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2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES

Wednesday in the Word

Second Baptist Church

June 12, 2019

Leviticus 26

  1. Leviticus 26 has three major divisions: (1) a description of the blessings which God will pour out on His people for keeping His covenant (vv. 1-13); and (2) a description of the dire consequences--cursings--which will accompany Israel’s disobedience of the Mosaic covenant (vv. 14-39). Finally, there is the concluding section (vv. 40-45), in which God reassures His people of His unfailing love. Here, there is the assurance of Israel’s ultimate restoration and blessing, based upon God’s faithfulness to His covenant with Abraham and upon Israel’s repentance. The expression, “I am the Lord (your God),” is the structural key, which marks out each section at its conclusion (cf. vv. 13, 44, 45). The blessings are introduced by the expression, “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments...” The cursings are initially introduced by the statement, “But if you do not obey Me,” and are then followed up by a statement concerning Israel’s failure or refusal to repent when God’s discipline is imposed (vv. 18, 21, 23, 27), with the added warning of being punished “seven times” for her disobedience (vv. 18, 24, 28).

  2. Verses 1-13. Verses 1 and 2 speak of this obedience as manifesting itself in both positive and negative ways. Negatively, the Israelites must keep themselves from the idols and the idolatry of their heathen predecessors. Such idols would lead to false worship, worship directed to false deities, rather than toward the God who had saved them from bondage in Egypt. Positively stated, the Israelites should give heed to God’s Sabbaths and His sanctuary. God’s people must not only abstain from making and worshipping idols, they must actively observe God’s Sabbaths and revere His sanctuary. We know, of course, that other actions are required of God’s people, but this is the heart of the covenant. The blessings which God promised Israel are directly related to her possession of the land of Canaan. They are largely, but not altogether, physical and material. They can be summed up in three categories: (1) PEACE; (2) PROSPERITY; (3) THE PRESENCE OF GOD. Peace can be seen in several areas.

    3. First, there is peace from Israel’s enemies. It does not mean that there won’t be any war, but rather that God will grant Israel victory over her foes, and that they will not live in constant fear of attack or of defeat. There will also be peace with respect to the wild animals, which could endanger the Israelites. There is a deep sense of security promised for those who keep God’s covenant.

    Prosperity is principally material. Agriculturally, the Israelites will prosper because God will give them the needed rains, at the proper time, which will make their harvests bountiful. Also, God will give great fertility to the Israelites and to their cattle, which will cause them to prosper greatly. It should be recalled, at this point, that the religions of Canaan and the ancient Near East had fertility as a central focus. Many of the pagan gods were fertility gods. God promised prosperity and fertility, but it would come when Israel worshipped Him and avoided idolatry and heathen worship. Implied by its removal in the cursing section (v. 16) is the prosperity of good health, which enables one to enjoy the “good life.”

    Finally, Israel was blessed by the presence of God in their midst. Israel was His people, and He had promised to dwell in their midst. The presence of God, is the ultimate blessing, and that it is also the basis for the other blessings. God’s presence assures Israel of prosperity and peace, as His absence will bring poverty and peril. The ultimate joy of heaven is the presence of God (1 Thes. 5:17; John 14:3), Thus, one can truly feel blessed, even in the midst of tribulation and persecution, knowing that God is with them in their distress (cf. Ps. 73:21-28; Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5, 6). In God’s “absence” or removal, man brings many of the evils to himself.

  3. Verses 14-35. The “cursings” of this chapter are virtually a reversal of the promised blessings. While the cursings are presented differently, we can summarize them in terms of these same three categories: (1) FROM PROSPERITY TO POVERTY (2) FROM PEACE TO PERIL; (3) FROM GOD’S PRESENCE TO HIS ABSENCE. Instead of prosperity, disobedience will bring poverty. Initially, Israel’s crops will be consumed by raiding enemies (26:16). If Israel’s disobedience persists, as it surely will, the rains will cease, Israel’s crops will fail, and thus a famine will result (26:26). It is not stated but is likely implied that fertility will also cease. Not only will new life be limited by infertility, but men will be killed by hostile animals (26:22). Pestilence will kill many (26:21, 25), and eventually this people will turn against one another, resorting to cannibalism (26:29).

    4. Instead of peace and security, disobedience will bring about insecurity, peril, and fear. Initially, Israel will suffer from the raiding attacks of some of their neighbors, who will steal their crops (26:16). Then, Israel will be defeated by her enemies and delivered into their hands, so that they are ruled by them (26:17, 25). Finally, the Israelites will be driven from the land and will live, dispersed and scattered, in the land of their conquerors (26:31-32, 36, 38). The remnant who remain in the land will suffer as much as those who are taken away (26:39). The peace and security which they could have known is traded for insecurity, fear, and constant apprehension (26:36-3 7).

    In place of the presence of God in the midst of His people, Israel will experience a growing separation from Him. He will first set His face against His people (v. 17). Then, because His people have been hostile against Him (26:21, 23), He will become their enemy (26:24, 28). He will drive them from His sanctuary (which they have not reverenced) to the land of their enemies, far from His (perceived) presence. In their absence, the land will enjoy the Sabbaths which the Israelites never observed (26:34-35).

  4. While the warnings are more emphatic and extensive than the promises of God’s blessing, both rewards and punishments are spelled out in this text. The purpose of this chapter is to motivate Israel to keep God’s covenant, and the best motivation, as is illustrated here, is both positive (blessings/rewards) and negative (cursings/discipline). The purpose is always positive, as is the motivation of the God who prescribes these blessings and cursings. Throughout this chapter, as gruesome as some of the warnings are, the benevolence of God is underscored. First, God’s response to Israel’s sins is to discipline His people, to bring them to repentance. At every stage of increasing penalty, it is due to the fact that the Israelites have not repented and turned from their disobedience (cf. w. 18, 21, 23, 27). And, in the final outcome, God assures Israel that He will restore them, not based on their obedience to the Mosaic Covenant, but on the basis of His faithfulness.

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