Daily Devotion | Leviticus 26:21–39 | 2026 April 01

Title: Daily Devotion | Leviticus 26:21–39 | 2026 April 01

Scripture: Leviticus 26:21–39 (ESV, reference only)

Date: 2026 April 01

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

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

Alright, dearly beloved brothers and sisters, peace be with you. We thank God for His grace that has brought us to a new day, to study our Daily Devotion. The passage we are studying today is Leviticus chapter 26, verses 21 to 39. Let us pray.

O God, we thank You for placing before us such a clear passage of Scripture, one that plainly writes of Your wrath against sin, and plainly writes of Your requirements for us. Lord, we ask that before such a passage we would tremble, fear, and stand in awe of Your majesty, Your glory, and thus repent and return to You. May You show mercy among us. Grant that we would truly have a heart that fears You. We pray and ask in Christ’s name. Amen.

Now let us look at this section, from verse 21 to verse 39. This is a very long section of curses. There is a great deal in it. Yesterday I already covered many of the preliminaries, so I will not repeat them here. But we truly do need to stop before these passages of cursing, and look at God’s majesty, God’s glory, and how God dealt with the Israelites, so that it may help us to repent.

Yesterday I mentioned that if the Israelites violated God’s commandments, they would have disease in their bodies, problems in their minds, and their bodies would also break down. Then, when they sowed grain, others would eat it. God would withhold rain, so that they would have no produce and bear no fruit. Then from verse 21 to verse 39, God’s curses keep being added and intensified. If, after these things, you still do not listen to God, then what will God do? He will bring disaster upon them sevenfold for their sins. Wild beasts will rob them of their children, devour their livestock, reduce their numbers, and make their roads desolate. That is, God will raise up wild animals to afflict them.

And if you compare this with the blessings, you see it even more clearly, do you not? What was said in the blessings? “I will not let wild beasts attack you,” right? “I will make your children increase,” right? This is the blessing in verse 6 of chapter 26. “And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land.” Right? So this is a heavier curse from God.

Then next, in verse 23, if you still do not repent and be corrected, but continue to walk contrary to Me, then I will strike you sevenfold for your sins. And at that time there will be war. The sword will come upon you. There will also be pestilence among you. And you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy. Then I will break your supply of bread, that is, I will cause you to suffer famine. So this is one disaster after another, showing that God’s wrath is continually increasing, is it not?

First there is mental confusion and physical sickness. Then the grain you sow is taken away by others. Then the land does not yield produce. After that come wild beasts. Then there is no fertility, no increase. And if even then they do not repent, still do not listen to My statutes, still do not keep My rules, then what? Then again, more will come. You will encounter enemies laying siege. You will encounter pestilence surrounding you. You will experience pestilence and famine. So all these things, brothers and sisters, these natural disasters, for Israel, were God’s punishment.

So here we can draw out two points. The first point is that we must not make light of these disasters. If a nation encounters pestilence, that means God’s wrath has come upon us, and that is why we experience what we call pestilence. What we experienced, beginning in 2019—well, really 2020, 2021, and 2022—was this global pestilence. This pestilence shows God’s striking of us. Then there is famine, and warfare, and war—these too are expressions of God’s wrath.

So through these things, you can look at the present world. Some people say, “This is talking about the Israelites; it has nothing to do with us.” That is not so. Actually, when we read the Bible, we must have spiritual eyes, because the way God works is usually this: although it is not exactly the same, it is similar. So these are things we too especially need to be careful about. For if that is the case, then in fact God is calling His people to repent.

Think about it: because of pestilence, we just went through a global plague. We are also in the midst of global war. Perhaps famine is coming too. So all these things are warnings for us to stay awake. That is the first point I want to make.

The second point is that once again we see, whether it is pestilence, famine, or war, who is the final controller of all these things? It is Jehovah. He is governing all of this. When the Israelites were disobedient, God used these means to strike them and to make His wrath known.

