{"id":5621,"date":"2022-09-24T01:14:05","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T06:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-deuteronomy-281\/"},"modified":"2022-09-24T01:14:05","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T06:14:05","slug":"exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-deuteronomy-281","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-deuteronomy-281\/","title":{"rendered":"Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 28:1"},"content":{"rendered":"

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe [and] to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: <\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

1<\/strong>. For the connection see on Deu 27:9<\/span> f. Parallels in Deu 11:13<\/span>, Deu 15:5<\/span>.<\/p>\n

set thee on high<\/em> ] See on Deu 26:19<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

1 14. The Blessings<\/p>\n

Parallels in Deu 7:12-24<\/span>, Deu 11:13-15<\/span>; Deu 11:22-25<\/span>. On the assurance of material blessings as the consequence of obedience to the commandments of God see the word of Jesus, Mat 6:33<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

A comparison of this chapter with Exo 23:20-23<\/span> and Lev. 26<\/span> will show how Moses here resumes and amplifies the promises and threats already set forth in the earlier records of the Law. The language rises in this chapter to the sublimest strains, especially in the latter part of it; and the prophecies respecting the dispersion and degradation of the Jewish nation in its later days are among the most remarkable in scripture. They are plain, precise, and circumstantial; and the fulfillment of them has been literal, complete, and undeniable.<\/P>

The Blessing. The six repetitions of the word blessed introduce the particular forms which the blessing would take in the various relations of life.<\/P>

Deu 28:5<\/B><\/span><\/P>

The basket or bag was a customary means in the East for carrying about whatever might be needed for personal uses (compare Deu 26:2<\/span>; Joh 13:29<\/span>).<\/P>

The store is rather the kneading-trough Exo 8:3<\/span>; Exo 12:34<\/span>. The blessings here promised relate, it will be observed, to private and personal life: in Deu 28:7<\/span> those which are of a more public and national character are brought forward.<\/P>

Deu 28:9<\/B><\/span><\/P>

The oath with which God vouchsafed to confirm His promises to the patriarchs (compare Gen 22:16<\/span>; Heb 6:13-14<\/span>) contained by implication these gifts of holiness and eminence to Israel (compare the marginal references).<\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CHAPTER XXVIII <\/P>

The blessings which God pronounces on the obedient<\/I>, 1-6.<\/P>

Particular privileges which the faithful shall receive<\/I>, 7-13.<\/P>

The curses pronounced against the ungodly and idolatrous<\/I>, 14-19.<\/P>

A detailed account of the miseries which should be inflicted on<\/I><\/P>

them, should they neglect the commandments of the Lord<\/I>, 20.<\/P>

They shall be smitten with the pestilence<\/I>, 21;<\/P>

with consumption, fever, c.<\/I>, 22<\/P>

drought and barrenness<\/I>, 23, 24;<\/P>

they shall be defeated by their enemies<\/I>, 25, 26;<\/P>

they shall be afflicted with the botch of Egypt<\/I>, 27;<\/P>

with madness and blindness<\/I>, 28, 29;<\/P>

they shall be disappointed in all their projects<\/I>, 30;<\/P>

deprived of all their possessions, and afflicted in all their<\/I><\/P>

members<\/I>, 31-35;<\/P>

they and their king shall go into captivity<\/I>, 36,<\/P>

and become a by-word among the nations<\/I>, 37.<\/P>

Their land shall be unfruitful, and they shall be the lowest of<\/I><\/P>

all people<\/I>, 38-44.<\/P>

All these curses shall come on them should they be disobedient<\/I>,<\/P>

45-48.<\/P>

Character of the people by whom they should be subdued<\/I>, 49, 50.<\/P>

Particulars of their dreadful sufferings<\/I>, 51-57.<\/P>

A recapitulation of their wretchedness<\/I>, 58-63.<\/P>

The prediction that they shall be scattered among all the<\/I><\/P>

nations of the earth<\/I>, 64-68. <\/P>

NOTES ON CHAP. XXVIII<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

i.e. Advance and honour thee with divers privileges and blessings, as it here follows. <\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

1. if thou shalt hearken diligentlyunto the voice of the Lord thy God<\/B>In this chapter theblessings and curses are enumerated at length, and in various minutedetails, so that on the first entrance of the Israelites into theland of promise, their whole destiny was laid before them, as it wasto result from their obedience or the contrary.<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God<\/strong>,…. In his law, and by his prophets:<\/p>\n

to observe [and] to do all his commandments, which I command thee this day<\/strong>; for without observing them to do them, hearing them would be to little purpose, and they were all of them to be observed and done, the lesser and weightier matters of the law as they were commanded by Moses in the name of the Lord, and as they would be taught, explained, and enforced by the prophets:<\/p>\n

that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth<\/strong>: as they were in the times of David and Solomon;<\/p>\n

[See comments on De 26:19]<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

For the purpose of impressing upon the hearts of all the people in the most emphatic manner both the blessing which Israel was to proclaim upon Gerizim, and the curse which it was to proclaim upon Ebal, Moses now unfolds the blessing of fidelity to the law and the curse of transgression in a longer address, in which he once more resumes, sums up, and expands still further the promises and threats of the law in Exo 23:20-33<\/span>, and Lev 26.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:1-6<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong> The Blessing. – Deu 28:1<\/span>. If Israel would hearken to the voice of the Lord its God, the Lord would make it the highest of all the nations of the earth. This thought, with which the discourse on the law in Deu 26:19<\/span> terminated, forms the theme, and in a certain sense the heading, of the following description of the blessing, through which the Lord, according to the more distinct declaration in Deu 28:2<\/span>, would glorify His people above all the nations of the earth. The indispensable condition for obtaining this blessing, was obedience to the word of the Lord, or keeping His commandments. To impress this condition sine qua non <\/em> thoroughly upon the people, Moses not only repeats it at the commencement (Deu 28:2<\/span>), and in the middle (Deu 28:9<\/span>), but also at the close (Deu 28:13<\/span>, Deu 28:14<\/span>), in both a positive and a negative form. In Deu 28:2<\/span>, “the way in which Israel was to be exalted is pointed out” ( Schultz<\/em>); and thus the theme is more precisely indicated, and the elaboration of it is introduced. “All these blessings (those mentioned singly in what follows) will come upon thee and reach thee.” The blessings are represented as actual powers, which follow the footsteps of the nation, and overtake it. In Deu 28:3-6<\/span>, the fulness of the blessing of God in all the relations of life is depicted in a sixfold repetition of the word “blessed.” Israel will be blessed in the town and in the field, the two spheres in which its life moves (Deu 28:3<\/span>); blessed will be the fruit of the body, of the earth, and of the cattle, i.e., in all its productions (Deu 28:4<\/span>; for each one, see Deu 7:13-14<\/span>); blessed will be the basket (Deu 26:2<\/span>) in which the fruits are kept, and the kneading – trough (Exo 12:34<\/span>) in which the daily bread is prepared (Deu 28:5<\/span>); blessed will the nation be in all its undertakings (“coming in and going out;” vid., Num 27:17<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:7-14<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong> Deu 28:7-14<\/span> describe the influence and effect of the blessing upon all the circumstances and situations in which the nation might be placed: in Deu 28:7-10<\/span>, with reference ( a<\/em>) to the attitude of Israel towards its enemies (Deu 28:7<\/span>); ( b<\/em>) to its trade and handicraft (Deu 28:8<\/span>); ( c<\/em>) to its attitude towards all the nations of the earth (Deu 28:9<\/span>, Deu 28:10<\/span>). The optative forms, and (in Deu 28:7<\/span> and Deu 28:8<\/span>), are worthy of notice. They show that Moses not only proclaimed the blessing to the people, but desired it for them, because he knew that Israel would not always or perfectly fulfil the condition upon which it was to be bestowed. “ May the Lord be pleased to give thine enemies…smitten before thee<\/em>,” i.e., give them up to thee as smitten ( , to give up before a person, to deliver up to him: cf. Deu 1:8<\/span>), so that they shall come out against thee by one way, and flee from thee by seven ways, i.e., in wild dispersion (cf. Lev 26:7-8<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:8<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong> “ May the Lord command the blessing with thee<\/em> (put it at thy disposal) in thy barns<\/em> (granaries, store-rooms) and in all thy business<\/em> ” (“to set the hand;” see Deu 12:7<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:9-12<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong> “ The Lord will exalt thee for a holy nation to Himself,…so that all the nations of the earth shall see that the name of Jehovah is named upon thee, and shall fear before thee<\/em>.” The Lord had called Israel as a holy nation, when He concluded the covenant with it (Exo 19:5-6<\/span>). This promise, to which the words “as He hath sworn unto thee” point back, and which is called an oath, because it was founded upon the promises given to the patriarchs on oath (Gen 22:16<\/span>), and was given implicite in them, the Lord would fulfil to His people, and cause the holiness and glory of Israel to be so clearly manifested, that all nations should perceive or see “ that the name of the Lord is named upon Israel<\/em>.” The name of the Lord is the revelation of His glorious nature. It is named upon Israel, when Israel is transformed into the glory of the divine nature (cf. Isa 63:19<\/span>; Jer 14:9<\/span>). It was only in feeble commencements that this blessing was fulfilled upon Israel under the Old Testament; and it is not till the restoration of Israel, which is to take place in the future according to Rom 11:25<\/span>., that its complete fulfilment will be attained. In Deu 28:11<\/span> and Deu 28:12<\/span>, Moses returns to the earthly blessing, for the purpose of unfolding this still further. “ Superabundance will the Lord give thee for good<\/em> (i.e., for happiness and prosperity; vid., Deu 30:9<\/span>), in fruit of thy body<\/em>,” etc. (cf. Deu 28:4<\/span>). He would open His good treasure-house, the heaven, to give rain to the land in its season (cf. Deu 11:14<\/span>; Lev 26:4-5<\/span>), and bless the work of the hands, i.e., the cultivation of the soil, so that Israel would be able to lend to many, according to the prospect already set before it in Deu 15:6<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:13-14<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong> By such blessings He would “ make Israel the head, and not the tail<\/em>,” – a figure taken from life (vid., Isa 9:13<\/span>), the meaning of which is obvious, and is given literally in the next sentence, “ thou wilt be above only, and not beneath<\/em>,” i.e., thou wilt rise more and more, and increase in wealth, power, and dignity. With this the discourse returns to its commencement; and the promise of blessing closes with another emphatic repetition of the condition on which the fulfilment depended ( Deu 28:13<\/span><\/em> and Deu 28:14<\/span>. On Deu 28:14<\/span>, see Deu 5:29<\/span>; Deu 11:28<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Promises.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD>

B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 1451.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE>

      1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD<\/B> thy God, to observe and<\/I> to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD<\/B> thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:   2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD<\/B> thy God.   3 Blessed shalt<\/I> thou be<\/I> in the city, and blessed shalt<\/I> thou be<\/I> in the field.   4 Blessed shall be<\/I> the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.   5 Blessed shall be<\/I> thy basket and thy store.   6 Blessed shalt<\/I> thou be<\/I> when thou comest in, and blessed shalt<\/I> thou be<\/I> when thou goest out.   7 The LORD<\/B> shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.   8 The LORD<\/B> shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD<\/B> thy God giveth thee.   9 The LORD<\/B> shall establish thee a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD<\/B> thy God, and walk in his ways.   10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD<\/B>; and they shall be afraid of thee.   11 And the LORD<\/B> shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD<\/B> sware unto thy fathers to give thee.   12 The LORD<\/B> shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.   13 And the LORD<\/B> shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD<\/B> thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:<\/I>   14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to<\/I> the right hand, or to<\/I> the left, to go after other gods to serve them.<\/P>

      The blessings are here put before the curses, to intimate, 1. That God is slow to anger, but swift to show mercy: he has said it, and sworn, that he would much rather we would obey and live than sin and die. It is his delight to bless. 2. That though both the promises and the threatenings are designed to bring and hold us to our duty, yet it is better that we be allured to that which is good by a filial hope of God’s favour than that we be frightened to it by a servile fear of his wrath. That obedience pleases best which comes from a principle of delight in God’s goodness. Now,<\/P>

      I. We have here the conditions upon which the blessing is promised. 1. It is upon condition that they diligently hearken to the voice of God<\/I> (Deu 28:1<\/span>; Deu 28:2<\/span>), that they hear God speaking to them by his word, and use their utmost endeavours to acquaint themselves with his will, v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>. 2. Upon condition that they observe and do all his commandments<\/I> (and in order to obedience there is need of observation) and that they keep the commandments of God<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 9<\/span>) and walk in his ways.<\/I> Not only do them for once, but keep them for ever; not only set out in his ways, but walk in them to the end. 3. Upon condition that they should not go aside either to the right hand or to the left,<\/I> either to superstition on the one hand, or profaneness on the other; and particularly that they should not go after other gods (v.<\/I><\/span> 14<\/span>), which was the sin that of all others they were most prone to, and God would be most displeased with. Let them take care to keep up religion, both the form and power of it, in their families and nation, and God would not fail to bless them.<\/P>

      II. The particulars of this blessing.<\/P>

      1. It is promised that the providence of God should prosper them in all their outward concerns. These blessings are said to overtake them,<\/I> v.<\/span> 2<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Good people sometimes, under the sense of their unworthiness, are ready to fly from the blessing and to conclude that it belongs not to them,; but the blessing shall find them out and follow them notwithstanding. Thus in the great day the blessing will overtake the righteous that say, Lord, when saw we thee hungry and fed thee?<\/I> Matt. xxv. 37<\/I><\/span>. Observe,<\/P>

      (1.) Several things are enumerated in which God by his providence would bless them:– [1.] They should be safe and easy; a blessing should rest upon their persons wherever they were, in the city,<\/I> or in the field,<\/I> v.<\/span> 3<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Whether their habitation was in town or country, whether they were husbandmen or tradesmen, whether their business called them into the city or into the field, they should be preserved from the dangers and have the comforts of their condition. This blessing should attend them in their journeys, going out and coming in, v.<\/I><\/span> 6<\/span>. Their persons should be protected, and the affair they went about should succeed well. Observe here, What a necessary and constant dependence we have upon God both for the continuance and comfort of this life. We need him at every turn, in all the various movements of life; we cannot be safe if he withdraw his protection, nor easy if he suspend his favour; but, if he bless us, go where we will it is well with us. [2.] Their families should be built up in a numerous issue: blessed shall be the fruit of thy body<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 4<\/span>), and in that the Lord shall make thee plenteous<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 11<\/span>), in pursuance of the promise made to Abraham, that his seed should be as the stars of heaven<\/I> for multitude, and that God would be a God to them, than which a greater blessing, and more comprehensive, could not be entailed upon the fruit of their body. See Isa. lxi. 9<\/span>. [3.] They should be rich, and have an abundance of all the good things of this life, which are promised them, not merely that they might have the pleasure of enjoying them, but (as bishop Patrick observes out of one of the Jewish writers) that they might have wherewithal to honour God, and might be helped and encouraged to serve him cheerfully and to proceed and persevere in their obedience to him. A blessing is promised, First,<\/I> On all they had without doors, corn and cattle in the field (Deu 28:4<\/span>; Deu 28:11<\/span>), their cows and sheep particularly, which would be blessed for the owners’ sakes, and made blessings to them. In order to this, it is promised that God would give them rain in due season,<\/I> which is called his good treasure<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 12<\/span>), because with this river of God the earth is enriched, Ps. lxv. 9<\/span>. Our constant supplies we must see coming from God’s good treasure, and own our obligations to him for them; if he withhold his rain, the fruits both of the ground and of the cattle soon perish. Secondly,<\/I> On all they had within doors, the basket and the store (v.<\/I><\/span> 5<\/span>), the store-houses or barns, v.<\/I><\/span> 8<\/span>. When it is brought home, God will bless it, and not blow upon it as sometimes he does, Hag 1:6<\/span>; Hag 1:9<\/span>. We depend upon God and his blessing, not only for our yearly corn out of the field, but for our daily bread out of our basket and store, and therefore are taught to pray for it every day. [4.] They should have success in all their employments, which would be a constant satisfaction to them: “The Lord shall command the blessing<\/I> (and it is he only that can command it) upon thee, not only in all thou hast, but in all thou doest, all that thou settest thy hand to,<\/I>” v.<\/I><\/span> 8<\/span>. This intimated that even when they were rich they must not be idle, but must find some good employment or other to set their hand to, and God would own their industry, and bless the work of their hand<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 12<\/span>); for that which makes rich,<\/I> and keeps so, is the blessing of the Lord<\/I> upon the hand of the diligent,<\/I>Pro 10:4<\/span>; Pro 10:22<\/span>. [5.] They should have honour among their neighbours (v.<\/I><\/span> 1<\/span>): The Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations.<\/I> He made them so, by taking them into covenant with himself, ch.<\/I><\/span> xxvi. 19<\/span>. And he would make them more and more so by their outward prosperity, if they would not by sin disparage themselves. Two things should help to make them great among the nations:–First,<\/I> Their wealth (v.<\/I><\/span> 12<\/span>): “Thou shalt lend to many nations<\/I> upon interest” (which they were allowed to take form the neighbouring nations), “but thou shalt not have occasion to borrow.” This would give them great influence with all about them; for the borrower is servant to the lender. It may be meant of trade and commerce, that they should export abundantly more than they should import, which would keep the balance on their side. Secondly,<\/I> Their power (v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>): “The Lord shall make thee the head,<\/I> to give law to all about thee, to exact tribute, and to arbitrate all controversies.” Every sheaf should bow to theirs, which would make them so considerable that all the people of the earth<\/I> would be afraid of them<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 10<\/span>), that is, would reverence their true grandeur, and dread making them their enemies. The flourishing of religion among them, and the blessing of God upon them, would make them formidable to all their neighbours, terrible as an army with banners. [6.] They should be victorious over their enemies, and prosper in all their wars. If any were so daring as to rise up against them to oppress them, or encroach upon them, it should be at their peril, they should certainly fall before them, v.<\/I><\/span> 7<\/span>. The forces of the enemy, though entirely drawn up to come against them one way, should be entirely routed, and flee before them seven ways, each making the best of his way.<\/P>

      (2.) From the whole we learn (though it were well if men would believe it) that religion and piety are the best friends to outward prosperity. Though temporal blessings do not take up so much room in the promises of the New Testament as they do in those of the Old, yet it is enough that our Lord Jesus has given us his word (and surely we may take his word) that if we seek first the kingdom of God, and the righteousness thereof, all other things<\/I> shall be added to us, as far as Infinite Wisdom sees good; and who can desire them further? Matt. vi. 33<\/span>.<\/P>

      2. It is likewise promised that the grace of God should establish them a holy people,<\/I> v.<\/span> 9<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Having taken them into covenant with himself, he would keep them in covenant; and, provided they used the means of stedfastness, he would give them the grace of stedfastness, that they should not depart from him. Note, Those that are sincere in holiness God will establish in holiness; and he is of power to do it,<\/I> Rom. xvi. 25<\/I><\/span>. He that is holy shall be holy still; and those whom God establishes in holiness he thereby establishes a people to himself, for a long as we keep close to God he will never forsake us. This establishment of their religion would be the establishment of their reputation (v.<\/I><\/span> 10<\/span>): All the people of the earth shall see,<\/I> and own, that thou art called by the name of the Lord,<\/I> that is, “that thou art a most excellent and glorious people, under the particular care and countenance of the great God. They shall be made to know that a people called by the name Jehovah are without doubt the happiest people under the sun, even their enemies themselves being judges.” The favourites of Heaven are truly great, and, first or last, it will be made to appear that they are so, if not in this world, yet at that day when those who confess Christ now shall be confessed by him before men and angels, as those whom he delights to honour.<\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

