The Blessings of Obedience by Keith Malcomson

Devotional

Day 1: The Blood as a Daily Threshold

A sheep lies down only when it feels safe under the shepherd’s care. So too, the blood of Jesus isn’t a one-time remedy but a constant covering. Every prayer, every step toward God, begins at the altar. Without the blood, worship becomes striving, and obedience becomes duty. The cross isn’t just the start of faith—it’s the path. To walk in blessing, you must wake each day conscious of the Lamb’s sacrifice. [10:12]

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”
(Leviticus 17:11, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you tried to approach God this week without first acknowledging the blood of Jesus? How might your prayers shift if you started each day at the cross?

Day 2: Rain in Due Season

Dry seasons expose our roots. God promises rain—not as a reward, but as a rhythm for those who walk with Him. The former rain softens hardened ground; the latter rain ripens the harvest. Obedience isn’t about earning favor but positioning yourself under heaven’s open windows. When the Spirit falls, fear starves and fruit flourishes. [40:33]

“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.”
(Leviticus 26:4, ESV)

Reflection: What areas of your life feel parched? How might aligning your choices with God’s Word prepare the soil for His rain?

Day 3: Chasing a Hundred with Five

Victory isn’t measured by your strength but by your Shepherd’s strategy. Five sheep routing 100 wolves defies logic—until you remember the Shepherd’s promise. The enemy flees not because you’re fierce, but because you’re faithful. Your sword isn’t your resolve; it’s His declared Word. [56:58]

“Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.”
(Leviticus 26:8, ESV)

Reflection: What situation feels overwhelmingly outnumbered? What specific promise of God can you wield today as your sword?

Day 4: Old Storehouses and New Harvest

A full storehouse doesn’t mean stagnation. God’s blessings layer—He feeds you with last season’s faithfulness as He brings in fresh provision. The old sustains you while the new stretches you. To discard the past is to distrust the Provider; to hoard it is to miss the next field ripe for harvest. [01:02:33]

“You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new.”
(Leviticus 26:10, ESV)

Reflection: What “old” provision have you neglected? How is God inviting you to steward past blessings while embracing new assignments?

Day 5: God Walks Among the Upright

Idols shrink your sanctuary. God doesn’t visit temples cluttered with substitutes—He dwells where His name alone is exalted. To “go upright” means your spine aligns with His commands, your hands hold no carved distractions. His presence isn’t a visitation; it’s a habitation. [01:06:50]

“I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.”
(Leviticus 26:11-12, ESV)

Reflection: What subtle idol—a mindset, a compromise—might be crowding God’s space in your life? What step will you take this week to dismantle it?

Sermon Summary

Leviticus 26 stands as the doorway into the holiness portion of the book, but the doorway is never law without blood. Leviticus first spends sixteen chapters establishing sacrifice, the altar, the sprinkled blood, and the Day of Atonement because no saint can walk with God by self-effort. The blood of the Lamb is not only for the sinner coming out of Egypt. The blood is for every prayer, every act of worship, every approach to God, and every step of obedience.

The latter half of Leviticus calls for holiness, conduct, purity, and obedience, yet Calvary must remain in its right place. The cross does not make obedience unnecessary. The cross makes obedience possible. Grace does not become a safety blanket for a conscience that refuses God’s Word. Grace brings the believer back into faith, back into the Spirit, and back into a life that hears and does what God says.

Leviticus 26 begins by shutting the door on idolatry. God forbids idols, graven images, standing images, and images of stone because God alone is the Lord. The name Jehovah declares that He is the self-existent, unchanging God, and the name Elohim reveals the one true God in His divine fullness. God will not allow men to remake Christ, redefine redemption, soften the authority of Scripture, or bring a false gospel into His house. Idolatry can be a statue, but it can also be a doctrine, a theory, or a new way of speaking that changes what God has plainly said.

Leviticus then gives the condition: “If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them.” The “if” matters. God desires to bless His people, but stubborn neglect of His Word brings chastisement rather than blessing. God does not change direction to accommodate rebellion. His people must turn, pursue Him, and walk with Him.

God promises rain in due season, a picture of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The rain brings fruitfulness, supply, satisfaction, and a harvest so abundant that the old store remains while the new harvest comes in. God also promises shalom, a fullness of peace that enables His sheep to lie down without fear. God drives out evil beasts, turns pursued saints into those who chase the enemy, and puts the sword of His Word back in their hands.

