Many of us have fears, and those fears impact our decisions, our lives, and our activities. Paul here calls God’s people – the church of Corinth, to separate from each and every thing that defiles (ruins) the reality of their status as God’s holy temple. While separating from all that defiles, the byproduct of obedience to Paul’s call to action results in fear…Yet this fear isn’t a fear of the many things we may regularly fear; it’s the fear of God.

In one of the most egregious chapter divisions in all the English bible, 2 Corinthians 7:1 issues a firm command (an imperative) based on the realities of God’s Word (indicative promises). My curiosity has sparked regarding the promises mentioned in this bold, assertive command from the writer of 2 Corinthians – the Apostle Paul.

2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Earthly Blessings

Sometimes there are so many promises of God that we could lose count or have trouble following exactly which promises a biblical writer is referring to. Thankfully, the Apostle Paul cites exactly what he is referring to by quoting from Leviticus 26:12 and Isaiah 52:11. In these two passages, we see some extraordinary promises amid humanly impossible circumstances:

Leviticus 26 details, in no uncertain terms, the earthly blessings God brings about for his obedient and faithful people. These blessings are juxtaposed with what contemporary psychologists may call “negative reinforcement”. God (through Moses in Leviticus) lays out in earthly means the cost/benefit analysis of faithful obedience to His Word. These benefits and corrections are indeed promises that surround the immediate verse (Leviticus 26:11-12) which Paul quotes in 2 Corinthians 6:16.

Leviticus 26:11-12 I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.

This verse comes as the triumphant crescendo in a long list of earthly blessings. Read some of these promises of this, our good and generous God:

If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and trees their fruit…….and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land…….You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. (paraphrased Leviticus 26:3, 4, 5, and 10)

Bountiful blessings of harvest, food as an unending supply – as a promise to a people who had lived for 40 years, daily depending on mana from heaven or other miraculous food provisions. My wife and I frequently visit our local grocer. We typically need to purchase new food with 4 children every 3-5 days (depending on the time of year). These ancient people of God, who first heard this promise of God, had no refrigerators, had no grocer, had no “future plan” for “tomorrow’s meal” except for the bountiful harvest which God himself generously and miraculously provided. In the midst of this challenging period, God issues this promise: faithful obedience to him brings with it an endless buffet accompanied by safety. 

Peace from Danger 

I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you…….I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you (paraphrased Leviticus 26:6-9)

The ancient Israelite people were never far from danger, with almost every neighbor they bumped into during their exile in the wilderness turning hostile. These slaves were not battle-hardened warriors of mythology, or readily made heroes from epic combat. These were women, children, and men, young and old, who had labored with the whip of Pharaoh as reward for their labor. These were people who were as oppressed as any throughout the history of the world. Who had to worry about possible extinction due to the extermination of their infant males (Exodus 1-2). And to these weary, beaten, and abused people, God issues this promise: faithful obedience to him brings with it a victory that overcomes every possible foe.

These are the promises from God in Leviticus 26:1-10, but these are not the peak or the finale! God took it upon himself to raise up a lowly, homeless people, a lonely, nomadic people, and make them his own. God chose to take a people who were owned by a king who sought to abuse them, mistreat them, and only saw their value in what they could accomplish on his behalf.

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