If You Will - If you Will Not Leviticus 26

Leviticus 26:2 "Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary, I am the Lord."

Outline:
v1 Of idolatry
v2 Religiousness
v2 A blessing to them that keep the commandments
v14 A curse to those that break them
v40 God promiseth to remember them that repent

"The sins ye do by two and two ye must pay for one by one.' Kipling, Tomlinson

Chapter 26 is a chapter of 'if you will obey' and If you will not obey'. There is glory for Israel if they obey the commandments of the Lord. Verse 3 states it "If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and o them; " Then it goes on to list all the blessings God will bestow on Israel just for doing what they are suppose to do.

V4 The land will produce plenty.
v5 It will be safe in the land.
v6 There will be peace.
v7 Enemies will be defeated.
v9 The Lord will have respect for Israel and multiply them.
v10 They will not run out.
v11 The Lord's tabernacle will be among the people.

Then in verse 12 we see a flashback to the garden where the Lord walked in the cool of the day and meet with Adam and Eve. Genesis 3: 8 "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day;..."

"And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people."

v13 reminds Israel of whom they owe their escape from Egypt.

Then verse 14 starts the punishment for not doing the things commanded. As we study other books of the Bible we will see that Israel chose to rebel and suffer the punishment.

"But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;"

Reference Deuteronomy 28:15 .

Verse 6 said they would have peace when doing God's commands. Verse 15 says they will have sorrow when they choose to rebel.

Verse 7 speaks of the enemies being afraid of them. Verse 16 talks of the terror they would feel when they rebel.

Then if rebellion continues the punishment increases and Israel will be scattered and the land desolate. v33

The great nation would decrease to desperation for food to the point of eating their own young in verse 29. See II Kings 6:29. Israel has slipped into a sad state of affairs because of sin.

But the Lord will not forget Israel even then and will remember the covenants he made with Abraham, Issac and Jacob. v42.

V45 " 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 heathen, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.

Knowing the greatness that Israel enjoys under such kings as David and Solomon and the tender care the Lord shed on the people through the years we are studying, it is sad to know the way they rebelled in later books of the Bible and see the punishment they suffered. It is similar to raising a child in church and under the daily instruction of the Bible only to see the pain they cause themselves by fleeing what they know to be the right way to live. They do themselves great harm just as Israel did. It was written down in this chapter in plain words: the 'if you will' but 'if you will not'. There were no surprises. The heathen had no such close instruction but Israel was without excuse.

Psalm 146:17 "The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works."

v18 "The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth."