Original Meaning

LEVITICUS 26 PROVIDES a dramatic climax to the book of Leviticus, after which the concluding rules of chapter 27 are anticlimactic. It consists mainly of a series of conditional covenant blessings (if the Israelites obey the Lord) and curses (if they disobey his commands).

Before the blessings begin in verse 3, verses 1–2 introduce this chapter by reiterating the commandments against idolatry and for observing the Lord’s Sabbaths (cf. Ex. 20:4–6, 8–11). As an example of a prohibited idolatrous practice, verse 1 speaks of placing a maśkit stone to prostrate oneself on it. This kind of stone is mentioned only here in the Bible, but on the basis of comparison with an Assyrian text, V. Hurowitz describes it as “a stone slab placed in the ground, possibly in a doorway, decorated with engraved divine symbols and bowed down upon, enabling the supplicant to kiss the ground with the purpose of having his or her wish granted. We may translate it as ‘decorated wishing stone.’”1

The brief unit of 26:1–2 forms a structural tie with the same commands in 19:4, 30, where the theme is holy living because the Lord is holy. Staying away from idolatry, keeping Sabbath, and reverencing the Lord’s sanctuary are basic ways that the Israelites can show loyalty to him. Conversely, violation of these commands will play a prominent role in bringing on them the curses and exile from the land that are so prominent later in this chapter.

Leviticus 26:3 begins a series of blessings with “if” (ʾim). The much longer section of curses similarly begins with “but if” (v. 14). Repetitions of “if” in 26:18, 21, 23, 27 threaten progressively more dire consequences if fulfillments of earlier curses do not stop the Israelites in their tracks. A final “but if” in 26:40 brings the juggernaut of catastrophe to a screeching halt and turns the seemingly inexorable situation around: “But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers. . . .” A more stunning accent on the power of repentance is hard to imagine.

The blessings in 26:3–13 touch the major aspects of life that are dear to an ancient Israelite: agricultural prosperity, plenty of food, peace and safety from human and animal enemies, military victory against overwhelming odds, and freedom with dignity under the beneficence of a resident covenant deity. The Israelites can trust the Lord’s goodwill toward them because he has already definitively proven it by delivering them from the heavy burden of Egyptian oppression (v. 13).

If the contrast between blessings and curses seem shocking, it is meant to be. The curses in 26:14–39 invoke a comprehensive catalogue of calamities. They are much more extensive than the blessings, partly because the blessings are more simple and obvious and partly because negative motivations need to be more substantial in order to serve as an effective deterrent (cf. Deut. 31:15–29). Curses are the predominant operational dynamic in Israel’s later history.

In 26:14–17 there is fear, sickness, plunder of agricultural produce by enemies, military defeat, and subjection to enemy rulers. In case the first dose of “medicine” is not enough to bring disloyal Israelites to their knees, there is plenty more. In 26:18–20, introduced by another “if,” the Lord threatens to multiply the punishments for their sins by seven (see also 26:21, 24, 28). Although this is a figure of speech for many times over (cf. Ps. 119:164; Prov. 24:16; Luke 17:4), seven is also the sabbatical number of completeness2 and holiness (see further below). Thus, it is both appropriate and ironic that divine retribution is sevenfold. In response to the hardness of their hearts, the Lord will make the sky like iron and the ground like copper so that agricultural effort will be spent in vain (Lev. 26:19–20).

Following yet another “if,” 26:21 threatens further increase of affliction by seven times “according to your sins” (NASB). Thus the downside of covenant cause and effect is proportional to exacerbation of the sin problem, which is like skin disease that grows and metastasizes (cf. chs. 13–14). Moreover, rejecting the repeated warnings of the divine Judge, whether through his messengers, conscience, Scripture, or providential punishments, constitutes “contempt of court.”

If the Israelites throw away the blessing of having predatory animals removed from their land (cf. 26:6), the Lord will commission such beasts to thin the population of humans and domestic animals (26:22). As in some large cities today, even muggers will be afraid to go out.