DEUTERONOMY – CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Verses 1-8:<\/p>\n

The condition of Israel’s receiving God’s blessing: obedience to His laws. If they gave this obedience, blessings rich and full would be theirs.<\/p>\n

“Shall come on,” bo,” come in.” The first occurrence of this word is Gen 6:18<\/span>, where it is translated “come into,” referring to God’s invitation to Noah and his family to enter the ark. It denotes entrance into a place or people.<\/p>\n

“Overtake,” nasag, <\/strong>“to cause to reach, attain.” The first occurrence of this word is Gen 31:2<\/span>, where it refers to Laban’s pursuit of Jacob.<\/p>\n

In the language pictures the blessings personified as actual persons who pursue the obedient child of God and move in to dwell with him.<\/p>\n

Israel’s blessings were to be in house and field, representing domestic and business activities, and relationships with other nations.<\/p>\n

“Basket,” tene <\/strong>(see Deu 26:2<\/span>), represents the fruits of the earth or field.<\/p>\n

“Store,” mishereth, <\/strong>“kneading trough,” denotes the use of these for the supply of one’s daily needs.<\/p>\n

God’s blessings would put Israel in a position of supremacy over other nations who might be tempted to rise up against them in battle, see Psa 18:37-40<\/span>.<\/p>\n

“Storehouses,” asamin, “barns,” used only here and Pro 3:10<\/span>, q.v.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

1. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken. He teaches the same thing as before in different words; but the diversity of expression, as well as the repetition, tends to its confirmation. First, God says that He would deal with them so bountifully that they should excel all other nations; for this is the meaning of the words, that they should be illustrious above all the rest of the world on account of the special blessings of God. He afterwards enumerates the blessings which shall never depart from them, if they persevere in the service of God; and here it must be observed that they are reminded, not only in how many ways God is bountiful towards His servants, but also to how many necessities they are exposed, which require His direct and constant aid; for if we are blessed in the city and in the field, we can no more move a foot than stand still, except by His blessing. Such also is the tendency of the whole list, that a scarcity of all things impends over us at every moment, unless God should continually succor us by remedies sent down from heaven, and that every good thing can only come from that one source. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

THE RELATION OF CONDUCT TO CONSEQUENCES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu 27:1<\/strong><\/span> to Deu 34:12<\/strong><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

An earnest study of these reveals: Blessing is a fruit of obedience; and curses are a consequence of disobedience. It was said to Israel,<\/p>\n

If thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:<\/em><\/p>\n

And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God (Deu 28:1-2<\/em><\/span>, f).<\/em><\/p>\n

Blessings in the city, blessings in the field (Deu 28:3<\/em><\/span><\/em>), <\/em>blessings on the fruit of the ground (Deu 28:4<\/em><\/span><\/em>),<\/em> triumph over enemies (Deu 28:7<\/em><\/span><\/em>),<\/em> richness in store-house (Deu 28:8<\/em><\/span><\/em>), <\/em>a great and good name (Deu 28:10<\/em><\/span><\/em>),<\/em> multiplied children (Deu 28:11<\/em><\/span><\/em>),<\/em> treasures from Heaven (Deu 28:12<\/em><\/span><\/em>),<\/em> their eventual supremacy (Deu 28:12<\/em><\/span><\/em>),<\/em> the head and not the tail, from above and not beneath (Deu 28:13<\/em><\/span><\/em>)all conditioned upon their keeping the law (Deu 28:14<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Who would change it now? Who would dare to have blessings apart from obedience? Who would dare to divorce the one from the other and face the consequences? Men have always shown a disposition to obey their fellows and an almost equal disposition to forget God. The monk or the nunhow they yield to the Abbot or the Abbess; the Sister to the Mother Superior; the Papal churchwhat obedience to the Pope! Paganismwhat abject slavery to high potentates! But for Israeltype of the Christian it is theirs to obey God<\/strong>, and if conflict arises, then in the language of Peter, to obey God rather than men (Act 5:29<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

One is compelled to recognize the fact that Modernism has so far discredited the personality of God, the Deity of Christ, and the authority of the Scriptures, that mens convictions no longer know a keen edge, and the Scripture commands no longer bind conscience, and the thus saith the Lord<\/em> no longer settles subjects of controversy.<\/p>\n

The Modernist argues against all external authority and has not only increased the waters of infidelity, but he has pushed back the floodgates of lawlessness and deluged the world.<\/p>\n

If there were no other reason for studying the Book of Deuteronomy, the repeated ringing call to men for obedience to the Divine Law is both a defense and justification of the same.<\/p>\n

As one moves on in its study he encounters the Palestinian covenant<\/strong> (Deu 29:1<\/em><\/span><\/em>, f).<\/em> That it is a Covenant in addition to the one made with them in Horeb, is perfectly clear, in fact, so clear that all debate about that subject is strained and needless. The former Covenant rested in right, tempered with mercy, and enriched by grace. This covenant explains itself in the light of experience; and while enunciating stringent conditions of blessing and strict rules of conduct, its promises are rich and lift to a higher spiritual level than the Horeb covenant. Circumcision of the flesh is changed now to the circumcision of the heart, and the bending of the knee to the surrender of the Spirit, and the blessings of the body to the life of the soul. The great lesson that runs throughout Deuteronomy, namely, that of the relation between obedience to God and Divine benediction, is a lesson upon which no mortal tongue will ever lay undue emphasis. The evils that grow out of disregard to Gods lawsno man can imagine them! The annals of human anguish is their record.<\/p>\n

We are told that when the first cable was laid in the Atlantic, where it went down miles and miles deep, it was found to be a failure and had to be taken up, at the loss of an enormous amount of time and unthinkable expense, and it was discovered that the workmen had ignored the oft-repeated command to keep it immersed in water while working on it, and on one occasion had left it where the hot sun struck it for a few minutes and melted the gutta-percha. Years followed before it could be laid again. Friends of the enterprise were greatly discouraged. Fifty voyages were made across the Atlantic, and finally capital enough was secured to lay it the second time. Possibly through the fault of another, who had forgotten to obey when the steamer had proceeded six hundred miles to sea, the cable parted and a loss of six million dollars ensued. In July 1866, the third cable was ready and a vessel sent out on her way. This time the work was completely successful and the world applauded Field. It might have been so from the first. This loss of time, of talent, of means, might have been saved had men exactly obeyed, but even this is but a feeble type of what the world has felt in consequence of disobedience to God. Moses, then, must have brought his message from above, for only God Himself ever understood, or even now comprehends the relation of obedience to blessing, of covenant keeping to character and world consequences.<\/p>\n

But we conclude with a further lesson of the relation of conduct to consequences.<\/p>\n

The death of Moses is a fitting climax to Moses life.<\/strong> The thirty-second chapter records his swan song, and what a song it is! Volumes might be devoted to it without a waste word. Truth follows truth in an almost unlimited series of statements. When the great soul comes to his conclusion God permits his lips to pour forth blessing upon the Children of Israel before he dies. The tribes are taken in turn, and for each, blessing is announced, Reuben, Levi, Jacob, Benjamin, and so on. Moses is now to the tribes what Jacob was to his sonsa rare father yearning over them and blessing them. Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O<\/em> <\/strong>people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! (Deu 33:29<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/p>\n

The concluding chapter of this Book, the thirty-fourth, records Moses death, and suggests the translation of his body. How can one speak as he ought to speak of this man when he comes to the last and hushed moment of life! Bettex writes: Forty years a prince in the palaces of Egypt; forty years a shepherd in the wild wastes of Midian; forty years in the power of God, he bears his people through the wilderness, as a mother carries her babe, and then dies on Mount Nebo, according to the Word of the Lord,<\/em> literally at the mouth of the Lord<\/em> which the rabbins interpret, by the kiss of the Lord (Deu 34:5<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> What inexpressible words this man may have heard; what heavenly mysteries and Divine visions he may have seen, when, oblivious of the world, he was with Jehovah forty days and forty nights, and ate no bread and drank no water! His countenance is radiant with it; his thundering words flash it; the song of Moses, which John hears the redeemed sing in Heaven, echoes it. And the Christian is permitted to ascend Sinai with him; to come into the presence of his God; to hear unspeakable things out of His Law, and to forget the world below, which is dancing around its golden calf.<\/p>\n

And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the Children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab (Deu 34:7-8<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

How simple and yet how sublime the record! It is enough! Moses tomb requires no epitaph. His name is sufficiently immortalized. Modernists will never take the coronet from Moses brow.<\/p>\n

This was the bravest warrior <\/p>\n

That ever buckled sword;<\/p>\n

This the most gifted poet <\/p>\n

That ever breathed a word:<\/p>\n

And never earthy philosopher <\/p>\n

Traced with his golden pen,<\/p>\n

On the deathless page, truths half so sage <\/p>\n

As he wrote down for men.<\/p>\n

That was the grandest funeral <\/p>\n

That ever passed on earth,<\/p>\n

But no one heard the tramping,<\/p>\n

Or saw the train go forth,<\/p>\n

None but the bald old eagle<\/p>\n

On gray Bethpeors height,<\/p>\n

Which from his rocky eyrie<\/p>\n

Looked on the wondrous sight.<\/p>\n

And had he not high honor<\/p>\n

The hillside for his pall<\/p>\n

To lie in state, while angels wait<\/p>\n

With stars for tapers tall;<\/p>\n

And the dark rock-pines, like tossing plumes,<\/p>\n

Over his bier to wave,<\/p>\n

And Gods own hand, in that lonely land,<\/p>\n

To lay him in the grave?<\/p>\n

O lonely tomb in Moabs land!<\/p>\n

O dark Bethpeors hill!<\/p>\n

Speak to these curious hearts of ours<\/p>\n

And teach them to be still!<\/p>\n

God hath His mysteries of grace,<\/p>\n

Ways that we cannot tell,<\/p>\n

He hides them deep, like the secret sleep<\/p>\n

Of him He loved so well.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CRITICAL NOTES<\/strong>.Moses now enlarges and gives the blessings and curses in detail (cf<\/em>. Exo. 23:20-23<\/span> and Leviticus 26<\/span>.) The blessings are declared in fourteen verses; the curses require nearly four times as many. Thus here again the curse is the more conspicuous feature in the law Speak. Com<\/em>. Obedience the condition of blessing and this is repeated at beginning (Deu. 28:2<\/span>) middle (29) and close (Deu. 28:13-14<\/span>) in positive and energetic form.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:1-6<\/span><\/strong>. Blessings actual powers which follow and overtake them in all relations of life. Field (Deu. 28:3<\/span>; Lev. 26:3<\/span>.) Body (Deu. 28:4<\/span>), i.e.<\/em> children. Basket (Deu. 28:5<\/span>) for carrying articles for personal use (Deu. 26:2<\/span>). Store lit<\/em>. kneading-trough, in which daily bread is prepared (Exo. 12:34<\/span>). Comest in all journeys or affairs and administrations (Num. 27:17<\/span>; Deu. 31:2<\/span>; 2Sa. 3:25<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:7-14<\/span><\/strong>. Effects of blessings expressed in the optative forms earnestly desired. May the Lord bless, etc. Conquest over enemies (Deu. 28:7<\/span>). Flee in rout, in many ways. Storehouses (Deu. 28:8<\/span>) underground generally (Lev. 26:7-8<\/span>). Exhaltation (Deu. 28:9<\/span>). Holy (Exo. 19:5-6<\/span>; Deu. 7:6<\/span>). Called (Deu. 28:10<\/span>) rightly and truly a most excellent and favoured people. Plenteous (Deu. 28:11<\/span>) lit<\/em>. shall make thee abound in good, superabundance for good, i.e.<\/em> for happiness and prosperity (cf<\/em>. Deu. 30:9<\/span>.) Treasures rain and fruitful seasons. Head (Deu. 28:13<\/span>) independent in power and dignity (Isa. 9:14<\/span>; Isa. 19:15<\/span>). Tail not vassals. (Deu. 28:14<\/span>) emphatic conditions on which blessings depend.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:15-19<\/span><\/strong>. Curses proclaimed in sixfold repetition, the exact counterpart of blessing almost. The special modes in which these threats should be executed are described in five groups of denunciations, Deu. 28:20-68<\/span>. (Speak. Com<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:20-26<\/span><\/strong>. First group. Cursing<\/em> (cf<\/em>. Mal. 2:2<\/span>) on all they do, issuing in various forms of disease. famine, and defeat in war. Vex<\/em>. Confusion, as armies in defeat (cf<\/em>. Deu. 7:23<\/span>; 1Sa. 14:20<\/span>), Pestilence<\/em>. Fatal epidemic (1Ki. 8:37<\/span>; Amo. 4:10<\/span>). Consumption<\/em>. Wasting sickness, not European phthisis. Fever<\/em>. Acute disease. Sword<\/em>. Others drought or heat; curse rests on vegetation. Brass<\/em> (Deu. 28:23<\/span>). Hard, dry, and shut up from giving rain. Dust<\/em> shall fall like showersdry, and as a burning sirocco (Deu. 28:25<\/span>). Smitten<\/em> (cf<\/em>. Lev. 26:17<\/span>; Isa. 30:17<\/span>). Removed<\/em>. Not dispersion among heathen, but driven from one place to another without settlement. Meat<\/em> (Deu. 28:26<\/span>), a great horror, the case with many Jews in Antiochian persecution (Psa. 79:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:27-34<\/span><\/strong>.<\/strong> Second Group. Loathsome diseases, and humbled and oppressed by calamities. Botch<\/em>, black leprosy, peculiar to Eg. (Exo. 9:9<\/span>). Emarods<\/em>. fistula or piles. Scab<\/em>. scurvy. Itch, most malignant in East. Deu. 28:28<\/span>. Mental ailments, bewilderment, and paralysed with terror. Mad<\/em> (Jer. 25:16-18<\/span>). Grope<\/em>, like the blind, in painful uncertainty (Isa. 59:10<\/span>). Deu. 28:30<\/span>. Utter spoliation. Everything dear taken and not restored<\/em> (Deu. 28:31<\/span>). Might<\/em>. All help would fail (Gen. 31:29<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:35-46<\/span><\/strong>. Third Group. As such diseases separated from men so Israel would be separated, rejected by God and brought under the dominion of strangers. Knees. Incurable leprosy, affecting joints, extremities, and whole body. King. A prophetic anticipation. No king given under Mosaic system. Serve. Seduced or compelled by idolatry as in Assyrian and Babylonish captivity (Jer. 44:17-19<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:38<\/span><\/strong>. In their own land curse would rest upon labour and enterprise (Mic. 6:15<\/span>; Hag. 1:6<\/span>; Joe. 1:4<\/span>). Worms. Weevil destructive to vines. Deu. 28:43-44<\/span> compare with Deu. 28:12-13<\/span> Sign (Deu. 28:46<\/span>). A warning to other nations. For ever. A remnant would return to faith and obedience (Rom. 9:27<\/span>; Rom. 11:5<\/span>)<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:47-57<\/span><\/strong>. Fourth Group. More severe calamities are described in subjugation to a foreign foe.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:49<\/span><\/strong>. Nation. Some think the Chaldeans. But it needs only to read this part of the denunciation and to compare it with the narrative of Josephus De Bell. Jud. VI. to see that its full and exact accomplishment took place in the wars of Vespasian and Titus against the Jews, as indeed the Jews generally admit. Speak. Com<\/em>. Eagle. Roman ensign (cf<\/em>. Mat. 24:28<\/span>). Fierce (Deu. 28:50<\/span>). Strong of face (cf. Dan. 7:23<\/span>), upon whom nothing would make impression. The foe would consume cattle, besiege towers, and so distress them that they would eat the fruit of their body, i.e.<\/em>, their own children (2Ki. 6:24-30<\/span>; Jer. 19:9<\/span>). The effeminate man would have an evil eye. i.e.<\/em>, envy toward a brother who had nothing left<\/em> to give to the revolting viands.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:55<\/span><\/strong>. The tender woman would be led to appease hunger by her young one<\/em>, her after-birth, and then with her children.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:58-68<\/span><\/strong>. Ultimate issue of the curse in uprooting Israel and dispersing them if obstinate in rebellion Book<\/em> the Law or Pentateuch. The diseases of Egypt would decimate them remarkably fulfilled in persecution and war. God, who had done them good, would rejoice over their destruction; those who survived would be scattered (cf<\/em> Lev. 26:33<\/span>; Jer. 16:13<\/span>; Eccles. 48:15; Jos. De Bell. Jud. 6<\/span>. 9:2). They would find no rest (cf<\/em>. Jer. 36:26<\/span>; Amo. 9:4<\/span>). Life would be suspended on a mere visible thread, which might be snapped any moment (Deu. 28:66<\/span>). Brought out of Egypt by mighty power, they would be carried back in slave ships and become bondmen.<\/p>\n

NATIONAL OBEDIENCE AND UNIVERSAL PROSPERITY.<\/strong>Deu. 28:1-6<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

National obedience would be rewarded with extraordinary prosperity.<\/p>\n

I. Prosperity in city and country<\/strong> (Deu. 28:3<\/span>). The city<\/em> needs God in business; councils, boards, and counting-houses would never increase and prosper without Him. Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that (are builders of it) build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain (Psa. 127:1<\/span>). The field<\/em>such a contrast from the city, for God made the country, but man made the townneeds Gods sunshine and shower. In trade and agriculture they would prosper if obedient.<\/p>\n

II. Increase of population and of cattle<\/strong> (Deu. 28:4<\/span>). The fruit of thy body. A numerous offspring was promised to Abraham (Gen. 22:17<\/span>). Children healthy and happy are a heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward (Psa. 127:3<\/span>). There should be increase in cattle, kine, nd flocks of sheep, and the ground should produce enough to keep them.<\/p>\n

III. Abundant supply of the necessities of life<\/strong>. In their basket and in their store they would never wantenough for personal and domestic use, no scarcity in anything. Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.<\/p>\n

IV. Safety in all journeys<\/strong>. When thou comest in and when thou goest out (Deu. 28:6<\/span>). We need constant protection on sea and land, in train and market traps. What wrecks, what accidents we read of! How we depend upon God! Never safe, never easy, if He suspends His favour! If He bless, go where we will and engage in what trade we like, all is well. The blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.<\/p>\n

EFFECTS OF DIVINE BLESSING IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE.<\/strong>Deu. 28:7-10<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The effects of Gods blessing, like the influence of gentle showers, would be diffusive and rest upon them in all circumstances and conditions of life. This is seen in three relationships, to their enemies, to trade, and to other nations.<\/p>\n

I. Supremacy over enemies (<\/strong>Deu. 28:7<\/span><\/strong>). They shall be smitten and put to flight in various ways. A small number would over-match a mighty host. On Gods side we are on the right side. God and one man are always a majority says one. There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.<\/p>\n

II. Success in all undertakings<\/strong>. In all that thou settest thine hand unto (Deu. 28:8<\/span>). In all handicraft and labour, in what they had and in what they did they would be blessed. If rich, we must not be idle. Accumulation of wealth may be accumulation of sorrow. Life which may be a continual feast may be a constant vexation if not faithful to God. Godliness is profitable unto all things, etc.<\/p>\n

III. Increase of national glory<\/strong>. This glory is special, universal and certain. <\/p>\n

1. In renewed covenant<\/em>. God would exalt them in character and position according to the oath which he made from the first. An oath never forgotten, but specially mentioned and confirmed for help and encouragement to His people. They were a peculiar and special treasure unto Him above all people. <\/p>\n

