Leviticus 26

The word “if’’ has been called one of the shortest and yet one of the most important words in the

English language. Debating over what might have happened in world history if Wellington had lost at Waterloo or if Lee had won at Gettysburg is an exercise in futility.

When you leave the “ifs’’ out of Leviticus 26—27, you may miss the meaning, for “if’’ is used thirty-two times. The history of Israel can’t be fully understood apart from the “ifs’’ contained in God’s covenant. When it comes to Jewish history, “if’’ is a very big word. Three “if’’ phrases in chapter 26 show us the importance of the word: “If you walk in My statutes’’ (v. 3 nkjv); “But if you do not obey Me’’ (v. 14 nkjv); “But if they confess their iniquity’’ (v. 40 nkjv). In our relationship to the Lord, “if’’ carries a lot of weight.

The statutes and instructions God gave Israel in Leviticus 26 and 27 illustrate four responsibilities that every Christian believer has toward the Lord.

In Leviticus 26, to obey God is to “walk in [His] statutes’’ (v. 3), but to disobey Him is to “walk contrary’’ to the Lord and despise His statutes (vv. 15, 21, 23–24, 27–28, 40–41). The word translated “contrary’’ means “a hostile meeting with the intention of fighting.’’

If I’m walking one direction and God is walking another, I’m moving away from His presence; and God isn’t about to change His direction! If I continue to walk contrary to Him, I’m going to have serious problems; for “can two walk together, except they be agreed?’’ (Amos 3:3). Moses gave his people four excellent reasons why they should obey the Lord.

Because of who God is (v. 1). The God of Israel, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the true and living God and not an idol people have manufactured. He reminded them, “I am the LORD your God.’’ The name LORD in capital letters signifies Jehovah God, the great I AM, the self-existent One who entered into a covenant relationship with Israel and to whom the Jews said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do’’ (see Ex. 19:1–8).

A.W. Tozer reminds us, “The essence of idolatry is the entertaining of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him’’ (The Knowledge of the Holy, 11). When the Jews abandoned the worship of Jehovah for the worship of idols, or even worse, tried to worship both Jehovah and idols, they turned from reality to illusion, from truth to deception, and the consequences were disastrous. In spite of their promise to obey the Lord, the Jews broke the first two commandments when they turned to idols.

Because of what God did (v. 2a). The word “Sabbaths’’ (plural) refers to all the special days on the Jewish calendar and not just the seventh day of the week. We studied this calendar in chapter 9 and noted that these special days reminded the Jews of God’s goodness to them. Passover memorialized Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, and the Feast of Tabernacles reminded them of God’s care of His people in the wilderness. Firstfruits and Pentecost were “harvest festivals’’ that spoke of the Lord’s blessing on their labors in the field, and Tabernacles was a time of harvest joy because of the fruit God gave in the vineyard and the orchard.

Even the weekly Sabbath was a reminder that the Jews were God’s special people, for the Sabbath Day was a sign between the Lord and Israel (Ex. 31:13). As they rested on the seventh day, the Jews could give thanks that they belonged to the true and living God who adopted Israel as His own special treasure. They could also give thanks that God had strengthened them to labor for another week. Whether they reviewed Jewish history from the exodus or just meditated on God’s goodness from the previous week, the Jews had plenty of reason to thank God and obey His statutes.

Because of where God dwells (v. 2b). The God of Israel dwelt in the camp of Israel! The Jews had His sacred tabernacle in the midst of the camp with the “glory cloud’’ hovering over it. The nations around them had man-made gods in their temples, but Israel had the God who made them dwelling in their midst. How could they ever think of disobeying Him when He was so near to them, condescending to live with them in their camp? To deliberately disobey God was not only a violation of His holy law, but it was also a desecration of His sanctuary. To sin was to defile the camp, which explains why unclean people were made to leave the camp.

The application to the Christian believer today is obvious. Our bodies are the sanctuary of God, and we must be careful to use them for God’s glory (1 Cor. 6:15–20). The Holy Spirit of God lives in us, and we must not grieve Him by using His temple for ungodly purposes (Eph. 4:30; see vv. 17–32). If an Old Testament Jew sacrificed a pig on the altar or scattered human bones in the tabernacle courtyard, he would have been guilty of the grossest violations of God’s holy law. Christians who indulge in illicit sex or who defile their imagination with evil thoughts are guilty of violations just as serious.

Because of what God promised (vv. 3–13). The people of Israel were but children in their faith (Gal. 4:1–7), and you teach children primarily through rewards and punishments. You can’t give children lectures on ethics and expect them to understand, but you can promise to reward them if they obey and punish them if they disobey. This approach will protect them from harming themselves, and it will give them time to grow older and better understand why obedience is the key to a happy life. Children must gradually learn that both commandments and punishments are expressions of love for their own good.