Then in verse 27, if you still do not repent—suppose your supply of food has already been cut off and you have already encountered famine—what if you still do not repent? Then the striking becomes even more severe. Verse 29 says that you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. That is, when you are besieged, your famine will become so severe that you can only eat the flesh of your own children. This is famine at its absolute extreme. It has reached the point where people are eating one another, the point of exchanging children and eating them.

And things like what appears here in verse 29—this discipline of God—actually appeared repeatedly in Israel’s history, not just once. If we read Kings, we can see that very clearly, right? When the prophet prayed and God withheld rain, that fulfilled verse 20. Later, when they were besieged and trapped in the city—right, when cities in Israel were under siege—there appeared this very situation of people eating their children.

Do you remember? Later, when Samaria was besieged, this happened. And when the city of Judah was besieged, this kind of thing also took place. According to church history, when the Roman general Titus laid siege to the city—this is not a biblical record, but a record from later history—when Israel was destroyed, they also had cases of people eating their children. This is clearly recorded in history. So what are all these things? They are all expressions of God’s wrath, appearing again and again throughout Israel’s history.

Then God says, “I will destroy your high places, and cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols.” Were they not worshiping idols? Fine, then I will cast your corpses upon your idols. Then you will become a wasteland. I will scatter you among the nations. I will unsheathe the sword after you. Your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste. This is their exile.

First Samaria was destroyed by Assyria. Later the kingdom of Judah was destroyed by Babylon. These things were all literally fulfilled in Israel’s history. Then in verse 34, while you are in the land of your enemies, your land shall enjoy its Sabbaths. As long as it lies desolate, it shall rest. It shall have the rest that it did not have in your Sabbath years while you were dwelling in it. Verses 34 to 35 are a very interesting insertion. Why does it suddenly mention rest here, and the Sabbath year?

Actually, here God is expressing this by way of judgment: if you do not keep My Sabbath years, I will use My own way to make the land enjoy its Sabbath—and that way is one you absolutely would not want. Namely, you will be taken away from this land. Once the land becomes desolate, then it has its Sabbath rest.

So some theologians have calculated it this way: Israel was desolate for seventy years—they were exiled for seventy years—so they estimated that over roughly 490 years of history, they had not kept the Sabbaths. Therefore, after God drove them away, He let the land keep Sabbath, and in that way the land enjoyed seventy years of rest. Now because our knowledge of chronology in history is not precise enough, we do not dare say that this particular school of theologians is certainly correct in its historical calculation. But their theology is surely correct.

That is, God required them to keep Sabbath there, did He not? To keep the Sabbath year, once every seven years. God commanded Sabbath. What if you do not keep it? Then if you do not keep it, I will help you keep it. So I will take you away from the land. In other words, God’s law must be obeyed. God’s law cannot simply go unenforced. The only thing is that when God comes to enforce His law, the way He does so may be something you are utterly unable to bear. So verses 34 and 35 are something we need to pay attention to.

And I think the warning here for us is this—and this is just my personal thought—if a person does not keep the Lord’s Day, never keeps it, then perhaps God may use His own way to make you keep it. For example, perhaps He may shorten your lifespan. Of course, this is only speculation. But in any case, the point is this: what God has ordained to be kept, what God has determined to do, if you do not do it, then God will do it in His own way. So verses 34 and 35 are inserted here precisely to tell you that you must keep the Sabbath year. If you do not, then I will use My own way to make the land keep the Sabbath year.

For that land is the land I have blessed. That land is Mine. I will preserve it and make it keep the Sabbath year. So all this is a reminder to us, brothers and sisters, and we must pay attention to our life of faith.

Then what about those who remain? In the land of their enemies, they will not have peace. The sound of a leaf driven by the wind will cause them to flee. They will flee as one flees from the sword, though no one pursues them. Even when no one is chasing them, they will stumble and fall. When someone actually attacks them, they will not be able to stand at all. You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. Those who are left among you shall rot away in your enemies’ lands because of their iniquity, and also because of the iniquities of their fathers.

