Daily Devotion | Leviticus 26:14–20 | 2026 March 31

Title: Daily Devotion | Leviticus 26:14–20 | 2026 March 31

Scripture: Leviticus 26:14–20 (ESV, reference only)

Date: 2026 March 31

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

Dear brothers and sisters, peace be with you. We thank God for His grace, that we have come to a new day to study Daily Devotion. The passage we are studying today is Leviticus chapter 26, verses 14 through 26. Let us pray. God, we thank You. We thank You that You are willing to treat us with such grace and mercy. Lord, You have set these statutes and rules before us in order to remind us of Your wrath against sin, and we also thank You that You never abandon Your covenant. Lord, You always save us within the covenant. May You show grace to us, lead us, and be with us. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Alright. After finishing the blessings for obeying the law, we now come to the following passage. What we see today is the curse upon those who do not listen to the law. I know that when many brothers and sisters read this part, they feel very uncomfortable in their hearts, because the word “curse” is of course a very terrible word. What we fear most is being cursed. At the same time, the curse of God in this passage really is extremely severe. It makes people feel horrified inside and fearful that they themselves might fall under such a curse.

But before we begin today, I want to comfort everyone first: this curse is beneficial to us. Someone may say, “Pastor Chen, how can you say that even the curse is beneficial?” Because there is something worse than the curse. You may say, “What could be worse than the curse?” I will tell you now: what is worse than the curse is to be cast outside the covenant. Let me say it again: what is worse than the curse is to be cast outside the covenant. Because both blessing and curse are still within the covenant. So the greatest punishment for a person is not to include him in this covenant, and then within this covenant to cast him away. That is the most dreadful thing.

Today we are only speaking about one half of it. Tomorrow we will speak about the other half. Later on, you will see that, strictly speaking, this covenantal blessing and covenantal curse do not finally amount to the worst thing. The blessing within the covenant is God’s reward, and the curse within the covenant is God’s discipline toward us.

So after you have studied Leviticus, you must have this clear concept. Do not become especially distressed as soon as you see the word “curse,” as if God were going to reject you. No, He is not. This is a curse within the covenant. It is God’s discipline toward His people. You may think of it this way: being cursed and being trained and disciplined are, in this context, the same idea. In the Bible, do not think that a curse means being rejected. In fact, being rejected is the worst thing of all. That means God no longer pays attention to you and no longer fulfills the covenant toward you.

If you read these passages about the curse with that perspective, you will be especially comforted. Why? Because God goes to such effort to discipline us and punish us, yet His purpose is still to make us repent. Truly we thank the Lord, because that gives us great peace in our hearts. Otherwise, as soon as you see these passages about the curse, your heart becomes tense. You wonder, “If God is treating me like this, is He going to reject me?” No. In everything, His desire is still that you would repent. So the greatest peace for a covenant people is this: even though in the covenant you may be disciplined and you may be cursed, you are still covenant people. As long as you are willing to repent, God will still raise you up again. This is the revelation of the whole Bible. This is also what we mean in the five points when we speak of the perseverance of the saints. Whoever has been chosen by God, God will certainly preserve to the end.

It is just that the manner of that preservation differs. If we obey the law, then the way He preserves us is by blessing us and rewarding us. If we disobey the law, then the way He preserves us is by disciplining us and cursing us. But His purpose is still to preserve us to the end.

So if you read passages about the curse with that perspective, you will have great peace. Obviously, this is not some uniquely Reformed idea, as though the Reformed tradition were forcing the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints onto the text, and then trying to comfort everyone by saying that the curse does not matter. Nor is this merely Pastor Chen’s misunderstanding. Absolutely not. When we talk again tomorrow, this will become even clearer. In the later part of the passage—tomorrow’s passage, especially at the end—verses 40 through 46 will tell you very clearly that this is a curse within the covenant, a discipline within the covenant. So do not have an excessively panic-stricken reaction. Of course, sin must be disciplined. As a group, some people may even be killed. But the truly elect of God will not be lost.