2. In exalted holiness<\/em>. An holy people unto himself (Deu. 28:9<\/span>). He not only takes them, but keeps them in the covenant. Establishes them in holiness and truth. This is the highest honour. Outward prosperity decays like a flower, withers away like Jonahs gourd; but the glory of holy character and conduct is a glory that excels. <\/p>\n

3. In great wealth<\/em>. Thou shalt lend unto many nations and thou shalt not borrow (Deu. 28:12<\/span>). The borrower is always servant to the lender. But they would have money to lend, never be reduced to straits, to dependence upon othersnever become victims of cruelty, nor even objects of sympathy. <\/p>\n

4. In mighty power<\/em>. The head and not the tail. Never servile, but always supreme. Above<\/em> only rising in wealth, dignity, and power, and not beneath<\/em>. This realised in the time of David and Solomon. Loyalty to God is the way to ascendency among nations. The ancient and honourable he is the head. <\/p>\n

5. In universal favour<\/em> All people of the earth shall see and be afraid of thee (Deu. 28:10<\/span>). When God is with us, and his glory reflected in holy life, men reverence our grandeur and fear our authority. The nearer to God, the greater our influence over men. An obedient holy Church would be a formidable power, terrible as an army with banners. All people would see its spiritual distinctions, feel its moral force and mysterious influence (Act. 2:43<\/span>; Act. 4:13<\/span>; Jos. 2:10-11<\/span>.) There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land.<\/p>\n

WONDERFUL BLESSINGS.<\/strong>Deu. 28:1-14<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I. Blessings extensive in their character<\/strong> (Deu. 28:3-7<\/span><\/strong>)<\/strong>. Given to Israel first, but for every nation that fears God and keeps His commands. Reaching into the future and enduring for ever. <\/p>\n

1. Wide in their sphere<\/em>. For family and city, social intercourse, business and war. Comprehending everything needful for a nations wealth, health, and happiness. <\/p>\n

2. Abundant in variety<\/em>. Rain in its seasons, increase of cattle and flocks, increase of men and of honour. Temporal and spiritual in going out and coming in, upon individuals, households and possessions.<\/p>\n

II. Blessings certain in their bestowment<\/strong>. Not merely by the soil of Canaan or the laws of Nature; but by special promise and special providence Thy God will<\/em> set thee on high. All these blessings shall come<\/em> upon thee. We speak of the reign of law, and forget that all laws physical or spiritual are ordained and controlled by one supreme lawgiver. Fidelity to God prompts to right use of means and reaps the results of natural laws. All things work together (in harmony, not in opposition) for good (as the result) to them that love God (Rom. 8:28<\/span>).<\/p>\n

III. Blessings conditioned in their enjoyment<\/strong>. Not given at random and without special design. The conditions of their tenure are plain<\/p>\n

1. Attention to Gods will<\/em>. If thou shalt hearken diligentlyeager and diligent attention given to every word of God. <\/p>\n

2. Obedience to Gods commands<\/em>. To observe and to do all His commandmentsobedience habitual, sincere, and devout. <\/p>\n

3. Perseverance in good<\/em>. Unswerving in principle, apostacy would provoke divine judgments. These are the conditions, repeated in positive and negative form, in Deu. 28:2<\/span>; Deu. 28:9<\/span>; Deu. 28:13-14<\/span>. Thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them (Deu. 28:14<\/span>).<\/p>\n

IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF LIFE<\/strong><\/p>\n

We may sum up the preceding thoughts in a brief sketch of the principles which ought to influence our conduct.<\/p>\n

I. That our future happiness largely depends upon our present conduct<\/strong>. If thou shalt. Man is free to choose, obedience is not forced. Life and death set before us, which shall it be? Choose ye.<\/p>\n

II. That obedience to God alone will secure this happiness<\/strong>. God has pledged this; a kind providence fulfils the pledge, sends blessings in time<\/em> and place<\/em> where most needed.<\/p>\n

III. That therefore obedience is the best policy for nations and individuals<\/strong>. There is intimate connection between conduct and destiny, between morality and worldly prosperity. Regard to our own interests, to divine law, and to the future welfare of the country urge decision for Godinstant and earnest decision. For it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.<\/p>\n

HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu. 28:2<\/span>. The happy journey<\/em>. I. The direction indicated<\/em>, overtake thee. <\/p>\n

1. Started for God and His service, or could not be overtaken.
2. Obedient to the guide. The voice heard. Gods will revealed in Scripture or could not be fulfilled. <\/p>\n

3. Progress made. No loitering, no standing still, constantly going on. II. The blessings which accompany those who walk in this direction. All good things mentioned shall come upon them, overtake them and rest upon them in every stage of their journeyUnexpectedly befall thee. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow thee (Psa. 22:6<\/span>), as the evening sunbeams follow the passenger, as the rock-water followed the Israelites in the wilderness and overtook them in their stations (1Co. 10:4<\/span>). O continue, or draw out to the length, thy loving kindness unto them that know thee (Psa. 36:11<\/span>). There will be a continued series, a connexion between them to all such.Trapp<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:5<\/span>. Store<\/em>. Cicero saith, one friend should wish to another three things only, to enjoy health, to possess honour, and not suffer necessity. He that observeth Gods commands, shall have all these and more.Trapp<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:7<\/span>. The routed enemy<\/em>. This is a world of conflict. Incessant war between truth and error. This verse describes I. The enemys attack. <\/p>\n

1. It was united: gathered into one force;
2. Concentrated. II. The enemys defeat.
1. Not a strategic movement;
2. But a disorderly flight (ill<\/em>. morning at Waterloo: the evening cryLet him save himself who can). III. The cause of the defeat. <\/p>\n

1. Not by the courage of Israel, or sagacity of leaders.
2. But the help of God.<\/p>\n

Divine help is sometimes most apparent (ill<\/em>. Armada scattered by storm). Learn <\/p>\n

(1.) To serve God in times of peace, and then
(2.) you may safely trust him in times of war.Bib. Museum<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:9-10<\/span>. Israels pre-eminence<\/em>. <\/p>\n

1. In relationship to God.
2. In temporal prosperity, abundant harvest, etc. <\/p>\n

3. In the influence over international counsels. Deu. 28:10<\/span>. Be afraid. The homage of the world to moral worth<\/em>. Gods name, Gods glory reflected in human character, will not merely command respect, but receive the homage of conscience, and conversationNebuchadnezzar and Darius and Daniel, Herod and John, Pharoah and Joseph.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:12<\/span>. Heaven Gods storehouse<\/em>, earth depends upon this storehouseCanaan especially required rain. God keeps the key, opens and shuts according to his good pleasure, to discipline and train the people.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:12-13<\/span>. I. God in Nature<\/em>, giving rain and fruitful seasons. II. God in history<\/em>, bestowing wealth to individuals, exalting nations to dignity favouring the good and confounding the evil.<\/p>\n

DISOBEDIENCE AND ITS PENALTIES.<\/strong>Deu. 28:15-20<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The curses are given as counterparts of blessings (Deu. 28:16-19<\/span>) in sixfold repetition. covering all relationships of life, corresponding to Deu. 28:3-6<\/span>Learn:<\/p>\n

I. If men are disposed to act rightly, they may be happy<\/strong>. Difficulties lie not in the Lord, in the providence or in the sovereignty of God; all things are ready with him, but men are unwilling. Jerusalem would not. Obedience is the surest way to happiness. Righteousness tendeth to life. Walking in the precepts we enjoy the promises of God. God appeals to us, seeks to dispose, not to compel us to do right, Will ye? If we serve him, we find that in the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof is no death.<\/p>\n

II. If men persist in doing wrong they may be ruined<\/strong>. If thou wilt not hearken. <\/p>\n

1. Ruined in business<\/em>. In city and in field, in commerce and agriculture (Deu. 28:16<\/span>). If we love gain and forget God, our schemes may be upset and security taken away. Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right (Pro. 16:8<\/span>). <\/p>\n

2. Reduced in daily necessities<\/em>. Cursed in basket and in store (Deu. 28:27<\/span>). God gives daily bread, sends scarcity and want at his pleasure. Life is sustained, not by bread only, but by his will. If in the midst of plenty, we offend God, the blessings may be turned into curses. <\/p>\n

3. Disappointed in family prospects<\/em>. No fruit of the body: or if children, sickness, and death cut them down in early bloom. No lambs for the flock, no increase of kine; God does not bless and multiply them, but suffers cattle to decrease and disappoints expectations. The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just (Pro. 3:33<\/span>). <\/p>\n

4. Unsafe in journeys<\/em> (Deu. 28:19<\/span>). A kind providence watches over a good man; but the wicked, through imprudence and neglect, often meet with mishaps. God alone can make our journey prosperous (Gen. 24:21<\/span>), and for this a Christian will pray (Rom. 1:10<\/span>). Such are some of the ways in which a man may be ruined. The very reverse of former prosperity and a sure indication of Gods providence.<\/p>\n

III. Hence persistence in wrong doing is most foolish<\/strong>. Heedless, impetuous, and thoughtless, stripped of all they esteem valuable, exposed to mischief, and deaf to divine learning, sinners go on to their doom. Conduct most reckless and most criminal! God expostulates but in vain. Fighting against God and their own interests! What monstrous folly! What infinite mercy to prevent irremediable destruction. Ye fools, when will ye be wise?<\/p>\n

FIRST GROUP: SIN AND SUFFERINGS.<\/strong>Deu. 28:20-26<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Judgments are grouped together in series. Examine each in order. From the first group, learn<\/p>\n

I. That sin brings miseries<\/strong>. Sin and suffering are bound together by iron chains. This is<\/p>\n

1. A doctrine of Scripture<\/em>. He that pursueth evil, pursueth it to his own death<\/em>. The wages of sin is death<\/em>. <\/p>\n

2. A law of nature<\/em>. Curses never come causeless. Sin is violation of natural order, and suffering must follow as season follows season. <\/p>\n

3. A Divine appointment<\/em>. Misery springs not from the dust, but is linked by Divine decree to evil doing. Moral laws are as certain in operation and results as natural laws. We cannot evade the issues of conduct; the seed determines the nature of the crop, and the sowing the reaping.<\/p>\n

II. That the miseries of sin are often most distressing<\/strong>. What a list in these verses! <\/p>\n

1. Consuming pestilence. Cleaving<\/em> unto men, cemented and inseparabledefying the skill of the physician and the efforts of sanitary authorities. <\/p>\n

2. Manifold bodily diseases<\/em> (Deu. 28:22<\/span>). Germs of disease float in the atmosphere, and are developed by the conduct of depraved men. Moral poison destroys physical beauty and life, and covers the body with sores and diseases. <\/p>\n

3. Terrible drought<\/em>. Destroying vegetation by blasting and mildew (Deu. 28:22<\/span>). Early and latter rain withheld, and the earth hard and incapable of cultivation. Heaven above as brass, and earth beneath as iron. The surface of the ground reduced to powder, which is taken up by strong winds and poured down in showers of destructive violence (Deu. 28:24<\/span>). <\/p>\n

4. Defeat in war<\/em>. A nation ever victorious through God, bereft of his help, smitten<\/em> by the enemy; fleeing<\/em> away in disgrace; removed<\/em> into all the nations of the earth, or left on the field exposed to indignity, meat unto all the fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth (Deu. 28:26<\/span>). Sin brings ruinruin in everything connected with the sinnerruin in body and soul, in family and estate. We best serve our own interests, and preserve our well-being, for this world and the next, by acting in conformity with Gods word.<\/p>\n

When sorrows come,
They come not single spies,
But in battalions.Shakespeare<\/em>.<\/p>\n

ABOVE AND BENEATH.<\/strong>Deu. 28:23-24<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

These words have a moral application and may typify spiritual dearth.<\/p>\n

I. Above abundant supplies<\/strong>. A storehouse full of good things, ready to be poured out. The Holy Spirit and showers of divine blessings. I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods<\/em> upon the dry ground.<\/p>\n

II. Beneath, parched ground<\/strong>. The ministry needs quickening. The Church languishes. Failure of effort and lack of conversions. The vineyard of God unfruitful and the world perishing. Popularize your societies is the cry of many; we say vitalize<\/em> them. I beheld, and lo. the fruitful place was a wilderness.<\/p>\n

III. How to remove the sterility<\/strong>. It is not designed to be permanent. <\/p>\n

1. Forsake sin<\/em>. This brings blight and curse. He turneth a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. <\/p>\n

2. Pray to God<\/em>. Prayer, says Robert Hall, is a spring which the Almighty never fails to touch when He has a rich blessing to communicate to His church. Unexpected and marvellous things may be witnessed through prayer. Prove me now herewith, said the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open to you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.<\/p>\n

HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu. 28:20<\/span>. The Threefold Curse. Cursing, vexation, and rebuke. <\/p>\n

1. Moral in its cause<\/em>. Wickedness of thy doings Thou hast forsaken me. <\/p>\n

2. Extensive in its scope<\/em>. In all that thou settest thine hand unto. <\/p>\n

3. Long in its duration<\/em>. Until. <\/p>\n

4. Terrible in its end<\/em>. Destroyed. Perish quickly. The first<\/em> of these words seems to import that God would blast all their designs; the second<\/em> relates to disquiet and perplexity of mind arising from disappointment of their hopes, and presages of approaching miseries; the third<\/em> respects such chastisements from God as would give them a severe check and rebuke for their sins and follies.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:22<\/span>. Seven Plagues. What a fearful thing, to fall into the hands of the living God!<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:23-24<\/span>. The pitiless storm. <\/p>\n

1. Endangering life, blinding eyes, filling nostrils and mouth, making it difficult to breathe and drive in the street.
2. Creating intense thirst; the lips crack, and no water to slake burning thirst.
3. Affording no shelter; often no bush, no rock, no friendly house to hide from the fierce simoon.Cf.<\/em> Dr. Porter, and<\/em> Ld. and Bk. II<\/em>. 311, Thom<\/em>.<\/p>\n

SECOND GROUP: THE POWER <\/strong>OF<\/em><\/strong> GOD IN THE AFFLICTION OF MEN.<\/strong>Deu. 28:27<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/strong>Once the sinner having set himself against God, he of necessity suffers in mind, body, and estate. The primitive laws of nature become executors of Gods power and judgments.<\/p>\n

I. Gods power displayed in human life<\/strong>. God is absolutely supreme, a law unto Himself and does what He will among men. <\/p>\n

1. In the human body<\/em> (Deu. 28:27<\/span>). God, who built our body, can smite it with disease; acute and loathsome; torture every nerve, and render man hideous from the sole of the foot to the crown of the head. <\/p>\n

2. In the human mind<\/em> (Deu. 28:28<\/span>). Mental sufferings are greater than bodily. It the mind is smitten and reason dethroned, man is down and no physician can help him up. With a healthy body, elevated desires and happy prospects, we may triumph over physical suffering. But when body and mind are tortured, how terrible! A wounded spirit<\/em>, who can bear? <\/p>\n

3. In the social circle<\/em> (Deu. 28:30<\/span>). Wife, house and vineyard, everything most dear would be touched and taken by the curse. Sin robs of family joys and family status. Domestic comfort, reputation and property all go. Often from heights of worldly greatness, families fall to the lowest depths of degradation and distress. For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this (2Ch. 29:9<\/span>).<\/p>\n

II. Gods power displayed in national history<\/strong>. Nations are but men, governed by the providence, according to the purpose of God. He can dash them in pieces like a potters vessel. God has power. <\/p>\n

1. Over the possessions of nations<\/em>. Vineyards are planted by Him. Sheep and oxen; the cattle on a thousand hills are His. A nations property may be great, constantly accumulating, and apparently secure, but if unjustly gained, ungratefully held or wickedly abused, God may give it to the enemies and thou shalt have none to rescue (Deu. 28:31<\/span>). He increaseth the nations and destroyeth them; He enlargeth the nations and straiteneth (carrieth them away) again (Job. 12:23<\/span>). <\/p>\n

2. Over the population of nations<\/em>. God builds up a people in number, as well as in material wealth. But He breaketh down and it cannot be built again. Vice poisons the blood and destroys the life; war, famine and pestilence waste the inhabitants of nations. Posterity, to whom are committed the interests of commerce, the defence of the throne and the glory of our name, are often cut off by divine judgments. I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.<\/p>\n

Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay.<\/p>\n

III. Gods power irresistible in its displays<\/strong>. Israel would see<\/em> their children carried captives but have no might in their hand to rescue them, and would pine away in sorrow (Deu. 28:32<\/span>). <\/p>\n

1. Powerless to resist His doings<\/em>. Power is seen in creation, sustenance and government of the world. He is mighty in strength, the force of all forces, in heaven and earth. Men shall speak of the might<\/em> of thy terrible acts. I will work and who shall let<\/em> it (hinder, or turn it back) Isa. 43:13<\/span>. <\/p>\n

2. Powerless to resist his purpose<\/em>. No man, no combination of men can prevent the fulfilment of His plan. He is of one mind, and who can turn<\/em> Him? Can a pebble hinder the advancing tide? God moves on in majestic power. Nations are futile in their rage and opposition. If he cut off and shut up (i.e.<\/em> arrest and imprison), or gather together (call an assembly for judgment), then who can hinder Him? (Job. 11:10<\/span>). What folly to resist God. Why dost thou strive against Him? Has He done you harm? Can you succeed? Submit, avoid the curse and secure the blessing.<\/p>\n

HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu. 28:28-29<\/span>. The dreadful power of suffering<\/em>. Smite thee with madness. Gods judgments reach the mind as well as body and estate, make men a terror to themselves and drive them to desperation.<\/p>\n

Blindness<\/em>, physical and mental, loss of sight and confounding of understanding. Unable to devise means to prevent or remove calamities, and led to adopt those which tended directly to their ruin. How true the saying, Quos Deus vult perdere prius dementat<\/em> Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first infatuates. What a warning to nations! What an awful type of wicked men!<\/p>\n

Judicial Blindness<\/em>. <\/p>\n

1. When truth is rejected.
2. Moral light intellectnal and spiritual withdrawn. And
3. Moral vision entirely obscured (cf<\/em>. Rom. 11:18<\/span>; 2Co. 3:4<\/span>). They met with (run into) darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night (Job. 5:14<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:27-34<\/span>. Elements of Distress<\/em>. <\/p>\n

1. Personal annoyances (Deu. 28:27<\/span>). <\/p>\n

2. Mental derangement (Deu. 28:28<\/span>).<\/p>\n

3. Providential reverses (a<\/em>) In domestic life (Deu. 28:30<\/span>). (b<\/em>) In commercial life (Deu. 28:31-33<\/span>). Distress indicating Divine agency. Divine severity.<\/p>\n

THIRD GROUP: THE REJECTION AND DEGRADATION OF ISRAEL.<\/strong>Deu. 28:35-46<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We have here solemn gradation of evils. Confusion and anarchy, uniting with oppression, produce madness of heart; disease pursues its ravages in most malignant forms; labour and enterprise are blasted by the curse, and the nation sinks into total disgrace and ruin.<\/p>\n

I. Israel would be cut off from fellowship with God (<\/strong>Deu. 28:35<\/span><\/strong>)<\/strong>. From the sole of the foot unto the crown of the head they would be smitten with loathsome and incurable disease, a sore botch that cannot be healed. Leprosy cut off from the society of man, so Israel would be excluded from fellowship with God.<\/p>\n

II. Israel would become impoverished at home<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

1. The fruits of the land would be consumed<\/em>. Locusts would devour the seed. They might carry much into the field, but would reap little (Deu. 28:28<\/span>); the planting and dressing of the vineyard would give no<\/em> wine to drink, for the worm would devour the vine (Deu. 28:39<\/span>); the trees would yield no oil to anoint, but would be uprooted or destroyed (Deu. 28:40<\/span>). <\/p>\n

