Burunche’s Blog

Deuteronomy 30:1 – 10 “When all these things come upon you—the blessings and curses I have set before you—and you call them to mind in all the nations to which the LORD your God has banished you, and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey His voice with all your heart and all your soul according to everything I am giving you today, then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there.

And the LORD your God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply more than your fathers. The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.

Then the LORD your God will put all these curses upon your enemies who hate you and persecute you. And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and follow all His commandments I am giving you today. So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your goodness, as He delighted in that of your fathers, if you obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

God knows His Israelites! God knows that once the Israelites reach the Promised Land, they will soon slide into – and out of – idolatry repeatedly. God knows that eventually the Israelites will be carried off to Babylon and back to Egypt. Notice verse 1 does NOT say “If all these things come upon you” but WHEN. But at the same time God is warning the Israelites against idolatry, He is also promising restoration if/when they will repent.

Human beings have an incredible ability to lie to themselves, convincing themselves that black is really white, or at least a dark grey. God knows that nothing short of personal experience with full – bore paganism is going to convince the Israelites to really worship Him.

APPLICATION: The amazing thing about Scripture is that it is true. Although the Jews returned from exile under Ezra and Nehemiah, they remained a subjugated people. At the time of Jesus, the Romans controlled all of Israel, dividing it up into provinces. Although the Zionist Movement started in 1897, it was the horrors of the Holocaust that drove many Jews to emigrate to Israel. Visiting Israel today is a revelation. Innovative farming techniques in a dry land have caused the desert to blossom. Israel has become a center of banking and advanced technology. Truly all the blessings that Moses mentioned in this chapter of Deuteronomy have come to modern Israel.

Israel has become a symbol of hope to many Christians around the world as well. One elderly friend told me that she never really believed the Bible until she saw the rise of Israel as a nation at the end of World War II.

The biggest miracle of Israel is this: that God has remembered His promises and that He has fulfilled them. What does the example of Israel mean for us?

Many times we may become convinced that we have failed so badly that God will no longer have anything to do with us. We may feel that God has washed His hands of us, leaving us to our own devices. Nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, God is in the restoration business big – time! Ezekiel 18:21 – 23 says,” But if the wicked man turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. Because of the righteousness he has practiced, he will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?”

If we will give God the slightest amount of repentance, God will help us to change completely. But repentance must begin with realizing that as sinners, we all stand in need of God’s help. Nobody can approach God claiming to be wholly righteous; God knows better.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, show us our sins and help us to confess them and to repudiate them. Please give us clean hearts so that we can truly follow You all the days of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 29:16 – 29 “For you yourselves know how we lived in the land of Egypt and passed through the nations as you traveled. You saw the abominations and idols among them made of wood and stone, of silver and gold.”

Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Make sure there is no root among you that bears such poisonous and bitter fruit, because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself, saying, ‘I will have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart.’

This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse written in this book will fall upon him. The LORD will blot out his name from under heaven and single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.

Then the generation to come—your sons who follow you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land—will see the plagues of the land and the sicknesses the LORD has inflicted on it. All its soil will be a burning waste of brimstone and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.

All the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’ And the people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went and served other gods, and they worshiped gods they had not known—gods that the LORD had not given to them. Therefore, the LORD’s anger burned against this land, and He brought upon it every curse written in this book. The LORD uprooted them from their land in His anger, rage, and great wrath, and He cast them into another land, where they are today.’

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.”

Moses is completing his warnings to the Israelites by reminding them of all the horrors of pagan worship they have witnessed during their forty years’ journey. What is Moses describing? Cult prostitution, child sacrifices, possibly ritual sex with animals, and other practices too evil for description – these are the things to which Moses is referring. These practices will lead to moral disintegration and the complete destruction of Israel as a nation; therefore, the Israelites are not to tolerate anyone who engages in these things. Moses is also warning the Israelites against the line of thinking that runs, “Well, REALLY I am all right and I will enjoy God’s blessings, even if I DO dabble in_____.” Any attempts at compromise will only lead to disaster, both for the individual as well as for the nation.

