Leviticus - Blessings and Curses
Timeline: 1451 BC
(Leviticus 26:1–46)
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Israelite Journeys Rameses |
The Blessing of Obedience God outlined His expectations for how His people should live, especially during the Sabbath year and Jubilee. They were to obey God's commands so they could enjoy safety, peace, and abundance in the Promised Land. Leviticus 26:1 "You must not make idols for yourselves or set up a carved image or sacred pillar; you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down to it. For I am the LORD your God. The decree regarding the creation of idols was reiterated here, particularly in relation to forms that were widespread among neighboring cultures. Canaanites worshiped upright pillars adorned with hieroglyphs and superstitious symbols, while the Egyptians honored guardian deities or employed worship stones to encourage religious devotion. The Israelites were cautioned to avoid these practices and steer clear of idolatry. The phrase "to bow down to it" prohibits not just the act of worshiping idols, but also in reverence towards an image. Leviticus 26:2 You must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD. The Sabbath is referenced numerous times in the Old Testament; however, its mention in the plural signifies both the weekly Sabbath and the Festival Sabbaths. God placed immense significance on these. By reaffirming the fourth commandment, the text connects the Sabbath to the Exodus from Egypt and highlights its importance in the covenant between God and the Israelites. It emphasizes honoring His sanctuary, ensuring abundance, tranquility, success, productivity and His presence in the tabernacle. Leviticus 26:3 If you follow My statutes and carefully keep My commandments, I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. Your threshing will continue until the grape harvest, and the grape harvest will continue until sowing time; you will have your fill of food to eat and will dwell securely in your land. The Promised Land completely relied on rain from the sky. Rain falls only two times per year, once in late Autumn when the seeds are planted, the other shortly before the beginning of harvest in the spring and rarely lasts more than two days or sometimes even only a few hours in some years. If the Israelites followed God's commandments, He promised to send enough rain so that there would be so many crops that they would finish gathering one crop just as the next one was getting ready to be picked. The people began threshing the corn crop around March. Barley was harvested around mid-April, while wheat was ready about six weeks later, at the beginning of June. After that, people gather grapes and fruits toward the end of July. If the people obeyed God's law, He promised that the increase would be so large and the crops would be so abundant, that the they would hardly have enough time to enjoy one blessing before another comes. They would have no need to go into other lands for the sake of food. Leviticus 26:6 And I will give peace to the land, and you will lie down with nothing to fear. I will rid the land of dangerous animals, and no sword will pass through your land. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you. God promised comprehensive peace, safety, and prosperity for the Israelites, both within the nation and with their environment, if they remain faithful to His covenant. He would protect the Israelites from dangerous animals that could harm them or their livestock and assured them of protection from external threats. Their enemies would fear them and if they should attack, the Israelites would defeat them with only a handful of men. Leviticus 26:9 I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will establish My covenant with you. You will still be eating the old supply of grain when you need to clear it out to make room for the new. God promised to fulfill the covenant He made with Abraham, that He would multiply them as the stars in the heavens and the sand of the sea. This promise was unconditional as apposed to the rest of the promises He made to them that they would enjoy the abundant fruits of their labor. Leviticus 26:11 And I will make My dwelling place among you, and My soul will not despise you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk in uprightness. The Lord's presence was the greatest blessing. He promised to dwell among the Israelites and not reject them when they choose to obey His commands. God chose to have a special relationship with the people of Israel. He offered them both tangible and spiritual blessings. Once again, God reminded them that He delivered them from oppression and gave them freedom. They have done nothing to save themselves or bring about good in their lives.