Leviticus finally promises God’s tabernacle among His people. Paul applies this promise to the local church: God desires to dwell, walk, and manifest His presence among a separated people. The God who broke Egypt’s yoke did not save His people to remain bowed down, dry, fearful, or enslaved. God brought them out to make them walk upright under the blessing of His presence.

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Key Takeaways

1. The blood leads into obedience The blood of Jesus never leaves a believer condemned under God’s commands. The cross reveals both God’s provision and God’s power to do what He requires. A life that claims grace while resisting obedience has not yet understood the purpose of grace. [38:39]
2. Idolatry remakes God’s revealed truth Idolatry is not limited to statues, temples, or ancient pagan images. It appears wherever Christ, the gospel, redemption, or Scripture gets redefined according to human ideas. God’s people must refuse every attempt to mold His Word into something more acceptable to the age. [23:42]
3. God sends rain in due season The rain pictures more than a passing emotional touch. God promises an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that produces living fruit, fresh strength, and bountiful spiritual supply. Dryness is not the final condition for a church that returns to God’s Word and seeks Him. [40:33]
4. Peace turns sheep into pursuers God’s shalom gives more than relief from anxious thoughts. His peace makes His sheep able to lie down without fear, then rise up and drive back the enemy by the sword of God’s Word. The enemy must not be permitted to keep ravaging homes, minds, and children. [55:06]
5. God saved His people upright Egypt represents the bondage God broke by His redeeming power. Christ did not save His people merely to drag themselves through spiritual life under a heavy yoke. God calls His people out of bondage so that they may stand upright, walk in His ways, and know His dwelling presence.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:12] - Why Leviticus 26 Now
[03:45] - The Shepherd Causes His Sheep to Lie Down
[05:06] - The Blessings of Obedience
[08:12] - Blood Redemption and the Holiness Code
[12:27] - Grace, Holiness, and the Cross
[17:11] - Obedience Begins by Rejecting Idols
[23:42] - The Lord Will Not Be Redefined
[31:29] - The Condition and the Four Promises
[39:27] - Outpouring and Fruitfulness
[50:52] - Peace and Victory Over the Enemy
[61:23] - Eating the Old and the New
[66:15] - God’s Tabernacle Among His People
[70:34] - Delivered from Egypt to Walk Upright

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Leviticus 26:1-13
“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. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, 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. 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. 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. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.” [05:25] [05:49] [07:22]

Ezekiel 34:14
“I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.” [04:24]

Psalm 23:1-2
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” [00:37] [04:33]

2 Corinthians 6:16
“What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’” [06:57] [07:03]

Observation questions

What different forms of idolatry are named in Leviticus 26:1, and what commands follow immediately after the warning against idols?
In verses 3-13, what words show that obedience involves more than hearing God’s commands? What does the passage say God’s people are to do with His statutes and commandments? [37:54]
What blessings are connected with rain in due season, peace in the land, and God’s dwelling among His people?
How do Psalm 23, Ezekiel 34, and Leviticus 26 each describe God’s sheep being able to lie down? What is removed or provided so they can rest? [04:33]

Interpretation questions

Why is it important that Leviticus gives much attention to sacrifice and blood before it gives detailed commands about holiness and obedience? How does this protect a believer from trying to obey God in self-effort? [15:50]
Leviticus 26 begins with refusing idols. How can changing the meaning of Christ, grace, redemption, or Scripture become a form of idolatry even when no physical statue is involved? [23:53]
The Lord promises peace, safety, and victory, yet He also says, “If you walk in my statutes.” How should believers understand this call to obedience without treating God’s grace as something earned? [38:39]
Paul uses God’s promise to dwell and walk among His people in speaking about the church. What should God’s dwelling presence change about the way a local church treats holiness, worship, and false teaching? [51:15]

