ETB Leviticus 26:1-13

Session 13: 2/23/2025 Holy Living p118

Enlist a volunteer to read the opening paragraph or read the following:

Free Will Baptist Doctrines A. The Conditional Nature of Salvation (2 Chronicles 15:1–4)

The covenant of God with Israel was based on conditions. At Sinai when it was instituted, God said, “If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people” (

Ask: What is the primary purpose of traffic signs? Which signs can cause you the most difficulty if you ignore or disobey them?

If all those driving use and obey the traffic signs, we collectively are blessed with safe travel. If one driver disregards the signs and rules too much, are they the only one that suffers the consequences?

The blessings and curses in Chapter 26 are presented to the nation of Israel as a whole. Individual disobedience will have consequences but may not affect the nation as a whole but will affect those nearby.

Understand the Context

Biblical “law” (Hebrew torah, often rendered “instruction”) calls for a response of gratitude for what God has done in redeeming a people and bringing them to Himself (see John 15:12; 1 John 4:19). The general flow of Leviticus has been observed to have a dual structure that balances foundational theology with instructions for practical application. Chapters 1–16 describe the means our holy God gave Israel to remove defilement and to worship Him. Then, chapters 17–27 generally describe the conduct expected of a grateful, holy people living in God’s presence.

The relationship between the various topics in Leviticus 17–27 is not easy to identify, and some scholars just list them. But the grouping of chapters 25–27 is clear because they were given to Moses on Mount Sinai before the tabernacle was built (see Lev. 25:1; 26:46; 27:34). They were probably placed at the end of the book because they concern life in the new land. Their placement also shows that all the previous laws are part of the same covenant.

Instructions on keeping the Sabbath, observing jubilee, and relating to the poor are given in chapter 25. Chapter 26 contains exhortations and warnings about keeping God’s covenant faithfully. Chapter 27 concludes with laws related to vows and other final matters. [LifeWay Adults (2025). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide, Winter 2024-’25]

The Message of Leviticus: Free to Be Holy Chapter 22. God’s Word about Future Prosperity (26:1–46)

This is the first chapter since chapter 11 not to begin with the words The LORD said … Instead, the opening verses link the chapter with what has gone before, highlight a couple of issues as representative of others, and then lead into promises and warnings about the future. Through it all God is speaking, and using not ‘mere words’ but ‘performative language’, that is, language that does something, that activates and accomplishes what is said. So when blessings are pronounced, blessing follows.

Depending on how you make your list, there are up to 22 different promises of blessing in these 13 verses. As we read through them, think about what promises you hear God making and whether they could apply to you today in a more general term.

Explore the Text

Leviticus 26:1–2 ESV

1 “You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. 2 You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

You shall not make idols for yourselves

Much of today’s lesson passages are references back to or forward to other parts of Scripture. This first verse is of course a reference back to the 2nd commandment in Exodus 20.

Exodus 20:4 “4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”

Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words Idol

This word for “idols” is a disdainful word and may originally have meant “dung pellets”: “And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you” (

Life Application Bible Notes Chapter 26

This chapter presents the two paths of obedience and disobedience that God set before the people (see also

You shall keep my Sabbaths

A reference to fourth commandment.

Exodus 20:8 “8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Part of the way to keep the Sabbath day “holy” is now stated as having reverence for the sanctuary or temple.

The place is holy because you meet with God there, this makes it special and required it to be treated in a different way than other more “common” places.

Reverence translates the common Hebrew word meaning “to fear.” The word sanctuary, Hebrew miqdash, means “holy place.” It designates the dwelling place of the holy God. Since this was the place where God incinerated Nadab and Abihu for despising God’s holiness, respect for His sanctuary would be appropriate. The Lord was stressing the importance of following His instructions. [ETB:ALG Win’25]

Another way to revere the Lord’s meeting place is to remove those places and objects that lead toward other gods.

Numbers 33:52 “52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places.”

Transition: Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. For the Israelites, faithfully obeying God’s law would bring about a corresponding and favorable spiritual reaction.

Leviticus 26:3–8 ESV

3 “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, 4 then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. 6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. 7 You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

walk in my statutes

Although only 2 commandments were specifically alluded to at the beginning of the chapter, this statement summarizes the rest and includes other promises and prohibitions.

This is a typical teaching practice instead of reciting all the previous information.

Jesus also summarized all the Old Testament laws:

Matthew 22:37–40 “37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””

The following verses (4-13) are conditional statements based on this obedience to the laws. We can also say that they are proportional in that the more fully God’s laws are followed, the more complete the blessings will be. Since Israel has never “fully obeyed” the blessings can only be observed in Scripture being partially fulfilled in the Old Testament. Not until the end of Revelation are all of them completed in totality.

then I will

Verse 4 starts with the first of several “I will” statements found in this chapter. Those we are looking at today are all positive or beneficial to obedient worshippers.

These are not “I might” or “could be” but statements of fact from the speaker’s perspective who is eternal and omniscient. For Him and from our perspective and the Israelites, they have happened, are happening, and will happen.

God’s laws and promises will only change when God’s character and trustworthiness do.

Malachi 3:6 “6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”

Hebrews 13:8 “8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

rains in their season

The Hebrew word for rains is plural because it refers to the two rainy seasons in Canaan—autumn/early rain and spring/late rain (Deut. 11:14; Jer. 5:24). The blessing of rain means the blessing of crops (including fruit on the trees) and food (v. 5).