Surely by now the people will call a moratorium on their self-destructive rebellion! In case they don’t, the fires of affliction are just getting warmed up. If they decide not to walk with God by keeping his covenant (cf. 26:3), he will walk on a collision course with them (v. 24) and bring them all the miseries of military attack. They can run, but they cannot hide (vv. 25–26).

The next unit that begins with “if” is much longer (26:27–39) and constitutes one of the most frightful warnings in the entire Bible. The dam restraining retributive justice bursts open with a vengeance, disclosing the ultimate horrors of starvation during siege (“You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters,” v. 29), appalling devastation of the land (vv. 30–32), and scattering of the people into exile (vv. 33–35).

In the rubble we see one of the main causes for divine judgment: “I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars and pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you” (26:30). It is fitting that the presumed holiness of these idols be defiled by corpse contamination because they are like lifeless, impure corpses anyway. In 26:31, God will destroy “your sanctuaries” (plural; contrast v. 2: “have reverence for my sanctuary” [sing.]).

When the people are in exile and the land has been so devastated (Hiphil of šmm) that even the enemies of Israel who move in are devastated/appalled (Qal of šmm) by the sight (v. 32), the following ironic link to chapter 25 occurs:

Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it (26:34–35).

Here we see the significance of the command in verse 2: “Observe my sabbaths.” The Lord’s sabbaths include weekly Sabbaths, ceremonial sabbaths, and sabbatical fallow years, which acknowledge his lordship over the people and the land. If the people deplete the land by failing to grant its sabbatical respites, they will be deleted from it. It is as if the exhausted land heaves a mighty sigh of relief and settles down to a long nap to recover from its sleep deficit.

The survivors in exile will be a miserable lot, so “shell-shocked” that “the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight” (26:36). Unable to stand (v. 37), they revert to their pre-Exodus state, before the Lord set them free to walk upright (v. 13). In exile they will rot away (Niphal of mqq) in their culpability (ʿawon) and the culpabilities of their ancestors (vv. 38–39).

After all that has happened, it is a wonder that anyone has survived at all! But 26:40–45 pries open a door of hope at what looked like a dead end. Like the blessings earlier in the chapter, it is conditional, introduced with “but if”:

But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers—their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.

We would expect a requirement of extreme expiation for prodigal Israel to be reaccepted by the divine Father, but there are no animal sacrifices here. Indeed, how could there be with the people in exile and the temple destroyed? Moreover, what sacrifice could they bring for deliberate, high-handed rebellion that called for nothing but their extirpation (cf. Num. 15:30–31)?

Here at the climax of Leviticus there appears at first glance to be a massive letdown, like a dramatic pause in a Beethoven symphony: “if [the Israelites] will confess their sins. . . .” That’s all—only confess. No elaborate ceremonies. Only humbling themselves before the Lord, admitting they have made bad choices and putting themselves at his mercy, where they really have been all along but wouldn’t admit it.

It sounds too simple, but what the Lord has wanted all along is for his people simply to return to loyalty and dependence on him. Verses 43–45 repeat the promise to make sure it sinks in. Although the Israelites will in some sense pay for the debt of their culpability through suffering, God will remember his covenant with their ancestors, whom he brought out of Egypt (cf. v. 42). Not that he has forgotten, but he will restore application of the covenant benefits when the people once more agree to receive them. The implication is that there will be a second Exodus, this time from exile. By referring to the Exodus generation, the breathtaking finale to Leviticus comes back to the original audience of the book according to the narrative framework of the Pentateuch (v. 46; cf. 25:1–2).

