Fortunately for the believer, there is a place to turn to when trying to find guidance and direction for our lives as God's creations on earth. We do not have to speculate, or wallow around in confusion, nor are we obliged to run various public opinion polls, or form intellectual think tanks in the hope of discovering how we should live our lives or in which direction we should go. It's all laid out for us by the Creator Himself. Where is this knowledge and truth of the ages about which we can be absolutely certain? For the believer, it is the inerrant, infallible, ever sure, Word of the Living God . . . . the Holy Bible. You see, when this awesome "operator's manual for our lives" is disregarded, we become humanistic flotsam and jetsam on the sea of life . . . tossing to and fro from one manmade concept to another, whichever way the human nature "wind" of whim and fancy blows us. Sooner or later, like the willful, rebellious, disobedient child, we will be brought to task, made to toe the line, compelled to do things as mandated by our Creator . . . or suffer the consequences. It has been so since the beginning of mankind. Through countless generations, human beings have been so arrogant as to believe that they didn't need any "operator's manual for living" . . . they could wing it, fly the 747 jet without studying or following the manual or check list. Just look at the history of mankind (and womankind) if you want to view a vast array of inevitable disasters and rotting corpses strewn all the way from the Garden of Eden . . . the birthplace of the first lie of Humanism, "you can be as Gods" . . . down through the ages to the present day.

     But God does not remain silent, complacent, or inattentive to such human folly. No indeed, He puts down the rebellion of the creature and justice in judgment prevails. The documentation that follows, clearly shows how God demonstrates His sovereignty over the universe He created, without regard to the foolish denials of His creations. It has always been so, and sooner or later, those who deny and reject God in this age will be brought to task for their folly by the one and only sovereign God . . . the God of Isaac, Jacob and Abraham . . . the Great Jehovah God . . . the Alpha and the Omega.

     Whom the Lord loves, He chastens, whether it is an individual, a city or community, or a nation. Because God loves the whole world, there has always been a lot of chastening going on. The history of the Jews as a nation is, in part, a story of the cycles of discipline and recovery they experienced throughout all their generations. There are many parallel lessons to be learned by individual believers regarding the way the Lord handles the individual and nation in Grace when either is disobedient.

     This is a study of the doctrine of the Five Cycles of Divine Discipline, as seen in God's dealing with the nation of Israel in ancient times.

I. The First Cycle [Leviticus 26:14-17]

14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do
    all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning
    ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in
    vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate
    you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

A. Verses 14 and 15 serve as the introduction to the five cycles of discipline.

B. The criterion for invoking the five cycles of discipline is simple: the failure to carry out the laws of
    Divine Establishment .

C. Each cycle of discipline is worse than the one before, although often in the same forms as a previous
    cycle.

D. The first cycle includes five forms of discipline:

1. Discipline in the form of illness and disease.
     a. The sudden terror is a title - the diseases are described under it.
     b. The first form of disease is consumptive diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis and AIDS.
     c. The second form of disease is a fever which wastes the eyes and drains away the desire
         to live. This is mental illness.

2. Discipline in the form of crop destruction.
     a. Understand this in the time in which it was written.
     b. In the industrial age we have many businesses and corporations that come under this
         category even though they are not agricultural in nature.
     c. The enemy of business can be many things:
          1. Inordinate taxation.
          2. Greed and graft and corruption.
          3. The inordinate demands of labor unions.
     d. The seed is investment capital, and the normal crop would be profit. The enemies of
         business eat up the profits and put business under a strain.

3. Discipline in the form of defeat on the battlefield.
     a. The effectiveness of the military is undermined by poor leadership, immorality, and
         cowardice.
     b. This ineffectiveness leads to defeat in battle.
     c. This does not include the destruction of the nation.

4. Discipline in the form of sneering authority.
     a. Those in national authority will sneer at the citizens of the nation.
     b. Instead of serving the nation, the leadership will serve itself, and only use government
         benefits to grab more power for themselves.

