Ey – Discipline for Disobedience 26: 14-39

Discipline for Disobedience
26: 14-39

Discipline for disobedience DIG: What is the difference between punishment and discipline? Why is the list of discipline much longer than the list of blessings? How is God merciful in this progression of discipline? What control did the Israelites have in the seven stages? Why did Moshe use the word discipline in Leviticus and the word curses in Deuteronomy?

REFLECT: Has human nature changed much since these lists of blessings and discipline were written? In what ways is today’s Church no different than ancient Isra’el? What control do we have in God’s discipline in our lives? How has God shown mercy to you in discipline? When has He been merciful in teaching you in an area of your life where you needed discipline?

The goal of discipline is to bring about change, as any loving parent would do.

It can be observed that the book of Leviticus begins with the teaching about the sacrificial system (to see link click Ag – The Mitzvot of the Offerings) and finishes with evidence of the blatant need for those sacrifices. This literary feature is a masterful touch by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, turning Leviticus into a complete instructional manual for the priests, the spiritual leaders of Isra’el. Not only did they need to know how to administer the sacrifices, they also had to be thoroughly indoctrinated into the reasons for the sacrifices. What better way to teach them this concept than to lay out the stipulations for the covenant and then the consequences for being faithful or unfaithful to them? This, in essence, is the nature of the contents of this final parashah of Leviticus, Parashah B’Chukotai.

If God’s children refuse to obey ADONAI’s mitzvot faithfully, He will discipline them (see the commentary on Hebrews Cz – God Disciplines His Children) for their failure to maintain their part of the covenantal agreement. The suzerain-vassal treaties of the ancient world (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Ah – The Treaty of the Great King) were normally characterized by an imbalance of blessings and discipline. The more discipline the better; all the more to accent the danger of unfaithfulness.⁵²⁸ There is a big difference between punishment or curses and discipline. In Leviticus 26:23 the text actually uses the word discipline (Hebrew: yasar). However, in Deuteronomy, Moshe used a different word (Hebrew: arar) for curses (see  Deuteronomy Ff – Curses for Disobedience). The goal of punishment is to inflict pain upon someone for what they have done wrong; discipline, on the other hand, is strictly for the purpose of bringing about change in the person for their own good, as any loving parent would do.⁵²⁹

Many commentators have observed a gradual worsening in the severity of the discipline. They are not meant for revenge, but to influence the Israelites to repent. The discipline is delivered in seven stages of increasing severity if Isra’el failed to respond. This would show the kindness and mercy of ADONAI in that although Isra’el would be despising the Torah, He would give gradual warnings instead of inflicting a single blow without warning.⁵³⁰

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You that Your character never changes. You always have lovingkindness, or “chesed”, for me. Even in the midst of painful times and trials, Your love is still wrapped tightly around me as King David wrote in Psalms 63 when he was in the wilderness of Judah, his life in danger from King Sha’ul who was pursuing him with the army to kill him. Since Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You (Psalms 63:3). David says that what helped him to not get all upset, nor to complain. So, I looked for You in the Sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory (Psalms 63:2). When I focus on Your great power and trust in You to bring glory to Yourself thru any hard situation, then I can view discipline in a positive light.  These trials are so that the true metal of your faith (far more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire) may come to light in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua (First Peter 1:7).

You discipline in love, knowing when the time is right. When You do discipline it is not meant as revenge nor to hurt me; rather You discipline for my own good – to bring me to repentance so You can forgive me. My son, do not take lightly the discipline of ADONAI or lose heart when you are corrected by Him, because ADONAI disciplines the one He loves and punishes every son He accepts (Hebrews 12:5b-6).

It is kind of You to discipline, for You are seeking to bless with forgiveness; but that can only happen when I turn from my sin, repent, and ask for forgiveness. But you, O man -judging those practicing such things yet doing the same – do you suppose that you will escape the judgment of God?  Or do you belittle the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience – not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance (Romans 2:3-4)? Thank You for being such a wonderful, wise and loving Heavenly Father who cares and watches carefully over me to bring them back when I stray – so you when I repent, You can bless me. In the Name of the One who sits at Your right hand. Amen

The first stage – sickness, crop failure and warfare (26:14-17): But if you will not listen to me and obey all these mitzvot, if you loathe my regulations and reject my rulings, in order not to obey all my mitzvot but cancel my covenant: then I, for My part, will do this to you: I will bring terror upon you – wasting sickness and chronic fever to dim your sight and sap your strength. You will sow your seed for nothing, because your enemies will eat the crops. I will set My face against you – your enemies will defeat you, those who hate you will hound you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.

