GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

Passage: Leviticus 26:34-46

Key verse: 42

NIV

34 Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate(A) and you are in the country of your enemies;(B) then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 35 All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest(C) it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.

36 “‘As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf(D) will put them to flight.(E) They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them.(F) 37 They will stumble over one another(G) as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies.(H) 38 You will perish(I) among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you.(J) 39 Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their ancestors’(K) sins they will waste away.(L)

40 “‘But if they will confess(M) their sins(N) and the sins of their ancestors(O)—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me, 41 which made me hostile(P) toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts(Q) are humbled(R) and they pay(S) for their sin, 42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob(T) and my covenant with Isaac(U) and my covenant with Abraham,(V) and I will remember the land. 43 For the land will be deserted(W) by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected(X) my laws and abhorred my decrees.(Y) 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies,(Z) I will not reject them or abhor(AA) them so as to destroy them completely,(AB) breaking my covenant(AC) with them. I am the Lord their God. 45 But for their sake I will remember(AD) the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt(AE) in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.’”

46 These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the Lord established at Mount Sinai(AF) between himself and the Israelites through Moses.(AG)

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

34 (A)“Then the land shall enjoy[a] its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies' land; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, the rest that it did not have on your Sabbaths when you were dwelling in it. 36 And as for those of you who are left, (B)I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The (C)sound of a (D)driven leaf shall put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall when none pursues. 37 They shall stumble over one another, as if to escape a sword, though none pursues. And (E)you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. 38 And you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And those of you who are left shall (F)rot away in your enemies' lands because of their iniquity, and also because of the iniquities of their fathers they shall rot away like them.

40 “But if (G)they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they (H)committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, 41 so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their (I)uncircumcised heart is (J)humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will (K)remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will (L)remember the land. 43 But (M)the land shall be abandoned by them and enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them, and they shall make amends for their iniquity, because they spurned my rules and their soul abhorred my statutes. 44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, (N)I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and (O)break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. 45 But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers, (P)whom I brought out of the land of Egypt (Q)in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.”

46 (R)These are the statutes and rules and laws that the Lord made between himself and the people of Israel through Moses (S)on Mount Sinai.

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Footnotes
  1. Leviticus 26:34 Or pay for; twice in this verse; also verse 43
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

While they were in exile, the land would have its sabbath rests and be able to restore its nutrients. God loved the promised land and would restore it for their return from exile to live again as his holy people with humble hearts.

Verses 36-39 describe how anxious and fragile the people remaining in the land would become. They would totally despair and lose all their spirit and shake at even the slightest blowing of the wind. Without the Lord’s blessing, people lose everything even if they remain in the promised land.

Verses 4

-46 describe how the Lord would restore them if they repented. He would remember his covenant with the patriarchs of faith Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and he would bring his people back to the promised land. Even while they were in the land of their enemies, God would not reject them completely because of his faithfulness to his promises to their ancestors.

Faithful God would send his own Son as the promised Messiah who would die as a curse on the cross in our places. Only faith in Jesus can set us free from the curse of sin, not our own obedience.

Prayer: Father, thank you for your great faithfulness in spite of our rebellion. Thank you for remembering your promises to us when we repent.

One Word: Repent and be restored to the Lord who is faithful to his promises