Daily Scripture Reading Leviticus 26:1-20
Marcus Hale was a practical man. At forty-two, he had built a successful logistics company through sharp deals and hard work. Every Sunday his wife invited him to church, but Marcus always replied the same way:
“Obeying God, not obeying God — it doesn’t matter. There are no cosmic rewards for being good and no lightning bolts for doing wrong. Life is just cause and effect in the natural world. I’ll take my chances.”
He was not cruel, just indifferent. When his accountant suggested inflating numbers to cut taxes, Marcus shrugged and signed. When a longtime employee fell on hard times and quietly asked for a small loan, Marcus refused. “Pull yourself up,” he said, echoing the old line. When his wife begged him to forgive his estranged brother, Marcus laughed. “Why should I? He doesn’t deserve it, and God certainly isn’t keeping score.”
Some people are indifferent to God’s commands. They don’t live as if there are any rewards or consequences for obeying our Creator. However, the 26th chapter of Leviticus specifies the benefits and punishments that awaited the Israelites when they entered the Promised Land based on how well they obeyed Yahweh. Likewise, the New Testament explains the rewards and punishments we can expect depending on whether or not we obey the commands given us by God.
After specifying rules regarding land ownership, poverty, and slavery, rules which are found in Leviticus 25, Yahweh issued the following rules, promises, and warnings.
Lev. 26:1 ¶ ‘You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves a graven image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a carved stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am Yahweh your God.
Lev. 26:2 You shall keep My sabbaths and fear My sanctuary; I am Yahweh.
Lev. 26:3 If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to do them,
Notice the word “If”. This verse is the first half of an if/then statement. If the Israelites obeyed the statutes and commands of Yahweh, then they could expect that which is listed in the following verses.
Lev. 26:4 then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will give forth its produce and the trees of the field will give forth their fruit.
The first word of this verse is “then”. Verses 4-13 are the rewards the Israelites would receive if they obeyed Yahweh. Essentially, they would experience prosperity.
Lev. 26:5 Indeed, your threshing will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. You will thus eat your food to the full and live securely in your land.
Lev. 26:6 I shall also give you peace in the land so that you may lie down, with no one making you tremble. I shall also eliminate wild beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.
The Israelites were promised prosperity if they obeyed Yahweh. This promise was given to the Israelites. It does not apply to Christians in the church age. There are many modern preachers who preach a health and wealth prosperity gospel, but this passage should not be used to justify that philosophy.
Lev. 26:7 But you will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword;
Lev. 26:8 and five of you will pursue one hundred, and one hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword.
Yahweh would protect the Israelites and give five men the ability to defeat one hundred of their enemy.
Lev. 26:9 So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you.
Lev. 26:10 And you will eat the old supply and clear out the old because of the new.
Lev. 26:11 Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not loathe you.
Lev. 26:12 I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.
Lev. 26:13 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
Lev. 26:14 ¶ ‘But if you do not obey Me and do not do all these commandments,
Take note of the word “but”. This creates a contrast.
Once again we see the word “if”. This is the first half of another if/then statement.
Whereas verses 3-14 promised what would happen if the Israelites obeyed Yahweh, the following verses describe what would happen if the Israelites did not obey.
Lev. 26:15 if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul loathes My judgments so as not to do all My commandments and so break My covenant,
Lev. 26:16 I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up.
Failure to obey Yahweh would result in the opposite of prosperity.
Once again, these verses applied to the Israelites. They do not apply to modern Christianity and should not be used to justify a health and wealth philosophy.
Lev. 26:17 And I will set My face against you so that you will be defeated before your enemies; and those who hate you will have dominion over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.
Lev. 26:18 If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will discipline you seven times more for your sins.
Disobedience would result in discipline.
Lev. 26:19 I will also break down your pride of strength; I will also give your sky over to become like iron and your earth like bronze.
Lev. 26:20 And your power will be spent uselessly, for your land will not give forth its produce and the trees of the land will not give forth their fruit.
Many people are indifferent to obeying God. They do not think there are any rewards for doing so nor consequences for not doing so. However, just as the Israelites were rewarded with earthly prosperity for obedience, or the lack of prosperity for disobedience, so too we are promised rewards and consequences based on whether or not we obey God.
When Paul wrote to the church at Rome, he warned them that everyone will stand before the judgment seat of God and give an account (see Romans 14:10-12). When he wrote to the church at Corinth, he also warned them about appearing before the judgment seat of Christ. In that passage he specifically stated that we will be recompensed for our deeds done in the body, whether good or bad (see 2 Corinthians 5:10). There are rewards and consequences for obeying and disobeying our Creator.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”