Sickness and plague are a result of sin. But does this mean that every sickness, mishap, loss and failure is the direct consequence of sin? It is neither safe nor healthy to believe that. God’s ways are infinitely higher than our own, His thoughts are infinitely beyond ours. It is utterly impossible for us to make direct correlations between sin and being disciplined. It is folly to suppose that one who has been stricken with leukemia (God forbid) is more sinful than a person who has not. The Master refuted such simplistic theologies (Matthew 9:1-7 and John 9:1-3). The book of Job refutes such theology. Yet it is probably not entirely unhealthy for us to regard our own sickness and infirmities as opportunities for taking God’s correcting our lifestyle choices which might be a contributing factor. But the sickness, crop failure and warfare here in Leviticus should be understood as discipline on a national level.

The second stage – drought and the destruction of the Temple (26:18-20): The first stage should have been enough to move the Israelites towards repentance. Hopefully, after being disciplined with sickness, crop failure and warfare, they would seek after YHVH. But if not, they would experience drought and the destruction of the Temple. If these things don’t make you listen to me, then I will discipline you seven times over for your sins. I will break the pride you have in your own power. This same exact phrase is used in Ezeki’el 24:21 to refer to the Temple as ADONAI-Elohim prepared to destroy it, saying: I am about to profane My Sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes and your heart’s desire. Your sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die by the sword. And not only that, I will make your sky like iron, your soil like bronze (a poetic description of drought and agricultural failure) – you will spend your strength in vain, because the land will not yield its produce or the trees in the field their fruit. This reverses the blessing of 26:4. God is in control, and no other deity retains the power to provide rain or withhold it.

The third stage – wild animals (26:21-22): If this were not adequate to convince Isra’el of her need to repent, ADONAI promised to increase the discipline seven times with a plague of wild beasts. Yes, if you go against me and don’t listen to me, I will increase your calamities sevenfold, according to your sins. I will send wild animals among you; they will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock and reduce your numbers, until your roads are deserted. After the Israelite deportation, God sent lions to attack the Samaritans who settled the Land. The attack was so dreadful that the Samaritans requested help from the Israelite priesthood to learn the fear ADONAI (Second Kings 17:24-28). Moreover, through the prophet Ezeki’el, Ha’Shem warned the people of the doomed generation of the fall of Jerusalem, saying: Yes, I will send famine and savage beasts upon you to leave you without children (Ezeki’el 5:17).

The fourth stage – siege (26:23-26): If this was still not enough to bring about repentance, the LORD promised to bring upon the nation His sword of vengeance. This sword was an invading army. The discipline of a massive invasion in which the inhabitants of the rural areas retreat to the safety of walled cities. If, in spite of all this, you refuse my discipline and still go against me; then I too will go against you; and I, yes I, will strike you seven times over for your sins. I will bring a sword against you which will execute the vengeance of the covenant. You will be huddled inside your cities, I will send sickness among you, and you will be handed over to the power of the enemy. Then God’s discipline goes on to speak of an ensuing famine. I will cut off your supply of bread, so that ten women will bake your bread in one oven and dole out your bread by weight, and you will eat but not be satisfied.

The fifth stage – starvation (26:27-32): The discipline escalates as those suffering starvation while trapped in Jerusalem under siege by the Babylonians turned to cannibalism, even eating their own babies. In his lamentation, Jeremiah writes: ADONAI, look and see who it is you have thus tormented! Should women eat the fruit of their wombs, the children they have held in their hands (Lamentations 2:20). And if, for all this, you still will not listen to me, but go against me; then I will go against you furiously, and I also will chastise you yet seven times more for your sins. You will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters (26:27-29). Josephus, the famous first-century Jewish-Roman historian, reported similar horrors among the starving population of Jerusalem under the Roman siege (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Mt – The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple on Tisha B’Av in 70 AD).⁵³¹