In 26:45 is the forty-ninth and last instance of “I am the LORD” in the book of Leviticus.3 Is it coincidence that this key expression is used the same super-sabbatical (7 × 7) number of times as the seven weeks of days between the elevated sheaf and the Feast of Weeks (23:15) and the seven weeks of years between Jubilees (25:8), as well as the number of separate applications of purification offering blood by which the sanctuary is restored on the Day of Purgation (16:14–19),4 when the Jubilee year begins (25:9)? Associated as this multiple of the sacred number seven is with the Lord’s identity and sacred occasions, the number forty-nine carries a connotation of high holiness.5 Thus, we find that Leviticus, like other great artistic works such as Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, makes connections by patterns under as well as on the surface.6

Verse 46 concludes the Sinai revelation of chapters 25–26 by stating that the Lord gave these “laws, rules,” and “rituals”7 between himself and the Israelites on Mount Sinai through Moses. The expression “between himself and the Israelites” means that the legislation was placed within the framework of the covenant relationship.

Bridging Contexts

THE COVENANT FRAMEWORK OF DIVINE LAW. The word “covenant” (berit) is prominent throughout Leviticus 26,8 where God promises blessings on the condition that his people obey his laws: “If you walk [hlk] in my laws and keep [šmr, guard] my commandments and do (ʿśh) them . . .” (v. 3; pers. transl.). The verbs “walk,” “keep,” and “do” underline the Lord’s practical approach to holiness and loyalty to him. It is an ongoing way of life, a “walk” that calls for vigilant, careful attention, and right action, not just good intentions or words.

The covenant between God and the Israelites necessarily involves principles that can be called “laws” because it is an interpersonal relationship, which needs guidelines to be harmonious. If God’s people obey him, their reward is a relational one: He will keep his covenant with them (26:9). All of the good things they receive flow from maintenance of this unequal relationship with the One who can supply all their needs and healthy desires.

But if God’s people break the covenant by disobedience, he will punish them by giving the opposite of blessings (26:15, 25). At first glance this appears harsh, but the remarkable thing is that God does not revoke the covenant. What do we do when someone with whom we have a relationship, whom we have helped in a major way, treats us like dirt? But if God were to walk away from Israel, Israel could not survive. It would be like an adult abandoning a baby. Thus, God mercifully disciplines his people to bring them to their senses and teach them the value of his gifts so that he will not need to abandon them to utter oblivion. If his discipline is potent, it is because the stakes are corporate life and death.

When God’s people return to him, he will remember his covenant and the land he has promised them (26:42). In this strategic verse, precisely at the point where his attitude toward Israel changes, we find clusters of three instances of the word “covenant” and three of “remember.”9 Here the covenant is a restored, remembered one, not a totally new relationship that begins from scratch. Although Israel has thrown away its covenant blessings and many individuals have been “pruned” off, God has not revoked his side of the corporate covenant by putting his contract with the nation through the shredder (v. 44). He can pull the covenant out of the file anytime those who remain are ready.

Why will God pursue Israel’s loyalty so relentlessly? What is there in it for him?

For God’s purpose . . . was not just for righteous individuals, but a new community who in their social life would embody those qualities of righteousness, peace, justice and love which reflect God’s own character and were his original purpose for mankind.10

The Lord is intent on extending his blessings to all peoples through the descendants of Abraham (Gen. 12:3; 22:18). A model society will reveal the advantages of his rule so that others will want to come under his benevolent sovereignty, thereby expanding his human domain on earth.

God’s goal in revealing his law to Israel is to manifest the superior and therefore attractive nature of his lordship and character within the framework of his gracious covenant with Israel (cf. Deut. 4:6–8).11 The law is God’s instrument to give blessings to his people. He can only achieve his purpose if they will allow him to bless them, and he can only bless them if they live by workable principles of cause and effect and thereby properly represent his sensible character. If he blesses them even when they abandon his reasonable principles, he will defeat his universal goal by reinforcing a false message to the world.

