Leviticus 26
Leviticus 26 contains God's covenantal promises and warnings for Israel. It begins with blessings for obedience, emphasizing the rewards for faithfully keeping God’s commandments. Then, it moves into warnings of severe consequences for disobedience, describing escalating punishments if Israel rejects God’s laws. This chapter concludes with a reminder of God's enduring covenant with Israel, even in times of punishment and exile.
Leviticus 26:1-2 (NKJV) 1 “You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God. 2 You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.
These verses reiterate core elements of the covenant: avoiding idolatry and honoring the sanctity of God’s worship. The prohibition against making idols or sacred objects highlights Israel’s exclusive relationship with God. Unlike surrounding nations, Israel must worship God alone, avoiding anything that detracts from His holiness. Keeping the Sabbaths and reverencing the sanctuary signifies respect for God's ordained order of worship, which reflects His authority over Israel. These acts of reverence are foundational to the blessings and consequences outlined in the following verses.
Leviticus 26:3-5 (NKJV) 3 If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, 4 then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
Here, God promises tangible blessings if Israel remains faithful to His commands. These include abundant rain, fruitful harvests, and a consistent supply of food. The imagery of an overflowing harvest lasting from threshing to sowing highlights the material prosperity and peace that obedience will bring. Safety in the land is also emphasized, reflecting God’s protection over them as they follow His ways. These blessings are grounded in God’s desire to provide for and protect His people when they walk in His covenant.
Leviticus 26:6-8 (NKJV) 6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. 7 You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
These verses emphasize the peace and security that obedience will bring. Not only will Israel enjoy rest and freedom from fear, but God will also remove dangerous animals and prevent enemy invasions. Even if enemies do arise, God promises that Israel will be victorious, with a few of their people defeating large enemy forces. This supernatural protection and victory demonstrate God’s power working on behalf of His obedient people, ensuring their safety and success.
Leviticus 26:9-10 (NKJV) 9 For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. 10 You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new.
God reassures Israel of His favor if they remain obedient. Fruitfulness and multiplication echo the blessings given to their ancestors, confirming the enduring nature of God's covenant. They will be so blessed that they will need to make room for new harvests by clearing out the abundance of old stores. This picture of overflowing prosperity underlines the abundance God promises when His people are faithful.
Leviticus 26:11-13 (NKJV) 11 I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.
In these verses, God promises an intimate relationship with Israel, symbolized by His presence in the tabernacle. God’s dwelling among them reflects His deep connection to His people and His approval of them. The reminder of their liberation from Egypt underscores His ongoing commitment to their freedom and dignity. God’s covenantal relationship is not just about laws and rules but about His desire to live with His people and provide for them.
Leviticus 26:14-16 (NKJV) 14 But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, 16 I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Here begins the warning of consequences for disobedience. If Israel rejects God’s statutes and breaks the covenant, the first set of punishments includes physical suffering, such as diseases and sorrow. Their efforts in farming will be futile because their enemies will steal the produce. These initial consequences reflect how rebellion against God disrupts not only their relationship with Him but also their physical well-being and security.
Leviticus 26:17-18 (NKJV) 17 I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. 18 And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
God warns that if the initial punishments do not lead to repentance, He will intensify the consequences. Israel will face defeat and oppression by their enemies, and their fear will become irrational, causing them to flee even when not pursued. The escalation of punishment reflects the seriousness of breaking the covenant, as God seeks to correct their rebellion and bring them back to obedience.
Leviticus 26:19-20 (NKJV) 19 I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.
In these verses, God promises to humble Israel by breaking their pride and making their labor fruitless. The image of the heavens being like iron and the earth like bronze represents a drought that prevents crops from growing. Despite their hard work, they will see no results, indicating that their efforts will be in vain due to God's judgment. This demonstrates that self-reliance and pride cannot produce prosperity when they disobey God.
Leviticus 26:21-22 (NKJV) 21 Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins. 22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate.
If Israel continues to disobey, God warns of further escalation. The phrase “seven times more plagues” suggests even harsher judgments. In addition to disease and famine, wild animals will ravage the land, killing children and livestock, reducing the population, and leaving their highways empty. This desolation underscores how rebellion leads to devastation, making the land unsafe and barren.