Moses later expanded on this “covenant of blessing’’ (Deut. 28—30). It was God’s “lease’’ for the people to help them enjoy and maintain possession of the land that He promised to give them. They owned the land because of God’s promises to Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3; 13:14–17), but they couldn’t enjoy the land unless they obeyed the laws God gave to Moses. Unfortunately, they disobeyed the law, ceased to enjoy the land, and eventually were taken from the land to suffer exile in Babylon.

As children of God, we already have everything we need for “life and godliness’’ (2 Peter 1:3), because we now possess “every spiritual blessing in Christ’’ (Eph. 1: niv). But to possess these blessings is one thing; to enjoy them is quite something else. As we trust God’s promises and obey His commandments, we draw upon our spiritual inheritance and are able to walk successfully and serve effectively. Like the nation of Israel in Canaan, we have battles to fight and work to do, but as we walk in obedience to the Lord, He enables us to overcome the enemy, claim the land, and enjoy its blessings.

To begin with, God promised them rain and fruitful harvests (Lev. 26:3–5, 10). An agricultural nation, Israel depended on the “latter rain’’ in the spring and the “former rain’’ in the autumn to provide water for their crops and to meet their domestic needs. One reason Baal worship ensnared the Israelites is because Baal was the Canaanite storm god. If the Jews needed rain, they sometimes turned to Baal for help instead of turning to Jehovah. If God wanted to discipline His people, He would often withhold the rain, as He did in the days of Elijah (1 Kings 17—18).

The Lord also promised them peace and safety in their land (Lev. 26:5–8). They could go to bed without fear of either animals or enemies invading their land. If the enemy did invade, the Jewish armies would soon chase them out, and one Jewish soldier would be worth twenty to a hundred of the enemy soldiers! Other nations depended for safety on large armies and supplies of horses and chariots, but Israel’s victory came through faith in the Lord and obedience to His Word. “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God’’ (Ps. 20:7).

If Israel obeyed His law, God promised to multiply their population (Lev. 26:9). Unlike some today who abort babies and frown upon large families, the Jews wanted many children and considered large families a blessing from God (Gen. 17:6; Deut. 7:13–14; Ps. 127—128). New generations were needed to maintain the economy, to help sustain the clans and tribes, and to protect the nation. A decimated population was a judgment from the Lord.

The presence of the Lord (Lev. 26:11–12) was the greatest blessing promised, because every other blessing depends on it. What other nation had the sanctuary of the living God in their midst and their God walking among them (Rom. 9:1–5)? How tragic that Israel’s disobedience turned the temple into a den of thieves (Jer. 7:11), forcing the Lord to destroy the temple and send His people into exile. When we lose the sense of the Lord’s presence and the privilege it is to serve Him, then we begin to despise His Word and disobey His commandments.

Nine times in Leviticus we find the Lord reminding His people that He had delivered them out from Egypt and therefore deserved their obedience (Lev. 11:45; 19:36; 22:33; 23:43; 25:38, 42, 55; 26:13, 45). In Deuteronomy, Moses emphasized that their love for the Lord should motivate their obedience because of all He had done for them.

It must be pointed out that this covenant of blessing was given only to Israel and should not be applied to the church today. God certainly blesses those who obey Him, but His blessing isn’t always health, wealth, and success. Some of the greatest heroes of faith suffered because of their obedience and never experienced miracles of deliverance or provision from the Lord (Heb. 11:36–40). Millions of Christians have been allowed to fall into the hands of their enemies and be martyred for their faith. This covenant related only to Israel in their land and was God’s way of teaching them faithfulness and obedience.

Some of the “success preachers’’ today like to claim these covenant “blessings’’ for the church but prefer to apply the judgments to somebody else! If this covenant applies to God’s children today, then we should be experiencing the judgments whenever we disobey Him. However, experience shows us that more than one compromising believer is successful, healthy, and wealthy, while many of God’s faithful children are going through trials and difficulties (see Ps. 73).

“For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives’’ (Heb. 12: nkjv; see Prov. 3:11–12). Israel’s special relationship to Jehovah brought with it the obligation to obey His voice and glorify His name. “You only have I known [chosen] of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities’’ (Amos 3:2). Privilege brings with it responsibility, and no nation has enjoyed more spiritual privileges from the Lord than the nation of Israel.

Six periods of chastisement are described (Lev. 26:16–17, 18–20, 21–22, 23–26, 27–31 and 32–39), the last one being the most severe. In the first five, Jehovah punishes the people in their own land, but in the sixth judgment, they’re taken out of the land and dispersed among the nations. Some of the chastisements are repeated from period to period, but they can be summarized as follows: distress and terror; disease; drought and famine; defeat before their enemies; death from war, animals, and plagues; destruction of the cities and nation; dispersement and exile among the Gentile nations. Moses later expanded on these chastisements (Deut. 28:15ff.). How sad that innocent children would have to suffer for the sins of their parents (Lev. 26:22, 29).