Blessings and curses within covenant formulation. The blessings and curses concluding the legislation of Leviticus (ch. 26) and Deuteronomy (chs. 27–30) emphasize the covenant framework of God’s law. Scholars have pointed out striking parallels between biblical covenant formulations, especially of Deuteronomy, and the structure of ancient Near Eastern political treaties, especially between Hittite emperors and lesser rulers during the second millennium B.C. Such a treaty typically included the following elements:12

1. A preamble identifying its author, that is, the superior party

2. A historical prologue recounting the past relationship between the overlord and the vassal, underscoring the benevolence of the former toward the latter

3. Stipulations/laws that the vassal must agree to keep as conditions of submission to the overlord

4. Provision for periodic public reading of the covenant document to refresh memory of obligations

5. Invocation of divine witnesses who can hold the lesser party accountable to the terms of the treaty

6. Curses and perhaps blessings to be visited on the lesser party by the gods for noncompliance or compliance with the stipulations

While Leviticus does not exhibit all of these elements, it does clearly identify the parties (God and Israel), refer to God’s past goodness to Israel (delivering from Egyptian bondage; 11:45; 19:36; 22:33; 23:43; 25:38; 26:13, 45), present ritual and ethical laws (constituting the bulk of the book), and conclude with blessings and curses (ch. 26).

Adapting the existing treaty format from the sphere of international diplomacy to the covenant between Israel and its divine Lord has the advantage of driving home the corporately binding implications of their relationship with him, which he will enforce. As a persuasive rhetorical strategy for motivating compliance,13 the positive and negative reinforcement of blessings and curses can accomplish several things. (1) It will impress the Israelites with awesome respect for God and his power. (2) It will show that the law is unified because all of it is involved in the divine-human relationship. (3) It will give the people an opportunity to make a clear choice to follow the Lord or not (cf. Deut. 30:15–18). (4) It will positively appeal to the Israelites through articulation of blessings, making clear that they come from God and encouraging them that obedience is possible (cf. Deut. 30:11–14). (5) It will help the people to understand the cause of their distress, such as exile, if they are punished for disobedience.

The conditional blessings and curses of Leviticus 26 give a later reader the eerie sense that it previews the rest of Old Testament Israelite history, as if it were a prophecy that is subsequently fulfilled. The violent ups and downs reported in the book of Numbers soon demonstrate the effects of loyalty versus disloyalty. When the Israelites follow the Lord under Joshua, intermittently during the period of the judges, more gloriously under King David and early Solomon, and sporadically through the divided monarchy era, they are blessed with peace, prosperity, and glorious successes against their enemies, even against overwhelming odds.

When the people forsake the Lord and his covenant, however, and turn to other gods, their moral state and consequently their fate spiral precipitously downward. The long periods of the judges and the divided monarchy are notable for a “roller coaster” experience—some exhilarating ups, but mainly just gravity slide. God repeatedly warns his people through prophets and disasters, but ultimately to no avail.

Parents do end up eating their children (2 Kings 6:28–29; cf. Lev. 26:29), the northern Israelites and then the Judahites go into exile, and the land is devastated. But some do remember, as they weep by the rivers of Babylon (cf. Ps. 137). By grasping the reason for their distress, some have hope for restoration by turning back to God (Dan. 9; cf. Deut. 30:1–3). The fact that prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel hammer the same conditional message as Leviticus 26 largely explains why Jewish hope survives the Babylonian captivity. In accordance with the latter part of Leviticus 26, the last three verses of the Hebrew Bible report fulfillment of the land’s sabbath rest and the people’s restoration from exile (2 Chron. 36:21–23).14

Contemporary Significance

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. The second paragraph of the United States Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) reads: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The pursuit of happiness is an unalienable right, but happiness itself is not guaranteed. A democratic country can provide freedom to seek well-being and fulfillment, but whether or not such desires are achieved depends on all kinds of factors. Even after more than two centuries, not everyone in the United States is happy. Some are physically or mentally unwell and depressed. Others are in prison. Some are too poor.

Even highly successful and wealthy people are not necessarily happy. A maker of luxury home stereo systems (Essence company, based in Lincoln, Nebraska) can take as long as a week to custom install a system in a home. Over the last couple of decades the owner has become acquainted with some of the richest of the rich, who are surrounded by all the fabulous comforts and conveniences that modern life has to offer. Remarkably, he has not found any of these privileged individuals to be happy.