So this is the peace you should have when reading this passage of curse. At the same time, this is also a warning, just like the warnings in Hebrews. It is a warning, and we must be especially careful. So the emphasis is still repentance—repentance within the covenant. Therefore, we should not look at this from an overly negative angle. On the contrary, why has this passage of curse been placed in the Bible? It is there to remind us, exhort us, and warn us. If we do not listen to His word, He will treat us in this way. And God indeed treated the Israelites in this way. But God still did not cast them off. That is the peace we have when we read these passages of curse. So everyone, do not panic too much. Rather, look carefully at it, so that you yourselves may avoid falling under such a curse and instead fall under blessing.

Alright, now let us look specifically at the text. Verse 14 says, “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments…” Then verse 15 says, “if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant…” So verses 14 and 15 describe people ignoring God’s covenant. They are covenant people, but they completely disregard God’s commandments. They still go their own way. They do not treat themselves as the elect people, and in their conduct they do not live in a manner worthy of the calling they have received. They insist on refusing to listen.

A good child is rewarded, right? Then what about a bad child? A bad child is still God’s child. Even a bad child is still a child. That is where your peace comes from. So what happens to the bad child? The text says, “then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache.” In other words, for those who do not obey the law, God first causes you to be filled with panic. Why panic? It means you are anxious all day long. Why are you anxious all day long? Because you are afraid—afraid of this, afraid of that. Now whether the thing you fear will actually happen or not is not the main point. The important thing is that you are panicked. You always live in a kind of fear.

Perhaps ordinary people do not have that kind of fear. The same thing happens to others, yet why are you especially sensitive and especially terrified? That shows that God is disciplining you. Why? Because you have not followed His statutes and His rules. Panic—this is the first punishment.

Then there is wasting disease that makes the eyes fail and the soul waste away. This may not necessarily refer to a bodily disease in the narrow sense. Rather, it points to a kind of deep inward depletion, a severe consumption of one’s spirit—constantly exhausting yourself over things, staying restless, spending your energy on all kinds of things without peace. In some ways this resembles certain symptoms we see today, like some forms of mental illness: being very flustered, always pushing yourself intensely to do things, and yet having no peace. This is a mark of God’s discipline. Therefore they must obey the law in order to be delivered from such a curse.

Then fever may simply refer to all kinds of burning sicknesses. So this is how we need to look at these things one by one. Do not skip over them too quickly. This is telling us that if we do not keep God’s statutes and rules, God first causes our bodies to feel unwell—panic in spirit, as though there were no obvious sickness and no obvious problem, and yet somehow one remains anxious all day long. Then there are also fevers and bodily afflictions.

So when we read these passages, brothers, what do we do? First, we absolutely must not say that if we have these things, then it must mean that we committed some specific sin. We should not make that kind of overly specific connection. But on the other hand, we should not completely ignore the connection either. Sometimes we really may be under God’s angry discipline. But this discipline is not a rejection of you. It is meant to lead you to repentance.

So if you discover sin in yourself, then repent immediately. That is a good thing. So here I want to remind everyone that when we encounter certain things, of course we should consider whether we have sinned somewhere. If we truly realize it, then quickly confess your sin. But do not become too tangled up, as though you must definitely find that one sin at all costs. Sometimes that may not be the case. So in such situations, do not make the connection too tightly.

But also do not make no connection at all. That is what I want to remind you of. Do not fall under discipline and then simply act as though it does not matter at all—“It’s okay, Jesus loves me.” Jesus loves you for the purpose of making you repent. So if you fall under discipline, then you should repent. That means if we are very sure of God’s love for us, then even when God disciplines us, we will not panic. We will not hear about discipline and then immediately say, “Does this mean God does not want me anymore?” No, no. Discipline is what God rightly gives to those mischievous children in His household. And Hebrews especially comforts us with this: the one who is not disciplined is an illegitimate child; the one who is disciplined is a son.

Alright, this speaks of bodily sickness—sickness in spirit and in flesh. Then it says, “You shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.” That is, what you labor for will be taken by others. Do not think that just because you worked very hard, you will enjoy the fruit of your labor. In the end, your enemy will eat what you sow. You see how this forms a contrast with what came earlier. Earlier you had more than enough to eat. But now, the work you do will be taken away by others. You did a hundred yuan worth of work, but you were paid only twenty yuan. Why? Because you did not obey the law.