2. They would fall into an inferior position<\/em>. They would have to borrow money instead of lending (Deu. 28:44<\/span>); strangers would rise above them in wealth and social rank, become the head, and they would be the tail; their condition would be the opposite to Deu. 28:13<\/span>. <\/p>\n

3. A curse would rest upon their children<\/em>. Children may deteriorate through sin, and carry in their persons the curse of God to future generations. And upon thy seed for ever. Israel as a nation would be rejected, but a remnant would be saved (cf<\/em>. Isa. 10:22<\/span>; Isa. 6:13<\/span>; Rom. 9:27<\/span>; Rom. 11:5<\/span>).<\/p>\n

III. Israel would be a terror to spectators<\/strong>. For a sign and for a wonder (Deu. 28:46<\/span>). Gods doings are not simply wonderful<\/em>, but signs<\/em> of supernatural interposition, illustrations of spiritual truth. Never was a<\/strong> people such a sign as the Jews, whose seed for thousands of years have been a wonder over the face of the earth!<\/p>\n

IV. Israel would be brought under subjection to a foreign Power<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

1. They were taken into captivity<\/em> (Deu. 28:36<\/span>). Their kingsJehoichin (2Ki. 24:12<\/span>; 2Ki. 24:14<\/span>), Zedekiah (2Ki. 25:7<\/span>; 2Ki. 25:11<\/span>), and Manasseh (2Ch. 33:11<\/span>)were taken away by foreign nations. Edward III. had the King of Scots and the King of France captives together. Monarchs with body-guards and means of protection cannot escape the vengeance of God. How hopeless that case when the defender shares the fate of the subjects! <\/p>\n

2. They were forced to serve other gods<\/em>. As in Babylon and in Popish countries. Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favour (Jer. 16:13<\/span>).<\/p>\n

V. Israel would become a byeword among nations (<\/strong>Deu. 28:37<\/span><\/strong>)<\/strong>. Jews have been despised among Mahometans, Pagans, and Christians. There is scarcely any part of the globe where the prediction has not been verified. In short, the annals of almost every nation, for 1800 years, afford abundant proofs that this has been, as it still is, the case, the very name of Jew being a universally recognised term for extreme degradation and wretchedness, and is often applied by passionate people in derisionYou Jew!<\/em> And now am I their song; yea, I am their byeword (Job. 30:9<\/span>).<\/p>\n

GODS CONTROL OVER NATURE.<\/strong>Deu. 28:35<\/span><\/em><\/strong>; <\/em><\/strong>Deu. 28:38-42<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I. In the material department<\/strong>. Earth with its produce, in fields and vineyardsheaven with its sun and its showers, are under the superintendence of God and governed in the interests of men. The heavens satisfy the earth and the earth yields its increase to men; but all things in heaven and earth depend upon God. So that without His bidding, says Calvin, not a drop of rain falls from heaven, and the earth produces no germ, and consequently all nature would be barren, unless he gave it fertility by his blessing. How long shall the land mourn and the herbs of every field wither for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.<\/p>\n

II. In the intelligent department<\/strong>. Over the bodies and minds of men. The beauty of the one and the vigour of the other. The strength of the limb (Deu. 28:35<\/span>) and the use of reason (Deu. 28:28<\/span>) come from Him. The condition of the parents and the fate of the children are fixed by His providence (Deu. 28:41<\/span>). God directs and controls all forces and all agencies to accomplish His designs. None are beyond the reach and none can escape the punishment of God. All troubles, says Bishop Reynolds, have their commission and instructions from Himwhat to do, whither to go, whom to touch, and whom to pass over.<\/p>\n

PARENTAL DISAPPOINTMENT.<\/strong>Deu. 28:41<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I. Parents anticipate great things from children<\/strong>. Dutiful conduct and reverence, joy, advancement, honour and prosperity. Gratitude, needful help and preservation of family name.<\/p>\n

II. Parents are often disappointed in their children<\/strong>. Sometimes cut down by early death. They often turn out badly, a curse instead of a blessing. They are taken captives by evil habits and evil companybecause disloyal and unnatural. God help me, my own children have forsaken me, said James <\/p>\n

2. who stands forth a type of a deserted father. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.<\/p>\n

HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu. 28:35<\/span>. Diseases. <\/p>\n

1. Painful.
2. Degrading.
3. Incurable (cf<\/em>. Isa. 1:4-6<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:37<\/span>. A Proverb<\/em>. <\/p>\n

1. A fact.
2. A dishonour.
3. A punishment.
4. A witness to prophetic truth. What a fall from the original mission of Israel. Poets, dramatists, have all taken the Jew as the personation of what is mean, grasping, and avaricious (Greedy as a Jew. Avaricious as a Jew). Yet he is not more so, intrinsically, than we are; it is circumstances that have made him so; it is persecution and ill-treatment that have crushed him. And all this is the fulfilment of prophecies old as the days of Moses, and yet not the justification of his persecutors.Dr. Cumming<\/em>. This teaches two important lessons: First<\/em>, he explains this severe persecution, permitted by God to fall upon them because they were set up as a model nation chosen from heathendom, enriched with privileges, glory and position. But they were untrue, forsook God; and the height of the dignity to which they were raised, is the measure of the depth of degradation to which they have sunk for abuse of it. Secondly<\/em>, how impossible to escape the conclusion that the Book of Deuteronomy is inspired! The predictions in this chapter, and in the ensuing one, are so specific, so literal, that they carry in their own bosoms the tests of inspiration.(Idem<\/em>).<\/p>\n

FOURTH GROUP: DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD RESULTING IN SERVITUDE TO MAN. <\/strong>Deu. 28:47-57<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Every department of national life has been under the curse; yet, in love to His people and earnest desire to preserve them from wrath, the faithful servant of God goes further, and pictures greater severity in bondage to heathen yoke. Having forsaken God, they were left in servitude to man.<\/p>\n

I. If Israel would not obey God, they would be compelled to serve enemies<\/strong>. Because thou servedst not the Lord, therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies (Deu. 28:47-48<\/span>). <\/p>\n

1. Serve in hunger and want<\/em>. In hunger, thirst, nakedness and in want of all things. Mans life, says Calvin, is not shut up in bread, but hangs on the Sovereign will and good pleasure of God. He can withhold bread, take away water, create natural and spiritual distress in schools, churches, and nations. <\/p>\n

2. Serve in vigorous oppression<\/em>. He shall put a yoke of iron about thy neck (Deu. 28:49<\/span>). Instead of the easy yoke of God, they would be slaves to a cruel foe (cf.<\/em> Jer. 27:11-12<\/span>). Those who refuse reasonable service to God, will have to bow to the tyranny of sin.<\/p>\n

II. These enemies would be most barbarous and cruel. This<\/strong> description might apply to the Chaldeans when compared with Moabites, Philistines and other neighbours in Judea, but the Romans answer best to it. <\/p>\n

1. Enemies which scorn the distant foe<\/em>. They came from far, from France, Spain and Britainthen considered the end of the earth. <\/p>\n

2. Enemies which defy the strength of battlements<\/em> (Deu. 28:52<\/span>). All fortified places to which the people escaped were taken, and the walls of Jerusalem razed to the ground. <\/p>\n

3. Enemies which have no pity for the people<\/em>. Not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young (Deu. 28:50<\/span>). Josephus says the Romans had no mercy for infants and spared neither sex nor age. Cruel and insensible to human instincts. <\/p>\n

4. Enemies of ruthless vengeance<\/em>. Fruit of thy cattle, fruit of thy land, all consumed. The invader destroyed everything within reach, every district through which they passed was strewed with wrecks of devastation. <\/p>\n

5. Enemies of sudden approach<\/em>. Swift as an eaglethe ensign of the standards of the Roman armypouncing violently upon its prey. It is true morally and physically that where the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.<\/p>\n

III. In their distress and siege Israel would be driven to horrible extremities (<\/strong>Deu. 28:53-57<\/span><\/strong>)<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

1. Famine would lead them to eat the fruit of their own body<\/em> (Deu. 28:53<\/span>). Fulfilled 2Ki. 6:25<\/span>; 2Ki. 6:28-29<\/span>; Lam. 2:20<\/span>; Lam. 4:10<\/span>; Bar. 2:3; and in the Roman siege. <\/p>\n

2. Famine would create domestic jealousy<\/em>. The man of luxury would envy his relatives if better off than himself; or avoid them in jealousy and fear lest they should discover and demand a share of his unnatural viands. In every house where there was any appearance of food, the dearest relatives fought each other for iteven mothers their infants.(Josephus<\/em>). <\/p>\n

3. Famine would destroy natural affection<\/em>. The delicate and sensitive woman would be unrestrained by natural affection and appease her hunger with her offspring and afterbirth. In the siege of Samaria, a woman boiled her son (2Ki. 6:28-29<\/span>), which was also done in the siege by the Romans. Famine was so terrible, that for want of all things, the leather of girdles, shoes and shields, and even stale dung of oxen were eagerly devoured (cf<\/em>. Eze. 5:10<\/span>; Jer. 19:9<\/span>). Such were the awful consequences of forsaking God.<\/p>\n

One woe doth tread upon anothers heel,
So fast they follow.Shakespeare<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Thus woe succeeds woe, as wave a wave.Herrick<\/em>.<\/p>\n

HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu. 28:47<\/span>. Joyful Service<\/em>. I. Its Motive. Gods goodness in personal mercies, family mercies, spiritual mercies. II. Its embodiment in secret and social devotion, in songs of praise, grateful offerings and loyal obedience. Here we have duty and favour, the duty of delight, as a modern writer would say, labour and sunshine. The love which does not lead to labour will soon die out; and the thankfulness which does not embody itself in sacrifices is already changing to ingratitude.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:47-48<\/span>. The dread alternative<\/em>. God or man, with joyfulness or in want, etc.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:49-52<\/span>. Foreign conquest<\/em>. I. The foe described swift, cruel and strong. II. The mischief he commits. III. The impotence to resist.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:52<\/span>. Confidence in strongholds<\/em>. Jews seldom ventured to fight in open fields. They trusted to high and fenced walls<\/em>. In a special manner they confided in the strength and situation of Jerusalem, as Jebusites, former inhabitants did before them (2Sa. 5:6-7<\/span>). Vain is the confidence of the sinner. His stronghold a refuge of lies (Isa. 28:15<\/span>). Divine Retribution. <\/p>\n

1. Discovers every subject. None can hide from God.
2. Overturns every stronghold.
3. Penetrates every place. Princes palaces are not above<\/em>, the poor mans cottage is not beneath<\/em> the judgment of God. God is the only stronghold in whom we should trust. Christ is the refuge, flee to him!<\/p>\n

THE GLORIOUS AND FEARFUL NAME.<\/strong>Deu. 28:58<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The name of Jehovah most prominent here to check the downward course, secure glory and regard. Pause and consider its nature and demands.<\/p>\n

I. A Name revealed in Scripture<\/strong>. Not known to patriarchs, or if known not understood in its fulness and blessing (Exo. 6:3<\/span>). It was a preface to the law (Exo. 20:2<\/span>) and a special revelation to Moses (Exo. 3:13-15<\/span>; Exo. 6:3<\/span>), indicating a God faithful and self-existent, absolute being, and infinite perfection; a Name above every name, never to be uttered without reverence, the sanctity of which aggravates crime against it. It is the scriptural, the theocratic name of God.<\/p>\n

II. A Name written in Nature<\/strong>. In letters of burning splendour in heaven above and earth beneath; glorious in goodness and fearful in power. In thunder, lightning, and earthquake we have displays of power and majesty. Men speak of laws and forces of nature; true science discerns God, and spells his name in all departments (cf<\/em>. Psalms 104<\/span>.): For that Thy name is near<\/em> Thy wondrous works declare (Psa. 75:1<\/span>).<\/p>\n

III. A Name illustrated in Providence<\/strong>. It has been vindicated and honoured in history<\/p>\n

1. In displays of power<\/em>. Twice. ie<\/em>., again and again in his providential government of the world have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God (Psa. 62:11<\/span>). God repeats the lesson if man will only hear (Job. 33:14<\/span>). <\/p>\n

2. In displays of judgment<\/em>. In Egypt and Babylon, in the Flood, in the destruction of Sodom and Jerusalem, Gods judgments are manifest (Rev. 15:4<\/span>). <\/p>\n

3. In displays of mercy<\/em>. Mercy as well as power belongs to God (Psa. 62:12<\/span>); mercy consonant with justicemercy to the obedient and justice to offender. The name<\/em> of the God of Jacob (the manifested power and faithfulness of the God who saved Jacob in the day of trouble (Genesis 32<\/span>) defend<\/em> thee (lit<\/em>. exalt, set thee on high and in a secure place) (Psa. 20:1<\/span>). Thus have we a continual manifestation of this memorial name (Hos. 12:5<\/span>). This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations (Exo. 3:15<\/span>).<\/p>\n

FIFTH GROUP: OBSTINATE REBELLION BRINGS UTTER RUIN<\/strong>Deu. 28:58-68<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

These are not expressions of vindictive feeling. God delights to bless, not to curse. But they describe natural consequences of transgression. In its beginning, progress and ultimate issue fearful is rebellionconstant rebellion against God.<\/p>\n

I. Obstinate Rebellion increases calamities<\/strong>. Sin unpardoned develops new symptoms, and as the evil grows greater miseries follow. <\/p>\n

1. It prolongs and intensifies those we have<\/em>. The Lord will make thy plagues wonderful<\/em>, great plagues of long continuance<\/em> (Deu. 28:59<\/span>). God must rule. Afflictions are not taken away until the desired end is accomplished, Deu. 28:23<\/span>; Deu. 20:2<\/span>. It brings others upon us<\/em>. Every plague not written will the Lord bring upon thee, Deu. 28:61<\/span>. God has infinite resources. As in the case of Job the climax is terrible. Thou renewest thy witnesses (marg<\/em>. plagues) against me, and increases thine indignation upon me; changes and war (successions and a host, i.e.<\/em>, one host succeeding another) are against me (Job. 10:17<\/span>).<\/p>\n

II. Obstinate rebellion turns Gods love into anger<\/strong>. His procedure towards men is changed by their disobedience. <\/p>\n

1. In rejecting His people<\/em>. As the Lord rejoiced to do good so will be rejoice to destroy, bring to nought and pluck off (Deu. 28:63<\/span>). The loss of children, the decay of prosperity and future hope grievous. But when God withdraws His presence and providence, nothing can sustain a church or people. Awful to be forsaken of God. To have his countenance turned from us and against us in troubleto have frowns instead of smiles, must be hell and not heaven. Woe also to them when I depart from them. <\/p>\n

2. In scattering them abroad<\/em>. The Lord shall scatter thee among all people, etc. (Deu. 28:64<\/span>). Uprooted from Canaan, and driven to wander homeless to the ends of the earth. If no true allegiance to God, country, societies, and creeds cannot unite and secure. The Lord scattered them abroad (Gen. 11:8<\/span>). <\/p>\n

3. In reducing them to slavery<\/em>. Ye shall be sold for bondsmen (Deu. 28:68<\/span>). Once they marched triumphant out of Egypt, but they would return as slaves in the ships of Tyre, Sidon, and Rome (Josephus<\/em>). Those who live in luxury often lose their liberty and become reduced to servitudeservitude disgraceful and most severe. So they came into the land of Egypt, for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord (Jer. 43:7<\/span><\/em>).<\/p>\n

III. Obstinate rebellion endangers human life<\/strong>. Thy life shall hang in doubt before thee (Deu. 28:66<\/span>). Endangers. <\/p>\n

1. By grievous suffering. Diseases of Egypt were brought upon them. Often acute physical<\/em> disease, hideous and loathsome. Sometimes mental<\/em> agony, sorrow of mind extinguishing the hope of life, or rendering it impossible to bear. The days of affliction have taken hold (fast hold) upon me (as armed men besieging a city) a sad contrast to former days (Job. 30:16<\/span>). <\/p>\n

2. By constant risks<\/em>. There was no assurance<\/em>, no certainty of life (Deu. 28:66<\/span>). Dangers, real and imaginary, create constant fear. Lifes thread may break. Its length may be unexpected and strong, but time will cut it down. For live how we can, yet die we must.(Shakespeare<\/em>.) <\/p>\n

3. By premature death<\/em>. Wickedness shortens life. The evil that men do, as well as the good, lives after them. Deceitful men shall not live out half their days (Psa. 55:23<\/span>). Sin by its own nature and the righteous judgments of God upon it, bring men to untimely ends; but piety contributes to the length and enjoyment of life. The fear of the Lord prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened (Pro. 10:27<\/span>). Sinner, stop lest thy sin rise to presumption and forbearance end in certain death! Neither be thou foolish; why shouldest thou die before thy time? (Ecc. 7:17<\/span>).<\/p>\n

IV. Obstinate rebellion destroys all remedy<\/strong>. Wilful opposition to the word of God leads to judicial blindness and destruction. When God abhors, he will soon abandon. Mighty population, regal sovereignty, military prowess and national prestige will be smitten like a flower. No remedy, no security against the judgment of God but submission. That kingdom is strongest, most splendid, and most secure which makes God its sovereign. Otherwise hated, forsaken, cast away! Divorced from God, forsaken of God. I will love them no more.<\/p>\n

What day, what hour, but knock at human hearts,
To wake the soul to sense of future scenes.<\/p>\n

Young<\/em>.<\/p>\n

GOD-FORSAKEN LIFE<\/strong>Deu. 28:63-68<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

When God withdraws, nothing can sustain a church or nation. When the ark of God was taken Ichabod was pronounced. Present affections only foreshadow future judgments. Woe also to them when I depart from them.<\/p>\n

I. A life of bitterness and sorrow<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

1. Bitterness in mind and heart. Conscience stings and fears alarm. Sin is bitterness and gall. Lord Byron declared that his days were in the yellow leaf, the flowers and the fruits were gone, the worm, the canker, and the grief are mine alone. <\/p>\n

2. Bitterness in condition and prospect. Without ease, peace and comfort now (Deu. 28:65<\/span>) and nothing better in the future. I close my eyes in misery, and open them without hope, said the poet Burns, in dying hours.<\/p>\n

II. A life of bondage and misery<\/strong>. Bondage to lust, evil habits, and fear of death. Misery is ever linked to sin; like a scorpion, vice brings its own torment (Rev. 9:5<\/span>). Whatever the sinner does, he finds no relief. Which way I move is hell, myself am hell, Milton makes Satan say. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.<\/p>\n

III. A life excluded from Gods Inheritance<\/strong>. Plucked off the land and driven into captivity and death. Sin drove man from Eden, and idolatry the Jews from Canaan; so unbelief and rebellion will exclude from heaven. Sinners cannot enter the kingdom of God on earth, and will be disinherited at last. What a warning to all in the bosom of the Church and under the sound of the Gospel! How sad a godless life! I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us? (Deu. 31:17<\/span>).<\/p>\n

HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu. 28:58<\/span>. The Divine Name<\/em><\/p>\n

1. In its glorious nature: glorious and fearful.
2. In its covenant relation: the Lord thy God.
3. In its requirements upon life: that thou mayest fear. The duty of fearing God<\/em>. I. What God requires of us. That we regard him <\/p>\n

(1) with reverential awe;
(2) with obedient love; <\/p>\n

(3) with undivided attachment. II. What we must expect at his hands if we comply not with his requisition; our plagues also shall be wonderful (Deu. 28:59<\/span>)<\/p>\n

(1) here;
(2) hereafter.C. Simeon, M. A<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:59-64<\/span>. Great evils<\/em>. <\/p>\n

