Some Thoughts on Leviticus 26
Recently I read the 26th chapter of Leviticus.
I was struck by the grace and provision of God. Reading from the NIV, beginning at verse 3 “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crop and the trees their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.” V. 3-5
If that were not blessing enough God promised, “I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down, and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.” V. 6
Peace and safety and plenty of food to eat. What a tremendous blessing. But the promises were conditional promises. The condition is “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands”. As I was reading a I kept thinking ahead; I kept thinking of the rebellion of the people of Israel. Each time I thought ahead it brought sadness to my heart. The more I read and reflected the more I realized my heart was sad because I was aware of the sadness and grief in the words of the prophet Hosea.
Our congregation has been studying the book of Hosea. And my thoughts kept rushing ahead to the failure of Israel and Judah to continue in the grace of God, the promises of God, the wonderful blessings of God. In Hosea Chapter 11 there is a passage beginning with verse one as God through Hosea is speaking saying “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more they were called the more they went away from me.”
As a parent you love your children, they are a source of joy and delight as they grow and learn of the wonders of this life. Parents never want their children to lack for love, encouragement and support. Yet there are times in their lives that they stray from our rules and discipline is necessary. But those moments are brief, and the fruit of the discipline is apparent in their lives. I still recall how much the momentary rebellions grieved my heart. I can hear myself asking the question “how could you do that?” To be quite honest I felt any rebellions were unfair after all I tried to do for them. So, as I read the Leviticus account, I could see the scriptures from a parent’s view. I could identify with the patience of the father admonishing the children saying, what I wish for you is peace and safety and plenty to eat. But you must decide to be obedient.
I continued to read in Leviticus and the list of dreadful consequences for disobedience were not only disheartening but sad because I know the choice that both Israel and Judah made.
I do not believe I have ever read Leviticus from the view of God the Parent. I have always viewed it from God the Lawgiver perspective. Because Israel and Judah were given the admonition before they entered the promised Land, I understood that God was justified in his punishment of the rebellious nation. But Hosea has shed some light on a different view of the laws of God and the discipline/chastisement of God. Rather than envisioning an invisible, unapproachable, divine, sovereign, Hosea presents God as a father whose heart is broken because his children have rejected him and all the good, he would offer them.
Hosea 11:3 God says, “It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.” Rather than recognizing that the fruitfulness of their land and their safety were because of the one true God who loved them, Israel looked to other gods, and sources of their good things. Verse 7 of Hosea 11 God once again describes the forgetfulness of his children. “My people are determined to turn from me.” These same children call him “God Most High” but they do not adhere to his teachings and the conditions of his promises. They turned to Egypt and to Assyria and refused to repent and turn again to their one True God who not only made them but had sustained them as a nation until Hosea’s day and time.
Going back to Leviticus 26, I would like to highlight verses 9-13.
“I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.” (V.9)
Israel was on the brink of entering the promised land. They were about to experience all of the promised blessings that they had heard about from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They had already experienced the dramatic deliverance from Egypt. They were experiencing being led by God with the visible representation of a cloudy pillar by day and a flame of fire by night. They had been admonished for their rebellion in the matter of the golden calf. Not only did 3000 men lose their lives for the rebellion against God. God himself declared to Moses that he would disown Israel and start a new people through Moses. Fortunately for Israel Moses pled their case and God accepted his prayer on behalf of God’s chosen people. Now, on the eve of their entering into the promised land God is reminding the people of his promises, his expectations, his covenant.
“You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new” (v.10)
God had promised them a land flowing with milk and honey, a fruitful land. A land that had no lack but rather great abundance.
God was wanting to make a difference between Israel and all other people of the earth. He said, “I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.” Then he emphasizes who it is that is speaking to them. He said, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out 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 with heads held high. (v. 11-13)
The worship of the one true God was not widespread. Throughout the land that they were about to enter, the people were idol worshipers. The people in the land worshiped gods of wood, stone, and nature. God was saying He would walk with his people, talk with his people and dwell with them. Maybe it is because I have read the book and therefore know from Genesis to Revelations the promises and mighty acts of Almighty God, but I cannot help but see that this had to be an awesome display of divinity that no nation could boast of. All other gods were made by the hands of man. Aaron and the 3000 that were destroyed are able to attest to lack of power of these man-made idols. There is no god that can perform what the Sovereign God of All That Is can do if we obey his commands.
And yet, how often have we fallen short? How often have we been made to call upon the gracious God for forgiveness. Granted for those of us who have put our trust in Jesus, we may not be committing idol worshipping in the magnitude of Israel in Hosea’s day, but how often have we failed to put the kingdom of God and his righteousness first? I have come to realize that these narratives like Leviticus 26 and Hosea 11 are wake up calls. They remind us of who has authored the words. Rather than shake our heads at the failures of Ephraim and Judah we need to consider what is the message to us? How do these scriptures apply to me? Or How can I explain this message to someone who does not know Christ?
All scripture is inspired by God and Paul says is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”. 2 Timothy 3:16 When we are brought to tears over the sorrow of sin, whether our sins or the sins of others, take heart we have the promise of God that if we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us.” 1 John 1:9 God promises to not only forgive us but in that same verse he says he will “cleanse us of all unrighteousness.”
Allow me to recommend that anytime you find your heart moved by the scriptures as you read, there is a reason. Take time to investigate. Find out why God has made this moment so unique in your routine reading. It may mean going back to that passage at a later date when you have time to reflect more on it. Ask God for clarification and for insight.
Finally, if you have not surrendered your life to the savior, this is an ideal time to consider the pros and cons of knowing God on an intimate basis. As Moses laid out before the children of Israel the blessing and the curses in Leviticus 26 You also have the opportunity to choose. You have the opportunity to choose to live in the blessing of Almighty God and obey his commands.
SELAH