Leviticus 26 Notes

Leviticus 26 brings God’s vision for a holy people to a close with a covenant agreement. It really begins in 25:55 and takes this form:

1. God’s identity and work on behalf of Israel (25:55)
2. The summation of God’s law: loyalty to God expressed in worship (26:1-2)
3. Blessings promised for obedience: fruitfulness, security and dwelling with God (26:3-13)
4. Curses promised for disobedience: destruction, exile and death (26:14-39)
5. Repentance, grace and restoration for the future (26:40-45)

Note before reading the chapter that the agreement ends (vv.44-45) with God’s promised grace: nothing Israel does will compel God to break the covenant that He made with their ancestors (Abraham).

Note: Read Lev. 26 in conjunction with Deuteronomy 28 and 30:1-10 if possible and consider how the passages are similar and different.

Some Notes:
Note that vv.1-2 summarize loyalty to God in terms of the first four commandments: no other gods, no idols, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain (related to reverencing the “sanctuary”), keeping the sabbath.

The blessings here point to the “dream” of Israel and God’s intention for creation: fruitfulness and security (vv.3-9).

The high point of these promises is for God’s presence to be with Israel (vv.11-12). When we think about God “walking” with humans we should think about the Garden of Eden where God “walked in the cool of the day” (Gen. 3:8).

Verse 13 is noteworthy because it points out that God’s desire for His people is for them to be entirely free and flourishing . . . to “walk erect” in God’s presence.

The curses listed in vv.14-39 are the undoing of the blessings God intended in creation: disease, loss of security, violent conquest, fruitlessness (crops, animals, humans), death and ultimately the withdrawal of God’s presence and exile.

Note that exile is the final and ultimate curse (v.33). This a striking theological statement . . . it seems it’s better to die in your own land than to lose the land and save your life.

Note also that exile will come at the hands of foreign armies (vv.28-33). Some of the ghastly punishments listed here, like cannibalism, were realities of ancient siege warfare.  Along these lines, don’t miss the fact that Israel would be cursed to even be ruled by foreign powers (v.17). This is something to consider when reading the gospels and the thinking about the Jews and Romans.

 God will use the Israelites' exile to heal the land of their defilement (v.34). Note the humor also of a “driven leaf putting you to flight” (v.36).

In spite of this God will allow the Israelites, in exile, to confess their sins and repent and God will restore them to His favor and to the land (vv.40-42). Note that this is not dependent upon any sacrifice (of their own) or ritual, but upon a transformation in their attitudes and God’s grace.

Finally, note that grace is the last word in vv.44-45 . . . whatever Israel winds up doing, God will not (on His part) break His covenant with them. This of course sets the stage for God’s activity in the New Testament.


Some Questions to Consider:

How might you summarize God’s blessings for obedience? What sort of world would Israel live in if they received all these blessings?

What do these blessings tell us about God’s desires for humans?

How would you summarize the curses? Why is exile the ultimate curse?



How do you see the curses connected with the Gen. 3 Garden of Eden story?

How might all these curses with regard to being ruled over by “enemies” frame how we think about the Jewish people in the New Testament? How might these verses have impacted people in Jesus’s time?

How do you see grace at work in this chapter? What would receiving this grace and "forgiveness" look like (in concrete terms) for the Israelites?