Leviticus 26

Rewards and Punishment

Leviticus 26:1-2, ”Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God. Observe My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD.”

God tells the Israelites they are to have no idols and observe the Sabbath.

Leviticus 26:3: “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey My commands, – God gives conditions. If you… then I will…I give you ground rules. If you obey them, I will reward you. There are seven different blessings/rewards: Plenty, Peace, Protection, Power, Prosperity, Provision, and Privilege.

Leviticus 26:4-5 (PLENTY) 4: I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. 5: Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

Leviticus 26:6a (PEACE) 6: I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.

Leviticus 26:6b (PROTECTION) I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.

Leviticus 26:7-8 (POWER) 7: You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. 8: Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

Leviticus  26:9 (PROSPERITY) I  will  look  on  you  with  favor  and  make  you  fruitful  and  increase  your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.

Leviticus 26:10 (PROVISION) You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.

Leviticus 26:11-12 (PRIVILEGE) 11: I  will  put my dwelling place [among you, and I will  not abhor you. 12: I  will  walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.

Leviticus 26:14-16  14: But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands,  15: and if you reject My decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, 16: then I will

LEVITICUS 25:10“Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan.”

I am God of rewards and this is what I expect from you. If you obey, I will reward you.

If you do not obey my commandments, I will punish you. God tells the Israelites what will happen if they are unfaithful and disobey God. The severity  of  the punishment increases. The ultimate punishment is exile from the land.

God rewards those who obey and He punished those who disobey.

How have I seen this in my own life? What blessings have I received because I obey? What hardship have I endured because of disobedience? Not every hard situation is discipline or punishment from God. We live in a fallen world that is full of sin. God never leaves His people in despair. God always brings hope.

God is always faithful even when His people are unfaithful.

Lord, thank You for all Your blessings! Help me to obey You every day.

Your obedience to the Lord will bring blessings on you!