There is a thunder and a roar in this passage that can make us quake and tremble. And we pray, our Father, that therefore we might be attentive to Your word as it is preached. We ask that it might make a deep impression upon us for good, for salvation, for spurring us on to love and to good works.
Leviticus 26:1–35. A Gen Z boy with his parents went to an old ruins place like Hampi and saw an old oil press—a place where they used to have two cows turn the wheel, and the wheel would grind the grain into powder. The boy, with his sleek iPhone and smugness, mocking and laughing, said, “See how stupid and useless these olden days people were, using animals and wheels to grind. We don’t have to do all that. Just hit the switch and the mixer grinder grinds; fans run on their own.”
His father said, “My son, yes, it may be easy today, but you don’t understand that the basic mechanism and principle of energy for grinding flour has never changed, even today. Electricity that runs our mixers and fans in Bangalore comes from places like the Sharavathi Hydroelectric Project near Jog Falls. There, instead of the energy of two cows, there is a small wheel like this, but high-pressure energy from rushing river water falls on a massive turbine wheel. It rotates at high speed, and then the water’s kinetic energy is converted into mechanical spinning power. It spins a massive electromagnet inside a copper coil, electrons in the magnet move and create AC (alternating current), and then, to push this current in wires over a long distance, very high voltage is added through a transformer—500,000 volts. Then, high-pressure, dangerous electricity is sent to a city substation like Nagasandra in Bangalore. Then the high voltage of 500,000 is reduced to 11,000 volts, and then it travels to street wires and comes to a street transformer that reduces it to 240 volts. Then it comes into the house electric meter and into our houses through wires for grinding and for running fans. It is that wheel that eventually turns the mixers and fans in our home. It is your ignorance that makes you think those old principles are stupid and useless. Those days it was easy to understand because you could see the direct connection of the cow, the wheel, and the grinding; but now it is complex because you cannot clearly see all that, so you speak out of ignorance. When you understand life deeper, you will realize times may change, but basic principles never change; everything runs on that, my son.”
Just as the natural world runs on unchanging principles, the spiritual world also operates on unchanging basic principles, whether in olden days or in the twenty-first century. Today, with a high-tech, growing world, Instagram Gen Z young people think the old principles of the Bible will not work today. They think it is old-fashioned, stupid, and useless, and that no one can prosper in life following those rules—just as that boy, in ignorance and immaturity, thought. But if you understand life deeper, life’s basic principles always operate on the old principles of God’s law, who created and rules this world with providence.
In a world that thinks God’s ways are outdated, Leviticus 26 reminds us that God’s moral government has never changed. We come to chapter 26, which lists promises of prosperity for obedience and warnings of curses for disobedience. These rules apply to all times, whether in the days of Leviticus BC or 2026 AD AI technology. Work style and lifestyle may change, and people may change, but the principles of prosperity, poverty, and curses apply even today.
We have seen a lot of things in Leviticus. In the first seven chapters, we saw those laws on sacrifices: burnt offerings, peace offerings, grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. Then, in chapters 8 through 10, we saw the institution of the priesthood. Then, in chapters 11 through 16, remember those regulations regarding cleanliness—clean and unclean food, childbirth, leprosy, and bodily discharge. Then, in chapters 17 through 25, we saw those prescriptions for practical holiness.
We have two more chapters in Leviticus. All of this was given while Israel was under Mount Sinai. After this, God will command the Israelites to move from Sinai and go toward Canaan. Chapters 26 and 27 are the last chapters of Leviticus. You will notice the tone is completely different. Just as if a man sees his family for the last time, his tone and his words will be very serious, and what he says will deeply sink in and be unforgettable, and we always try to fulfill the last parting words of the one we love. That is the kind of terrible seriousness we see in these parting words. God wants these to sink deep into our hearts.
I was very strongly convicted in my life about my sin and lack of good works. This is such an important chapter. We should learn it in detail. So today, all I am going to do is give an overview introduction to the chapter, and from the next two or three weeks onward, we will cover the full chapter section by section. So this chapter has solemn messages for us. Today, we will attempt to understand the chapter under three headings:
- Two covenant paths – Blessings or curses.