APPLICATION: Ever work with someone who has a “bitter root?” Such people are not only impossible to please, but their rotten outlooks can quickly infect an entire company. Unhappiness, rebellion, and greed are more catching than any virus. Repeatedly, we have witnessed the destructive effects of a single worker with a bad attitude and the ability to convince others. In one case, a strike led by one such worker cost a facility its relationship with a medical school that had been sending students for attachment. The facility lost not only the relationship but the thousands of dollars of medical supplies the students had been bringing each year.  

While we can’t do anything about someone else’s attitude, we certainly can do something about our own. “Bitter roots” can have small beginnings. We become offended and feel justified in cherishing our hurt feelings. We convince ourselves that we have been mistreated, misunderstood, and ill – used. Soon our total focus is on our hurt feelings rather on the work God has called us to do.

In one family in my home area, the eldest son was hard working and faithful. When that man married, his father gave him a farm with new buildings. All seemed rosy. Then the unthinkable happened. A younger brother lost his job due to the Depression, and the father capriciously took the farm away from the eldest son to give it to the younger one instead. The eldest son was angry and depressed for the rest of his life.

There is no doubt that the faithful eldest son had suffered a cruel injustice, something over which he had no control. But the one thing the eldest son could control was his response, and that response shaped the rest of his life. Neighbors described that man as the most depressed individual they had ever known.

Are there any “bitter roots” trying to take hold in your life? Has your boss mistreated you? Has a colleague told lies about you? Have you been misrepresented at a meeting or in a church? Ask God to help you see if there are any little touches of evil trying to find a place in your life and then ask Him to help you confess these things as sin so that He may clean up your heart.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Please shine the light of Your Holy Spirit into our hearts and illumine every dark corner. Help us to confess any tiny “bitter roots” as sin so that you can remove them. Please apply the cleansing Blood of Jesus to our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 29:1-15 “These are the words of the covenant that the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant He had made with them at Horeb.

Moses summoned all Israel and proclaimed to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land. You saw with your own eyes the great trials, and those miraculous signs and wonders. Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.

During the forty years I led you in the wilderness, neither your clothes nor the sandals on your feet wore out. You ate no bread and drank no wine or strong drink, so that you might know that I am the LORD your God. When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we defeated them. We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. So keep and follow the words of this covenant, that you may prosper in all you do.

All of you are standing today before the LORD your God—you leaders of tribes, elders, officials, and all the men of Israel, you children, wives, and the foreigners in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water— so that you may enter into the covenant of the LORD your God, which He is making with you today, and into His oath, and so that He may establish you today as His people, and He may be your God as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 4I am making this covenant and this oath not only with you, but also with those who are standing here with us today in the presence of the LORD our God, as well as with those who are not here today.”

Even though the Israelites made a covenant with God at Mount Sinai, that was forty years ago. The only people left from that generation are Joshua, Caleb, and Moses himself. Now that covenant needs to be renewed and expanded. Here Moses makes the following points:

1. Moses reminds the Israelites of all the signs and wonders that God has done for them, miracles that they still fail to fully appreciate.
2. Moses reminds the Israelites of how God has cared for them in the wilderness, even feeding them and allowing their shoes and clothing to survive.
3. Moses is calling everyone present as witnesses and participants in this new covenant, even the foreign servants. At the same time, Moses is also reinforcing the fact that this covenant will extend for all the generations of those currently present.

APPLICATION: We today may think that we only enter into contracts for ourselves; however, those in the ancient world had a totally different perspective. Covenants were considered binding, not only on those who originally entered into them, but also on their descendants for all generations.

For a description of the ceremony of “cutting covenant,” check out Genesis 15. The practice was to cut a certain number of animals and birds in two and then the two partners of the covenant would walk around and between the parts of the animals, swearing that if they did not uphold the covenant, something similar should happen to them!

Moses wants the people to understand that God is serious about his part of the bargain. Today, many of us scarcely think about God, let alone about His faithfulness and His consistency.

The good news for us is that because God has not changed, His promises also have not changed. If we will only trust God, He will bless us spiritually and physically. The problem is that sometimes spiritual blessings require physical suffering and endurance. The prophet Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3:22 – 23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 28:58 – 68 “If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God— He will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary disasters, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and chronic sicknesses. He will afflict you again with all the diseases you dreaded in Egypt, and they will cling to you.

