Leviticus 26 Study Notes

26:22 Because the Lord is the God of all creation, he can also sovereignly use wild animals to punish his people. The outbreak of wild animals is frequently regarded as punishment for sin (Dt 32:24; 2Kg 2:24; 17:25; Is 13:21-22).

26:29 This curse was fulfilled during the siege of Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom (2Kg 6:24-29) and later the siege of Jerusalem (Jr 19:9; Lm 4:10; Ezk 5:10).

26:31 The expression I will not smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices refers to the fact that God would not accept his people’s sacrifices, and thus he was rejecting the people. Sacrifices without obedience are meaningless (1Sm 15:22).

26:33 The Hebrew verb zarâ, translated here as scatter, can also be translated “winnow.” In the mind of the Jews it would trigger the image of wicked people being blown away like chaff (Ps 1:4). This is an obvious reference to God’s ultimate rejection of the errant Jews—the exile.

26:34-35 This curse anticipates Israel’s failure to keep the Sabbath years. The chronicler fused this verse with Jeremiah’s prophecy that the exile would last seventy years (2Ch 36:21; cp. Jr 25:11; 29:10).

26:40-45 These verses explain that restoration would be possible.

26:40-41 The expression but when indicates a turning point and involves a note of hope. The promised restoration is contingent upon the people’s confession of iniquity and their humility. The verb translated humbled is literally “to bring to one’s knees.”

26:44 The purifying agent will be the exile, not the flood that destroyed the earth during the time of Noah (Gn 6; 9). The great judgments of wars and famines in Rv 6-19 have their original setting in Lv 26 and Dt 28. As in OT times, the NT believer must repent or be judged.