The phrase “I will punish you seven times more,’’ repeated four times in these warnings (vv. 18, 21, 24, 28), means “a complete punishment,’’ since seven is the Hebrew number signifying completeness. Each period of chastisement would be full and complete, with nothing lacking, and the next period would be more severe than the previous one.

Verses 16–17. “Sudden terror’’ means confusion of mind, the kind of terror you feel when you can’t control what’s going on. “Consumption’’ would describe diseases that slowly wasted the body, like tuberculosis. During the book of Judges, the Gentile nations invaded Israel at harvest time and took their crops. If the Israelites had obeyed, God’s face would have “[shone] upon them’’ (Num. 6:22–27), but their disobedience made Him turn His face away from them (compare Lev. 26: with Prov. 28:1).

Verses 18–20. God’s aim was to “break down [their] stubborn pride’’ (v. 19 niv). The rains would cease and the ground would become so hard that the seed wouldn’t germinate. There would be great toil but no harvests (Amos 4:6–13). You would think that all this suffering would bring the nation to its knees in repentance, but they refused to repent. It will be that way in the end times when God sends judgment upon the whole world (Rev. 16, especially vv. 9 and 11).

Verses 21–22. One judgment is named here: the invasion of wild beasts that would kill cattle and humans, especially the children. Imagine the terror that would prevail in a nation if hungry beasts were on the prowl! If only for the sake of their children, you would think the adults would repent and turn to God.

Verses 23–26. Warfare, famine, and plague usually go together. When people are crowded into a walled city, hemmed in by the enemy, they run out of food and become ill, and terrible plagues begin to spread (see Ezek. 5).

Verses 27–31. Famine causes people to do things that are inhuman, such as killing and eating their own children (see 2 Kings 6:29, Jer. 19:9; Lam. 4:10). The enemy armies would destroy the idolatrous shrines the Jews had built and throw the dead bodies of the Jews onto their idols which could not save them. Leviticus 26: suggests that the people would try to revive their worship of Jehovah, but it would be too late. Their cities and sanctuaries would all be leveled to the ground.

Verses 32–39. This section describes the climax of God’s chastisements, made necessary because of the hardness of His people’s hearts. Up to this point, He had chastened the people in their land, but now He removes them from the land. In 722 BC, the Assyrians took captive the northern kingdom of Israel; and then in 605 BC, the Babylonians began their capture of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The seventy years of Babylonian captivity left the land to rest and “enjoy her sabbaths’’ (vv. 34–35, 43; 2 Chron. 36:21; Jer. 25:11).

The Lord mercifully brought a remnant of Jews back to the land, but the kingdom never regained its former power or glory. Except for short periods of freedom, such as under the Maccabees, the Jews were always under the control of some foreign power. Their ultimate dispersion was after AD 70, when the Roman armies invaded and took Jerusalem captive. The siege of Jerusalem more than fulfilled the prophecies in Leviticus 26: and 29.

Even in the worst situations, however, there is always hope, for the Lord is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin’’ (Ex. 34:6–7). His covenant with His people never changes, and if we confess our sins and repent, He will forgive and restore (Lev. 26:40; 1 Kings 8:33–34; Neh. 9:2; 1 John 1:9). Whether in blessing, chastening, or forgiving, God always keeps His covenant and is true to His Word.

God may punish His people, but He will never reject them or cast them away (Rom. 11). In fact, one reason for His chastening is to bring His erring people back into His arms of love, where He can enjoy them and bless them once again (Heb. 12:1–13). God’s people may forget His law, but God remembers His covenant. He also remembers the land, because it belongs to Him (Lev. 25:23).

There will be a future regathering of Israel to their land prior to the coming of Christ to the earth to establish His promised kingdom. (See the discussion on the Feast of Trumpets in chap. 9 of this book.) God gave the land to Abraham and his descendants, and He will not go back on His word.

The cause of Israel’s rebellion was “uncircumcised hearts,’’ that is, hearts that had never been changed by the Lord (26:41). The Jews boasted that they were circumcised in body, but that wasn’t enough to save them (Matt. 3:7–12). The mark on the body was the outward seal of the covenant, but it took more than that to change the heart (see Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4; 9:25; Rom. 2:29).

When we disobey the Lord, the enemy accuses us and wants us to believe there’s no hope because God is through with us (2 Cor. 2:1–11). “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself’’ (2 Tim. 2: niv). King Solomon pointed out the promise of forgiveness when he dedicated the temple (1 Kings 8:31–53), and it was that promise that Jonah claimed when he repented of his sins (Jonah 2:7).

The promise of forgiveness in 1 John 1: should never be used as an excuse for sin, but it is certainly a wonderful encouragement to God’s people when they have sinned. God’s faithfulness to His Word and to His covenant is a great assurance to the believer that “there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared’’ (Ps. 130: nkjv). Since the Word never changes and God’s character never changes, we have every encouragement to come to Him and make a new beginning.