Leviticus 26:29














The text suggests the question, How far does God's treatment of us depend on our attitude towards him? And the answer must be somewhat complex.

I. IN LARGE MEASURE, GOD'S TREATMENT OF US IS QUITE IRRESPECTIVE OF OUR CONDUCT TOWARD HIM. He has done much for us from the promptings of his own generous and beneficent nature. As the sun gives light because it is light, regardless of the objects on which it shines, so our God, who is a Sun (Psalm 84:11), is sending forth beams of truth, love, beauty, happiness, because in him is all fullness, and from that abundance there must flow blessing and bounty on every hand (see Psalm 103:10, 11; Matthew 5:45).

II. IN LARGE MEASURE, GOD'S TREATMENT OF US DEPENDS ON OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD HIM.

1. Right feeling on our part is reciprocated with kind feeling on his. If we love him, he will love us and come to us (John 14:23).

2. Rebellious conduct on our part brings down adverse action on his part. If we" will walk contrary to him, he will walk contrary to us, and punish us for our sins." The greater part of this chapter (verses 14-39) is a terrible admonition that, if we provoke God by our willful disobedience, we must expect to find his hand against us in all the paths of life, our growing iniquity meeting with his multiplying wrath and darkening retribution.

3. Repentant action on our part is met by returning favour on his (Jeremiah 3:22; Joel 2:12-14; Isaiah 44:22; Isaiah 55:7). Let the prodigal son arise to return, and, "while yet a great way off," the heavenly Father will run to meet and to welcome him (Luke 15).

III. GOD'S GOODNESS TO US WILL SEEM TO US TO VARY ACCORDING TO THE RECTITUDE OF OUR SOULS TOWARD HIM. As men seem to us to be just or unjust, kind or unkind, according to the position we occupy toward them, so also does the Father of spirits. "All the paths of the Lord are" (and are seen to be) "mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies" (Psalm 25:10). But the ways of the Lord will seem "contrary" to the rebellious. With the merciful man God shows himself merciful; with the froward he shows himself froward (Psalm 18:26). The guilty will exclaim against the inequality of God's dealings (Ezekiel 33:17). He will seem unjust because they are unholy, because their spirit is false and wrong (Matthew 20:15). Those who fear God and love his Son their Saviour, join in the psalm of the Church on earth, "The Lord is righteous in all his ways,... his tender mercies are over all his works" (Psalm 145); they anticipate the strain of the Church in heaven, "Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints" (Revelation 15:3). - C.

Then I will walk contrary unto you.
I. As AFFECTING SUPPOSITION STATED. "If ye will not," &c. The Lord here supposes that His people may commit three grievous sins:

1. The sin of disobedience. "If ye will not hearken unto Me." Hence observe —(1) That the Lord in His Word speaks to us (Hebrews 8:12).(2) That whatever the Lord says in His Word it is our bounden duty to hear (Hebrews 3:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:20; James 1:19).(3) That we are too apt to turn a deaf ear to Him (Exodus 5:2; Psalm 12:4).

2. The sin of incorrigibleness. "If for all this ye will not hearken." Note here —(1) That afflictions sometimes have the nature of punishments (Jeremiah 13:21).(2) That punishment is the natural and necessary consequence of transgression.(3) That in the punishment which God inflicts He seeks our reformation (2 Chronicles 18:22).(4) That our depravity in too many cases frustrates His designs (Zephaniah 3:2).

3. The sin of perverseness. "If ye walk contrary to Me." Observe again —(1) That the Lord's pleasure is, we should walk with Him (Micah 6:8).(2) That we walk with the Lord when we walk in His way (2 Kings 20:3; Ecclesiastes 12:13).(3) That walking otherwise than He has commanded is to show a perverse and untoward heart.

II. AN AWFUL CONSEQUENCE DECLARED. "I will walk contrary also to you in fury." Thus we see that —

1. Conformable to our character will be our end. If God should deal thus with us(1) We shall lose the blessing which He imparts to> His obedient followers (vers. 4-12).(2) Our expectations will issue in disappointment and vexation (Hosea 8:7); and(3) Like chaff before the wind we shall speedily be carried to destruction (Psalm 1:4, 5).

2. Enforcement of these considerations: we see —(1) That a religion consisting of mere notions will never saw a man.(2) That men are not at liberty, as some suppose, to live as they please.(3) That God takes notice of the ways of all.(4) That if He displays His anger we should be anxious to find out the cause; and(5) That if any one perish he will have no one to blame for it but himself (Isaiah 3:11).

(Wm. Sleigh.)

I. How HORRIFYING THE MISERIES WHICH MAY BEFALL A PRIVILEGED PEOPLE. The miseries of penury and siege (ver. 29); of captivity and slaughter (ver. 33); of anguish and derision (ver. 36); of pitiless misery and disaster (ver. 39).

1. None are so secure in grace and privilege that they can disregard the possibility of a fall.

2. None are so rich in sacred favours as to be beyond danger of their total loss.

3. None are so honoured by God's selecting and distinguishing grace but they may lapse into alienation and desolation.

II. HOW AMAZING THE DISASTERS WHICH MAY DEVASTATE A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY. Canaan was a wealthy land, a scene of loveliness, abundance, and delight. Yet on it came the disasters of depopulation (ver. 31), sterility (ver. 32), desertion (ver. 35) — even enemies abandoning it.

1. National plenty and prosperity are conditional upon national righteousness and piety.

2. National greatness and glory have been withered by the anger of an insulted God.

3. National strength and safety are only guaranteed as religion is fostered by the laws of a country, and in the habits and lives of its people.

