Leviticus 26:1 - Meaning and Application

Here God presses the commandments that mattered most, and that would test their obedience most clearly, (Leviticus 26:1, Leviticus 26:2). These are the substance of the second and fourth commandments, which are among the longest in the Ten Commandments and are often repeated in the law. Like a master who ends by repeating the most important instructions, God, through Moses, closes with a special charge to keep these two great commands.

First, they must never worship images or make any kind of image or picture for religious use, (Leviticus 26:1). No sin angered God more than idolatry, and Israel was especially prone to it. To shape a picture of God, treat it as holy, and bow before it is to turn God’s truth into a lie and his glory into shame.

Second, they must keep a deep respect for the sabbath and for holy gatherings, (Leviticus 26:2). As images corrupt religion, so sabbath keeping and reverence for the sanctuary support it. These are important outward parts of religion, which help preserve the heart of it. In the prophets, after idolatry, no sin is more often blamed and threatened than breaking the sabbath day.

God also gives strong encouragements to obey him fully, promising that a faithful people will be a blessed people. Human rulers often enforce laws with penalties, but God shows himself as the rewarder of those who seek and serve him. These promises mainly concern this life and Israel’s national life, yet they also point ahead to the spiritual blessings given through the covenant of grace to all believers through Christ.

He promises plenty from the earth. Their rain would come at the right time, neither too little nor too much, so their land, watered by heaven’s dew (Deuteronomy 11:10, Deuteronomy 11:11), would bring forth its increase, (Leviticus 26:4). The earth’s fruitfulness depends on heaven above, reminding us that every good gift comes from God, the Father of lights. Their crops would be so abundant that they would be busy gathering harvest and vintage at the same time, (Leviticus 26:5). Before they finished reaping and threshing, the grapes would be ready, and before they finished the vintage, it would be time to sow again. That points to the rich grace poured out in gospel times, when the plowman would overtake the reaper (Amos 9:13), and a great harvest of souls would be gathered to Christ.

The harvest would be so full that they would clear out the old grain to make room for the new, and give the old away to the poor instead of storing it tightly. They would not need to tear down their barns and build bigger ones, like the rich fool (Luke 12:18), because God gave abundance to be used, not hoarded from year to year. The one who holds back grain is cursed by the people (Proverbs 11:26). This promise is explained by, “I will pour out so much blessing that there will not be enough room to store it” (Malachi 3:10). The crown of this blessing is that they would eat their bread fully, which means they would have both plenty and satisfaction, (Leviticus 26:5). They would have enough and know that it was enough. So the meek shall eat and be satisfied (Psalm 22:26).

God also promises peace under his protection. “You shall live safely in your land,” (Leviticus 26:5), safe both in reality and in their own minds. They would lie down in peace under God’s power and promise, and nothing would frighten them, (Leviticus 26:6). They would not be troubled by wild animals, because these would be removed from the land, or, as another promise says, they would be at peace with them (Job 5:23). They would also be free from war’s alarms: “The sword will not pass through your land.” This holy safety belongs to all who are faithful, (Psalm 91:1). Those must dwell securely who dwell in God, (Job 9:18, Job 9:19).

He promises victory in war while they enjoy peace at home, (Leviticus 26:7, Leviticus 26:8). God would make his power so clear in their victories that numbers would not matter. Five of them would be strong enough to chase and defeat a hundred, as Jonathan did, (1 Samuel 14:12), proving his own saying that it is all the same for the Lord to save by many or by few.

He also promises that their people would increase, “I will make you fruitful and multiply you,” (Leviticus 26:9). This would fulfill the promise to Abraham, that his descendants would be as numerous as the dust of the earth. They would have been even more numerous if sin had not cut them short. The gospel church is also promised fruitfulness, (John 15:16).

Above all, God promises his favor, which is the source of every good thing: “I will look on you with favor,” (Leviticus 26:9). If our faith is fixed on God, his favor will rest on us. More is meant than is said in, “My soul will not reject you,” (Leviticus 26:11), just as more is meant in the warning, “My soul has no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38). Even if there were things among them that could rightly make him turn away, he would not reject them if they held closely to his commands.

He also promises signs of his presence in their worship: “I will set my tabernacle among you,” (Leviticus 26:11). It was a great honor and blessing that God’s tabernacle had been set up among them. But he makes it clear that its staying there depended on their obedience. The tabernacle that was now planted among them would remain settled if they obeyed, but not if they did not.

Note that the way to keep God’s ordinances firmly among us, like a nail fastened in a sure place, is to hold closely to the way he appointed them. It is also said, “I will walk among you” (Leviticus 26:12), with delight and satisfaction, as a man walks in his garden. He will keep fellowship with them as a man walks with his friend. This seems to be what is meant in (Revelation 2:1), where Christ is said to walk among the golden lampstands.

The grace of the covenant is the spring and foundation of all these blessings, and also their sweetness and safety. “I will establish my covenant with you” (Leviticus 26:9). If they did their part of the covenant, God would not fail to do his. All covenant blessings are gathered up in this promise: “I will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Leviticus 26:12). They all rest on their redemption: “I am your God, because I brought you out of the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 26:13).

Since he had bought them, he would own them and never cast them off unless they cast him off first. He broke their yoke and made them walk upright. That is, their rescue from Egypt put them in a place of both ease and honor, so that, being freed from their enemies, they could serve God without fear, each walking uprightly in his own life. When Israel rejected Christ, and so was rejected by him, their back is said to be bent down forever under the weight of their guilt, which was heavier than their slavery in Egypt (Romans 11:10).