Leviticus-Chap-26
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Remember the following truth from our
beloved Torah!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO
THE WORD which I command you, NEITHER SHALL
YE DIMINISH FROM IT, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloleichem, which I command you”. Davarim -
Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).
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With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven
Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Introduction:
Leviticus 26
presents the “Blessings and Curses”, a roadmap of the spiritual consequences
tied to
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Let us read Leviticus Chapter 26, verses 1-46: Below the verses are the Explanation’s. (The Chapter is from JPS-1917 version of the Torah).
Verses 1-2: “‘Ye shall make you no
idols, neither shall ye rear you up a graven image, or a pillar, neither shall
ye place any figured stone in your land, to bow down unto it; for I am יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloheichem (God). Ye shall keep
My Sabbaths, and reverence My sanctuary: I am יְהוָה - the
LORD.
Explanation Verses 1-2: The chapter
begins by reiterating the foundations of Jewish identity: the rejection of
idolatry and the sanctification of the Sabbath and the Sanctuary. This serves
as a prerequisite for all that follows, establishing that loyalty to God is
expressed through both what we refrain from (idols) and what we actively honour
(sacred time and space).
Verses 3-5: If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them; then I will give your rains in their season, and the land shall
yield her produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage
shall reach unto the sowing time; and ye shall eat your bread until ye have
enough, and dwell in your land safely.
Explanation Verses 3-5: The promise of
rain “in their season” highlights the dependency of the land on spiritual
merit. When the nation walks in God’s statutes, the natural world aligns with
their needs, creating a cycle of abundance where the harvest of one crop lasts
until the next, ensuring literal and metaphorical “bread to the full”.
Verses 6-10: And I will give peace in the
land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; and I will cause
evil beasts to cease out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your
land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall
before you by the sword. And 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. And I will have respect unto
you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you; and will establish My covenant with you. And ye shall eat
old store long kept, and ye shall bring forth the old from before the
new.
Explanation Verses 6-10): Peace is
described as the ultimate vessel for blessing. Abundance matters little if
there is fear; therefore, God promises the removal of “evil beasts” and the “sword”.
This security allows for exponential strength, where a small number of faithful
can overcome a multitude of adversaries, ensuring the nation’s growth and the
continuity of the covenant.
Verses 11-13: And I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor
you. And I will walk among you, and will be your אֱלֹהִים - Elohim
(God), and ye shall
be My people. I am יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloheichem, who brought you forth out of the
Explanation Verses 11-13: אֱלֹהִים - Elohim promises
to establish His “Tabernacle” among the people. This is the height of the
relationship: an intimate, dwelling Presence. By reminding the people that He
broke the “bars of your yoke” in Egypt, אֱלֹהִים - Elohim
establishes that the purpose of the Law is not to burden, but to allow the
individual to “walk upright” as a free beings.
Verses 14-17: But if ye will not hearken
unto Me, and will not do all these commandments; and if ye
shall reject My statutes, and if your soul abhor Mine ordinances, so that ye
will not do all My commandments, but break My covenant; I
also will do this unto you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption
and fever, that shall make the eyes to fail, and the soul to languish; and ye
shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And
I will set My face against you, and ye shall be
smitten before your enemies; they that hate you shall rule over you; and ye
shall flee when none pursueth you.
Explanation Verses 14-17: The “Tokhecha” (Admonition) begins here.
It describes the psychological and physical toll of turning away from the
covenant. The “terror” and “consumption” mentioned are the result of the vacuum
left when a person or nation rejects their spiritual source, leading to a state
where they flee even when no one pursues.
Verses 18-22: And if ye will not yet for
these things hearken unto Me, then I will chastise you
seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride
of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as
brass. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your
land shall not yield her produce, neither shall the trees of the land yield
their fruit. And if ye walk contrary unto Me, and will not hearken unto Me; I will bring seven times
more plagues upon you according to your sins. And I will
send the beast of the field among you, which shall rob you of your children,
and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your ways shall become
desolate.
Explanation Verses 18-22: If the initial
hardships do not prompt a return, the pressure increases sevenfold. The “iron
heavens” and “brass earth” represent a total cessation of natural blessing. The
land becomes stubborn, refusing to yield its strength, mirroring the
stubbornness of the people’s hearts.