Punishments for Disobedience This transition from promised blessings for obedience to threatened curses for disobedience marks a pivotal point, underscoring the importance of obedience as a condition of the covenant between God and the nation of Israel. If they refused to obey, not only would they be denied all the promises and all the blessings God gave them, they would also deal with increasing penalties. While the promises of blessings are many, the consequences of disobedience are far greater. God's law is a reflection of His character. To deliberately disobey or to despise His rules, is in effect despising God's wisdom, authority, and character. Contempt of God's commandments and contempt of his corrections are serious acts which lead to severe spiritual, physical, and material consequences. Moses highlighted 5 waves of of covenant curses, each one seven times more severe than the last. First Wave of Judgment—disease, food shortage, and military defeat Leviticus 26:14 If, however, you fail to obey Me and to carry out all these commandments, and if you reject My statutes, despise My ordinances, and neglect to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant, then this is what I will do to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease, and fever that will destroy your sight and drain your life. You will sow your seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you. If the Israelites persist in their obstinate rebellion, God will curse them in a series of escalating judgments that will intensify exponentially. Sudden terror – sudden onset of intense fear or anxiety, often accompanied by physical symptoms like shortness of breath, racing heart, and a feeling of impending doom. Wasting disease – the debilitating nature of the illness, emphasizing the slow, progressive deterioration of the body associated with tuberculosis. Fever – often associated with malaria or other intermittent fevers, characterized by recurring chills and shivering, followed by a period of intense heat and sweating. These diseases produce a profound sense of loss and hopelessness causing the erosion of joy, motivation, and the will to live. Sin, by its very nature, deceives and condemns a person, even when no one else points fault or accuses. The sinner is in a constant state of anxiety, easily startled and lacking inner peace. Examples of these punishments are found throughout the old testament. They complained about the manna God provided and craved meat, leading to a plague when they ate the quail He sent. When King Saul sinned against the Gibeonites, they suffered a three-year famine. The Assyrian and Babylonian invasions brought military defeats, leading to the destruction of Israel and Judah. These are just a few examples of God's punishment for disobedience. Second Wave of Judgment—drought, barren land, and food shortage Leviticus 26:18 And if after all this you will not obey Me, I will proceed to punish you sevenfold for your sins. I will break down your stubborn pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze, and your strength will be spent in vain. For your land will not yield its produce, and the trees of the land will not bear their fruit. If the Israelites continued to disobey despite facing severe punishments, if they persisted in their disobedience even when the judgments reached to this height, God would punish them seven times more severely, and break down their strong pride by fearful drought. Blight and mildew are both plant diseases characterized by a white or grayish powdery coating on leaves that lead to plant death. The lack of food and resources will cause widespread hunger and famine leading to displacement of the Israelite people. The Lord carried out His threat in Jeremiah 14 when a catastrophic drought on Judah caused despair across the land due to the people's sinfulness. The lack of water caused the crops to fail leading to food shortages. Third Wave of Judgment— loss of children and livestock Leviticus 26:21 If you walk in hostility toward Me and refuse to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times, according to your sins. I will send wild animals against you to rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and reduce your numbers, until your roads lie desolate. This is the third warning, if the Israelites continue to rebel. The "seven times" signifies a complete and thorough judgment, where the punishment will be proportionate to their transgressions. Wild beasts would invade their land, leave it childless and desolate so that no man may pass through because of the animals. In 2 Kings 2:23-24. Elisha cursed a gang of young people and a couple of bears mauled them. This story demonstrated how hostility toward God and an unwillingness to obey Him can result in being besieged by plagues and wild animals. Fourth Wave of Judgment— war, pestilence, and famine Leviticus 26:23 And if in spite of these things you do not accept My discipline, but continue to walk in hostility toward Me, then I will act with hostility toward you, and I will strike you sevenfold for your sins. And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy. When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied. The Old Testament is filled with accounts of the Israelites facing challenges and setbacks, often presented as consequences of their disobedience or as trials designed to strengthen their faith. Warfare, pestilence and famine was prophesied by Jeremiah and Ezekiel as well as other prophets which occurred frequently. Fifth Wave of Judgment— cannibalism, destroyed cities, and deportation Leviticus 26:27 But if in spite of all this you do not obey Me, but continue to walk in hostility toward Me, then I will walk in fury against you, and I, even I, will punish you sevenfold for your sins. You will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your lifeless bodies on the lifeless remains of your