The LORD will also bring upon you every sickness and plague not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and to multiply you, so also it will please Him to exterminate you and destroy you. And you will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.

Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. Among those nations you will find no repose, not even a resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul.

So your life will hang in doubt before you, and you will be afraid night and day, never certain of survival. In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’—because of the dread in your hearts of the terrifying sights you will see.

The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”

These verses complete the summary of the curses God will bring on the Israelites if they fail to serve Him. All the plagues of Egypt plus more, being carried into exile, and returning to Egypt where they will not even find employment as slaves – all these things will happen if the Israelites go back on their word to serve God.

God is trying to make His warnings as strong as possible so that the Israelites will remain faithful to Him. Eventually, all these curses really do come to pass, including the return to Egypt.

The story is a very sad one because it is so unnecessary. God doesn’t want the Israelites to break their covenant with Him. God wants the Israelites to be spiritually and physically healthy and prosperous and to demonstrate to other nations the goodness of God. But Israel begins to take God for granted and very soon some of the curses begin to work.

APPLICATION: Look around you! What blessings has God placed in your life? Even if you are suffering from COVID, you are still alive and you can praise God for your life. So many times we behave like the Israelites; we take God’s blessings for granted when we should be eternally grateful.

Sometimes it IS difficult to find something for which to be thankful, but we should try. If you are reading this, then you are able to breathe and you are able to see. Thank God! Thank God for your computer or your cell phone. Thank God that He has a plan for you for today and that He will make that plan clear.

The big mistake the Israelites made was that they were ungrateful and refused to thank God for all His blessings. Ingratitude led to heresy and heresy led to disaster.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to find the little things throughout our day for which we can praise You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 28:43 – 57 “The foreigner living among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink down lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.

All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey the LORD your God and keep the commandments and statutes He gave you. These curses will be a sign and a wonder upon you and your descendants forever.

Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance, you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand, a ruthless nation with no respect for the old and no pity for the young. They will eat the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain or new wine or oil, no calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks, until they have caused you to perish. They will besiege all the cities throughout your land, until the high and fortified walls in which you trust have fallen. They will besiege all your cities throughout the land that the LORD your God has given you.  

During the siege and hardship that your enemy will impose on you, you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you. The most gentle and refined man among you will begrudge his brother, the wife he embraces, and the rest of his children who have survived, refusing to share with any of them the flesh of his children that he will eat because he has nothing left in the siege and hardship your enemy will impose on all your cities.

The most gentle and refined woman among you, so gentle and refined she would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge the husband she embraces and her son and daughter the afterbirth that comes from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything else in the siege and dire straits your enemy will impose on you in all your cities.”

Reading these verses requires a strong stomach! Once we realize the full import of these words, we wonder why anybody anywhere could possibly want to suffer such horrors. Here God is describing an invasion of the whole country by ruthless killers who will set sieges around all the cities. As those in the cities begin to starve, parents will butcher their children and mothers will secretly eat their newborn babies along with the afterbirth. Eventually, these things actually will come to pass, and the Israelites will go into exile. (2 Kings 6 for the description of one of the sieges.)  

No matter how many horror movies you watch, you can always tell yourself that you are safe. But here God is warning the Israelites that nobody will be safe, and He is giving as many appalling details as possible.

APPLICATION: Why should we bother reading this horrible gory stuff? We must read these things here so that when we study later parts of the Old Testament, we will realize that God isn’t kidding.

There’s a non – Biblical saying that “What goes around, comes around.” Actions have consequences, whether or not we like those consequences when they appear. God doesn’t want any of these terrible things to happen to the Israelites; it is the Israelites themselves who will keep making wrong choices until they suffer the consequences. It is the Israelites who will insist on going after other gods and who will rebel anytime God sends prophets.