Leviticus 26:23-25 (NKJV) 23 And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
These verses show that if Israel still refuses to repent, God will act even more decisively. He will walk contrary to them, meaning He will actively oppose them, and they will face war and pestilence. Even in fortified cities, they will not find safety as disease will spread, and they will eventually be conquered by their enemies. These escalating punishments reflect the severity of covenant rebellion.
Leviticus 26:26 (NKJV) 26 When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.
God further warns that food shortages will become so severe that many women will share one oven to bake their bread. The bread will be rationed, and even when the people eat, they will remain unsatisfied. This reflects the desperation and hunger that will result from God's judgment. Their physical needs will be unmet, symbolizing the deep consequences of disobedience.
Leviticus 26:27-28 (NKJV) 27 And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, 28 then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
If Israel remains unrepentant even after all the prior punishments, God will intensify His opposition against them in fury. This indicates that the consequences will not only increase but will come with God's anger. The repetition of "seven times for your sins" emphasizes the completeness of their punishment if they persist in their rebellion.
Leviticus 26:29-31 (NKJV) 29 You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. 30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you. 31 I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas.
The consequences reach their most horrifying point here. Cannibalism, a result of extreme famine and siege, is predicted if Israel continues in their sin. Additionally, God will destroy their places of false worship, leaving the land and cities desolate. The mention of God abhorring them reflects the depth of Israel's rebellion. Even their attempts to offer sacrifices will be rejected, showing that their sins have completely severed their relationship with God.
Leviticus 26:32-33 (NKJV) 32 I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. 33 I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.
God warns that He will bring desolation to the land, making it a place of ruin that astonishes even their enemies. The scattering of Israel among foreign nations signifies exile, a fate that will leave their homeland barren and their people living in fear of constant attack. The desolation of the land and the dispersion of the people is a sign of the broken covenant.
Leviticus 26:34-35 (NKJV) 34 Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate it shall rest—for the time it did not rest on your Sabbaths when you dwelt in it.
One of the key reasons for the land's desolation is that Israel had failed to keep the Sabbath rest for the land, a principle given earlier in Leviticus. While Israel is in exile, the land will finally get the rest it was denied during their disobedience. This Sabbath rest reflects God's ownership of the land and His covenant with His people.
Leviticus 26:36-37 (NKJV) 36 And as for those of you who are left, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee. They shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues. 37 They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
Those who survive the initial judgments will live in fear and insecurity. They will be so terrified that even the sound of a leaf will cause them to flee in panic. This exaggerated fear shows the extent of their broken spirit and lack of peace in exile. Without God's protection, they will stumble and fall, unable to resist their enemies.
Leviticus 26:38-39 (NKJV) 38 You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; also in their fathers’ iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away.
These verses continue the theme of exile. Israel will perish among the foreign nations, and the survivors will waste away under the burden of their sins and the sins of their ancestors. This prolonged suffering in foreign lands is a direct result of their unfaithfulness, demonstrating the long-term consequences of breaking the covenant.
Leviticus 26:40-42 (NKJV) 40 But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, 41 and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt— 42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.
God provides a glimmer of hope. If Israel confesses their sins and acknowledges their guilt, humbling themselves, God promises to remember His covenant with their ancestors. Despite their disobedience, repentance can restore their relationship with God. This demonstrates His mercy and faithfulness, showing that the covenant is not irreversibly broken as long as there is genuine repentance.
Leviticus 26:43-45 (NKJV) 43 The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes. 44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. 45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.
God reiterates that, despite their exile and the land's desolation, He will not utterly reject Israel. Though they will face severe punishment, God’s covenant with their ancestors remains intact. He promises that even in exile, He will not abandon them entirely. This shows God's faithfulness and His enduring desire to be their God, even when they have failed to uphold their side of the covenant.
Leviticus 26:46 (NKJV) 46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the Lord made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
This verse concludes the chapter by affirming that these laws were given by God to Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai. It reinforces the divine authority of these statutes and the seriousness with which they are to be regarded. The blessings and punishments outlined in this chapter serve as a covenant framework, shaping Israel’s relationship with God.