Leviticus 26:21 Meaning: What Does It Mean to Walk Contrary to God?

The Hebrew word at the heart of this verse is קרי (keri), translated here as “contrary.” It appears only a handful of times in the Old Testament, all in this chapter. Its root suggests something that happens by chance or as a meeting, like an accidental encounter. John Calvin pictured the people “walking at adventures,” shuffling through life as if God’s judgments were random.

But the context argues for more than drift. The verb הלך (halak) means to walk, and it is often used for a whole way of life. To walk with God is to live intentionally in His ways. To walk contrary is to set yourself against Him, or to go your own way so carelessly that you never check if He is still with you.

The word שמע (shama) appears twice in the verse: “you will not listen.” This is the same word for hearing that leads to obeying. When we stop listening to God, we inevitably start walking away.

Christians have understood keri in two main ways. Reformers like John Calvin and Matthew Poole saw it as a careless indifference, living as if God’s dealings with you were random chance, not His purposeful hand. The Geneva Bible translates “stubbornly,” and the King James Version says “contrary,” suggesting active opposition.

Keil and Delitzsch, writing in the Protestant tradition, argued that walking “contrary” means to meet God in open hostility, as an enemy. Most modern English versions lean this way, using “hostility” or “opposition.” Neither reading cancels the other. Both point to the same danger: a heart that stops walking with God ends up walking against Him.

Some readers assume that “walk contrary” means only outright defiance, shaking a fist at God. But the Hebrew keri also carries the sense of treating God as if He is irrelevant, drifting through life without paying attention to His ways. The verse warns us: indifference can be just as dangerous as rebellion.

You may not be actively fighting God, but are you walking with Him at all? This week, notice one area where you have stopped listening, a command you ignore, a conviction you have set aside. That is what keri looks like in everyday life. It is not a crisis of faith but a slow drift.

God does not send discipline to destroy you. He sends it to get your attention. The sevenfold increase in this verse shows how serious He is about bringing you back. You can stop the spiral today. Take one honest step toward Him, and start listening again.