1. Smitten by the judgment of God with sickness severe, long and increasing (Deu. 28:59-62<\/span>). <\/p>\n

2. Rejected in the covenant of God (Deu. 28:63<\/span>). Greatly as the sin of man troubles God, and little as the pleasure may be which he has in the death of the wicked, yet the holiness of his love demands the punishment and destruction of those who despise the riches of his goodness and long-suffering; so that he displays his glory in the judgment of the wicked no less than in blessing and prospering the righteous (Keil<\/em>). <\/p>\n

3. Scattered by the providence of God (Deu. 28:64<\/span>). <\/p>\n

4. Forced to reject the worship of God. Thou shalt serve other gods (Deu. 28:64<\/span>)lifeless, senseless gods, which hear not prayer nor deliver from distress.<\/p>\n

When sorrows come
They come not single Spies
But in battalions.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:63<\/span>. Great must be wickedness which provokes God to reject and hate His people. Notice, <\/p>\n

1. Exclusion from the blessings of the covenant<\/em>. Driven from the house of God, loss of outward privileges and position. God deprives sinful nations of prestige and position, removes their candlestick for ingratitude, and casts them off for wickedness. <\/p>\n

2. Uprooted from the land<\/em>. God plants and uproots. He can overturn a people as well as pluck up a tree. Nations may have flourishing trade and nobility grand mottoes, but God candestroy their prosperity root and branch; leave them without power to revive inwardly or outwardly. We cannot flourish without God. He shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling-place, and root thee out of the laud of the living (Psa. 52:5<\/span>).<\/p>\n

NO REPOSE IN A GODLESS LIFE.<\/strong>Deu. 28:65<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When Israel forsook God He forsook them. The predictions were fulfilled, and they were worse than fugitives and vagabonds in the earth, without settlement and ease. There is no repose in a Godless life.<\/p>\n

I. This truth is illustrated in Jewish history<\/strong>. The Jews have been driven from land to land; from Russia, Poland and Spain. For 1800 years or more, they have been homeless, restless, and wretcheda byeword and a proverb.<\/p>\n

II. This truth is confirmed by experience<\/strong>. God is the centre of rest, the fountain of bliss, and away from Him we can never find peace. Thou madest us for thyself, and our heart is restless until it repose in thee (Augustine<\/em>). <\/p>\n

1. The ungodly find no satisfaction in sin<\/em>. Sin is disorder, disease, and creates dissatisfaction, bitterness, and anguish. Lord Chesterfield run the silly rounds of pleasure, but had no wish to repeat the nauseous dose. There is no peace to the wicked; their hearts are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt (Isa. 57:20-21<\/span>). <\/p>\n

2. The ungodly find no comfort in affliction<\/em>. They are full of fear and of tossings to and fro. Distracted with anxiety, accused by conscience and tormented with guilt, they have restless nights and wearisome days. Sleep, the gift of God, and tired natures sweet restorer, never refreshes them. Phantoms of horror terrified Tiberius and Caracalla, and fearful visions murdered the rest of Nero. When I say, my bed shall ease my complaint, then thou scarest me with dreams and terrifiest me with visions (Job. 7:4<\/span>; Job. 7:13<\/span>). <\/p>\n

3. The ungodly have no hope in death<\/em>. No ease nor foundation for the sole of the foot on the rock. Solons maxim not far wrongCall no man happy till death. Whatever life may be, What is the hope of the hypocrite (godless person), though he hath gained, when God takes away (cuts off, 6, 9; Isa. 38:12<\/span>) his soul? (Job. 27:8<\/span>). There is rest in Christ, hope in the Gospel. Come and believeYe shall find rest.<\/p>\n

Who builds on less than an immortal base,
Fond as he seems, condemns his joys to death.<\/p>\n

HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu. 28:65<\/span>. Triple sorrows<\/em>. <\/p>\n

1. A trembling heart<\/em>, as opposed to a fixed and courageous heart. A heart without dread of detection, disgrace and punishment. Virtue is bold and goodness never fearful.(Shakespeare<\/em>). <\/p>\n

2. Failing of eyes<\/em>. Weary of darkness and light, day and night a terror. When the eyes of the soul are put out, the spiritual universe is midnight and despair. The eyes of the wicked shall fail. <\/p>\n

3. Sorrow of mind<\/em>. Mental agony depriving of rest, affecting health and spirits. Full of scorpions is my mind.(Shakespeare<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Better be with the dead<\/p>\n

Than in the torture of the mind to lie
In restless ecstacy.Shakespeare<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:66<\/span>. Life in suspense<\/em>. Hang in doubt, lit<\/em>. thy life shall be hanging before the, i.e.<\/em> shall be hanging as it were on a thread, and that before thine eyes.(Speak. Com.<\/em>) This might be taken as a warning<\/em>. (The sword of Damocles). Take it as a fact. <\/p>\n

1. Because naturally uncertain.
2. Because constantly endangered. Risks through guilt, disease, enemies, and divine judgments. Take warning, the thread may be cut any moment. What indifference? Though death be before the old mans face it may be behind the young mans back.(Seneca<\/em>). Serious things to-morrow cost Csar and Archias their lives.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:67<\/span>. A sad picture of a weary life<\/em>. Deprived of comfortof physical health and mental vigour under the curse of God. Such a life intolerable. I loathe it (Job. 7:16<\/span>). Let us learn from this chapter that our supreme interest is to cultivate the friendship and obey the word of God. Then blessings and not curses! Blessings here, blessings for ever!<\/p>\n

Well may your hearts believe the truths I tell; Tis virtue makes the bliss whereer we dwell;<\/p>\n

Collins<\/em>.<\/p>\n

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 28<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu. 28:1-6<\/span>. Prosperity<\/em>. Some years ago, when preaching at Bristol, among other notes I received to pray for individuals, one was thisA person earnestly desires the prayers of this congregation, who is prospering in trade. Ah! said I to myself, here is a man who knows something of his own heart; here is a man who has read the scriptures to some purpose.Jay<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:7-10<\/span>. Blessing upon thee<\/em>. God gives us what we have, not so much that we may have it, but that we may do good. Everything in life, even the best earned rewards, are seeds sown for a future harvest.Bengel<\/em>. Deu. 28:9<\/span>. Keep<\/em>. The virtue of Paganism was strength; the virtue of Christianity is obedience.Hare<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:13<\/span>. Above<\/em>. As long as time endureth there will be distinction of rank, not simply for the weal of the great, but for the economy and safety of the world.(E. Davies<\/em>). True elevation does not consist in the elevation of nature, in the material or exterior hierarchy of beings. True elevation, an elevation essential and eternal, is one of merit, one of virtue. Birth, fortune, genius, are nothing before God.Lacordaire<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:28-29<\/span>. Madness<\/em> is the last stage of human degradation. It is the abdication of humanity. Better to die a thousand times.Napoleon I<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:30<\/span>. House<\/em>. If men lived like men indeed, their houses would be templestemples which we should hardly dare to injure, and in which it would make us holy to live.Ruskin<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:31<\/span>. Rescue<\/em>. As the net does not spring up without catching the bird, can ye imagine that when destruction passes by, ye will not be seized by it, but will escape without injury.Hitzig<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:34<\/span>. Mad for sight<\/em>. A man in great misery may so far lose his measure as to think a minute an hour.Locke<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:36<\/span>. King<\/em>. The lot of a dethroned king, who was born a king and nothing more, must be dreadful. The pomp of the throne, the gewgaws which surround him from his cradle, which accompany him step by step throughout life, become a necessary condition of his existence.Napoleon I<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The kings name is a tower of strength,
Which they upon the adverse party want.<\/p>\n

Shakespeare<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:37<\/span>. A proverb<\/em>. Reputation is gained by many acts, but is lost by one.(Bacon<\/em>). It is hopeless to recover a lost reputation.Idem<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The purest treasure mortal times afford is spotless reputation; that away, Men are but guilded loam, or painted clay.Shakespeare<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:45-46<\/span>. Wonder<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Think not the things most wonderful
Are those beyond our ken;
For wonders are around the paths,
The daily paths of men.Hawkshaw<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:47<\/span>. Joyfulness<\/em>. I have often read my duty and my sin in this verse. Notwithstanding innumerable proofs of His munificence how deficient our songs in number, and how languid in performance! In the commonest engagements of life, and in our daily enjoyments was sweet ingredient mingled, it would really enhance the worth of everything, however otherwise inconsiderable.Dr. W. Hamilton<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:53-57<\/span>. Eat<\/em>. During a famine in Italy A.D. 450, parents ate their children. Eaters of human flesh(Anthropophagi<\/em>)have existed in all ages.<\/p>\n

Famine has a sharp and meagre face.
Tis death in an undress of skin and bone.<\/p>\n

Dryden<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:58<\/span>. Fear<\/em>. Disobedience is the beginning of evil, and the broad way to rain.D. Davies<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Return, my senses range no more abroad,
He only finds his bliss who seeks for God.<\/p>\n

Parnell<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:59-61<\/span>. Long continuance.<\/p>\n

One woe doth tread upon anothers heel
So fast they follow.<\/p>\n

Shakespeare<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Thus woe succeeds woe, as wave a wave.<\/p>\n

Herrick<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:63<\/span>. Rejoice to destroy. The wrath of man is the rage of man; but the wrath of God is the reason of God.Bp. Reynolds<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Not thou, O Lord, from us, but we
Withdraw ourselves from thee.<\/p>\n

French<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu. 28:66<\/span>. Hang<\/em>. My life hangs by a single thread; but that thread is in a Fathers hand.J. H. Evans<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

C. BLESSINGS TO BE REPEATED FROM MOUNT GERIZIM (Deu. 28:1-14<\/span>)<\/p>\n

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that Jehovah thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth: 2 and all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God. 3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy beasts, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock. 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough, 6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7 Jehovah will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee: they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways. 8 Jehovah will command the blessings upon thee in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto; and he will bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. 9 Jehovah will establish thee for a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, and walk in his ways. 10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of Jehovah; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11 And Jehovah will make thee plenteous for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12 Jehovah will open unto thee his good treasure the heavens, to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13 And Jehovah will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them, 14 and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.<\/p>\n

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 28:114<\/p>\n

481.<\/p>\n

What specifically is promised in the expression: Set thee on high above all the nations of the earth? On high in what respect?<\/p>\n

482.<\/p>\n

What is a synonym for the word Blessed? As used in Deu. 28:3-5<\/span>.<\/p>\n

483.<\/p>\n

What would cause the enemies of Israel to flee before them? The fierceness of Israels appearance? The military ability of Israel or what?<\/p>\n

484.<\/p>\n

Itemize the relationships of Jehovah to Israel if they were obedient.<\/p>\n

485.<\/p>\n

List the specific promises, material and Spiritual, promised by God to Israel.<\/p>\n

486.<\/p>\n

God assumes faith and demands what?<\/p>\n

AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 28:114<\/p>\n

If you will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.<\/p>\n

2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you heed the voice of the Lord your God.
3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your beasts, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock.
5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading trough.
6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways.
8 The Lord shall command the blessing upon you in your storehouse, and in all that you undertake; and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
9 The Lord will establish you as a people holy to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and walk in His ways.
10 And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name [and in the presence of] the Lord; and they shall be afraid of you.
11 And the Lord shall make you have a surplus of prosperity, through the fruit of your body, of your livestock, and of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.
12 The Lord shall open to you His good treasury, the heavens to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
13 And the Lord shall make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day, and are watchful to do them.
14 And you shall not go aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.<\/p>\n

COMMENT 28:114<\/p>\n

The blessings here recounted are not those that God sends on the just and the unjust (Mat. 5:45<\/span>). They are the blessings promised to an obedient Israel, and withheld if they are disobedient as in Deu. 7:12-26<\/span>, Lev. 26:3-13<\/span>.<\/p>\n

THY BASKET AND THY KNEADING-TROUGH (Deu. 28:5<\/span>)a rendering to be preferred over the A.V., thy basket and thy store, as also in Deu. 28:17<\/span>. Both when they gathered produce (grain) would they be blessed, and when they proceeded to use it by baking, would God be with them.<\/p>\n

The basket (Heb. tene) was large and deep, and in it grain or other products of the field were carried home and kept. Cf. Deu. 26:2<\/span> ff. They were variously made of willow branches, palm leaves, or rushes.<\/p>\n

COME OUT AGAINST THEE ONE WAY, AND SHALL FLEE SEVEN WAYS (Deu. 28:7<\/span>)Indicating the utter confusion and consternation of a routed enemy. Note Deu. 28:25<\/span> where Israel is described as fleeing in the same way. The simple promise of God was victory over the enemy with obedience, defeat with disobedience. And the defeat is described as being just as cataclysmic as the victory would be glorious.<\/p>\n

AND ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE EARTH SHALL SEE (Deu. 28:10<\/span>)Note the two blessings promised here: 1. Foreign nations shall see Israels greatness as coming from Jehovah God, and that his name is held high in the land. 2. They shall fear Israel. Cf. Deu. 2:25<\/span>, Deu. 11:25<\/span>.<\/p>\n

JEHOVAH WILL OPEN UNTO THEE HIS GOOD TREASURE THE HEAVENS, TO GIVE THE RAIN OF THY LAND IN ITS SEASON (Deu. 28:12<\/span>)The early and latter rains (See Deu. 11:11-17<\/span>, notes), were the very life of the land in Israel, Every kind of blessing was dependent upon their regular appearance. Without them, the land very literally became cursed. See Deu. 28:24<\/span> of this chapter. Because the manna also came from above (Psa. 78:23-24<\/span>), and because godly people of all ages have known that Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above (Jas. 1:17<\/span>), many blessings are included when God speaks of opening up the windows of heaven (2Ki. 7:2<\/span>; 2Ki. 7:19<\/span>, Mal. 3:9-12<\/span>), although this expression originally had specific reference to rain (Gen. 7:11<\/span>). So here Gods treasure the heavens is specifically rain, but because a million blessings followed a well-watered Palestine, the treasure included much more than water!<\/p>\n

THOU SHALT LEND TO MANY NATIONS . . . NOT BORROW (Deu. 28:12<\/span>)See Deu. 23:19-20<\/span>, note.<\/p>\n

Before you leave this section, reread Deu. 28:1-14<\/span> and note the ifs. All the promised blessings were Israels to have and enjoy IF . . .<\/p>\n

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Deu. 28:1-14<\/span>. BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(1) Will set thee on high.<\/strong>Literally, will make thee Most High, <\/em>using a name of God, as in Deu. 26:19<\/span>. Compare what is said of Jerusalem. She (Jerusalem) shall be called Jehovah-Tzidkenu (Jer. 33:16<\/span>), and the name of the city from that day shall be Jehovah-Shammah (Eze. 48:35<\/span>), and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God (Rev. 3:12<\/span>), and His Name shall be in their foreheads (Rev. 22:4<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

BLESSINGS PROMISED TO OBEDIENCE, Deu 28:1-14<\/span>.<\/p>\n

1, 2<\/strong>. <\/strong> If thou shalt hearken <\/strong> If the nation will be obedient to Jehovah their God he will exalt them above the nations of the earth. Moses lays down the condition on which these blessings will be bestowed, at the beginning, in the middle, and at the close of the address. The blessings in poetical imagery so common among the Eastern nations are personified, and represented as following after and overtaking the nation.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

VIII. BLESSINGS AND CURSINGS WITH RESPECT TO THE COVENANT ( Deu 28:1<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> to Deu 29:1<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Chapter 28 Covenant Blessings and Cursings.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

It should be noted that verse 1 is not an invitation to enter into covenant. The offer of the covenant had already been made by Yahweh out of His lovingkindness, and had been accepted by Israel in Exodus 24<\/span>, as confirmed in the last chapter, Deuteronomy 27<\/span>. This is a promise and a warning subsequent to the covenant concerning the consequence of being faithful to their Overlord, or of rebelling against Him. It parallels the cursing and blessing clauses in the 2nd Millennium BC Hittite treaty covenants, and even more the blessings and cursings in the 2nd Millennium law codes. The 1st Millennium treaties do not tend to have blessings clauses. <\/p>\n

But there is one major difference between this covenant and other treaties. In other treaties outside parties (the gods) are called on to ensure the fulfilling of the treaty, but here Yahweh Himself will enforce His own covenant. No outside help is needed. <\/p>\n

The consequence of the covenant is that if they respond to it and love Him and serve Him and are obedient to His commandments, Yahweh will bless them in a multitude of ways. That is what the tribes standing on Mount Gerizim represented (Deu 27:12<\/span>). But if they turn away from Him and do not keep His commandment they will be horribly cursed. That is what the tribes standing on Mount Ebal represented (Deu 27:13<\/span>). The length of the cursings considerably outweighs the blessing. This was normal in Ancient Near Eastern treaties. <\/p>\n

“Thee, thou” is used all through this chapter, except where indicated, in order to indicate that the words are spoken to the nation as a whole and to every individual in it. <\/p>\n

The Blessings Which Will Result From Continuing Faithfully In The Covenant ( Deu 28:1-14<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/strong> <\/p>\n

The basic premise here is that they will : <\/p>\n

1) Listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh their God — and observe and do all His commandments commanded that day (Deu 28:1<\/span>). <\/p>\n

2) Listen to the voice of Yahweh their God (Deu 28:2<\/span>) <\/p>\n

3) Keep the commandments of Yahweh their God and walk in His ways (Deu 28:9<\/span>). <\/p>\n

4) Listen to the commandments of Yahweh their God commanded that day — to observe and do them (Deu 28:13<\/span>). <\/p>\n

5) Not go aside from any of the words spoken by Moses that day. <\/p>\n

The net result will be great blessing as outlined below. For the sphere of the blessings, given to them by the graciousness of Yahweh in accordance with His promises to their fathers, is the covenant, and those who would enjoy them must walk in it. <\/p>\n

Analysis mainly based on the words of Moses, but with some summary: <\/p>\n

a <\/strong> And it shall come about that, if you will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you this day (Deu 28:1<\/span> a). <\/p>\n

b <\/strong> Yahweh your God will set you on high above all the nations of the earth (Deu 28:1<\/span> b). <\/p>\n

c <\/strong> And all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall listen to the voice of Yahweh your God (Deu 28:2<\/span>). <\/p>\n

d <\/strong> Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your beasts, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out (Deu 28:3-6<\/span>). <\/p>\n

e <\/strong> Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be smitten before you, they shall come out against you one way, and shall flee before you seven ways (Deu 28:7<\/span>). <\/p>\n

f <\/strong> Yahweh will command the blessing on you in your barns, and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you (Deu 28:8<\/span>). <\/p>\n

f <\/strong> Yahweh will establish you for a holy people to himself, as He has sworn to you, if (as long as) you will keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and walk in His ways (Deu 28:9<\/span>). <\/p>\n

e <\/strong> And all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of Yahweh, and they shall be afraid of you (Deu 28:10<\/span>). <\/p>\n

d <\/strong> And Yahweh will make you plenteous for good (give you an excess of plenty), in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give you (Deu 28:11<\/span>). <\/p>\n

c <\/strong> Yahweh will open to you His good treasure the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you will lend to many nations, and you will not borrow (Deu 28:12<\/span>). <\/p>\n

b <\/strong> And Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail, and you will be above only, and you will not be beneath (Deu 28:13<\/span> a) <\/p>\n

a <\/strong> If you will listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them, and shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them (Deu 28:13-14<\/span>). <\/p>\n