God does not send anybody to hell; people choose to go there by turning away from God. There is a blood line drawn between the Old and New Testaments, and the blood is the blood of Jesus Christ. In Moses’ day, sins were paid for with animal sacrifices, but when Jesus died on the cross at Calvary, He paid the ultimate price in blood for the sins of the world. That payment is available for anyone who will confess that he or she is a sinner and who will believe in what Jesus has done. But if we tell ourselves that we are fine and that we have no problems, we are lying to ourselves and removing ourselves from the reach of God’s mercy.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, open our eyes to see the depths of Your love and our need for Your forgiveness. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 28:28 –42 “The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind, so that at noon you will grope about like a blind man in the darkness. You will not prosper in your ways. Day after day you will be oppressed and plundered, with no one to save you.

You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not enjoy its fruit. Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away and not returned to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will save you.

Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, while your eyes grow weary looking for them day after day, with no power in your hand. A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed. You will be driven mad by the sights you see.

The LORD will afflict you with painful, incurable boils on your knees and thighs, from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.

You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because the locusts will consume it. You will plant and cultivate vineyards, but will neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your territory but will never anoint yourself with oil, because the olives will drop off. You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will go into captivity. Swarms of locusts will consume all your trees and the produce of your land.”

If you thought yesterday’s list of curses was bad, today’s is worse! Madness, blindness, and blighted hopes of all kinds await those who refuse to serve God whole – heartedly. God is sparing no details in describing precisely how horrible things will be for those who refuse to follow His commands.

The recurring theme throughout today’s verses is that of frustration. God is warning the Israelites that if they refuse to serve Him, they are withdrawing themselves from His protection. The results will be catastrophic.

Why is it necessary for God to go on at such great lengths? God is hoping that by giving these detailed warnings, the Israelites will realize that He is not joking. Every fear that has ever tormented someone in the middle of the night will come true. And yet… And yet, the Israelites will settle in the Promised Land and within a few generations will begin suffering due to disobedience.

APPLICATION: Many people love the first part of the 28^th chapter of Deuteronomy but skip over this part, feeling that these warnings can’t possibly apply to them. I have heard entire sermons preached on the “blessing” verses with pastors encouraging the congregation to claim each of the blessings as they read them aloud, shouting loud amens. But we ignore these verses at our own risk.

We live in a distracted age in which our minds and hearts are assailed by a plethora of images. If we allow ourselves to be caught up in social media and videos, we can postpone thinking about eternal matters; however, our lives are still winding down in the meantime. Looking at nations around the world, we can see many of the disasters described in these verses. God hasn’t changed; neither has human nature. If we want God’s blessings, we must serve Him and obey His commands. Recent natural disasters in several different locations have underscored the fact that the God who controls the weather is far more powerful than any other force in the universe.

We live in a fallen sinful world, so we can fall prey to diseases and accidents. But even in the midst of frustration and tragedy, God will still send blessings to those who love Him and serve Him. The saddest part of the curses is this: those who bring curses on themselves have removed themselves from God’s mercy and God’s hope.

What if you and God parted company a long time ago? Can you come back? Yes! There’s a joke about an old couple who were driving down the road. The wife was complaining that they used to sit closer together when they rode together. Finally, the husband quietly remarked, “Well, I haven’t moved.” God hasn’t moved. God is still there. Today, turn around and come back to the Heavenly Father who loves you far better than any earthly father ever could. God hasn’t moved, and He’s waiting for you.

Jesus told the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. Verse 20 describes the response of the father once he spied the son coming down the road. “But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”  Your father is waiting. Leave the curses behind and come!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help everyone who reads these words to come to You, the perfect, loving Father for whom our hearts long. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 28:15 – 27 “If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed.

The fruit of your womb will be cursed, as well as the produce of your land, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.

You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

The LORD will send curses upon you, confusion and reproof in all to which you put your hand, until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the wickedness you have committed in forsaking Him.

The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has exterminated you from the land that you are entering to possess. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish. The sky over your head will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.

The LORD will turn the rain of your land into dust and powder; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.

The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors and scabs and itch from which you cannot be cured.”

YIPES!!!! Reading this list of curses, the result of disobeying God, you wonder why anybody would voluntarily do this to themselves. Plagues, drought, famine, destruction, death – this is the Lord of the Universe giving a comprehensive list of what can happen if His people don’t obey Him. And the worst part of it is that all these things eventually did happen to the Israelites. As things continued to get worse, God continued to send prophets who tried to warn the Israelites. Did anybody repent? Possibly. If none of the Israelites had repented, Israel would not exist as a nation today. But it was only the mercy of God that spared the Israelites.

