Leviticus 26
19 Aug 2026 - Theology
Terms of the Covenant
Even simple agreements need at least four parts:
- You have to agree on what is being agreed
- You have to agree on the reason for making the agreement
- You have to agree on the punishment for not keeping the agreement
- You have to agree on your goal: what you are gaining by keeping the agreement
Leviticus 26 sets out the terms of the covenant between the Lord and the Israelites. In this covenant, all the requirements and all the punishments are for Israel, because the Lord is much more powerful than Israel, and He does not reneg on His promises.
The Covenant and the Goal:
Leviticus 26:3 - “If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;”
The Lord promises that vicious beasts will not attack, and that the Israelites will always win battles against their enemies. (6-8)
The Lord also promises that the Israelites will multiply in numbers, and that this covenant will remain unchanged. Most importantly, the Lord even promises to dwell among the people. (9-11)
The Reason:
Then the Lord states the “why” of the covenant, the reason that the Israelites should obey:
Leviticus 26:12-13 - “And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.”
Punishments:
Leviticus 26:14-15 - “But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:”
The Lord tells the people that the punishment for not obeying will be seven times worse than the blessing (18,21,24). Rains will not fall, wild beasts will attack, the earth will be as hard as metal, and roads will be deserted and empty.
If the people still refuse to obey, then the Lord will make the punishment even seven times harsher (27-28).
The Lord will send a powerful nation to attack and defeat the Israelites. The Lord will send disease, and there will be no food. The list of punishments goes on. The Lord will refuse the sacrifices of the Israelites. The Lord will “scatter the Israelites among the nations.” The land will be empty, and its cities will fall into ruins.
Those who survive, and hope to return to the Promised Land will be sad for what the Israelites had done in not keeping the Lord’s commands (39). If they confess their sin, and pray for forgiveness, then:
Leviticus 26:42,45 - “Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land… But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.”
The covenant (and the chapter) then concludes with one last verse:
Leviticus 26:46 - “These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the Lord made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.”
References
- The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible (KJV Version)
- The Torah Portion-by-Portion by Rabbi Seymour Rossel (2007)