5. Discipline in the form of sublimation.
     a. Flight when no one chases is folly.
     b. This is sublimation - getting involved in all categories of distraction, rather than facing the          truth.
     c. Sublimation is a flight from reality. Reality does not chase anyone.
     d. Sublimation becomes painful discipline because it causes damage to the soul, and 
         increases torment from neurosis.
     e. Sublimation is based on the lust pattern of the soul, and often results in addiction.  

E. The people of the nation will have a chance to respond to God in repentance after this cycle has been administered.

II. The Second Cycle [Leviticus 26:18-20]

18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for
     your sins.
19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as      brass:
20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall     the trees of the land yield their fruits.

A. This cycle is a multiplication of the first cycle by a factor of "7." The number seven is a common
     metaphor in Biblical literature which means, "a lot." Here, you would say, "I will punish you for
     your sins over and over."

B. In this cycle, the land and the environment itself becomes the enemy of the farmer.

C. The modern analogy would be advertising, marketing, and the consumer, all of which are necessary
     for the production of profits.

D. Also included by analogy are the raw materials from which products are made. They will become
     more expensive and less available.

E. This cycle of discipline also begins an economic depression in which food supplies dwindle and
    poverty begins to take hold in earnest over a large segment of the population.

F. This cycle of discipline factors in the bad decisions made by the people from their position of
     mental weakness.

1. Bad decisions concerning the environment.
     a. Decisions which are destructive to the environment.
     b. Decisions which protect the environment too much, and so cause damage to the economy.

2. Bad decisions concerning trade.

3. Bad decisions concerning labor and management.

4. Bad decisions concerning investment.

5. Bad decisions concerning production.

G. The people of the nation will have a chance to respond to God in repentance after this cycle has
     been administered.

III. The Third Cycle [Leviticus 26:21-22]

21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more      plagues upon you according to your sins.
22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your
     cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.

A. The third cycle of discipline multiplies the effects of the second cycle by a factor of seven.

B. The third cycle begins the predominance of the criminal element in society, as the wild animal is a      metaphor for crime.

C. In this cycle, there is a great deal of crime against children, and against business.

D. Because of the predominance of crime, the roads are deserted, which means there is virtually no      commerce.

E. The people of the nation will have a chance to respond to God in repentance after this cycle has
     been administered.

IV. The Fourth Cycle [Leviticus 26:23-26]

23 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me,
24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye     are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be     delivered into the hand of the enemy.
26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven,
     and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.

A. This cycle multiplies the effects of the third cycle by a factor of seven.

B. This is the cycle of civil war, or perhaps war but not yet final defeat. The uprising of the anti-
     establishment element in society will trap the rest of the people of the nation.

C. In the ancient world, the civil war would begin in the countryside and surround the city or town
     where the rulers of the nation lived.

D. Without the logistical support from the countryside, a siege ensues and food becomes scarce.

E. In addition to this, being trapped in close quarters means that the potential for widespread disease
    is great, and will happen. These are desperate times.

F. The people of the nation will have a chance to respond to God in repentance after this cycle has
     been administered.

G. The United States is flirting with this cycle right now, although it is not quite a reality.

V. The Fifth Cycle [Leviticus 26:27-39]

27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for
     your sins.
29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcasses upon
    the carcasses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not
    smell the savour of your sweet odours.
32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be
    astonished at it.
33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land
     shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your
    enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
35 As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye
    dwelt upon it.
36 And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of
    their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing
    from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
37 And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye
    shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
38 And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in
    the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.

A. This cycle multiplies the effects of the fourth cycle by a factor of seven.

B. This cycle describes the total destruction of the nation by foreign enemies.

C. There will be cannibalism because of food shortages, even cannibalism within the family.

D. There will be widespread death directly attributed to involvement in the addiction cycle. People will be
    killed by the foreign enemies while participating in their idolatry.

E. The industries of the nation, and most of the buildings, public and private, will be destroyed.

F. The people will be carted off to the foreign countries as slaves.

G. Fear will be the modus operandi of those who are left.

H. It is too late for this generation to repent. It is destroyed.

I. This cycle of discipline, even this, may not be too far away for the United States! It may be many
    years away, or it may only be a few.

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