I will destroy your high places, cut down your pillars for sun-worship, and throw your carcasses on the carcasses of your idols; and I will detest you (26:30). Frequent mention is made in the Scriptures of the high places of the idolaters, where they were accustomed to worship their gods, supposing themselves there to be nearer to them, and more likely to be heard by them. This practice was imitated by the Hebrews, though denounced in the Torah.⁵³² This is a cruelly ironic statement: The Israelite warriors and citizenry will be slain at the very altars and cult centers where they offended YHVH by their worship of foreign gods and idols.⁵³⁴

I will lay waste to your cities and make your sanctuaries desolate, so as not to smell your fragrant aromas. I will desolate the land, so that your enemies living in it will be astounded by it (26:31-32). Also in 26:11 God spoke of His own Sanctuary. Instead of blessing it, He promises to destroy it so that Isra’el will have no access to Him in the midst of the calamities. There will be no way to sacrifice their purification offerings (see Al – The Purification Offering: Purified by Blood) to seek the mercy of ADONAI. To the amazement of Isra’el’s enemies, the fruitful land of God’s blessing (26:2-4) will become desolate.⁵³⁴

The sixth stage – exile (26:33-35): If the Israelites would fail to repent, the natural course of events would follow. The besieged City would fall and the surviving population would be exiled. You I will disperse among the nations, and I will draw out the sword in pursuit after you; your land will be a desolation and your cities a wasteland. Then, at last, the land will be paid its Shabbats. As long as it lies desolate and you are in the lands of your enemies, the land will rest and be repaid its Shabbats. Yes, as long as it lies desolate it will have rest, the rest it did not have during your Shabbats, when you lived there (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule).

And history unfolded just as the Torah described it. When the northern kingdom of Isra’el rebelled against God (see the commentary on the Life of Solomon Dd – Golden Calves at Dan and Bethel) Tiglath-Pileser and the Assyrians conquered her in 722 BC. The king took Jews captive to Assyria (Second Kings 17:5-6; First Chronicles 5:26) and also brought his own citizens to live in Samaria (Second Kings 17:24) and intermarry with the Jews. Over a hundred years later, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar conquered the southern kingdom of Judah and destroyed the Temple (see Jeremiah Ga – The Fall of Jerusalem). But amazingly, the prophet Jeremiah declared that faithless Isra’el, who has already been destroyed by the Assyrians, was more righteous than unfaithful Judah (Jeremiah 3:11; also see Ezekiel 16:1-63 and Hosea 2:2-23). More righteous because the northern kingdom of Isra’el did not have the example of punishment before her eyes, as did Y’hudah in Isra’el’s destruction. Faithless Isra’el had actually proven to be more righteous than her treacherous sister Judah. Why? Because Y’hudah had Isra’el as her example. As a result, Judah had greater light as to ADONAI’s dealing with sin. And with greater light comes greater responsibility, and the rejection of greater light means greater judgment. This is a principle throughout Scripture.

Those who would survive the slaughter would live in fear. Ha’Shem said that He would fill their hearts with anxiety in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a leaf blown away will frighten them, so that they will flee as one flees from the sword and fall when no one is pursuing. Yes, with no one pursuing they will stumble over each other as if fleeing the sword – you will have no power to stand before your enemies. That unfaithful generation of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple would perish in the land of their enemies. They would wilt away, like a flower without water, from guilt over their misdeeds and those of their ancestors (26:36-39). The realization that they were suffering for the cumulative sins of generations would be even more distressing to those faithless exiles.

But even such severe punishment as exile was disciplinary. Certainly the unbelievers would be purged from the nation, but the nation as a whole would be brought to her knees. Those judgments were not God’s last word to His people Isra’el. Even at the time of the exile, the prophets were formulating the promises of blessing in the B’rit Chadashah (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el). But the question remains, why did Moses (under the inspiration of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh) use the word discipline (Hebrew: yasar) in Leviticus and curses (Hebrew: arar) in Deuteronomy? Just as the northern kingdom of Isra’el was more righteous than the southern kingdom of Judah because she did not have the example of punishment before her eyes, as did Y’hudah in Isra’el’s destruction; the Exodus generation was more righteous than their children that witnessed their parents dying in the wilderness because of their national unfaithfulness. Therefore, the Exodus generation was merely disciplined, whereas their children, who had more light and assumed greater judgment, would be cursed if they rejected the Torah.

The seventh stage – redemption (see Ez – The Redemption of Isra’el).