So here again God is reminding us, brothers and sisters, again and again, that He is the sovereign Lord over everything. He is the source of blessing, and He is also the source of discipline. He holds in His hands everything in this human world. Therefore, we must receive all these things from God’s hand.

For example, suppose I encounter unfair treatment. Suppose my wages are withheld. Suppose I did a hundred yuan worth of work and received only twenty yuan. What is the reason? Of course, not every case is necessarily like this. I already said we should not make the connection too tight. But neither is there no connection at all. It may really be because you have offended God, because you sinned and offended Him. So what should you do? You should confess your sin and repent. Why? Because all of this is in God’s hands. You must receive it from God’s hand.

Of course, after you repent, whether you should then use civil means to sue the person—that is another matter. But first, you must repent. I think this is something we need to pay attention to. These passages of curse are reminding us of things that I think we often overlook, and I think they are very precious things. Do not look at these passages of curse as though they are only negative, and then just glance over them and move on. No. On the contrary, since all of it is God’s word, we must ponder what He is telling us. Do not miss God’s teaching to us, even in passages about the curse.

Then it goes on to say, “I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you.” Look at this. This curse has several parts. First, there is mental sickness and bodily sickness. Then the grain you sow is taken away by others. Then when you face enemies in battle, you will fail. You will not be able to defeat them. And those who hate you will rule over you. Even when no one is chasing you, you will run away. Earlier the text said that five of you would chase a hundred, and a hundred of you would chase ten thousand—that one could stand against a hundred. But now, if you disobey my commandments, then do not talk about one standing against a hundred. No matter how many people you have, you still will not be able to defeat them. Why? Because I am the one making you unable to defeat them.

So here God is reminding His people that victory and defeat in war, and the health of your body as well, are all in My hand. This is something we must learn here. These are truths we must learn from this passage.

Alright. Then verse 18 says, “And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins.” In other words, when these smaller disciplines from God come upon us, wise children should immediately turn back and say, “God, what You say is right.” They should immediately repent and do the things that are pleasing to God. But if we do not do that, then what is the result? God will punish our sins seven times over.

So we need to be sensitive. I have said that we should not make the connection too tight, but we also cannot make no connection at all. Sometimes it really is God disciplining us. Then what happens? He punishes us sevenfold. It says, “I will break the pride of your power.” That means all the things you rely on will be taken away. “And I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.” What does it mean that the heavens are like iron and the earth like bronze? It means that no rain comes from heaven and no food comes from the land. That is what it means. God will turn the land of Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey, into a land of curse. And what is the reason? You did not obey My statutes and My rules.

You shall spend your strength in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit. In an agricultural society, this is an extremely severe curse. All your labor comes to nothing. The heavens give no rain. Drought comes. Then the land produces nothing for you. Even if you sow, it is useless. In fact, what you harvest may not even equal the seed you planted.

And what is the reason for this? Because you violated God’s commandments, His statutes, and His rules. God sent prophets to remind you, yet you still did not repent. So He adds it sevenfold to you. Therefore, the message we are to receive here is that God governs everything. God governs every detail of our work and our life. If we obey the law, God blesses us. If we violate the law, God resists us and causes us to labor and gain nothing.

Of course, as I have said, we should not make the connection too tight, but neither can we refuse to make any connection at all. Now here there is a question that I want to address. Some people, influenced by certain teachings, may say that only repentance that happens within love is truly effective. They say that only when we repent in a state of feeling God’s love is it truly beneficial. This kind of view contains a certain portion of truth. In fact, I myself used to teach in this way.

But now, under the revelation of Scripture, I have made some adjustments. What is this adjustment? We should still believe the Word of God. We should not use human psychological perspectives to evaluate our transformation of behavior. Of course, our change in behavior needs to be motivated by love—that is certain. God has already motivated us, has He not? “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” It says earlier, “I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.” This calls us to gratitude. Gratitude is one of the motivations for our repentance.

