Lev 26:16-43 | TNotes

26:18 ^a seven times over: I.e., many times (see also 26:21 ^b, 24 ^c, 28 ^d; Gen 4:15 ^e).
Summary for Lev 26:19-20: 26:19-20 ^f If God withholds rain, the ground will be hard and unproductive.
26:29 ^g Starvation would so pervade the land that when a child died of hunger, he or she would be eaten, in pagan fashion, by the others in the family (Deut 28:53-57 ^h; see 2 Kgs 6:24-31 ⁱ; Lam 2:20 ^j; cp. 2 Kgs 3:27 ^k).
26:30 ^l The pagan shrines mentioned here were the infamous “high places” built on hilltops (see 2 Kgs 18:4 ^m). These shrines incorporated elements from pre-Israelite religions into Israel’s worship and challenged the Temple for religious authority.

• places of worship (Hebrew khamman): Perhaps “incense altars.” Some of these altars were used in Baal worship (2 Chr 34:4 ⁿ).
26:34 ^o With the people gone into captivity in a foreign land, there would be no one to work the land. It would at last have the “rest” of lying fallow that the people had denied it (see 25:1-7 ^p).
Summary for Lev 26:36-39: 26:36-39 ^q Disastrous defeat and captivity would later be the fate of both Israel and Judah (see study notes on 18:28; 26:14-39).
Summary for Lev 26:40-45: 26:40-45 ^r The chapter ends with a message of hope: Even after Israel violated the covenant and experienced judgment, reconciliation and restoration remained possible if the people confessed and repented (see study note on 4:20). God’s grace had not been taken away. God did not want to destroy his people; he would restore them if they would only humble themselves and repent (see also 2 Chr 7:14 ^s).
26:41 ^t Physical circumcision of males was the mark of God’s covenant with Israel (Gen 17:9-14 ^u; Exod 4:25-26 ^v). Stubborn hearts (literally uncircumcised hearts) do not love God and demonstrate it by persistent disobedience. God promised to “circumcise” Israel’s uncircumcised hearts so that the people could love him (see also Deut 10:16 ^w; 30:6 ^x; Jer 4:4 ^y; Ezek 36:25-27 ^z).
26:42 ^aa God had begun his covenant with Abraham (then called Abram, Gen 15:18 ^ab) and continued it with Isaac (Gen 17:19 ^ac) and Jacob (Exod 2:24 ^ad). Jacob’s twelve sons were the ancestors of Israel’s twelve tribes. Israel’s liberation from Egypt and settlement in Canaan were based on God’s promises to their ancestors, not on the Israelites’ own virtues (Deut 9:4-5 ^ae).