If happiness is not in the pot of gold at the end of the American dream rainbow, where is it? Is the pursuit of happiness inevitably futile? Or is there another way? The Bible says that there is:

If you will only obey the LORD your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the LORD your God. (Deut. 28:1–2 NRSV; emphasis supplied)

The end of the famous “Shepherd Psalm” has the same idea: “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Ps. 23:6; emphasis supplied).

Here is a dramatic paradigm shift. Our pursuit of happiness will be successful only if we allow happiness to pursue us! Our approach must be indirect. As the ancient Israelites found out through long and bitter experience, directly chasing happiness will only chase it away, as if it were a wild antelope. We get happiness to pursue us by pursuing a positive relationship with God, the Source of all blessings. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33). It is a matter of priorities. If we want God first, we will have happiness, especially in the age to come (Rev. 21–22).

The happiness that God gives is not exactly the same as our human definition of “happiness.” It is far better: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9; cf. Isa. 64:4). If we are hell-bent on happiness as we define it, with God left out of the picture, relegated to the sidelines, or used as a mere tool, we are doomed to failure. The ancient Israelites had to learn this the hard way even though God had told them the final score in advance (Lev. 26). According to the Bible, there is simply no such thing as full, genuine happiness without God and the guidance he offers.

An old television show, Let’s Make a Deal, reached its climax each week in what was called the Big Deal of the Day. Two contestants were given a choice: “You can have what’s behind Door No. l, Door No. 2, or Door No. 3.” The contestants could give up what they had won so far for the chance at Really Big Money. But they might end up with nothing at all. . . .

Many people give little thought to spiritual guidance until they face a major decision: whom to marry, which house to buy, where to go to school, what job to accept? What these people really want is not guidance, in any Christian sense of the term. They want “inside information” so they will know which door to choose. They want to know beforehand which choice will lead to money, happiness, and success.15

Jesus said: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9 NKJV). He is Door No. 1—and there is only one door. It is not a game and there is no risk or uncertainty. There is real “pasture”—that is, happiness—behind this door, not just a cheap pile of money or perishable material goods.

Jesus also said: “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11). We are all like “sheep” (cf. Isa. 53:6), and sheep need a shepherd in order to lead them to “pasture” (Ps. 23:1–2). So rather than ignoring our Guide, it makes sense to admit that we are “sheep” and to return to “the Shepherd and Overseer” of our souls (1 Peter 2:25). Acknowledging that we are dependent on an overseer/overlord in an unequal covenant relationship requires humility, but this is the only way to happiness.

Having a divine Overseer means that we will not always have our own way, but we can count on his tough love.

When one of my children could not get his own way, he used to say, “You don’t love me.” Was that true? No, it wasn’t true. My love had not changed. At that moment, however, my love was expressing itself differently than he wanted it.

When our only daughter Carrie was sixteen, the doctors told us she had cancer. We had to take her through chemotherapy and radiation. We suffered with Carrie as we watched her experience the sickness that goes along with the treatments. Some people face such an experience by blaming God and questioning why He doesn’t love them anymore. Carrie’s cancer treatments could have been a very devastating experience for us. Was God loving us still? Yes. Had His love changed? No, His love had not changed.16

If we focus on our individual interests rather than seeing our lives within the larger picture of a community under God on earth, it is easy for us to become self-centered and buy into “the popular notion that religion is just another form of ‘self-help’ valuable to the extent that it ‘works for us.’”17 U.S. News & World Report has pointed out the pervasiveness of this disorientation:

Once stern and prescriptive in worldly matters, religion has become nothing more than a source of psychological uplifting, a tool of therapy that buttresses individual choice and lets people feel good about whatever code of conduct they choose . . . the faithful go about their lives “pretty much the same as those who have no faith at all.”18

Like the ancient Israelites, we can benefit by a dose of “covenant consciousness.” Like the prodigal son, who finally “came to his senses” in a pigsty (Luke 15:17), we need awareness of who our Father is and what he has been offering us all along. It is not necessary to wait until life has gone to the hogs. We can offer a covenant prayer anytime, anywhere: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven . . .” (Matt. 6:9–10).