolatry (v. 1). Alas! – it will need a word from the prophet Amos (Amos 5:25-27) quoted by Stephen (Acts 7:42-43) for us to know it – whilst still in the wilderness, the house of Israel bowed down to idols that they had made for themselves, and in particular to the abominable Molech (see Leviticus 20:1-5). This is the reason why all those threats, of greater and greater severity, were fulfilled at a later date upon the guilty nation. How hard the heart of man is! To break it, God must strike harder and harder blows. Well, He is sometimes obliged to treat us in the same way! He begins by correcting us gently and, if we do not listen, His voice becomes more and more urgent. Proverbs 29:1 warns us: "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Let us then learn to recognise immediately the Lord’s voice and not to refuse His correction (Psalms 141:5). Because He loves us, He will never chastise us more than is necessary for the lesson to be learnt. Because He is faithful, He will none the less persist, to make sure that all this patient work will turn our thoughts and our hearts towards Himself.