After the conquest of Canaan, it became apparent that the different tribes would not have equal rainfall. The result would be the necessity of interdependence. The land would be good (Ex. 3:8; Num. 32:1; Deut. 8:7), but not in the same way for each tribe or each person. Also, the blessings were promised to Israel as a whole, not necessarily to individuals, some of whom would be poor and dependent on the compassion of others (Lev. 19:10,15; 23:22; Deut. 15:7). [ETB:ALG Win’25]

the land shall yield

Verse 4 also begins a pattern of multiple references to the land that the people have not seen but are promised.

Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest

The prophet Amos words it this way:

Amos 9:13 “13 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.”

These extended times of harvest is the visible proof of the “rains in their season.’ Because of the climate and soil in the region the timing of the rains has dramatic effects on crops. God’s provision of rain throughout those periods are what make the crops come forth. But He also has to stop the rains at the appropriate times for the harvest not to rot in the fields and to give the people time to gather the abundance.

I will give peace in the land

In addition to promising an abundance of food, God also offered them peace (shalom, v. 6). The Hebrew term refers to more than just the absence of conflict. It emphasizes a holistic calm that envelops one’s entire life. [ETB:ALG Win’25]

There was only a brief time that “all of Israel” was at peace in the land in the Old Testament.

1 Kings 4:25 “25 And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon.”

Solomon reigned for 40 years. Lasting peace will not come until the sin within all mankind is removed.

you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid

External peace from war and foreign adversaries. Internal peace from those within your own lands. Could also be a sign of the internal peace of God resting upon them driving out “imagined” fears caused by worry or false hopes.

John 14:27 “27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

I will remove harmful beasts

There are two ways to remove a harmful beast. The most widely practiced is to drive the beast away or kill it. The other is to drive away its harmfulness or tame it. Scripture tells us that God will do both.

Ezekiel 34:25 “25 “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.”

Isaiah 65:25 “25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.”

they shall fall before you by the sword. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred

Verse 7 is the first of many uses of the idiom “fall before you” that means to be killed in battle. The divine blessing of God being on their side would mean that the size of armies did not matter (v. 8). Whether they were outnumbered twenty to one or 100 to one, God’s people could have confidence that He would move on their behalf.

After the lands were conquered, Joshua gave testimony of this being true during the campaigns.

Joshua 23:10 “10 One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you.”

Courson’s Application Commentary, Old Testament Volume 1 (Genesis–Job) Chapter 26

We live in a universe regulated by physical laws. Therefore, if I start poking around in an electrical socket or jump off a ten-story building, I can’t be shocked to find myself fried or to wake up broken and battered. The penalties for breaking the laws of electricity and gravity are consistent. There will always be a price to pay.

So, too, there are spiritual laws which are irrefutable, undeniable, absolute. And those who violate them suffer consequences as surely as if they violated physical laws. If they keep them, however, their lives will be illuminated as surely as is the one who obeys the law of electricity; their lives will be as grounded as those who choose to live by the law of gravity.

Ask: How do we ensure that we are worshiping God for who He is instead of just seeking His blessings? p.123

Leviticus 26:9–13 ESV

9 I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. 10 You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. 11 I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. 12 And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 26

I will make you fruitful

Back in Genesis, God told Adam and Eve as well as each of the patriarchs to “be fruitful and multiply.” Now God is promising to ensure that can be accomplished through obedience to His commands.

“You shall eat old store long kept”

Probably a reference to the Sabbath year and the Year of Jubilee like provisions being extended into other years as well.

Leviticus 25:21–22 “21 I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. 22 When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.”

“I will make my dwelling among you”

Fulfilled once on earth when the Temple was completed and consecrated. Fulfilled again with the incarnation. Ultimately fulfilled when all are with Him where He makes all things new.

Revelation 21:3 “3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

This "my soul shall not abhor you” is very specific language.

The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament 1602. גָּעַל gāʿal

This word also describes Israel as an unfaithful wife who loathes her husband (God) and her children (

It is used to correlate with the curses later in the chapter when the people disobey and are punished.

Leviticus 26:15 “15 if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant,”

Leviticus 26:30 “30 And I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols, and my soul will abhor you.”

The opposite of the abhorrence is present by God presence and walking among “my people.”

Verse 12 is our memory verse for the week and the verse that Paul uses to remind us that we are now His tabernacle and walks “within” us every day.

This statement is not conditional but covenantal. Regardless of disobedience or obedience, they will, and we are, His people. We are able to be blessed or cursed only because we are His people.

Exalting Jesus in Leviticus God Blesses Our Faithfulness

God walks right where we are, and He calls us into a relationship. The promise of His presence with His people is repeated in the New Testament. In

Apply the Text

Chapter 26 could easily lead to a legalistic view of God, and for many Jews it did. The cure for legalism is grace.

So where is the grace in this chapter?

Grudem defines grace as:

Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Second Edition) Grace

grace: God’s goodness toward those who deserve only punishment. (12C.8)

The nation of Israel, and us believers, deserve all that comes in the last verses of chapter 26, but God’s grace allows us to experience the first 13.

Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey Week 8 / Thursday: Grace to Others (Matthew 18:33)

We’re brought into God’s kingdom by grace; we’re sanctified by grace; we receive both temporal and spiritual blessings by grace; we’re motivated to obedience by grace; we’re called to serve and enabled to serve by grace; we receive strength to endure trials by grace; and we’re glorified by grace. The entire Christian life is lived under the reign of God’s grace.

Encourage everyone to continue reflecting on Leviticus 26:12 “12 And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people” throughout the coming week.

Pray: God we are such sinners that we deserve all the punishments of Chapter 26 and much more, but you have gracious given us Yourself through Your Son for all eternity. Help us this week to be more faithful to observe Your commands than last week. Jesus, you came to break us free of sin’s chains that we may have a continuing, growing relationship with You. May we dwell on that truth this week and it draws us toward a more wholehearted devotion to You in the weeks and years to come.