idols; and My soul will despise you. 2 Kings 6:24-30 tells the story of two women who agreed to cook and eat their children during a severe famine. In the 8th century BC, the Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians and in the 6th century BC the Babylonians attacked and deported the Southern Kingdom of Judah due to persistent disobedience and idolatry. Leviticus 26:31 I will reduce your cities to rubble and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will refuse to smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices. And I will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who dwell in it will be appalled. But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste. Despite offering sacrifices, the Israelites concurrently violated other divine commands, leading to God's rejection of their offerings. The destruction of the sanctuaries served as a stark consequence of this deviation from God's path. King Solomon's First Temple was decimated by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II, and centuries later, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple. Both events resulted in the scattering of the Jewish people and the devastation of their cities. Leviticus 26:34 Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths all the days it lies desolate, while you are in the land of your enemies. At that time the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. As long as it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not receive during the Sabbaths when you lived in it. The Israelites were exiled from the Promised Land for seventy years (605 BC to 535 BC) because for 490 years, they repeatedly failed to allow the land to rest and refrain from working it for one year. The exile was not just punishment but also a means of purification and restoration. Leviticus 26:36 As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them. They will stumble over one another as before the sword, though no one is behind them. So you will not be able to stand against your enemies. The conscience of their own guilt put them into a continual expectation and dread of God's judgments. When armies surrounded a city and cut off all access to the outside preventing food, water and other supplies, the people of Israel were affected both physically and mentally experiencing weakness and helplessness, leading to despair. Leviticus 26:38 You will perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies will consume you. Those of you who survive in the lands of your enemies will waste away in their iniquity and will decay in the sins of their fathers. Every one of these punishments are a direct result of Israel's disobedience. IF they do not obey these things will happen. IF they obey, they will be blessed rather than be cursed. God foresaw their rebellions and gave them warning for what the future held. Over hundreds of years Israel repeatedly broke the covenant and the punishments resulted. Ezekiel 4:17 describes the Jews of Judah in exile in Babylon as they "waste away" in their iniquity. This was a partial fulfillment of God's prophecy.
God Remembers Those Who Repent Leviticus 26:40-46 How unfortunate that often it takes fear an anxiety to learn a lesson. However, God demonstrates his compassion and forgiveness despite repeated disobedience and rebellion. He is compassionate and forgiving, and accepts those who sincerely repent, offering forgiveness and restoration. Leviticus 26:40 But if they will confess their iniquity and that of their fathers in the unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, by which they have also walked in hostility toward Me— and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. Even after their prolonged rebellion, if the Israelites confess and humble themselves, God promises to remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This refers to a deeper repentance than just outward actions. It involves a change of heart, a humbling of the pride and rebellion within them, which is necessary for true restoration. God promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars, and pledged to make them into a great nation. In addition, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham. He reaffirmed this covenant with Isaac and Jacob. Leviticus 26:43 For the land will be abandoned by them, and it will enjoy its Sabbaths by lying desolate without them. And they will pay the penalty for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and abhorred My statutes. Then God prophesied that the land would be abandoned to make up for the years the land did not experience a Sabbath rest. The Assyrian Army deported the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and the Babylonian Army invaded and deported the southern kingdom of Judah in 605 BC. This prophecy reveals that Israel would be disobedient and the disciplines described in the warning sections did indeed occur. Leviticus 26:44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or despise them so as to destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their fathers, 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." Even in the worst situations, however, there is always hope; for the Lord is merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. God may punish His people, but He will never reject them or cast them away because Israel belongs to Him. Leviticus 26:46 These are the statutes, ordinances, and laws that the LORD established between Himself and the Israelites through Moses on Mount Sinai. This verse serves as a reminder of the solemn agreement between God and Israel, emphasizing the importance of obedience to His commands for maintaining their covenant relationship and experiencing His blessings. It also points to the consequences of disobedience, which are outlined throughout the chapter. |
Cassie, Matt, Joe |
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