III. HOW PITEOUS THE PROFANATION WHICH MAY DESPOIL A NATION'S SANCTITIES! Canaan was the scene of Jehovah's sanctuary: the Temple rose on Zion; and the land sent up her tribes to the celebration of sacred feasts and to the holy worship of God. Yet all her "sanctuaries" were brought "unto desolation" (ver. 31), all the fragrance of her sacrifices became loathsome to Jehovah (ver. 31), and her desecrated Sabbaths were avenged in the bleak silence and loneliness which fell on hallowed scenes (ver. 34).

1. Religious favours, if abused, may be utterly withdrawn from us.

2. God loathes the offerings once delightful to Him, when the offerer's love is estranged.

3. Holy scenes and holy days become a barren mockery if a trifling spirit alienate the sacred Presence: "Ichabod!"

(W. H. Jellie.)

People
Egyptians, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Moses
Places
Mount Sinai
Topics
Daughters, Eat, Eaten, Flesh, Further, Sons
Outline
1. Of idolatry
2. Reverence
3. A blessing to those who keep the commandments
14. A curse to those who break them
40. God promises to remember those who repent

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Leviticus 26:29

     5341   hunger
     7326   cannibalism

Leviticus 26:14-39

     5827   curse
     6026   sin, judgment on

Leviticus 26:27-33

     5508   ruins

Leviticus 26:27-35

     7520   dispersion, the

Leviticus 26:27-42

     6702   peace, destruction

Library
Emancipated Slaves
I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.'--LEV. xxvi. 13. The history of Israel is a parable and a prophecy as well as a history. The great central word of the New Testament has been drawn from it, viz. 'redemption,' i.e. a buying out of bondage. The Hebrew slaves in Egypt were 'delivered.' The deliverance made them a nation. God acquired them for Himself, and
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Lii. Trust in God.
15th Sunday after Trinity. S. Matt. vi. 31. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness." INTRODUCTION.--We read in ancient Roman history that a general named Aemilius Paulus was appointed to the Roman army in a time of war and great apprehension. He found in the army a sad condition of affairs, there were more officers than fighting men, and all these officers wanted to have their advice taken, and the war conducted in accordance with their several opinions. Then Aemilius Paulus
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

A Reformer's Schooling
'The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, 2. That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

a survey of the third and closing discourse of the prophet
We shall now, in conclusion, give a survey of the third and closing discourse of the prophet. After an introduction in vi. 1, 2, where the mountains serve only to give greater solemnity to the scene (in the fundamental passages Deut. xxxii. 1, and in Is. 1, 2, "heaven and earth" are mentioned for the same purposes, inasmuch as they are the most venerable parts of creation; "contend with the mountains" by taking them in and applying to [Pg 522] them as hearers), the prophet reminds the people of
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Repentance
Then has God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.' Acts 11: 18. Repentance seems to be a bitter pill to take, but it is to purge out the bad humour of sin. By some Antinomian spirits it is cried down as a legal doctrine; but Christ himself preached it. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent,' &c. Matt 4: 17. In his last farewell, when he was ascending to heaven, he commanded that Repentance should be preached in his name.' Luke 24: 47. Repentance is a pure gospel grace.
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Second Commandment
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am o jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of then that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.' Exod 20: 4-6. I. Thou shalt not
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Covenanting Provided for in the Everlasting Covenant.
The duty of Covenanting is founded on the law of nature; but it also stands among the arrangements of Divine mercy made from everlasting. The promulgation of the law, enjoining it on man in innocence as a duty, was due to God's necessary dominion over the creatures of his power. The revelation of it as a service obligatory on men in a state of sin, arose from his unmerited grace. In the one display, we contemplate the authority of the righteous moral Governor of the universe; in the other, we see
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Solomon's Temple Spiritualized
or, Gospel Light Fetched out of the Temple at Jerusalem, to Let us More Easily into the Glory of New Testament Truths. 'Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Isreal;--shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out hereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof.'--Ezekiel 43:10, 11 London: Printed for, and sold by George Larkin, at the Two Swans without Bishopgate,
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Appendix ix. List of Old Testament Passages Messianically Applied in Ancient Rabbinic Writings
THE following list contains the passages in the Old Testament applied to the Messiah or to Messianic times in the most ancient Jewish writings. They amount in all to 456, thus distributed: 75 from the Pentateuch, 243 from the Prophets, and 138 from the Hagiorgrapha, and supported by more than 558 separate quotations from Rabbinic writings. Despite all labour care, it can scarcely be hoped that the list is quite complete, although, it is hoped, no important passage has been omitted. The Rabbinic references
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Mercy of God
The next attribute is God's goodness or mercy. Mercy is the result and effect of God's goodness. Psa 33:5. So then this is the next attribute, God's goodness or mercy. The most learned of the heathens thought they gave their god Jupiter two golden characters when they styled him good and great. Both these meet in God, goodness and greatness, majesty and mercy. God is essentially good in himself and relatively good to us. They are both put together in Psa 119:98. Thou art good, and doest good.' This
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Leviticus
The emphasis which modern criticism has very properly laid on the prophetic books and the prophetic element generally in the Old Testament, has had the effect of somewhat diverting popular attention from the priestly contributions to the literature and religion of Israel. From this neglect Leviticus has suffered most. Yet for many reasons it is worthy of close attention; it is the deliberate expression of the priestly mind of Israel at its best, and it thus forms a welcome foil to the unattractive
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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