Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 26:42
Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
I will remember my covenant, to wit, so as to perform it, and make good all that I have promised in it. For words of knowledge or remembrance in Scripture do most commonly connote affection and kindness; of which there are many instances, some given before, and more hereafter.
I will remember the land, which now seems to be forgotten, and neglected, and despised, as if I had never chosen it to be the peculiar place of my presence and blessing.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Then i will also remember my covenant with Jacob,…. Would fulfil and make good all that he had promised in covenant with Jacob, and his posterity: the account begins with him, and rises upwards to Abraham, whereas it usually begins with Abraham, and descends to Jacob; no sufficient reason is given for this alteration, though several are attempted by the Jewish writers e:
and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; which chiefly respects the multiplication of their seed, the continuance of them, and the Messiah springing from them; which is the mercy promised to these fathers, and the principal part of the covenant made with them, and which was remembered and performed when God visited and redeemed his people by him, Lu 1:68;
and I will remember the land; the land of Judea, and return the Jews to it, and make it fruitful, after he had given it rest from tillage for many years, which was fulfilled at their return from the captivity of Babylon.
e Saadiah Gaon apud Aben Ezram in loc. Pesikta & alii.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(42) Then will I remember.That is, perform the covenant God made. The expression remember frequently denotes to be mindful, to perform, especially when used with regard to God; as, for instance, I have remembered my covenant, &c. (Exo. 6:5-6); He remembered for them his covenant (Psa. 106:45).
My covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham.When thus brought to repentance, the Lord will perform towards them the covenant which He made with their ancestors, and in which He not only promised that the Israelites are to be a numerous people, but that they are to possess the land for ever (Exo. 32:13). From the fact that the expression covenant is here exceptionally repeated before the name of each patriarch, the authorities during the second Temple rightly concluded that it refers to three distinct covenants made respectively with the patriarchs. Hence the Chaldee Versions render it, And I will remember in mercy the covenant which I covenanted with Jacob at Bethel [Gen. 35:9-15], and also the covenant which I covenanted with Isaac at Mount Moriah [Genesis 22], and the covenant which I covenanted with Abraham between the divided pieces [of the sacrifices (Gen. 15:18-21)]. The ancients also call attention to the fact that whilst in all other passages where the three patriarchs are mentioned together, the order is according to their seniority, viz., Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen. 1:24; Exo. 2:24; Exo. 6:8; Exo. 32:13; Deu. 29:13; Deu. 34:4; 2Ki. 13:23; Psa. 105:8-10; 1Ch. 16:16-17), this is the solitary instance where the regular order is inverted.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
42. Will I remember Memory cannot be properly predicated of the Omniscient one with whom there is no succession of thoughts and no past nor future. He will surely bring to pass that which he has promised in the covenant with the patriarchs. Strictly speaking, God’s covenant with Abraham respecting the greatness of his seed was quite unconditional, except circumcision, and it amounts to a promise or an act of mere favour. See Gal 3:15-16, where , promise, and , covenant, are used as synonymes.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jacob. This is the only place where the order of the three Patriarchs is inverted.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
will I: Gen 9:16, Exo 2:24, Exo 6:5, Deu 4:31, Psa 106:45, Eze 16:60, Luk 1:72
and I will: Psa 85:1, Psa 85:2, Psa 136:23, Eze 36:1-15, Eze 36:33, Eze 36:34, Joe 2:18
Reciprocal: Gen 9:15 – remember Exo 32:13 – Remember Jdg 2:1 – I will never 2Ki 13:23 – because of his covenant 2Ch 12:7 – therefore Psa 98:3 – remembered Jer 14:21 – remember Jer 31:19 – I was ashamed Mat 5:3 – the poor
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
HUMAN AND DIVINE REMEMBRANCE
If they shall confess then will I remember.
Lev 26:40; Lev 26:42
I. When I remember my sin and confess it, God remembers His covenant and returns to me.
Yes, even to me. I say, in my despair, that there are peculiarities in my case which make it exceptional, terrible aggravations in my guilt and evil. Let it be so. Let it be that I am the chief of sinners. My sin does not outrun His mercy, and is not so large as His grace. Its blackness, its heinousness, its thanklessness will but heighten His glory in forgiving and restoring me.
II. From my depth, let me look up to the saints who have finished their course and entered into the joy of their Lord. Once, in Gods holy eyes, they were no better than I am. From the horrible pit He took them, and from the miry clay. He will do as much for me. His arm is not shortened. He will set me with the princes of his people.
Illustration
Israel was a people whom He had chosen and formed for Himself. But they came into a line of strangers, who oppressed and enslaved them, that their hearts might be prepared to long for and welcome His deliverance. Then, in a series of mighty wonders, and through the blood of the paschal lamb, they were brought from under the hand of their oppressors, led through the Red Sea, and taught under the cliffs of Sinaithis thought being continually impressed on them, that they were the Lords people, whom He had purchased for Himself, that they might be holy, even as He is. God had a right to claim His people for holiness, because they were His purchased possession.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Lev 26:42. I will remember my covenant So as to make good all that I have promised in it. For words of knowledge or remembrance, in Scripture, commonly denote affection and kindness. I will remember the land Which now seems to be forgotten and despised, as if I had never chosen it to be the peculiar place of my presence and blessing.