- Jehovah’s guaranteed prophecies.
- How this applies to us.
1. Two Covenant Paths – Blessing or Curse
The whole structure of this capstone chapter can be divided into two covenant paths: blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.
The outline of this chapter in verses 1 through 13 shows that if you take My commands seriously and obey Me, there are wonderful, alluring promises that God uses to draw His people sweetly to obedience.
He promises them:
- Economic Abundance (v. 4–5): More prosperity and health. In those agricultural days: luxuriant fields, seasonal rains at the right time, and an increasingly rich harvest. Your dining tables will be filled with rich food, and you can eat to the full and be satisfied.
- Peace, Safety, and National Defense (v. 5–8): “I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one will make you afraid… I will rid the land of evil beasts…” (v. 6).
- Military Immunity: “…neither shall the sword go through your land. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.”
- Supernatural Victory: “Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight…” (v. 8).
- Blessings and Growth in the Family: “For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you…” (v. 9).
- Unending Supply: “You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new” (v. 10). (Meaning: they will have so much surplus from previous years that they will have to throw it out just to make room for the massive new harvests.)
- Spiritual Intimacy and Divine Presence (v. 11–13):
- God’s Dwelling Place: “I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you” (v. 11).
- Divine Active Fellowship: “I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people” (v. 12).
Notice the beautiful progression in these verses. God starts by filling their stomachs (food), then secures their borders (peace), then builds their families (multiplicity), and finally captures their hearts (His presence). It shows that God cares for the total well-being of His people, but the crown jewel of all blessings is always unbroken fellowship with Him. So prosperity, health, peaceful families, security, and fellowship with God are all promised as blessings of obedience.
Now, the second section, verses 14 through 46, brings terror and very bitter curses. If you take My commands lightly and disobey, terrible curses will follow: “And I will set My face against you.”
- In Place of Prosperity, Poverty: You shall work hard and sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies shall eat it up, and your strength will be spent in vain.
- Climate and Environmental Lockdown: The sky will be like iron above you and the earth as bronze beneath you, hard as metal, for your land shall not yield its produce.
- Increased Punishment (v. 18): “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins and break down your pride of power.”
- Psychological and Mental Torment: Extreme paranoia and anxiety. You will flee even when no one is chasing you; the sound of a windblown leaf will make you run as if escaping a sword. “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.”
- Physical Affliction: “I will increase the plague on you”—sudden terror, wasting diseases (consumption), and burning fevers that waste the eyes and drain the life and soul away.
- Further Severity (v. 21): “Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.”
- Destruction of Family (v. 22): “I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number…”
- Unyielding Rebellion (v. 23): “And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me…”
- War and Invasion: Punish you by wars by allowing enemies to attack you: “I will also bring upon you a sword, which will execute vengeance for the covenant” (v. 25). Your borders will be invaded. Your enemies will be fierce. Your women will be widowed. Your children will be orphaned. Your barns will be burned down. Your cities will collapse.
- Fierce Wrath (v. 27–28): “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you in fury…”
- Severe Famine: “When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread to you by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.”
- Unthinkable Social Collapse (Cannibalism): “You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters” (v. 29). The social fabric completely disintegrates, leading to cannibalism. I will bring a famine so terrible that you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters you shall eat.
- The Worst-Case Scenario (Desperation, Exile, and Ruin): Complete destruction of cities and sanctuaries. “I will chase you from the promised land, I will scatter you among the nations, then the land will enjoy its Sabbaths all the days of its desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land.”
Oh my, what bitter parting words the Lord gives to His people with these curses and these blessings! Two covenant paths—blessings and curses. You choose. In Deuteronomy, He says, “I set life and death before you; you choose.”
