The Discipline For Disobedience

Leviticus 26:14–39
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God is a God of holiness and those that disobey His law have judgment resting upon them. This section on curses is much more extensive than the blessings section. As a disobedient nation Israel would not only miss the rewards of obedience, but suffer pestilence (v. 16, 25), famine (v. 19), wild beasts (v. 22), and the sword of war and desolation (vv. 25-39).

a. Distress from illness, famine, and defeat (vv. 14-17). The discipline for disobedience and covenant unfaithfulness brought physical and metal diseases, stolen crops and defeat by enemies.

b. Drought and a bad harvest (vv. 18-20). The reference to the sky above being like iron and the ground beneath like bronze pictures how hard the ground was as it suffered from lack of rain.

c. Dread of dangerous animals (vv. 21-22). Imagine the terror in a nation where hungry beasts were on the prowl and wild beasts would kill cattle and humans, especially the children.

d. Disease following desolation by enemies (vv. 23-26). War, famine and plague usually go together.  Here are people, crowded into a walled city, circled by the enemy, and they run out of food.

e. Devastation and killings (vv. 27-31). Their cities were leveled to the ground. Famine caused the people to do things that were inhuman , such as killing and eating their own children.

f. Deportation from the land. (vv. 32-39). The final climax of God’s chastisements was dispersion and deportation from the land. Those who survived the slaughter lived in constant fears. 

Application

Lord help me to never be a disobedient child of yours and have to come under your judgement.