Verses 23-26: And if in spite of these
things ye will not be corrected unto Me, but will walk
contrary unto Me; then will I also walk contrary unto you;
and I will smite you, even I, seven times for your sins. And
I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute the vengeance of the
covenant; and ye shall be gathered together within your cities; and I will send
the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread
in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight; and ye shall
eat, and not be satisfied.
Explanation Verses 23-26: The term keri (contrary/casualness)
appears here. If
Verses 27-33: And if ye will not for all
this hearken unto Me, but walk contrary unto Me; then I
will walk contrary unto you in fury; and I also will chastise you seven times
for your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and
the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. And I will
destroy your high places, and cut down your sun-pillars, and cast your
carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols; and My
soul shall abhor you. And I will make your cities a waste,
and will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the
savour of your sweet odours. And I will bring the land into
desolation; and your enemies that dwell therein shall be astonished at
it. And you will I scatter among the nations, and I will
draw out the sword after you; and your land shall be a
desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.
Explanation Verses 27-33: This section
describes the absolute breakdown of society and the onset of exile. The
desolation is so complete that the enemies who occupy the land will themselves
be “astonished at it”. The scattering among the nations is the ultimate
consequence of failing to provide the Land its required Sabbaths.
Verses 34-39: Then shall the land be paid
her Sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye
are in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and repay her Sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall
have rest; even the rest which it had not in your Sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon
it. And as for them that are left of you, I will send a
faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a
driven leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as one fleeth
from the sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. And they shall stumble one upon another, as it were before the
sword, when none pursueth; and ye shall have no power
to stand before your enemies. And ye shall perish among the
nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And
they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’
lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with
them.
Explanation Verses 34-39: The Land is
depicted as a living entity that finally receives the rest it was denied. While
the people waste away in the lands of their enemies, the earth “enjoys her Sabbaths”.
This emphasizes that the Earth belongs to the Creator, and its sanctity will be
upheld with or without the inhabitants' cooperation.
Verses 40-43: And they shall confess their
iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their treachery which they
committed against Me, and also that they have walked contrary unto Me. I also will walk contrary unto them, and bring them into the land
of their enemies; if then perchance their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and
they then be paid the punishment of their iniquity; then
will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and
also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the
land. For the land shall lie forsaken without them, and
shall be paid her Sabbaths, while she lieth desolate
without them; and they shall be paid the punishment of their iniquity; because,
even because they rejected Mine ordinances, and their soul abhorred My statutes.
Explanation Verses 40-43: The turning
point is confession. When the people acknowledge their “iniquity” and the “uncircumcised
heart” is humbled, the process of healing begins. Notably,
the text says אֱלֹהִים - Elohim will “remember
My covenant with Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham”. The order
is reversed (youngest to oldest), suggesting we lean back on the merit of the
patriarchs to find our way home.
Verses 44-45: And yet for all that, when
they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I
abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them; for I
am יְהוָה,
אֱלֹהֵיהֶם - the LORD their Elohheyhem
(God) But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of
their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of
the nations, that I might be their אֱלֹהִים - Elohim: I am יְהוָה - the
LORD.
Explanation Verses 44-45: These are the
most hopeful verses in the Torah. Despite the depth of the exile, אֱלֹהִים - Elohim declares
He will not “reject them” or “abhor them” to “destroy them utterly”. The
covenant made at Sinai remains valid regardless of the people’s failures. The
relationship is permanent; the exile is temporary.
Verse 46: These are the statutes and
ordinances and laws, which יְהוָה - the
LORD made between Him and the children of
Explanation Verse 46: This concluding
verse seals the entire book of Leviticus. It affirms that these laws are not merely
social contracts but are “statutes and ordinances and laws” given directly from
אֱלֹהִים - Elohim to Moses
at
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My Closing Message:
Leviticus 26 reminds us that our choices carry weight, yet we are never beyond
the reach of return. The chapter does not end with destruction, but with the “Covenant
of the Ancients”. It teaches us that while we may distance ourselves from our
Source, the Source never truly distances Himself from us. The goal of all
discipline is restoration, and the final word is always one of hope and remembrance.
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following via several of our prophets...
“The More Torah, the More Life”,
For Elohim is the One who
gave us our ... “Life!”
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