If you look at Deuteronomy 27, the same blessings and curses are set before them prior to entering Canaan, after forty years of wandering as punishment. There was a monumental, dramatic recital by heart. They had to enter Canaan between the two mountains of Ebal and Gerizim. Before entering, half of the Israelites stood on Mount Gerizim, reciting the blessings upon the people of God, Israel, if they would obey the Lord. On the other mountain peak of Ebal, the other half stood and recited curses if they disobeyed. All of that choreography took place there.
The structure of these blessings and curses follows a covenant document format, like a treaty deal pattern. We find this from the oldest ancient civilizations—Babylon, Assyria, and down to today—where there would often be treaties or deals made between kings or nations.
In the olden days, a boundary stone was found between two kingdoms. This was very common: chiseled onto that boundary stone were obligations and pledges that the king on one side of the border made to the king on the other side of the border. And lo and behold, on that boundary stone were curses and blessings. One king would make an agreement: “If the other nation’s king fulfills his responsibilities, I promise these blessings: I will make sure I do not invade your border, and you will not invade mine. If you have an opponent come against you, I will militarily come and assist you and aid you. We will have open trade without taxation between our two nations. Each nation will enjoy prosperity and safety.” It would even say, “Peace will be yours, the reign of heaven will fall upon you, and health will be for the citizens of your land.” We see similar deals that nations make today, like the ones India recently made with the US and the EU.
As for curses: if either of the parties broke their vow and did not keep their obligation, there would be a threat of curses: “I will attack you and stop all dealings.” They would also swear and pray to their kingdom’s gods, whether Bel, Marduk, Chemosh, Baal, or Ashtoreth, asking these gods, “Please, if the king keeps the obligation, bless him, give rain and prosperity. If the king does not keep the obligation, then curse him, stop the rain, bring disease and destruction.”
We see that God is using the same agreement format with the people of Israel in this covenant of two paths—blessings and curses. So we see two covenant paths: blessing or curse.
2. Jehovah’s Guaranteed Prophecies
Now, see how this covenant is distinctly different from treaties between two human kings. Those kings are mere men. If one breaks the rules, the other may fulfill or may not be able to fulfill his word. We know all their gods are dead idols; praying to them does not make any difference. We see in those secular treaties mere wishful thinking on the part of man, fanciful superstition, and the lame incantations of the superstitious.
But a covenant between the one true, living God and His people is different. These are not straw-crow, lame threats; these are the authoritative guarantees of a sovereign God who never lies—a God who is almighty and can fulfill either His promises of blessings or His threats of curses. Other idol gods may threaten that they will punish us or poke our eyes out to make us fear blindly, but they don’t even exist; they are merely figments of men’s imaginations. Very rarely, something wrong might happen purely by strange coincidence.
However, when the living God says, “If you obey, there will be blessing; if you disobey, there will be cursing,” these are infallible, 100% guaranteed. Truly, indeed, these things will take place, for God—Jehovah—is the creator, the sustainer, the provider, and the judge of all history.
The earth is in His hands; He can make it like bronze or iron. The sky is in His hands; He can make it like iron. He is the keeper of the clouds. He is the commander of all troops and of all armies. He is the giver of health, prosperity, and calamity. These are not lame incantations; these are certain promises and certain threats. If He says obedience brings prosperity, it will bring it, come what may. Disobedience will bring a cursed calamity. It will definitely happen.
Do you know what the rest of the entire Old Testament story tells us? Every day as you read and check off your chapters, it actually tells us that God is serious about His covenant promises and threats. If you trace the history of Israel, you realize these are not just empty threats; this turned out to be the prophecy of their history. They went from here, and starting in Numbers, they repeatedly disobeyed God by grumbling, lusting after evil things that God said they should not pursue, becoming idolaters, and committing sexual immorality. Though He kept punishing them by opening up the ground and sending serpents, at last the whole generation perished in the wilderness; He did not take them into the promised land.
As soon as they entered the promised land, we start with the book of Judges. Did they obey, or did they disobey? They repeatedly disobeyed. Is God really faithful to these threats and promises? Does He really mean what He says? We find in the book of Judges, once they entered into the land, that cycle of blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience.