Application questions

Is there an area where God’s command has begun to feel like a heavy burden rather than a grace-enabled path of life? What would it look like this week to bring that area back to the cross and trust Christ to work obedience in you? [16:41]
Idolatry can appear when people reshape biblical truth to fit personal preference or the spirit of the age. Are there teachings, phrases, voices, or habits that have been influencing your view of Christ more than Scripture? How can you test them carefully by God’s Word? [24:10]
God calls His people to walk in His statutes, keep His commandments, and do them. What is one clear command of Scripture you know but have been delaying, excusing, or only partially obeying? What practical step would repentance and obedience involve? [31:42]
Where do you presently feel spiritually dry, discouraged, or fruitless? How could you seek the Lord for fresh filling and make regular room for His Word, prayer, and fellowship? [46:47]
God’s peace enables His sheep to lie down without fear. What fears have been making you restless—fear about your family, health, finances, the future, or something else? Which promises from these passages can you begin to speak and pray in that place? [52:53]
God’s people are not called merely to be chased by the enemy, but to stand together in the strength of God’s Word. Is there a struggle where you need another believer to pray with you and help you stand? What would it look like to take up the “sword” of Scripture in that situation? [57:00]
God brought His people out of Egypt so they would no longer live bowed down under slavery. In what way might you still be living as though an old yoke has authority over you? How does belonging to God and having Him dwell among His people call you to walk upright? [07:10]

Sermon Clips

“blood. It is grace. It is mercy. It is God's provision. He has done everything. Not only the Passover lamb to save you, but the provision of God in the house of God in your life, in your prayer life. It's all the blood. He has provided the sacrifice. But you need faith. You need obedience. You need to hear the word of God. You need to understand who your great high priest is.” [00:12:33]

“concerning this holiness of life, the commandments, the instruction, the requirements of God to be in the house of God. Saints, you only come to that after you've got the blood in place, after you've got a right focus, after the altar or the cross is in its right place. This is not law and legalism. If you get this back to front, you'll end up very, very confused. You will end up a legalist. You'll end up dry, barren, fruitless, unable, and powerless.” [00:15:42]

“Don't you dare mold something. Even if it's a theory, an idea, or your way of expressing the gospel, don't you dare use the Lord's table or this pulpit or the high street or the children's ministry. Don't you dare change the gospel. Don't you dare speak your own words. You have no right, no authority. You only speak. You ought to be trembling that I've got to stick to scripture. Not ministering out of your own heart. You minister the word of God.” [00:23:59]

“There's provision. There's protection. There's security. There's confidence. There's everything you can eat. This is the first great blessing, saints. You obey him. You walk in the light of his word. I tell you saints, wake up and say, ‘I'm going to obey him. I'm going to get into the word of God. I'm going to meditate on the word of God.’” [00:50:01]

“When we give a command, it's not legalism. It's not law. It's not a heavy burden. It's instruction to protect you, to guard your family, guard your mind, guard your body, your physical body. It's to put barriers around you.” [00:37:02]

“shalom meaning more than peace. It means fullness, completeness in your body, in your soul, in your mind, in your circumstance, spiritually, practically, in your marriage, in your workplace, in your church life. I'm going to give you shalom. The presence of God, the blessing of God, the provision of God.” [00:52:31]

“You took your eyes off Jesus Christ dying on the cross. See, if you get your eyes back there, Jesus died for me. It's by grace. It's a new covenant. He said he would do. Then all this works. It's by faith. It's in the spirit. It's not you.” [00:16:41]

“He is righteous. He demands righteousness, but he also provides righteousness. When the Bible speaks about righteousness, you need those three things. He demands it. He requires it. He is it. But he also provides it.” [00:28:56]

“this is how you walk with God. You don't only get saved by the Passover lamb. But as a believer, as a follower in God, all of this teaching in Leviticus is to show you it's by the sprinkling of the blood.” [00:09:56]

“You need to sit on this for a time. Some of you's learned things. You give it to others. You've never made it your own. You've never allowed it to cultivate. But what this is saying, you don't throw out the old. You actually save it. You live in the old while storing the new.” [01:03:36]

“When the Bible speaks about rain, it's talking about the Holy Spirit. The falling of the Holy Spirit from heaven, the Holy Spirit being sent down, the outpouring of the spirit, the ending of the Holy Spirit about revival or the baptism in the Holy Ghost.” [00:40:18]

“He's literally saying, ‘If you hear me, if you hear my word, if you walk in the light of God's word, then I will give you rain in due season.’ The rain is speaking about the former and the latter rain.” [00:41:17]

“If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments and do them, he's going to do four things. And these are my four points. I want to give you four blessings, saints. He said, ‘If ye walk in my statutes and keep my commandments and do them,’ the word if is used nine times in this chapter. Nine times.” [00:31:42]

“It means I am who I am. God's revealing his character nature. How foolish to argue over the pronunciation of the word. Do you honestly think God cares about that? He wants you to meet him, to know him, to understand him, to have your life changed.” [00:26:34]

“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. This is the first blessing I want to deal with.” [00:39:44]

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