But it is only one of the motivations. The fear of punishment, the fear of curse, and the hope of reward should also be motivations for our repentance. Now this may seem somewhat inconsistent with what we often say in our theological frameworks. It may seem not very “high-level,” right? You may say that a person who repents out of gratitude—how good that is. But if someone repents because he hopes for reward or fears discipline, then that motivation seems not so “noble.” I used to think this way as well, partly because of certain teachings, and partly because of my own sinful nature. So I cannot blame others.

But now, under the light of Scripture’s revelation, I think that such an understanding of Scripture and of God may be somewhat shallow. Certainly, God uses grace to move us and draw us, just as verse 13 told us earlier. But God also uses the hope of reward and the fear of discipline to guide us. This is not a matter of whether something is more “advanced” or not. This is simply human nature. God knows that we need to be guided in this way, and therefore it is recorded in Scripture.

So I think this is a reminder for us, especially for those of us who engage in theological education—including myself as a pastor—that we must be corrected by Scripture. Sometimes we have a kind of illusion, or we have been taught by others, that only change that happens on the basis of gratitude, only change that happens within love, is good, is right, and is the only correct path. Does this statement have truth in it? Of course it does. But is it fully consistent with Scripture? From my current perspective, perhaps not necessarily.

Why do I say this? Because Scripture contains so many passages about blessing and about curse, and there are warnings and exhortations. If you say that our motivation has only one source—that we change only out of love—I think this does not quite align with Scripture. On the contrary, we should not be overly fixated on analyzing our motives for change. Our motives for change are actually quite complex. There is love, there is hope for reward, there is fear of punishment. All of these are reasonable. We should not think that there is only one way—only love—and that we must feel this love, and only then can we change in a way that is truly biblical.

I think this is not necessarily fully consistent with Scripture, especially when we come to today’s passage. I myself am also reflecting, and I am also growing. The theology I have learned, I am also reconsidering. Should we simplify motives so much? Should I insist that I must examine my heart until I find that I am full of love for God? In reality, sometimes our fear of God’s discipline can also help us to obey the law. This motivation in itself does not violate Scripture; it does not violate the law.

So I think we should not immediately dislike passages about the curse as soon as we see them. Nor should we say that since Jesus Christ has already borne the curse, we no longer need to think about the curse or read these passages. I think this perspective is somewhat too one-sided. It is certainly true that Jesus Christ has borne all our sins and transgressions. Jesus Christ has carried our iniquities. Jesus Christ has borne the consequence of sin, died on the cross, and shed His precious blood to redeem us. This is absolutely true.

But the purpose of Christ doing this is to bring us into the covenant. Therefore, the blessings and curses within the covenant are still meaningful for us. Although they are not necessarily applied in a strict one-to-one correspondence, we still recognize that these warnings, exhortations, disciplines, and cautions are beneficial for us. Even the fact that we turn back because of these warnings is reasonable. This kind of motivation is a motivation that is consistent with Scripture.

This is what I have observed and reflected upon in this passage. So I think here we should not be overly influenced by certain theological formulations. I myself used to teach in that way as well, so this is not to blame anyone. I am also reflecting. Ultimately, what kind of change truly conforms to Scripture? Perhaps each of us must return to Scripture again. Since Scripture records these things, then at least in today’s passage I can say with certainty that God considers both the hope of reward and the fear of punishment to be legitimate motivations for repentance, and motivations that are consistent with Scripture.

Of course, the central emphasis still returns to verse 13: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” This is a passage that should lead us to gratitude. We must be grateful. The reason we do these things is not because we deserve the reward, but because God has given us grace. God has saved us, and we ought to respond to Him. This is our duty as human beings.

But even more importantly, Jesus Christ has brought us into this covenant. And within this covenant, the hope of reward and the fear of punishment are also reasonable motivations for our transformation. May God help us and lead us, so that we may be more deeply shaped by Scripture. I myself also need to be shaped by Scripture, so that we may better obey God’s statutes and rules, and so that God’s glory may be manifested in us.

Alright, our sharing today can only go this far. Thank you, everyone.