When they disobeyed, as He said here, God used Ammon, Midian, and Philistia to come in, attack, bring about havoc, and bring destruction upon the land because of their disobedience. But on the other hand, when they confessed their sin and repented of their covenant-breaking, the Lord brought judges such as Jephthah, Gideon, and Samson; and lo and behold, blessing was restored to the people of God. We see in the early history of Israel that God turns historical events on a dime according to Israel’s obedience or disobedience. According to Israel’s obedience or disobedience, God turns historical events upside down in a moment. His covenant rule is the history of Israel: obedience brings prosperity, and disobedience brings a curse. So when He says here, “I’ll bless you for obedience and I’ll curse you for disobedience,” God isn’t kidding. He means what He says. He is sovereignly serious.
And even beyond the book of Judges, there is that clear history—that black and white, virtuous and vile history of Israel—and God continues to visit them. There is Saul; he is a devious king, and he leads the nation into ungodliness. As a result, there is cursing from the Philistines, and the king ends up being beheaded on Mount Gilboa. On the other hand, a good king comes—a man after God’s own heart. He leads the people in the way of righteousness, and Jerusalem becomes a glorious crown jewel as righteousness reigns in the land.
Then there is Solomon. Initially he obeyed, but later his heart was inclined away from the Lord, and there was a splitting of the kingdom. Up north we find Jeroboam, who fell or leaped headlong into idolatry with the golden calves. All these curses of famine, poverty, sickness, and destruction from enemies form the history we read in the Old Testament, which you mark on your calendar in your daily reading.
He kept warning them through the prophets. When they didn’t repent, finally God said, “Enough is enough.” The northern kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians—cursing for disobedience. Then the southern kingdom collapsed. There was the destruction of Jerusalem and the southern tribes as they were carried off in chains to Babylon. When God spoke these curses thousands of years before, God was dead serious.
You can actually trace the exact fulfillment of each of these threats. Let me show you one in Leviticus 26:29: “Further, you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters you shall eat.”
In 2 Kings 6:26–29, as Joram, king of Israel—the son of that horrible king Ahab and Jezebel—was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “Help me, my lord the king!” The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you?” Then he asked her, “What’s the matter?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him.” So they were fighting. When the king heard this, he tore his robes in grief and despair.
God is dead serious about these curses.
2. Jehovah’s Guaranteed Prophecies (Continued)
The solemn reality of Leviticus 26 is that these words were not mere empty threats or symbolic warnings; they were pre-written history.
Consider Leviticus 26:33:
“I will scatter you among the nations and strike you down with the sword; your land shall be desolate and your cities laid waste.”
This was literally fulfilled in the Assyrian dispersion of the ten northern tribes—the “ten lost tribes”—who were scattered across the empire and never returned as a distinct kingdom. Only the remnant of Judah returned centuries later to rebuild the temple.
Look further at Leviticus 26:34–35:
“Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its Sabbaths.”
Because Israel routinely violated the Sabbatical years for centuries, God exacted the exact debt owed to the land. As recorded in 2 Chronicles 36:21, the Babylonian captivity lasted precisely 70 years so that the land could finally receive its promised rest.
Do you see how profoundly this chapter serves as a prophetic preview of Israel’s future? But the covenant of God does not end in judgment. Look at Leviticus 26:40, 42:
“But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers… then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.”
When did the nation ever offer this confession? We see it vividly in the exilic and post-exilic prayers of Daniel (Daniel 9), Ezra (Ezra 9), and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1, 9). They wept in exile, pleading, “Lord, we have sinned; have mercy upon us.” True to His word, Jehovah turned history on a dime once again, restoring the remnant under Ezra and Nehemiah to rebuild the temple and the walls of Jerusalem.
3. How This Applies to Us
When we bring this chapter into the present day, crucial theological questions arise:
- Was this system a form of “works-righteousness”?
- How do Old Testament physical promises apply to New Covenant believers?
A. Redemptive Context: Grace Before Law
This chapter is not a system of earning salvation through works. It is framed entirely within the context of sovereign grace.