Now verses 40 to 46, we will look at tomorrow. That is a passage of hope. Let us stop here today. I think there are many things here that we need to reflect on, things that we need to take seriously. We must not think that this has nothing to do with us.

First, in Israel’s history, all these things written in Scripture—these words of God—have all been fulfilled. Because they violated the law, they were besieged. First they were oppressed by Assyria, then destroyed by Babylon, and finally carried away into exile. All of these things were fulfilled in Israel’s history. So God’s word is God’s word—it must be fulfilled.

God brought them into the land of Canaan so that they would keep His statutes and His rules. But when they did not obey, God said the land would vomit them out. And in the end, Israel’s history shows that they truly were vomited out. God’s word came first. When you do not listen to God’s word, it will surely be fulfilled.

So from this perspective, I think we gain a completely new interpretation of history. What exactly is history? Is history just a series of accidental events, where suddenly a person rises up, and then an empire appears? No. The rise of history is because of God’s word. It is because of God’s will. It is because God has ordained history that history unfolds this way.

It is not that God sees that history will unfold in a certain way, and therefore He knows this person and raises him up, and then plans history according to that person. That is not the case. Rather, God first establishes a plan for history, and then within that history He raises up all kinds of people. So this should lead us to have a deeper fear of God.

We must not misunderstand history. We must not think that history is merely human history. History is God’s history. It is history ordained by God. Within it, all wars, famines, pestilences, and disasters—we must receive them from God. These are God’s expressions of wrath, God’s striking of humanity.

You can even push this further back—for example, to the Second World War, to the attempt to exterminate the Jews. Of course, historically, we have seen many films and documentaries. It is clear: people wanted to seize Jewish wealth; they hated the Jews; they wanted to eliminate them. That is a historical fact. But what should we see behind it?

So I think, of course, interpreting history this way may make some people feel uneasy, even horrified. It may make people feel that this is too harsh. But in reality, God’s word stands forever. This is Israel’s history: if they did not fear God, this was their outcome. So these histories continually remind us that God’s word is God’s word—it will surely be fulfilled.

And it again shows us that God is the Lord of history. All wars, pestilences, and disasters—including what we see today—you must interpret them this way. The wars we see now, the pestilences we have experienced—all of them are God’s means. This is the perspective that Christians should have. If we do not have this perspective, then we are already in error.

And then what should we do? We should learn to fear Him. When we look at history in this way, I think we will truly understand God’s intention. God’s striking of Israel was step by step, increasing. Now it has already reached the stage of war; it has not yet reached the stage of famine. But I think such days will not be far off. Why? Because humanity is too evil, and when people reject the true God, His wrath will come upon the land. And this is not only for Israel—it is also God’s intention toward all humanity.

Moreover, these disasters become more and more severe. At first, God gives you small warnings—these things are small warnings, telling you to pay attention and to repent. If you do not repent, He will increase it. If you still do not repent, He will increase it again, until it reaches the point where people eat one another, and then are exiled among the nations and destroyed by enemies.

So although this is spoken of Israel, in reality it also applies to all humanity. This is something we must be alert to. That is the first point.

Second, for us, we should not fall into excessive despair. Why? Because for us Christians, we have a Mediator. These passages of curse were spoken to Israel, and Israel did bear them. But the one who ultimately bore these curses is the Lord Jesus Christ.

For in the Lord Jesus Christ, He was truly cut off. He was nailed to the cross—we are now in the Passion Week—and He was crucified. He shed His precious blood to redeem us. This is our hope. Otherwise, when we read such passages, we would feel extremely distressed. Because we ourselves do not even know where we may sin; we are constantly sinning. If we had to face such punishment, we truly could not bear it. So we would be terrified, and we would quickly skip over such passages, saying, “Christ has fulfilled it.”

But I think we must proceed step by step. First, we must look clearly at these things. Then we reflect on Christ’s redemption—that He has borne all these consequences of sin. He loves us. What we should have suffered, He suffered in our place.