APPLICATION: The prophet Jeremiah had one of the toughest assignments God ever gave anybody. Jeremiah was tasked with warning the Kingdom of Judah that they were about to fall unless they repented quickly. The Judeans refused to listen and made Jeremiah’s life miserable. Finally, Jeremiah was carried off into captivity along with a few of the inhabitants of Judah. Sounds really gloomy? Right? And yet in Lamentations 3:21 – 26 Jeremiah is able to say this:“Yet I call this to mind, and therefore, I have hope:

Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”

Does following God really pay? There is a story about St. Teresa of Avila, a Spanish saint, who was traveling in an ox cart when it got stuck in the mud. Teresa is said to have looked heavenward and scolded the Lord saying, “No wonder You have so few friends if this is the way You treat them!” (On the other hand, Teresa was also noted for her wonderful prayer life and for her compassion.) There is not a single saint on earth who has not suffered, but at the same time, God has also brought them incredible peace and joy.

Today things may be very tough for you. You may have friends or loved ones in the hospital. You may be overworked at your job. You may be trying to cope with having kids at home while you are at work. Remember this: the loving devotion of the Lord is for you, just as it was for Teresa of Avila or for the prophet Jeremiah. God’s mercies NEVER fail, nor will they fail in your situation. God’s mercies ARE new every morning, and His faithfulness truly is great. The key for us is to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord and not to become agitated and anxious.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to wait for Your salvation and to remember that Your timing is perfect. Give those reading this Your peace in their hearts. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.  

Deuteronomy 28: 1 – 14“Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commandments I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God:

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

the fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock— the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed.

You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.

The LORD will decree a blessing on your barns and on everything to which you put your hand; the LORD your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.

The LORD will establish you as His holy people, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you.

The LORD will make you prosper abundantly—in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land—in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.

The LORD will open the heavens, His abundant storehouse, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but borrow from none.

The LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward, if you hear and carefully follow the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am giving you today. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from any of the words I command you today, and do not go after other gods to serve them.”

Success! Abundance! Incredible wealth! Long life! Healthy families! When we read this list of blessings, they are almost incredible. This is the time of year when many churches are having services and promising great things for the coming year. But the list of blessings in Deuteronomy 28 makes most of the promises made by these churches pale by comparison.

These blessings are the ones to be pronounced over Israel by the six tribes standing on Mount Gerizim. The term “Gerizim” means “cut up” or “cutters,” and the altar on Gerizim was to be made of cut stones. Even though these verses do not command it, it is quite likely that the tribes would all shout “Amen!” as loudly as possible in agreement with these blessings.

APPLICATION: Reading this long list of wonderful things, we must wonder how could the Israelites have ever gone over these lists and then rebelled against God? Nothing makes sense! After all, if the Ruler of the Universe offered us this kind of a deal, we would certainly take it up and we would never go back on our promises…. Or would we?

The problem with human nature is that we are all human. Any fallacy that has tempted another person can equally tempt us. The days when the IsraelitThe Israeliteses heard these verses read, they undoubtedly intended to keep their covenant with God and to follow Him whole – heartedly. But then things became a little difficult and compromise began to look far more appealing.

The question Satan asked Eve in the garden of Eden was this, “Did God REALLY say….??” If we don’t pay strict attention to God’s Word, it’s easy to become confused and think we remember what He said when we don’t.

The Israelites listened, but the list of blessings never made it from their heads down into their hearts. Sometimes people feel that this list of blessings only existed for the Israelites; however, God still wants to bless those who will follow Him. Does this list of blessings mean that nothing bad will ever happen to us? No. But we can be assured that God does love us and that He wants to bless those who follow Him.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Thank You for Your blessings. Help us to honor You in every aspect of our lives. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 27:11 – 26 “On that day Moses commanded the people: “When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

Then the Levites shall proclaim in a loud voice to every Israelite:

‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is he who lets a blind man wander in the road.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’

And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his mother-in-law.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’

And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is he who does not put the words of this law into practice.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’”

At first this whole process seems very confusing. Unless you actually see a photo of the two mountains with the valley between them, you might think it impossible that anything said on one mountain would necessarily be heard on the other side. But the day God designed Israel, He was already making provision for the time when six tribes would stand on one mountain while the other six tribes would stand on the other side. The question now is this: Why Mount Ebal for curses? Why the selection of the particular tribes to pronounce these curses?