In ‘a’ if they will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh their God, to observe to do all His commandments which Moses commands them this day (He will bless them), and in the parallel if they will listen to the commandments of Yahweh their your God, which Moses commands them this day, to observe and to do them, (then He will exalt them). In ‘b’ Yahweh their God will set them on high above all the nations of the earth, and in the parallel Yahweh will make them the head, and not the tail, and they will be above only, and they will not be beneath. In ‘c’ all these blessings shall come on them, and overtake them, if they will listen to the voice of Yahweh their God, and in the parallel this will happen for Yahweh will open to them His good treasure the heavens, to give the rain of their land in its season, and to bless all the work of their hand: and they will lend to many nations, and will not borrow. <\/p>\n

In ‘d’ the great blessings that will come are outlined including the fruit of the body, the fruit of the land and the fruit of the cattle, and in the parallel Yahweh will give them an excess of plenty including the fruit of their body, and the fruit of their cattle, and the fruit of their ground, in the land which Yahweh swore to their fathers to give them. In ‘e’ Yahweh will cause their enemies who rise up against them to be smitten before them, they will come out against them one way, and will flee before them seven ways, and in the parallel all the peoples of the earth will see that they are called by the name of Yahweh, and will be afraid of them. In ‘f’ Yahweh will command the blessing on them in their barns, and in all that they put their hand to, and He will bless them in the land which Yahweh their God gives them, and in the parallel Yahweh will establish them for a holy people to Himself, as He has sworn to them, as long as they will keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, and walk in His ways. <\/p>\n

Deu 28:1<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

‘<\/strong> And it shall come about that, if you will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you this day, Yahweh your God will set you on high above all the nations of the earth.’ <\/p>\n

The result of listening diligently to the voice of Yahweh, revealed in their keeping all of His commandments as represented by Moses’ current speech, is that He will set Israel on high above all the nations of the earth (compare Deu 26:19<\/span>). This was what Yahweh had avouched that He would do for them, and He will do it. Note how this connects with the final words in Deu 26:19<\/span>. This is the continuation of the theme. <\/p>\n

This being set on high would be indicated by a number of things. Firstly by the multitude of natural blessings that they would receive (Deu 28:3-6<\/span>; Deu 28:11-12<\/span>; Deu 7:13<\/span>; Deu 11:11-12<\/span>; Deu 11:14-15<\/span>; Deu 15:8-9<\/span>; ). Secondly by the great security that they would enjoy (Deu 28:7<\/span>; Deu 28:13<\/span>, compare Deu 6:19<\/span>; Deu 15:6<\/span>). And thirdly by their material prosperity (Deu 28:8<\/span>; Deu 28:12<\/span>, compare Deu 8:18<\/span>; Deu 15:6<\/span>). <\/p>\n

They would be set above all the nations of the earth, a promise which is a preparation for the Messianic promises that will arise later (Psa 2:8<\/span>). It will be fulfilled in His people when they as the true Israel are raised with Christ and share His throne (Rev 3:21<\/span>). <\/p>\n

But how does all this apply to us? We will not enter the land, we will enter the better land, the city whose builder and maker is God (Heb 11:10<\/span>), for if we are His we have already entered under the Kingly Rule of God. The blessings therefore that come to us through obedience are related to His Kingly Rule. To us He promises spiritual blessing and spiritual prosperity. Not for us the desire for physical land and wealth, but a seeking first His kingship and His righteousness. Then all things will be added to us (Mat 6:33<\/span>). <\/p>\n

Deu 28:2<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

‘<\/strong> And all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.’ <\/p>\n

And all this they would enjoy as long as they listened to the voice of Yahweh their God. For these things were all a part of the covenant. The blessings are then declared in depth. Note that there are six blessings. Three is the number of completeness, and six is three intensified. Furthermore there were six tribes on the Mount of blessing representing the whole of Israel who would be blessed, representing the covenant keepers (Deu 27:12<\/span>). <\/p>\n

Deu 28:3-6<\/strong><\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Blessed shall you be in the city, <\/p>\n

And blessed shall you be in the field. <\/p>\n

Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, <\/p>\n

And the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your beasts, <\/p>\n

The increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock.<\/p>\n

Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough. <\/p>\n

Blessed shall you be when you come in, <\/p>\n

And blessed shall you be when you go out.” <\/p>\n

These words in poetic prose are emphasised in more abbreviated form in their parallel verse, Deu 28:11<\/span>. The blessings relate to the fruitfulness of the womb, the fruitfulness of the ground, and the fruitfulness of their flocks and herds, and the blessing indicates the underlying activity of Yahweh in all that they do. They will be blessed in both city and countryside, in basket and kneadingtrough, (a bowl for making dough), thus they will be blessed in their own abundant offspring (city) and in the abundant offspring of cattle (countryside), and in abundant fruits (basket) and grain (kneading-trough). They will be blessed in all their going out and in, in other words they will be successful both in their ‘goings out and in’ in international affairs and in all aspects of their daily lives. Compare especially Deu 7:13-15<\/span> for all these. These are the fruit of the covenant. <\/p>\n

The above arrangement reveals an interesting pattern. ‘The fruit of your ground’ and ‘the fruit of your beasts’ inverts to produce ‘the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock’ and ‘your basket and your kneading-trough.’ ‘Come in’ and ‘go out’ then parallel ‘in the city’ and ‘in the field’. The problem is then that ‘the fruit of your body’ seems to stand on its own. It does, however, relate to being blessed in the city. But the reference to dual aspects in lines 5 and 6 had to result in one parallel dropping out if the eight line pattern was to be maintained. <\/p>\n

Deu 28:7<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

‘<\/strong> Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be smitten before you, they shall come out against you one way, and shall flee before you seven ways.’ <\/p>\n

Yahweh’s protecting hand will also be on them. Their enemies will be smitten before them, for He will fight alongside them. The enemy may march boldly up in full confidence, but in the end they will flee in many directions (compare Deu 7:20<\/span>). In the parallel all the people will see that they are called by the name of Yahweh and will be afraid (Deu 28:10<\/span>). <\/p>\n

Deu 28:8<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

‘<\/strong> Yahweh will command the blessing on you in your barns, and in all that you put your hand to, and he will bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.’ <\/p>\n

The blessing will also include crops and fruits sufficient to store so that their barns will be full and overflowing. Indeed whatever they put their hand to will prosper, both in agriculture and business. For they will be blessed in every way in the land which Yahweh their God has given them. This blessing is not a reward. It is a fruit of their relationship with Him. <\/p>\n

Deu 28:9-10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

‘<\/strong> Yahweh will establish you for a holy people to himself, as he has sworn to you, if (as long as) you will keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of Yahweh, and they shall be afraid of you.’ <\/p>\n

As they continue to keep the covenant and walk in His ways He will establish them as a holy people for Himself, a people watched over, cared for, protected and loved because they are separated to Him. And the whole world will see that they bear His name, as someone might bear the name of a great king, and they will be afraid of them, that is, they will revere them and look up to them because of Whose they are. So will they be a testimony to the name of Yahweh. Compare for the whole idea of this verse Deu 7:6-8<\/span>. See also Deu 19:9<\/span>; Deu 26:17<\/span>. <\/p>\n

Deu 28:11<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

‘<\/strong> And Yahweh will make you plenteous for good (give you an excess of plenty), in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give you.’ <\/p>\n

This parallels the poem in Deu 28:3-6<\/span>. They will be blessed in the good land that He has given them, they will ‘have an excess of plenty’, because He swore to their fathers that He would so bless them, and they will produce abundantly, in their own offspring (the fruit of their body), in the offspring of their flocks and herds and in all their produce. Notice that the reference to their fathers is a further reminder that all this comes to them not because of what they do, but for the fathers’ sakes. What they do is simply the fruit of it. <\/p>\n

Deu 28:12<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

‘<\/strong> Yahweh will open to you his good treasure the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you will lend to many nations, and you will not borrow.’ <\/p>\n

Yahweh will open the treasure house of the heavens so that rain will fall abundantly in its season (compare Deu 11:11-12<\/span>; Psa 104:13<\/span>). Thus all the work of their hand will be blessed, so much so that they will become wealthy and lenders to the nations, and will not need to borrow (Deu 15:6<\/span>). The picture is one of overwhelming prosperity and wellbeing. <\/p>\n

Note that the treasure house of the heavens is under His control. There will be no need for them to look anywhere else. The Baal myths at Ugarit picture Baal as having a palace in the heavens through the windows of which he poured water on the earth. But here it is made clear that that is not so. They come from Yahweh’s treasure house. But the parallel made clear that it would be because they listened to His voice (Deu 28:3<\/span>). <\/p>\n

Deu 28:13<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

‘<\/strong> And Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail, and you will be above only, and you will not be beneath, if you will listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them,’ <\/p>\n

As long as they listen to Yahweh’s commandments, and observe them and do them, they will always be at the head among the nations (Deu 28:12<\/span>), and never at the tail. None will be above them, for they will rather always be ranked above others. In the parallel in Deu 28:2<\/span> they will be set on high above all the nations of the earth. This is the natural position for those who walk with the One Who is over all things. <\/p>\n

Deu 28:14<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

‘<\/strong> And shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you (ye) this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.’ <\/p>\n

But all will depend on their not turning aside from any of His words as given by Moses, neither to the right hand nor to the left, and on their not going after other gods to serve them. <\/p>\n

For us the same blessings are offered under the Kingly Rule of God. Our enemies will not stand against us, our lives will be fruitful, and He will provide all that we need. But above all we will be His holy people through whom He can fulfil His purposes so that people will know that we are called by His name. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Deu 28:1-68<\/strong><\/span> The Blessings and Curses of the Law Deu 28:1-68<\/span><\/strong> lists the blessings and curses under the Law of Moses. The fact that this chapter repeatedly refers to God as “the Lord thy God” implies that He is in covenant with His people Israel and that He is bound by His oath to bless them as well as judge them. In other words, He is “their God.”<\/p>\n

The Purpose of Blessings and Curses<\/em> – <\/strong> The world sees blessings and curses as good and bad coming from God. Therefore, a man or nation walking in these divine blessings serve as a testimony to others of true righteousness. We see how these divine blessings serve as testimonies of God’s standard of righteousness when we read about the lives of men like Abraham, Job and kings David and Solomon. Their generation recognized God’s hand upon their lives. In contrast, the prophets often testified to backslidden Israel and Judah of these divine curses as a means of bringing God’s people to repentance.<\/p>\n

The Depths of Blessings and Curses<\/em> – Deu 28:1-68<\/span><\/strong> comes the closest to revealing the true depths of divine, eternal blessings and curses. The blessings that God’s children will receive in heaven weighed against the curses that mankind will receive in hell under eternal damnation are indescribable. While a young seminary student, one Sunday afternoon, I was laying on my bed meditating on God’s Word when a revelation came into my spirit of the amazing heights of God’s wonderful blessings and the horrors of God’s curses. This spiritual insight was beyond my being able to explain it. But the Lord was showing to me a deeper insight into this area than just natural understanding. The depths of these blessings and curses will be revealed to us when men enter eternity, whether heaven or hell.<\/p>\n

Christ’s Message Regarding Blessings and Curses – <\/em> If the Christological contents of Deu 28:1-68<\/span> about the blessings and curses could be summarized in one verse, it would be Joh 10:10<\/span>, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”<\/p>\n

An abundant life is expressed in Christian nations that live in spiritual, mental, physical, and financial prosperity. The Lord spoke to me and said that the sciences and arts are an expression of God’s divine nature. God reveals His divine nature through His creation (Job 38-41), and the sciences are the tools that mankind uses to explore His creation. The arts are an expression of man’s heart and emotions, and when the Spirit of God is allowed to inspire mankind, he speaks in poetry and song, in paintings and other works of art. (March 24, 2009)<\/p>\n

One reason Satan tries to destroy social developments, education and prosperity is because it reflects Heaven on earth. Those who have had the opportunity to visit Heaven testify to the beauty of residential homes, streets, forests, gardens, and the city itself. We strive to build our homes and lives with comfort and beauty, of which we will have an immeasurable amount in Heaven. We build parks, zoos, and lay our cities, industrial plants, national parks, etc., in an organized and well managed way that reflects what we will find in Heaven.<\/p>\n

Thematic Scheme – <\/em> S. R. Driver provides a thematic scheme for outlining Deu 28:1-68<\/span>. He notes that the lists of blessings and curses “open symmetrically” (Deu 28:1-7<\/span> and Deu 28:15-19<\/span>). Both passages begin with conditional statements. While Deu 28:1-6<\/span> repeats the phrase, “blessed is,” Deu 28:15-19<\/span> repeats “cursed is.” These verses are not in perfect symmetry, but they do provide a poetic symmetry that clearly begins each of these two sections on the blessings (Deu 28:1-14<\/span>) and curses (Deu 28:15-68<\/span>). In addition, Driver notes that the extensive passage of curses is not developed into “a series of stages,” but rather in “a series of parallel pictures” (20-26, 27-37, 38-44, 49-57, 58-68), with each parallel sequence ending in a “national calamity.” He notes that the last two pictures (49-57, 58-68) declare the most destructive language of these curses. [31]<\/p>\n

[31] S. R. Driver, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Deuteronomy, <\/em> in The International Critical Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, <\/em> eds. Charles A. Briggs, Samuel R. Driver, and Alfred Plummer (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1903), 303.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:1-2<\/strong><\/span> Introductory Statement about the Law of Blessings and Curses – Deu 28:1-2<\/span><\/strong> serves as an introductory statement to the long list of blessings and curses that follow. These two verses place emphasis upon Israel’s degree of obedience. They could partially obey, or fully obey, the commandments of the Lord. The list of blessings that follows in Deu 28:3-14<\/span> shows the results of full obedience. Partial obedience would bring partial blessings into the land, and full obedience would bring the fullness of these blessings.<\/p>\n

The condition to walking in the fullness of God’s blessings is diligence in obeying the Word of God. Such diligence and carefulness in God’s Word describes a person in which the true meaning of the Ten Commandments is embedded in one’s heart. Everything he does is based upon these divine principles. It reflects a man who is controlled by a conscience that is based upon integrity rather than deceit and covetousness, which rule the ungodly walk by. God raised up a single man, Abraham, and taught him integrity and righteousness. Out of his loins was birthed seventy souls, whom God brought into Egypt to keep them and multiply them, to multiply a people who follow in Abraham’s steps of faith in God with a lifestyle of integrity. <\/p>\n

God has brought out a nation to plant them in the Promised Land and establish righteousness and integrity upon the earth. It would be a nation ruled by godly principles instilled within the people’s hearts. It would be a people who walked in integrity and not in deceit for the first time in history. <\/p>\n

Prior to Abraham, God had worked His plan of redemption in the lives of individuals; but this failed to establish righteousness upon the earth. God then divided the people into seventy nations with seventy different languages. However, He did not choose one of these nations to establish righteousness. Instead, He found a man named Abraham who would obey Him, and He took him to a land of promise, and birthed a nation from his loins. He took these seventy souls and hid them in Goshen in Egypt until they had multiplied enough to take and occupy the land of Canaan.<\/p>\n

Within the context of the book of Deuteronomy God has called Israel out of Egypt, given them His laws of integrity, and put them in the desert for forty years to be disciplined into obedience, so that they would learn to follow these laws. Now that they are ready to follow His Word, God speaks through Moses to prepare them to enter and possess their promised land. If they will now apply these laws of integrity, the people will prosper in the land.<\/p>\n

Throughout history, the Jews have prospered in foreign lands. The reason for their prosperity is not because of their ethnicity, but because from childhood Jews are taught the Torah, the Old Testament laws of integrity. It is because of these laws instilled within their hearts that they prosper in any nation under any situation.<\/p>\n

Keith Johnson said, “Prosperity is a by-product of your obedience.” [32]<\/p>\n

[32] Keith Johnson, “Sermon,” ( Revival Now Conference, <\/em> Calvary Cathedral Internationa, Fort Worth, Texas), 19 April 2009.<\/p>\n

Illustration: Jewish Devotion to the Word of God – <\/em> Devout Jews of antiquity gave much attention to learning their traditions and exercised a disciplined lifestyle when compared to the heathens around them. They understood the authority of the Word of God over their lives. They brought up their young children to memorize the Old Testament and to learn their culture. Thus, Jews often prosper in the societies in which they live. <\/p>\n

Deu 28:1<\/strong><\/span>  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:<\/p>\n

Deu 28:1<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> “if thou shalt hearken diligently” <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> The Hebrew text literally reads, “If hearing you shall hear.” It is constructed with the conditional particle “’im,” followed by the double use of the verb “shama,” meaning “to hear,” first as an infinitive construct “hearing,” and second as the imperfect “you shall hear.” This is a construction commonly used in the Hebrew language for emphasis, since the language has few adjectives; thus the KJV<\/em> and ASV<\/em> read, “if thou shalt hearken diligently”; the NIV<\/em> reads, “if you fully obey.”<\/p>\n

Comments – <\/em><\/strong> The idea of hearing or listening and obeying the Word of God not only includes the study of the Scriptures, but includes divinely inspired ideas that are dropped into our spirit by the Spirit of God, and words that God speaks to us, etc. The Lord will lead and guides us into prosperity and blessings when we are led by the Spirit of God.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:2<\/strong><\/span>  And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:2<\/span><\/strong> “And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee”<\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> Our obedience will result in these blessings coming upon us, without us having to beg God to bless us. Yet a man named Jabez did ask God to bless him and the Lord answered his prayer (1Ch 4:9-10<\/span>).<\/p>\n

1Ch 4:9-10<\/span>, “And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.”<\/p>\n

These blessings shall come upon God’s children as the Lord will “cause” (Deu 28:7<\/span>), “command” (Deu 28:8<\/span>), “establish” (Deu 28:9<\/span>), “grant” (Deu 28:11<\/span>), “open” (Deu 28:12<\/span>), and “make” (Deu 28:13<\/span>) these blessings to overtake us.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:3<\/strong><\/span> “if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God” <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> This statement is repeated a second time for emphasis, opening and closing this statement in Deu 28:1-2<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:3<\/strong><\/span> Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:3<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> “Blessed shalt thou be in the city” – <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> If Israel will obey God’s Word, He will give them wisdom in civil management, in laying out civil codes, in constructing streets and transportation systems, buildings, sewer systems, electrical plants, etc. He will anoint men and woman as civil, mechanical and industrial engineers to design needs for cities as bridges, dams and railroads. Men and women will be anointed in architecture, interior design, and home furnishings. For example, Thomas Edison will invent the light bulb, etc. <\/p>\n

“and blessed shalt thou be in the field” <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> God will give them wisdom in land management, in designing agricultural fields, and in the development and preservation of forestry, wetlands, rivers and lakes, wildlife parks, etc.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:4<\/strong><\/span> Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:4<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> “Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body” <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> God will give them wisdom in child bearing and child rearing, so that children grow up health and full of wisdom to take prosperity to new heights for future generations. There will be medical breakthroughs in order to cure diseases and provide a healthy lifestyle. <\/p>\n

“and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep” <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> God will give them wisdom in farming methods, in animal husbandry, in breeding and genetics, etc. They will form agricultural organizations, such as the 4-H Club, and county agricultural extension agencies.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:5<\/strong><\/span> Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:5<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> God will give them wisdom in techniques for harvesting the fields, and in grain storage and food processing. They will design factories to manage and process the abundance of the harvest. Men and woman will be anointed as chiefs and designing cutlery. People will open feed stores, shopping centers and grocery stores. There will be breakthroughs in nutrition and healthy food sources.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:6<\/strong><\/span> Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:6<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> God will give them wisdom in the transport industry, anointing people to invent automobiles, airplanes, trains, submarines, boats and ships, spacecraft, snow mobiles, etc., wherever man needs to travel. They will design enormous road construction feats that marvel those passing by. They will discover fossil fuels, electricity, and nuclear fuels to power such mighty transport. Henry Ford will design the model-T automobile.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:7<\/strong><\/span> The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:7<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> God will give them wisdom in waging war against hostile nations who propagate ungodliness. They will invent weapons of war that defeat the strongest enemies. R. G. Laterno designed tanks and other heavy equipment during World War II that brought prosperity to the U. S. <\/p>\n

