“If you will not listen to Me and won’t do all of these commandments. And if you are disgusted by My statutes and repulsed by My judgments...” (Vayikra 26:14-15)
After first promising blessing and goodness for following His commandments, Hashem now tells the Jewish People what will happen if they don’t follow the commandments. Not only will they miss out on the reward they could attain, but they will be visited by numerous difficulties. This is not a punishment, but a means of directing us back to our Source, Hashem. It is for our own good.
However, the order of the verses here seems to be incorrect. It would make sense that if a person found some of the statutes to be questionable in his mind, or if he was offended by some of the Torah’s judgments, then he would be loathe to do them. Although we should listen to Hashem’s commandments regardless of whether we agree with them or not (and who are we to disagree?) we can understand that if one finds a particular mitzvah anathema to him, he will not fulfill it.
But that’s not what the Torah says here. It says, “If you will not listen and do these commandments,” and only afterwards does it say, “And if you are disgusted by My statutes.” Why is the order reversed?
The answer is that the pesukim make perfect sense, and are very telling indeed. Hashem is warning us that if we don’t do the mitzvos, we will come to hate them and be reviled by them. Why would this be the case? Because when one is derelict in the mitzvos, for whatever reason it might be: laziness, desire, or he feels it’s difficult, the guilt he feels will cause him discomfort. He knows what is right, but because he wants something else, he must defend himself. Therefore, he finds fault with the commandments of Hashem. He finds excuses to say they are unfair or hurtful or make no sense. Doing so assuages his conscience and makes him feel less wrong for abandoning his life’s mission. But Hashem is not fooled.
He says, “If you don’t listen to Me, and you don’t do the commandments, you will come to be repulsed by My laws, and you will pull even farther away from Me than if you simply admitted that you were wrong.” Rationalizing one’s behavior will create an ever-growing chasm between him and His Creator.
To stop this, Hashem will send all sorts of terrors and tribulations. They will hopefully force the person to acknowledge that the fault lies with him and not with Hashem, and then he can begin to renew his Divine relationship. As he begins to listen to Hashem once again, he will come to appreciate the mitzvos and be worthy of the blessings Hashem promises to those who walk in His way.
