Title: Synergy (Leviticus 26:3-13)
Contents
These days, the word "synergy" or "synergy effect" is used a lot in various fields. It is a word that appears frequently in academic, business economic, and social terms. I think it's a term you've probably come across a lot, too.
Synergy is "the combined action of several different factors at the same time to achieve an effect greater than the sum of the individual efforts." In a word, it is a term for “synergistic effects”. If you add one to one, the answer is two, but if you add one to one and you get more than two, it's called synergy or synergy.
For example, on average a well-trained, farm-raised horse can pull six tons. If so, how much can you pull if you tie two horses together and drag them? 12 tons? no. Two horses can pull 23 tons. That's what synergy is all about. A single horse pulls 6 tons, but when two horses pull together, it exerts a force of 23 tons.
It doesn't necessarily mean that. On the contrary, if it is done wrong, "synergy effect" may appear. If two horses look at each other and don't use their strength, they can only pull 5 tons, which is less than the 6 tons that one horse can pull. I believe this should not happen. Again, the energy effect must be guarded against.
God's people should believe in the power of this synergy only in a positive way, and live by experiencing the synergy in their lives, and I hope they can live by testifying of the synergy experienced.
This synergy is, above all, the synergistic effect that our God's people will use as it is recorded in verse 3 of today's text, "if you keep my ordinances and commandments".
Specifically, let's look at what kind of synergy effect there is for those who live by faith while obeying God's ordinances and commandments.
1. Synergy in production
Verses 4-5 “I will give you rain in its season, and the land will yield its crop, and the trees of the field will yield their fruit. I will eat my food and live safely in your land.”
Palestine is a very dry and barren land with little rain. So, to the Israelites, rain was regarded as a blessing from God. Israel is a nation looking to the sky. Moreover, if there is no rain during the planting season (October-November), there is a famine and there is no way to avoid famine. But God gives the early rain and the latter rain at the right time, and dew at night, so that we can reap a good harvest, eat enough food and live in safety. New grains are produced before the old grain is consumed, and the old grain is used for other purposes.
When we were young, there was a thing called barley. It refers to the months of May or June when the food situation is not good because all the food harvested last fall is gone and the barley has not yet matured. Now, God gives as many blessings as the number of churches and gives us the food we need to eat, but it used to be an annual event. Let's recall the sound of a housewife plucking the rice pot with only a few grains left after all of the rice has been shaken. How sad is that? Drift and ding . . . . . .
Everyone, I believe that if God is with us and we live by God's laws and commandments, we will create synergy in our production and achieve more production than we planned. In this world, there is a desire to achieve something bigger than a dream, and there are people who live near their dreams without even going there. I believe that God will give greater grace and blessings to those who love God, and to those who live by obedience to His ordinances and laws.
2. Synergy of victory and peace
The second synergy that God's people receive when they obey God's commands is the synergy of victory and peace. 'I will give peace to the land. . . The sword will not go through your land.' 'Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand' (26:6-8).
Here again, you are talking about the synergy effect very specifically, and you said that five chases a hundred and a hundred chases ten thousand. If five chase one hundred, one hundred can chase two thousand. But the Bible says that you can pursue a hundred and two thousand. This is what synergy is all about. Where does this tremendous synergy come from? It comes from God being with us. It comes from faith.
Palestine is still the world's gunpowder, but back then it was also a land without peace. Among them, Israel is a very small nation. Therefore, there were many peoples who looked at them with ease.
An individual or a nation is anxious because the peace with God has been broken before that. Therefore, He said, 'Be at peace with God, and good will come to you' (Job 22:21).
We have lost social peace now. The relocation of the capital, the abolition of the security law, and the legislative issue for reconciliation of the past, etc. are controversial and conflicting in every case. Opinions are divided. They say that the main enemies are the United States and North Korea, but there is nothing that can achieve unity and peace. This shouldn't be the case. A nation prospers only when it is peaceful. The church can only thrive when there is peace.
Why not one? Do you have to walk through the jar to feel refreshed? Why do you push so hard when you say you don't want your partner to die?
This nation needs peace. A match is required. So is the church.
3. Synergy of prosperity
9-12 "I will take care of you, and I will multiply you and make you great, and I will keep my covenant with you. You will eat the old grain that you have kept for a long time, and you will put away the old grain for the new grain. I will set up my tabernacle among you, and my heart will not hate you; I will walk among you, and I will be your God, and you will be my people."
If you fear the Lord and obey His word, He will take care of you and multiply you and make you great. He said that the Lord would keep His covenant. He said that the Lord will set up the tabernacle among us. You said you don't hate us.
This is the third synergy of life with God.
When the famine disappears and peace is established, individuals, nations, and prosperity will follow. The history of the nation of Israel is a history of repeating rises and falls. When a God-fearing king reigned, he was prosperous. On the contrary, when a king who abandoned God's law and worshiped his idols ruled, famine and war came again. The security of a nation does not depend on the number of troops, but on whether or not God is with them. Prosperity is in the hands of God. If God is with you, you will meet the synergy of prosperity.
We believe in the powerful synergy that comes from God's presence in our lives. If we fear God and obey His decrees and commandments, we will have a synergistic effect that is far greater than what I could achieve with my own efforts.