Deu 28:8<\/strong><\/span> The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:8<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> God will bless them in managing their prosperity and wealth, in establishing financial institutions, such as banking, insurance, investment planning, real estate, etc.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:9<\/strong><\/span> The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:9<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> God will bless them as a nation in civil and constitutional law, in establishing sound governance and civil obedience, in building institutions and non-profit organizations, such as synagogues, churches, schools and universities, orphanages, mental institutions, and homes for the elderly and disabled, throughout the land.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:10<\/strong><\/span> And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:9<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to transform a nation, and a nation can only be transformed through obedience to God’s Word. The developed nations of the world give financial aid to impoverished nations on earth. However, these impoverished nations are poor because of a corrupt mindset. No amount of financial aid will change the mindset of a nation. Only faith in God and obedience will transform a nation.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:11<\/strong><\/span> And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:11<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong> Comments <\/em><\/strong> Deu 28:11<\/span> is similar to Deu 28:4<\/span> in that both refer to the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle. However, Deu 28:11<\/span> refers to prosperity, which is the produce of God’s blessings as described in Deu 28:4<\/span>. As God pours out His blessings upon a people that will obey His Word so that these blessings are managed properly, then prosperity will spring forth.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:12<\/strong><\/span> The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:12<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> “The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand” – <\/strong> Comments <\/em><\/strong> Before a nation can lend to others, it must itself become prosperous. Deu 28:3-11<\/span> describes the development of prosperity within a God-fearing nation. It is now ready to lend to other nations.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:12<\/strong><\/span> “and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow” <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> God will allow their prosperity to overflow into other nations, lending them aid through banking institutions, charitable organizations, opening the door through foreign missions for opportunities to testify of the blessings that come from serving the God of Israel.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:12<\/strong><\/span> “and to bless all the work of thine hand” – <\/strong> Comments <\/em><\/strong> Every one of us have to begin somewhere when we come to the Lord at the time of salvation and we begin to serve Him with the work of our hands. We each have different talents and gifts. In faith, we must take what we have become stewards over and work with our hands, trusting that God will multiply our efforts and direct our lives. He will only lead us into prosperity, and not lack. Take what has already been given to us, however humble it might be, and offer yourself as a servant of the Lord in your daily labours. He will bless what you have and inspire direction and ideas that multiply what you possess, as He did the patriarchs of old. Do not be ashamed of what humble possessions you have in the beginning.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:13<\/strong><\/span> And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:<\/p>\n

Deu 28:13<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> “And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath” <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> God will bless His people so that they are positioned as a leader and example for all nations, set above all other nations in every aspect, in wealth, in governance and civil obedience, in education, etc.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:14<\/strong><\/span> And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:14<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong> Comments –<\/em><\/strong> Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to transform a nation, and this transformation takes place through both conversion and discipleship, so that a nation is able to adhere to God’s Word and not turn aside. The Great Commission of Mat 28:18-20<\/span> contains Jesus’ command to preach the Gospel to every creature and to disciple them in the faith. This commission reflects two stages of the Christian life: conversion and discipleship. Conversion of believers is described in the statement, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” (Deu 28:19<\/span>) while discipleship is addressed in the statement, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” (Deu 28:20<\/span>)<\/p>\n

Why did Jesus send out apostles to the nations to preach the Gospel prior to sending in social workers to meet the physical needs of the people? Having worked in the African mission field of Uganda for thirteen years, I learned that financial contributions and social aid do not help a poor nation come out of its poverty. An effort must be made to change the mindset of a nation so that integrity is embedded among the people to properly manage international aid. Otherwise, the people squander what is given to them through greed and corruption, leaving a few wealthy and the masses in poverty. Thus, Jesus first sends His disciples out to teach the nations in order to change the mindset of the people.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:15-68<\/strong><\/span> The Curses of the Law Deu 28:15-68<\/span><\/strong> list the curses of the Mosaic Law, which applies to anyone living in the Promised Land that failed to uphold this Law. Jesus has redeemed us from this curse, being made the curse for us (Gal 3:13<\/span>). This means that as Christians, anything listed in these verses should be rejected and rebuked from our lives, as it is no longer God’s will that we partake of any part of these curses.<\/p>\n

Gal 3:13<\/span>, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”<\/p>\n

Deu 28:20<\/strong><\/span>  The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:20<\/span><\/strong> “vexation”<\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> See examples of vexation in:<\/p>\n

Deu 7:23<\/span>, “But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.”<\/p>\n

1Sa 5:9<\/span>, “And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.”<\/p>\n

1Sa 5:11<\/span>, “So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.”<\/p>\n

1Sa 14:20<\/span>, “And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.”<\/p>\n

2Ch 15:5<\/span>, “And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.”<\/p>\n

Isa 22:5<\/span>, “For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.”<\/p>\n

Eze 7:7-8<\/span>, “The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.”<\/p>\n

Eze 22:5<\/span>, “Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.”<\/p>\n

Amo 3:9<\/span>, “Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.”<\/p>\n

Zec 14:13<\/span>, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.”<\/p>\n

Deu 28:20<\/strong><\/span> “and rebuke”<\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> See examples of rebuke in:<\/p>\n

Psa 76:6<\/span>, “At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.”<\/p>\n

Psa 80:16<\/span>, “It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.”<\/p>\n

Psa 106:9<\/span>, “He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.”<\/p>\n

Psa 104:7<\/span>, “At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.”<\/p>\n

Nah 1:4<\/span>, “He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.”<\/p>\n

Deu 28:21<\/strong><\/span>  The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:21<\/span><\/strong> “pestilence”<\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> Pestilence is associated with famine and the sword. Note examples of the pestilence:<\/p>\n

Lev 26:25<\/span>, “And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.”<\/p>\n

2Sa 24:13<\/span>, “So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.”<\/p>\n

2Sa 24:15<\/span>, “So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.”<\/p>\n

Psa 91:3<\/span>, “Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.”<\/p>\n

Psa 91:6<\/span>, “Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.”<\/p>\n

Deu 28:22<\/strong><\/span>  The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou <\/p>\n

perish.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:22<\/span><\/strong> “consumption”<\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> Strong<\/em> says the word “consumption” means “a wasting disease of the lungs.” Baker<\/em> says, “It refers to a disease that causes a person’s body to waste away.”<\/p>\n

Deu 28:24<\/strong><\/span> The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:24<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> During extreme droughts the soil becomes so dry that it turns to dust. Blown by the hot, dry winds, dust storms arise and blanket the region. The Great Dust Bowl in the United States is a classic example of Deu 28:24<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:53<\/strong><\/span> And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:<\/p>\n

Deu 28:53<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> The judgment of cannibalism was prophesied forty years earlier by Moses in the book of Leviticus (Lev 26:29<\/span>). This prophecy came to pass years later during the siege of Samaria when Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, came against Jehoram (Joram), king of Israel (853-841 B.C.). In the distress of this siege the Jewish people ate their children (2Ki 6:28-29<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Lev 26:29<\/span>, “And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.”<\/p>\n

2Ki 6:28-29<\/span>, “And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow. So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.”<\/p>\n

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/strong> The Blessings of Obedience<\/p>\n

v. 1. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord, thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord, thy God, will set thee on high above all nations of the earth,<\/strong> this being the thought which is developed in the description of the blessings, as it now follows; <\/p>\n

v. 2. and all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee,<\/strong> so as to surround every obedient Israelite with their fullness, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord, thy God,<\/strong> for that is always the condition whose fulfillment may not be evaded. <\/p>\n

v. 3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field,<\/strong> out in the country, these two designations including the spheres in which life ordinarily moves. <\/p>\n

v. 4. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. <\/strong> The rich blessing of many children, always represented so in the Bible, would be equaled by the number and the quality of all other products. <\/p>\n

v. 5. Blessed shall be thy basket,<\/strong> the place where the products of farm and orchard are stored for immediate use, and thy store,<\/strong> the kneading-trough, Exo 12:34<\/span>, where the bread was prepared from day to day. <\/p>\n

v. 6. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out,<\/strong> Num 27:17<\/span>, the blessing thus extending to all undertakings. <\/p>\n

v. 7. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face,<\/strong> said in the form of a sincere wish: May the Lord deliver thine enemies smitten before thy face! the obligation of obedience thus being brought out once more. They shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways,<\/strong> in hopeless confusion, in utter rout. <\/p>\n

v. 8. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses,<\/strong> literally, place it at their disposal in causing their granaries and elevators to he full to overflowing, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto,<\/strong> in business of every kind; and He shall bless thee in the land which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee. <\/p>\n

v. 9. The Lord shall establish thee,<\/strong> set thee up on high, an holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto thee,<\/strong> Exo 19:5-6<\/span>; Gen 22:16<\/span>, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord, thy God, and walk in His ways. <\/strong> Thus the destiny of Israel would be realized. <\/p>\n

v. 10. And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord,<\/strong> this conviction would be impressed upon them by the evidence before their eyes, the life of the entire people serving as an object-lesson, showing that Israel was in intimate fellowship with Jehovah; and they shall be afraid of thee,<\/strong> filled with awe and fear of the almighty power of Jehovah as shown in His dominion over Israel. <\/p>\n

v. 11. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods,<\/strong> give them more than enough for good fortune and prosperity, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. <\/p>\n

v. 12. The Lord shall open unto thee His good treasure,<\/strong> the storehouse of His rich blessings, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season,<\/strong> Lev 26:4<\/span>, and to bless all the work of thine hand; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow,<\/strong> Deu 15:6<\/span>. <\/p>\n

v. 13. And the Lord shall make thee the head and not the tail,<\/strong> always first and never last; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath,<\/strong> having the advantage in every undertaking, always the victor in every war, if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, thy God, which I command thee this day to observe and to do them;<\/strong> <\/p>\n

v. 14. and thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left,<\/strong> the slightest deviation from the path of God’s commands being regarded as unfaithfulness to the covenant between them and Jehovah, to go after other gods to serve them. <\/strong> There is always that suggestive and impressive reminder of the necessity of keeping the covenant with all strictness, in that perfection which the holiness of God demands. This applies also today. Where the fear of God dwells in a country, the blessing of the Lord is usually in evidence, for righteousness exalteth a nation. <\/p>\n

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

EXPOSITION<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE<\/strong> BLESSING<\/strong> AND<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CURSE<\/strong>. Having enjoined the proclamations of the blessing and the curse on their entering into possession of Canaan, Moses, for the sake of impressing on the minds of the people both the blessing and the curse, proceeds here to dilate upon both, dwelling especially upon the latter as that which the people the more needed to have brought home to them. As he proceeds, the language of terrible denunciation passes into that of no less terrible prediction, in which the calamities that should come upon the nation because of their apostasy and rebellion are clearly and pointedly foretold.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:1<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The<\/em> blessing<\/em>. <\/em>The condition sine qua non <\/em>of all enjoyment of the Divine bounty was obedience on the part of the people to the word and Law of Jehovah their God. This rendered, the blessing would come on them rich and full, and abide with them (cf. Deu 28:2<\/span>, Deu 28:9<\/span>, Deu 28:13<\/span>, Deu 28:14<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The blessings about to be specified are represented as personified, as actual agencies coming upon their objects and following them along their path.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:3-7<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The fullness of the blessing in all the relations of life, external and internal, is presented in six particulars, each introduced by the word “blessed.” Israel should be blessed in the house and in the field, in the fruit of the body, in the productions of the soil and the increase of herd and flock, in the store and in the use of what nature provided,in all their undertakings, whether in peace or in war, at home or abroad. Basket and thy store<\/strong>; rather, basket and kneading-trough <\/em>(see Exo 8:3<\/span>; Exo 12:34<\/span>); “the basket” representing the store in which the fruits of the earth were laid up, the “kneading-trough” the use of these for the supply of daily needs (Deu 28:6<\/span>; cf. Num 27:17<\/span>; Psa 121:8<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:8<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The effect of the blessing should be seen, not only in the supremacy of Israel over all opposition, but in the abundance of their possessions, in the success of their undertakings, and in the respect in which they should be held by all nations. Storehouses<\/strong>. The Hebrew word (), which occurs only here and in Pro 3:10<\/span>, is properly thus rendered. It comes from a root which signifies to lay up.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:9<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Lord would establish them to be a people holy unto himself, in whose Blessed condition all would see that they were indeed his people, favored by him.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:10<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thou art called by the name of the Lord<\/strong>; rather, the Name of Jehovah <\/em>called upon thee. The Name of God is God himself as revealed; and this Name is called or named upon men when they are adopted by him, made wholly his, and transformed into his likeness. This blessing Israel enjoyed as a nation”Theirs was the adoption and the glory” (Rom 9:4<\/span>)but it was theirs only in symbol and in shadow (Heb 10:1<\/span>); the reality belongs only to the spiritual Israel, and this came to men in all its fullness when he who is “the image of the invisible God” appeared and set up his tent among men, full of grace and truth (Joh 1:12<\/span>, Joh 1:14<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods<\/strong>; literally, shall make thee to abound for good<\/em>; i<\/em>.e<\/em>. shall not only give thee abundance, but cause it to redound to thy felicity.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:12<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

His good treasure<\/strong>; equivalent to his treasure-house<\/em>, i<\/em>.e<\/em>. heaven, whence blessing should be poured out upon them (cf. Deu 11:14<\/span>; Le Deu 26:4<\/span>, Deu 26:5<\/span>). He would so fructify their ground, and so bless their toil in cultivating it, that they should become rich, and be able to lend to other nations, and not need to borrow.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:13<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

They should be manifestly superior to other nations, heading them and being above them, their leader and not their subject or follower (cf. Isa 9:13<\/span>). Note the contrast in Deu 28:43<\/span>, Deu 28:44<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:14<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Cf. Deu 5:29<\/span>; Deu 11:28<\/span>.) Moses ends as he began, by reminding them that the condition of enjoying the blessing was obedience to the Divine Law, and steadfast adherence to the course in which they were called to walk.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:15-68<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The<\/em> curse<\/em>. <\/em>In case of disobedience and apostasy, not only would the blessing be withheld, but a curse would descend, blighting, destructive, and ruinous. As the blessing was set forth in six announcements (Deu 28:3-6<\/span>), the curse is proclaimed in form and number corresponding (Deu 28:16-19<\/span>). The curse thus appears as the exact counterpart of the blessing. The different forms in which the threatened curse should break forth are then detailed in five groups.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:20-26<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

First group<\/em>. <\/em>The curse should come upon them in various forms of evil, filling them with terror and dismay, and threatening them with utter ruin (cf. Mal 2:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:20<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vexation<\/strong>; rather, consternation<\/em>; <\/em>the deadly confusion with which God confounds his enemies. The same word is used in Deu 7:23<\/span>; 1Sa 14:20<\/span>. Rebuke<\/strong>; rather, threatening<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:21<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Deu 28:22<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The afflictive visitations here named are such as destroy life; but the distinctive character of each it is not easy exactly to define. The pestilence<\/strong> is probably a generic term for any fatal epidemic. In the LXX<\/strong>. it is usually represented by the general word Odoacer<\/em>, <\/em>death. Consumption<\/strong>; literally, wasting<\/em>; <\/em>the designation of any species of tabes or marasmus. Fever<\/strong> (, from , to be parched, to glow); inflammation<\/strong> (, from , to burn); burning fever<\/strong> (, from , to kindle): different species of pyrexia, the distinction between which has not been determined. The sword<\/strong>. Instead of , sword, the Vulgate, Arabic, and Samaritan adopt the reading , heat, drought (Gen 31:40<\/span>); but all the other versions support the reading of the received text, and there is no reason why it should be departed from, more especially as drought is threatened in the verse that follows. Blasting and with mildew<\/strong>; diseases that attack the grain (Amo 4:9<\/span>); the former (, from , to scorch, to blast) a withering or scorching of the ears caused by the east wind (Gen 41:23<\/span>); the latter (, from , to be yellowish) the effect produced by a hot wind, which turns the ears yellow, so that they are rendered unproductive.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:23<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Deu 28:24<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Terrible drought is hero threatened; no rain should fall (cf. Le Deu 26:19<\/span>); but instead thereof dust, both light as powder and heavy as sand, should fall upon them. The allusion is probably to those clouds of dust and sand which often fill the air in Palestine, when the heat is intense and there has been no rain for a season; the wind then becomes a vehement sirocco, and the air is filled with sand and dust, and is like the glowing heat at the mouth of a furnace (Robinson, ‘Bib. Res.,’ 2:123; Thomson, ‘Land and the Book,’ 2.311).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:25<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Deu 28:26<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Utter defeat in battle (the opposite of the blessing promised, Deu 28:7<\/span>) and dispersion among the nations are threatened, with the utmost indignity to those who were slain, in their bodies being left unburied to be devoured by birds of prey and wild beasts (cf. 1Ki 14:11<\/span>; Psa 79:2<\/span>; Jer 7:33<\/span>; Jer 16:4<\/span>, etc.). Shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth<\/strong>; literally, shalt be a tossing to and fro to all the kingdoms<\/em>, <\/em>etc.; “a ball for all the kingdoms to play with” (Schultz; cf. 2Ch 29:8<\/span>; Jer 15:4<\/span>; Jer 24:9<\/span>; Jer 29:18<\/span>, etc.).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:27-34<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Second group<\/em>. <\/em>The Lord should afflict them with various loathsome diseases, vex them with humiliating and mortifying calamities, and give them over to be plundered and oppressed by their enemies.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:27<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Botch of Egypt<\/strong>; the form of leprosy peculiar to Egypt (Exo 9:9<\/span>, etc.), elephantiasis<\/em>, <\/em>“AE<\/em><\/strong>gypti <\/em>peculiare malum” (Pliny, ‘Nat. Hist.,’ 26.1-5). Emerods; tumors, probably piles (cf. 1Sa 5:1-12<\/span>.). Scab;<\/strong> probably some kind of malignant scurvy. Itch;<\/strong> of this there are various kinds common in Egypt and Syria.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:28<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Deu 28:29<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Besides bodily ailments, mental diseases should come upon theminsanity, incapacity, confusion of mind, so that even at midday they should grope as a blind man gropes, i<\/em>.e<\/em>. <\/em>under the most favorable circumstances they should be unable to find the right path, to hit on the right and safe course. It is of mental blindness that the word is here used (cf. Isa 42:19<\/span>; Lam 4:14<\/span>; Zep 1:17<\/span>; Rom 11:25<\/span>; 2Co 4:4<\/span>). Thou shalt grope<\/strong> (cf. Isa 59:10<\/span>). Thus afflicted in body and mind, their state should be one only of oppression and calamity, with no hope of deliverance.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:30-34<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The spoliation of them should be utter. All most dear and precious to them should be the prey of their enemies. Wife, house, vineyard, herd, and flock should be ruthlessly taken from them; sons and daughters should be carried into captivity, and their eyes should look for them in rain, with constant and wasting longing (cf. Jer 8:20<\/span>; Amo 5:11<\/span>; Mic 6:15<\/span>; Zep 1:13<\/span>; 2Ch 29:9<\/span>; Neh 11:36<\/span>; Jer 5:15<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:30<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

