Humanity has always faced problems—one is the trouble of appreciating what it means to become a Christian and to have the fellowship of God, especially during good times. The exception is when many find themselves with problems, concerns, ordeals and such like. When we face these, we tend to stop and think about how wonderful it is to be a Christian. It is much easier when we are faced with the loss of a loved one or some other trial in life to stop and realize how amazing it is to have God as our Father and Christ as our Savior. We ask ourselves the question, “How could I live and face these trials of life if I were not a Christian?” However, when life becomes easy again, it is easy for us to stop thinking about about how magnificent it is to be in fellowship with God. As we live everyday, we do not face these as constant trials, and it is not that easy to remember what a blessing it is to be in fellowship with God. Christians today who are missing other blessings we enjoy realize how wonderful it is to be a Christian and to be able to assemble with the saints.
Therefore, here is one problem we face. This was a problem that the nation of Israel had. They had a problem in grasping what a blessing it was to have fellowship with God above all the other nations of the earth. No other nation was as blessed as they were. Because they did not comprehend the blessings they enjoyed, it was hard for them to appreciate the responsibilities that they had. The failure to value their responsibilities finally led them to the place where they thought that the responsibilities had nothing to do with their being in fellowship with God. They imagined they were the special people of God, and that because Abraham was their father, God would never cut them off (cf. John 8:33-39). Had they studied carefully the Old Testament (especially the book of Leviticus) and thought about the lessons therein, they never would have come to that conclusion. Above all else, the book of Leviticus stresses that the holiness of God demands holy and righteous living by people who have His fellowship. The whole importance of the book is to show the significance of fellowship with God and the responsibilities that appear when one is in fellowship with God, and a failure to meet these responsibilities is to end up finally losing this blessed divine fellowship.
Therefore, the Old Testament is not as obsolete as we may think it is, because that principle is true today since it is based upon the character of God. God says, “ For I am the Lord, I change not ” (Mal. 3:6). He is not a man. Therefore, the unchanging character of God means that principles that are true today are just as true as they were in the Old Testament. It is important that we think carefully about these things and learn the lessons involved. Do we really appreciate God?