Leviticus 26:14-33

3. The warning for contempt of the law 26:14-33

These punishments would come on the Israelites not for individual errors and sins but for a settled contempt for the whole covenant. They manifested such contempt in presumptuous and obstinate rebellion against the law (Leviticus 26:14-15).

"In the curses the converse of the blessings is spelled out. It was usual in legal texts for the curses to be much fuller and longer than the blessings section (cf. Deuteronomy 28 . . .). But this disproportion has a positive didactic purpose as well. It is very easy to take the blessings of rain, peace, and even God’s presence for granted. It is salutary to be reminded in detail of what life is like when his providential gifts are removed." [Note: Wenham, The Book . . ., p. 330.]

Moses revealed five levels or waves of punishment. If Israel did not turn back to God after the first penalties, God would bring the second on them, and so on.