We should have borne famine, pestilence, disasters. We should have faced death. But the Lord Jesus Christ bore death for us. So before such passages of curse, how should we respond? We should love Jesus more, and reflect more deeply on what He has accomplished. This is what we must pay attention to.

And we must not live recklessly, nor remain ignorant of what Jesus has done, as if Jesus were some kind of Santa Claus, simply giving us gifts out of a stocking. No. Jesus came to bear the curses described in Leviticus chapter 26. For we were the ones who should have borne the curse, but He bore it for us. And thus we are freed from the curse and receive eternal life. We thank and praise the Lord.

Now, how should this passage be applied to ourselves? It has been fulfilled in Israel. It has been fulfilled in Christ. How about for us? We also need to be careful. As I mentioned yesterday, we should not connect our circumstances too tightly with these passages. But neither should we refuse to connect them at all. This is something you must seek in prayer.

Sometimes, when things happen in our lives, it truly is God reminding us. Do not completely ignore that God may use such means. Do not assume that it has nothing to do with you, as if God no longer works this way. That is not true. Sometimes God still uses such means to remind us. When we encounter certain situations, we should repent and think: “Where have I sinned against God?” and then immediately repent.

If you are not sensitive, God may increase the severity of the situation. If you still do not listen, He will increase it again. Since this pattern has been revealed in Scripture, it has not been completely set aside. Sometimes what happens in our lives is indeed God’s reminder.

We must quickly repent. Let me give an example, so that we do not misapply it too rigidly. Suppose someone invests several million in high-interest schemes or pooled investments, and then suffers a great loss. Of course, objectively speaking, he has been deceived. But perhaps this person has truly never given tithes, and in financial matters has only lived for himself.

Then how do you connect this situation? I think it is quite possible that this is God’s discipline regarding his finances. If you treat money as entirely your own, and are unwilling to use it for God’s purposes, then God may use His own way to show you that such an attitude toward money is not beneficial to you. He may use this experience of being deceived to bring you to repentance and to lead you to fear Him more.

So I am reminding you: God may indeed use such methods. When we encounter things, we must be willing to repent and be sensitive. If brothers and sisters exhort us to obey God’s law, we should repent. If we have clearly violated God’s law and then encounter such events, we should consider whether we have sinned against God and need to repent.

At the same time, when such discipline comes upon us, there is still hope. Verses 40 to 46 show that hope—we will discuss that tomorrow. This discipline is not despair; it is love. Do not think, “God is treating me badly, so I will move further away from Him.” That kind of response is very dangerous. It will only lead you further and further away.

Instead, we must listen to correction. God is already reminding us through these means. First, He uses preachers, pastors, and fellow believers to remind you: “You need to repent.” If you do not listen, then God begins to act, step by step, increasing the severity. At that point, you must repent and turn back.

Of course, as I said, not every situation can be so tightly connected. I do not dare say that every event is directly God’s method. But I am reminding you that this method is not one that God never uses. This is something we must take seriously.

At the same time, we have peace. Jesus Christ has borne our sins. So we repent sincerely in Christ, and pursue God faithfully. I believe that God’s blessings will also guide us. But again, even regarding blessing, we must not connect things too rigidly—just like these curses.

In Jesus Christ, whether God gives us blessings or not, we give thanks. And so, within these passages of blessing and curse, we receive pastoral nourishment for our lives. We come to fear God and not act recklessly.

We must know that this God is a consuming fire. He is not one to be treated lightly, as if we could casually offend Him and ignore Him. That is a very dangerous posture. So when we stay longer in these passages of curse, we see His majesty, His holiness, and His glory, and thus we develop a heart that fears Him.

And within that fear, there is indeed an element of trembling. You should fear God. If you do not fear God at all, that is a serious problem. Some teachings try hard to remove fear of God, saying, “Do not be afraid, God loves us.” But they do not understand this love. As I have said before, it is not a love that indulges, not a love that satisfies desires, but a guiding love—a holy love.

Alright, we will stop our sharing here for today. Thank you, everyone.