Notice Leviticus 26:13:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves…”
Redemption came first. God did not say, “Obey Me for ten years, and then I will bring you out of Egypt.” He redeemed them by grace, made them His treasure, and then gave them His law. Obedience was never the price of redemption; it was the required, loving response to being redeemed.
B. Relevance to the New Covenant Church
While physical Canaan and national defense promises belonged specifically to the Old Testament theocratic nation, the underlying spiritual principles remain entirely active.
As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:11, these Old Testament events “happened to them as an example, and they were written for our admonition.” Furthermore, Galatians 3:29 declares:
“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
In Christ, New Covenant believers inherit the ultimate fulfillment of these promises. We are saved by grace through faith, but we are saved for good works (Ephesians 2:8–10). Grace is never a license to live in carnality, apathy, or disobedience.
Paul reinforces this exact principle in Galatians 6:7–8:
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
This same framework governs the New Testament. In Revelation 2 & 3, the risen Christ evaluates the seven churches using explicit blessing-and-chastisement principles:
- To Ephesus: Repent, or I will remove your lampstand; repent, and I will give you to eat from the tree of life.
- To Pergamum: Repent, or I will come with the sword of My mouth; overcome, and I will give you hidden manna.
- To Laodicea: Repent, or I will spit you out of My mouth; open the door, and I will come in and dine with you.
How Do Blessings and Chastisements Visit the Christian?
1. Temporal & Physical Provision
God remains faithful to care for the earthly needs of His children. Jesus promises in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Similarly, Philippians 4:19 assures us: “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
When we walk in faithful stewardship—such as honoring the Lord with our finances and active service—God supernaturally provides. Conversely, persistent disobedience or selfish neglect often leads to temporal frustration.
However, temporal abundance is not a universal metric of godliness. Scriptures remind us that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). Faithful saints like Stephen, James, Paul, and John faced severe physical trial not as a curse for sin, but as part of their sovereign calling.
Conversely, intentional abuse of grace can bring direct physical discipline. In 1 Corinthians 11:30, Paul notes that because the Corinthians treated the Lord’s Table with disrespect, many among them were weak, sick, or had died prematurely.
2. Spiritual Blessings: The Greater Inheritance
The primary focus of the New Covenant is elevated beyond temporary, material items to deep, eternal spiritual realities (2 Corinthians 4:16–18):
“Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day… While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
The richest blessings promised to the Christian are experienced in the soul:
| Practical Discipline | Promised Spiritual Blessing | Scripture Reference |
| Faithful Church Gathering | Mutual encouragement, spiritual vitality, and flourishing | Hebrews 10:24–25; Psalm 92:13–14 |
| Devotional Prayer | Supernatural peace guarding the heart and mind | Philippians 4:6–7; Matthew 7:7 |
| Scripture Meditation | Rooted stability, fruitful spiritual life, and soul prosperity | Psalm 1:2–3 |
| Sabbath Rest & Worship | Deep spiritual satisfaction and delighting in the Lord | Isaiah 58:13–14 |
When we walk by the Spirit, we enjoy deep peace, assurance, and communion with God. But when we grieve the Holy Spirit through unconfessed sin, prayerlessness, neglected family worship, or delayed repentance, the immediate consequence is a loss of joy, spiritual drought, and internal unrest.
Examining Our Walk
We must examine our lives honestly:
- Do we secretly believe that God’s moral principles are outdated in our modern world?
- What are we sowing in our homes right now—diligent obedience or quiet neglect?
- Are we attempting to trade the eternal weight of glory for the temporary, perishable toys of this world?
As 2 Corinthians 5:10 warns:
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
Christ died for us so that we should no longer live for ourselves, but for Him (2 Corinthians 5:15). Driven by the love of Christ, let us walk in joyful obedience, sowing to the Spirit, and reaping the rich, enduring blessings of His presence both now and in eternity.
“You may ignore gravity, but gravity will not ignore you. In the same way, you may ignore God’s Word, but God’s moral order still stands.”