For the answers to these questions, we can refer to an excellent article entitled “The Stones Moses Prophesied To on Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim.” (MAMATHA, Oct. 9, 2018, https://livingroomtheaology.com)

This writer explains, “Ebal means bulky or stout. Something that is bulky or stout is hard to carry. Ebal possibly has the meaning of bald or bare too. Baldness throughout the Bible is a sign of mourning. Finally, Ebal comes from the same root word, awa, as Ai. So, the name Ebal carries the connotation of twisting, doing wrong, being bent, irritated, or confused.”

“The tribes that stood on Mt. Ebal for the curse were Rueben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. This is an interesting collection of tribes. Reuben was the first born while Zebulun was the sixth, the last, of Leah’s sons. All of the other tribes on Mt. Ebal came from Zilpah and Bilhah, Leah’s and Rachel’s maidservants.

It’s interesting that Leah’s firstborn was on Mt. Ebal. Throughout the Bible, the firstborn is typically passed over so that the second born (or later) son receives the blessing of the father. A few examples are Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob, and Manasseh and Ephraim… Also, it’s interesting that Leah’s sixth son is on Mt. Ebal. The number six symbolizes work in the Bible. God finished his work of creation in six days and rested on the seventh day. In the law, Israel was told that six days they should labor, but the seventh day was a sabbath, a day of rest. So. Mt Ebal is the mount of work.”

The common threads that run through all the curses are those of the need for holiness, sexual purity, and protection of the weak, the innocent, and the vulnerable. These curses are to be pronounced by the six tribes standing on Mount Ebal; however, all the tribes are to echo the “Amen!” God wants to impress on His people in as many different ways as possible that they are to be separate and holy.

 APPLICATION: Romans 12:1-2 tells us, “Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

Nobody wakes up one morning and says, “I think I feel like copying someone selfish today!” What we actually do is to look at social media and videos and listen to podcasts. Just this morning I saw a post in which the writer was advising everyone that 2022 was going to be the year that she would be kind to herself above everything else, indulging herself, and focusing on herself. What was shocking and sad was the number of people who were agreeing with her completely. Admittedly, 2021 was a very tough year for a great number of people; yet, the poor, the vulnerable, and the disadvantaged are still out there and still need help. Those choosing to focus on themselves and their comfort will have little time or inclination to help anybody else.

When kids want to do something risky, good parents are not swayed by the argument that “everybody is doing it.” God wanted those six tribes to stand on Mount Ebal shouting out His commands so that those commands would echo down that valley and onto the slopes of Mount Gerizim where the other six tribes were standing. And God wanted ALL of the tribes to shout the “Amen!” indicating that they agreed and would obey. God wanted His people to be different from all the other tribes around them. Are we willing to be different as well?

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 27:1 – 10 “Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all the commandments I am giving you today.

And on the day you cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you are to set up large stones and coat them with plaster. Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you. And when you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to coat them with plaster.

Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them. You shall build the altar of the LORD your God with uncut stones and offer upon it burnt offerings to the LORD your God. There you are to sacrifice your peace offerings, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the LORD your God. And you shall write distinctly upon these stones all the words of this law.”

Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be silent, O Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the LORD your God. You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God and follow His commandments and statutes I am giving you today.”

Throughout the world, there are all kinds of altars in various places of worship, both ancient and modern. An altar serves as a focus of worship but also may be erected as a memorial to some great event. Some altars are completely plain while others are adorned with ornate carvings and images. Here God is using Moses to instruct the Israelites regarding the altar to be erected on Mount Ebal once the Israelites have crossed the Jordan River.

