Leviticus 26:1-8

Covenant Blessings and Discipline

1 "Do not make idols for yourselves,[a] set up a carved image or sacred pillar for yourselves, or place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God.
2 You must keep My Sabbaths and honor My sanctuary;[b] I am the Lord.
3 "If you follow My statutes and faithfully observe My commands,
4 I will give you rain at the right time, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.
5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest, and the grape harvest will continue until sowing time; you will have plenty of food to eat and live securely in your land.[c]
6 I will give peace to the land, and you will lie down with nothing to frighten [you]. I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.[d]
7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword.
8 Five of you will pursue 100, and 100 of you will pursue 10,000; your enemies will fall before you by the sword.[e]

Leviticus 26:1-8 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 26

In this chapter, after a repetition of some laws against idolatry, and concerning keeping sabbaths, and reverencing the sanctuary of God, Le 26:1,2; in order to encourage the Israelites to keep the various statutes and commandments in this book, and in the preceding, many promises are made of plenty, and peace, and safety from enemies, and of the presence of God with them, Le 26:3-13; and on the contrary, to such as should despise and break his commandments, the most grievous things are threatened, as diseases of body, destruction by their enemies, barrenness and unfruitfulness of land, the sore judgments of wild beasts, famine, sword, and pestilence, Le 26:14-39; and yet after all, when they should confess their sins, and were humbled for them, the Lord promises to remember the covenant he made with their ancestors, and would deal kindly with them, and not cast them away, and utterly destroy them, Le 26:40-46.

Footnotes 5

  • [a]. Lv 19:4; Ex 20:3-4; Ps 81:9
  • [b]. Lv 19:30; Ezk 20:13,16,21; 23:38
  • [c]. Lv 25:18-19; Dt 28:1-2,12; Isa 30:21-23; Am 9:13
  • [d]. Jr 30:10; Ezk 34:25,28; Mc 4:4
  • [e]. Dt 3:22; 32:30; Jos 10:19; 23:3,10
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