There are several notable things about this altar:

1. The altar is to be made of uncut stones; at no time is any iron tool to be used on them. Why the absolute proscription? The Israelites have come out of Egypt where there were elaborate temples with highly ornate altars. During the forty years of traveling in the wilderness, the Israelites may also have seen other altars. God has already ordered the Israelites to make perfectly plain altars in the past and has forbidden them from making any graven images of anything in nature. The orders for the altar to be erected on Mount Ebal are a continuation of God’s previous commands.
2. The Israelites are to erect large stones on the top of Mount Ebal. Some of these stones will be used for the altar while others will be coated with plaster (most likely lime) and the words of the law written on them. Why insist that the Israelites write out all the words of the Law? Studies have shown that students who take notes by hand, that is by writing them instead of using a computer or recording the notes, remember far more than those who use some other method. Later on, God commands that each time a new king comes to the throne, he should make a copy of the laws for himself and should continually study that copy so that he will do God’s perfect will. (Unfortunately, none of the kings did this!!!)
3. The Israelites are to offer burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord on the Mount Ebal altar.
4.  Once again, God is reminding the Israelites and also warning them that they are now His people. As the people of God, the Israelites are to obey God’s voice and follow His commandments.

APPLICATION: Sometimes parts of the Book of Deuteronomy seem very repetitious. How many times is it really necessary for God to remind the Israelites that they are HIS people and need to obey? The problem is not that God has a poor memory and must keep reminding Himself; the problem is that God knows the human heart and the evil it can harbor.

When God delivered the Israelites from Egypt and wiped out Pharaoh’s army in the process, the news sent shock waves throughout the ancient world. Caravans spread the story, describing in minute detail the plagues, the escape, and the devastation of that huge military force. All the time the Israelites have been moving through the wilderness, the other tribes around them have witnessed the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. It might not be too much of a stretch to say that other tribes have come to fear the God of Israel more than the Israelites have.

What about us? If you are reading this devotional today, it means that God has spared you to this point. You are alive, you can breathe, you can see well enough to read and you have internet access. So many times, we take our lives for granted as if we deserved them; meanwhile, we are only alive by the grace of God. The same thing was true for the Israelites; they had become so accustomed to God’s miracles that they had become complacent and ungrateful.

This past year has been a year of loss for many of us. In 2021 we lost three close family members, plus several good friends in America and Africa. But praise God! We are alive and able to go forward into this new year.

God chose Israel to be His people to show to the world the blessings that would follow from loving Him and obeying His commands. In the fullness of time, God sent His only son Jesus to live as a man and to die for the sins of all those who would believe in Jesus and his blood sacrifice. Today each one of us has the opportunity to show those around us how God is blessing us.

“But,” you argue, “I am broke, despite working long hours each week. My roof is leaking again. My car is ten years old and is making weird noises. And my kids are acting up in school. None of this looks like a blessing to me!” Ouch! Yes. Things are tough for many people. But you do have a job and a place to live. You do have a vehicle, even if it’s past its expiration point. And you have children. Why not begin by thanking God for whatever small blessings you can see in your situation?

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to praise You, even when things are difficult. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD

When you’re up against a struggle, that shatters all your dreams
And your hopes have been cruelly crushed by Satan’s manifested schemes
And you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fear
Don’t let the faith you’re standing in seem to disappear

Praise the Lord, He will work through those who praise Him
Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise
Praise the Lord, for the chains that seem to bind you
Serve only to remind you, that they drop powerless behind you
When you praise Him

Now, Satan is a liar and he wants to make us think
That we are paupers, when he knows himself we’re children of the King
So lift up the mighty shield of faith for the battle must be won
We know that Jesus Christ has risen and the work’s already done

Praise the Lord, He will work through those who praise Him
Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise
Praise the Lord, for the chains that seem to bind you
Serve only to remind you, that they drop powerless behind you
When you praise Him

Praise the Lord, He will work through those who praise Him
Praise the Lord, for our God abides in our praise
Praise the Lord, for the chains that seem to bind you
Serve only to remind you, that they drop powerless behind you
When you praise Him

When you praise Him
When you praise Him
When you praise
When you praise, you praise the Lord
Praise the Lord

Songwriters: Elliott B. Bannister / Michael Vincent Hudson