And shalt not gather the grapes thereof<\/strong>; margin, “Hebrew, profane<\/em>.” <\/em>This is the literal rendering of the verb; the meaning is that given in the text. A vineyard was, for the first three years after it was planted, held sacred (Le 19:23<\/span>); after that, its consecration ceased, and the fruit might be gathered for common use (cf. Deu 20:6<\/span>), and it was said to be profaned.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:32<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

And there shall be no might in thine hand<\/strong>. Keil proposes to render here, “Thy hand shall not be to thee towards God;” and others, “Thy hand shall not be to thee for God,” i<\/em>.e<\/em>. <\/em>instead of God. But here is not “the Mighty One, God; but simply” might, strength, power,” as in Gen 31:29<\/span>; Pro 3:27<\/span>; Mic 2:1<\/span>. Literally rendered, the words are, And not for might is thy hand<\/em>, <\/em>the meaning of which is well expressed in the Authorized Version.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:35-46<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Third group<\/em>. <\/em>Moses reverts to the calamities already threatened (Deu 28:27<\/span>), for the purpose of leading on the thought that, as such diseases separated the sufferer from the society of his fellows, so Israel should be separated from God and brought under the dominion of strangers as a punishment for rebellion and apostasy.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:35<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A sore botch<\/strong>; an incurable leprosy, affecting not merely the joints and extremities, but the whole body. Such an affliction would exclude a man from all fellowship and from all covenant privileges of the nation. So Israel, rendered unclean by their sin, should be cut off from covenant union with God.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:36<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Deu 28:37<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

As a consequence, God would bring them under subjection to a foreign power, and they should be made to serve other gods, wood and stone (Deu 4:28<\/span>), and would become an object of horror, a proverb, and a byword among the nations (cf. 1Ki 9:7<\/span>; Jer 24:9<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:38<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Even in their own land the curse would overtake them and rest upon them in all their interests and relations.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:39<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Worms<\/strong>; probably the vine weevil, the convolvulus or involvulus of the Latin writers (Pliny, ‘Nat. Hist.,’ 17.47; Care, ‘ De Re Rust.,’ c. 95; Plaut; ‘Cistell.,’ 4.2), the or of the Greeks (Bochart, ‘Hieroz.,’ pt. it. bk. 4. c. 27).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:40<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thine olive shall cast his fruit.<\/strong> Some would render here “shall be plundered or rooted out,” taking the verb as the Niph. of ; but the majority regard it as part of the verb , and render “shall drop off,” or as in the Authorized Version. There is some doubt, however, whether the verb can be used intransitively.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:42<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Consume<\/strong>; literally, take possession of<\/em>. <\/em>The name given here to the ravaging insect is not the same as in Deu 28:38<\/span>; but there can be no doubt it is the locust that is intended.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:43<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Deu 28:44<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Cf. Deu 28:12<\/span>, Deu 28:13<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

Deu 28:46<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

These curses would be for a sign and for a wonder, exciting astonishment and dismay in the beholder, and showing that it was indeed the hand of God that was upon the rebellious nation. Forever.<\/strong> This, though it may imply the final and utter rejection of Israel as a nation, does not preclude the hope of restoration of a part of Israel as individuals, or as a remnant remaining in or returning to faith and obedience (cf. Isa 10:22<\/span>; Isa 6:13<\/span>; Rom 9:27<\/span>; Rom 11:5<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:47-57<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fourth group<\/em>. <\/em>In order still more to impress on the minds of the people the evil and danger of rebellion and apostasy, Moses enlarges on the calamities that would ensue on their being given up to the power of the heathen. Because they would not serve Jehovah their God, they should be delivered to be servants to their enemies.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:49<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Deu 28:50<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The description here given of the enemy to whom Israel was to be subjected, applies more or less closely to all the nations whom God raised up from time to time, to invade Israel and chastise the people for their rebellionthe Chaldeans (cf. Jer 48:40<\/span>; Jer 49:22<\/span>; Eze 17:5-7<\/span>; Hab 1:6<\/span>, etc.), the Assyrians (cf. Isa 5:26<\/span>; Isa 38:11<\/span>; Isa 23:1-18 :19), the Medes (Isa 13:17<\/span>, Isa 13:18<\/span>); but there are features in the description which apply especially to the Romans; and the horrors delineated in the latter part of the section (verses 52-57) carry one’s thoughts immediately to the terrible scenes which transpired during the wars of Vespasian and Titus with the Jews as narrated by Josephus (‘De Bell. Jud.,’ 6.; see Milman, ‘ Hist. of the Jews,’ bk. 16.).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:49<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

As the eagle flieth.<\/strong> The eagle was the common ensign of the legion in the Roman army; and by the Latin writers aquila <\/em>(eagle) is sometimes used for a legion (Caes; ‘Hisp.,’ 30; cf. Mat 24:28<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:50<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A nation of fierce countenance<\/strong>; literally, firm <\/em>or hard of face<\/em>; i<\/em>.e<\/em>. obdurate and determined (cf. Pro 21:29<\/span>; Dan 8:23<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:52-57<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Cf. Le 26:29<\/span>; 2Ki 6:24-30<\/span>; Jer 19:9<\/span>; Lain. Jer 2:20<\/span>; Jer 4:10<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

Deu 28:56<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

So intense should be the hunger, that the delicate and sensitive woman, brought up in luxury, and who would not set her foot on the ground lest she should be fatigued by the exertion or offended by coming in contact with the base soil, but when she went abroad must be carried in a litter or borne by a camel or an ass,even she should break through all restraints of delicacy and affection, and would secretly devour the very infant she had borne during the siege.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:57<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Her young one<\/strong>; literally, her after-birth<\/em>. <\/em>The Hebrew suggests an extreme of horror beyond what the Authorized Version indicates.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:58-68<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fifth group<\/em>. <\/em>Even these fearful calamities would not be the consummation of their punishment. If they should be obstinate in their rebellion; if they would not observe to do all that the Law delivered by Moses enjoined on them if they ceased to reverence and obey Jehovah, their God;then should come upon them the curse in full measure, and long-continued chastisement should show how grievous had been their sin.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:58<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This book<\/strong>. Not the Book of Deuteronomy, which was not then written, but the Book of the Law, the Torah, delivered by Moses to Israel from God; and of which he had been, in his addresses to the people, recapitulating some of the principal points (cf. verses 60, 61). That thou mayest fear<\/strong>, etc. It was not mere outward observance of the Law, not the mere “doing” of what was enjoined that was required, but the doing of it heartily and sincerely in the fear of the Lord, in the fear of him who had revealed himself to them by the glorious and awful Name, Jehovah, their God (cf. Le Deu 24:11<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:60<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Deu 28:61<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The diseases of Egypt<\/strong> are the plagues sent on Pharaoh and his people, as recorded in Exodus 7-11. Besides these, other plagues, not recorded in the Book of the Law, should come on rebellious Israel, so that they should be almost utterly destroyed.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:62<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Cf. Deu 4:27<\/span>; Deu 10:22<\/span>; Neh 9:23<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

Deu 28:63<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Cf. Deu 30:9<\/span>; Jer 32:41<\/span>.) He, whose joy it had been to do them good, should rejoice over their destruction (of. Pro 1:26<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:64<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Those of them that survived the plagues that should come upon them, and the horrors of the siege, should be scattered amongst all nations to the ends of the earth, and there subjugated to the utmost indignities and sufferings.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:66<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thy life<\/strong> shall hang in doubt before thee<\/strong>; literally, Thy life shall be hung up before thee<\/em>; i<\/em>.e<\/em>. shall be like an object suspended by a thread which hangs dangling before the view, ready to fall or to be cut down at any moment. Comp.<\/p>\n

“Omnia sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo<\/em><\/p>\n

Et subito casu quae valuere ruunt<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

(Ovid, ‘Epp. ex Ponto,’ 4.3, 35.)<\/p>\n

Deu 28:68<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Worst of all, they should be again reduced to bondage, carried back to Egypt, put up for sale as slaves, and be so utterly despicable that no one would purchase them. Bring thee into Egypt again.<\/strong> “If the Exodus was the birth of the nation of God as such, the return would be its death” (Schultz; cf. Hos 8:13<\/span>; Hos 9:3<\/span>). With ships.<\/strong> They came out of Egypt by land, as free men; they should be carried back imprisoned and cooped up in slave-ships. By the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no mere again. <\/strong>This does not refer to their being carried to Egypt in ships as different from the way by which they had come out from it, but simply to the fact that they should be carried back thither, contrary to what was expected when they so triumphantly came forth from it. There ye shall be sold<\/strong>; literally, shall sell yourselves<\/em>; i<\/em>.e<\/em>. give yourselves up to be sold as slaves. Egypt may be here, as Hengstenberg suggests, “the type of future oppressors;” but there seems no reason why the passage should not be taken literally. It is a fact that, after the capture of Jerusalem by Titus, the Jews were in large numbers carried into Egypt, and there subjected to most ignominious bondage; and in the time of Hadrian, multitudes of Jews were sold into slavery (Josephus, ‘De Bell. Jud.,’ 6.9, 2; of. Philo, ‘Flacc.’ and ‘Leg. ad Caium.’).<\/p>\n

HOMILETICS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu 28:1-14<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

God’s blessing promised to the obedient.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The aged lawgiver was finishing his course. Ere the end comes he would open up to the people once more the dread alternative of blessing and cursing, and would show them that they must accept either one or the other. And so, before the Holy Land is taken possession of, they are reminded how very much the realization of the promises of temporal good depends on what they are. We cannot be too frequently reminded of the fact, however, that, though prima facie <\/em>this chapter looks as if people were then under Law; yet it was not so in reality. They were being educated by the <\/em>Law; but under it the Abrahamic promise lay as firm as granite (Gal 3:17<\/span>). This is seen by the fact that God speaks to them as their God. This was of his free grace. But, though this educatory law is based on grace, grace must bring with it its own law. Grace never gives the reins to lawlessness. But it teaches us that one of the motive forces by which God would quicken men to righteousness and educate them in it, is found in showing them that his providential arrangements are such that the shaping of their earthly destiny is, in some sort, in their own hands. “Of their earthly <\/em>destiny,” we say. For it is a well-known fact that Moses seldom, if ever, refers to the next state of being. The rewards and punishments known to the Pentateuch are almost entirely connected with this earthly state. Of course, there is nothing like a denial of a life beyond the grave. But it did not fall within the scope of the revelation given through Moses that another world should be brought clearly into view. We doubt not that there was mercy as well as wisdom in this arrangement; the people had as much revealed to them as they could bear, and more than they knew how to improve. There is a world of deep meaning in the disclosure of the laws of God’s providence which are unfolded to them here. One would think that such promises as are made to the obedient would have been enough to win them to follow the will of God; and that the long-continued, terrific, appalling statement of what would follow on their disobedience would have been enough to dissuade them by “the terrors of the Lord” from venturing on the highway of evil. It would be easy to write a separate Homily on each verse in this paragraph, but, with such expansion, our work would extend to a most inordinate length. We will but suggest, and leave the expansion to others. We have but one more proviso to make before coming to our main divisions; that is this: Barring the special complexion here given to the chapter, owing to the peculiar feature of Israel’s national constitution, the main laws of providential administration which were disclosed by Moses are still in force. Even now it is true, “Godliness is profitable unto all things: having promise of the life that now is<\/em>.” <\/em>And this is the truth which, in varied forms, is set forth here. Let us observe<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> A MAN<\/strong>‘S EARTHLY<\/strong> DESTINY<\/strong> IS<\/strong>, IN<\/strong> SOME<\/strong> SORT<\/strong>, IN<\/strong> HIS<\/strong> OWN<\/strong> HANDS<\/strong>. (Deu 28:1<\/span>, Deu 28:2<\/span>.) “If thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God<\/em>,” <\/em>such and such blessings shall “come upon thee, and overtake thee.” If Israel sought success for its own sake, irrespectively of the rightness or wrongness of any methods adopted to secure it, there would be no guarantee whatever of their securing the end at which they aimed; and even if they should, the results would be fraught with evil; for “the prosperity of fools would destroy them.” But if their supreme, their sole aim, was to do right, to serve and please the Lord, then the Divine blessing would be sure to follow them. “‘Tis ours to obey, ’tis his to provide.” If we do right, and leave the issues with God, we shall not be left without tokens of his approving smile (Mat 6:33<\/span>). There may be large temporal gains, or there may not; but, with the much or with the little, that blessing will come which maketh rich; and he addeth no sorrow therewith.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> BLESSING<\/strong> ENJOYED<\/strong> BY<\/strong> THE<\/strong> OBEDIENT<\/strong> MAN<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> REST<\/strong> ON<\/strong> EVERYTHING<\/strong> WHICH<\/strong> HE<\/strong> HAS<\/strong>, AND<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> FOLLOW<\/strong> HIM<\/strong> EVERYWHERE<\/strong>. Let every clause in the paragraph be separately weighed. Would we set this in gospel light, if any one were to ask the question, “What are the signs of God’s blessing which God’s faithful ones enjoy, even in this life?” we would enumerate six of them.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> They have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> They have a clear conscience; they know that the aim of pleasing God is right, whatever difficulties it may involve.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> They enjoy what they have as from God, and as the loving gifts of a Father’s hand.<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> If much be given, they delight to use it for God.<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> If little be theirs, they know that a little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.<\/p>\n

6.<\/strong> And, above all, the supreme proof of God’s blessing is that gains and losses, joys and cares, health and sickness, do “all work together for good” to them; they minister to the growth of character, and help to make them better, wiser, and holier men.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THERE<\/strong> IS<\/strong> A SPECIAL<\/strong> LAW<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S PROVIDENTIAL<\/strong> GOVERNMENT<\/strong> WHICH<\/strong> ENSURES<\/strong> THIS<\/strong> BLESSING<\/strong> TO<\/strong> THE<\/strong> OBEDIENT<\/strong>. (Deu 28:12<\/span>.) It may, at first sight, seem to be an antiquated setting of things which we find in this verse, in which it is said, virtually, that the amount of rain will depend on the amount of virtue, and that the accumulation of men’s possessions will depend on their fidelity to God! The second sentence we can understand, since fidelity to God implies, among other things, fidelity in the use of God’s appointed means of success; so that this is only saying, Use the right means rightly, and you will gain your end. But as to the former, who can <\/em>understand it? The amount of rain dependent on the measure of virtuehow can <\/em>such a thing be? We ask, first of all, Hath the rain a father? <\/em>The reply is, Yes<\/em>, <\/em>beyond all questionGod. But then God is the Father of spirits also. That is to say, there are two spheres: that of matter and force, and that of spirit; the one governed by physical laws, the other by laws which are spiritual; but all laws, whether physical or spiritual, are ordained and regulated by one Supreme Being, and in his hands there is unity of action therein. So that, concerning these two as governed by one God, we ask, Is there any relation at all between them? Does the fact of both sets of laws originating with the same Being give them a point of contact, or does it not? In a word, Is the world of physical forces governed without the slightest reference to the government of souls? or is it so governed as to help on the training of souls?which? If the first alternative is true, the doctrine of Deu 28:12<\/span> is shut out. But who can believe that the Great Father, in governing the less, ignores the greater? We, at any rate, recoil in horror from a view so unworthy of God. We fall back, therefore, on the second alternative, which alone is reasonable, that the less is governed in the interest and on the behalf of the greater; that things <\/em>are for spirits. But this principle allows room for the point of detail in Deu 28:12<\/span>, and for ten thousand more details in the physical sphere. God would make the natural world a theatre for, and a means of, the evolution of principles and the growth of souls (cf. Amo 4:6-13<\/span>; Psa 107:33-43<\/span>). (See Homily on Deu 11:10-17<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> LOYALTY<\/strong> TO<\/strong> GOD<\/strong> TENDS<\/strong>, NOT<\/strong> ONLY<\/strong> TO<\/strong> TEMPORAL<\/strong> SUCCESS<\/strong>, BUT<\/strong> ALSO<\/strong> TO<\/strong> HONOR<\/strong>. (See end of Deu 28:12<\/span> and Deu 28:13<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Individually; men, in the long run, go pretty much for what they are worth. Faithful fulfillment of duty to God and man must <\/em>tell, and will. “Seest thou a man diligent in his business; he shall stand before kings, he shall not stand before mean men.”<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> And collectively; if a nation has in it a preponderance of wise, true-hearted, upright men, such as fear God, love righteousness, and hate iniquity, nothing can prevent such a nation rising in the scale. Its prosperity will be manifest in its inward peace, in the readiness of other nations to deal with it by opening up commercial relations, and in the good will of other nations which it will certainly share. It will have the armor of light. Its virtue will be a wall of defense. “Its land will yield her increase; and God, even its own God, will bless it.” “Happy is the nation that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord.” To such a nation it may well be said, “Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee” (Num 24:5-9<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:15-68<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Love veiled in frown.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Probably many may think that this is one of the most awful chapters in the Word of God. Certainly we are not aware of any other in which there is such a long succession of warnings, increasing in terror as they advance. In fact, Matthew Henry tells us of a wicked man who was so enraged at reading this chapter that he tore the leaf out of his Bible! Impotent rage! Impotent as if, when a man dreaded an eclipse of the sun, he were to tear up the announcements thereof. It would come for all that! <\/em>So here; there are two historical facts, viz. that the children of Israel did <\/em>depart from their God, and, that all these curses did <\/em>befall them. Some are unspent even yet. Hence this chapter is a standing proof of the accuracy of the foresight which dictated its prophecies. But while we thus get, on the one hand, a verification of the words, and so a proof of their Divine origin, another question is raised, viz. How are all these terrible realities consistent with the love of God? Now, far be it from us to attempt any vindication of the ways of God. He is infinitely beyond any need of that. What he does is right, whether we can see it to he so or no. One thing only do we aim at now: that is, to guard men against any misinterpretation of those ways, and to point them to such teachings concerning them as God has given to us. Our theme isLove veiled in frown<\/em>; or<\/em>, the terrors of the Lord a necessity of his infinite love<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> There are some in every nation whom it is absolutely necessary to sway by deterrents, and in the infancy of a nation fear is more potent than faith.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> God has a curse as well as a blessing. His love is not a mere desire to make men as easy as possible. It is, first of all, a righteous love. When love has to deal only with righteousness, its benevolent aspect only will be seen; but when sin has to be dealt with, the case is very different.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> It should be deeply graven in our souls that the black-looking and lowering storm-cloud of Divine wrath, though we call it “the curse of God,” must never be thought of in any way which would be inconsistent with his pure and perfect love. The wrath of God is holy love frowning on wrong.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> When once the wrath of God is incurred, the sinner cannot elude it, any more than he can retreat from his own shadow.<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> Given the actuality of sin, and a far-seeing eye can with certainty descry some of the consequences thereof; an infinite eye can discern them all. <\/p>\n

VI.<\/strong> We know that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but his vindication of his own laws is essential to guard righteousness as with a wall of fire! Hence<\/p>\n

VII.<\/strong> The truest kindness is seen in the enunciation of the most alarming warnings which can be given. The truest love is that which is most faithful. Hence it will often seem the most stern.<\/p>\n

VIII.<\/strong> A like holy guard to that which is here thrown around the Law of God is also thrown around the gospel. Just as, on the one hand, this Law did not and could not annul the promise which had been made to Abraham and his seed, even so, on the other hand, not even the richness and glory of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ can ever annul the action of these stern, retributive laws of God’s providence on those who continue in sin, and who reject the redemption brought in by the Son of God (see Heb 9:1-28<\/span>; Heb 10:1-39<\/span>.).<\/p>\n

HOMILIES BY J. ORR<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu 28:1-14<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The blessing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blessing and curse, as Keil says, are viewed in these verses “as actual powers, which follow in the footsteps of the nation, and overtake it” (Deu 28:2<\/span>, Deu 28:15<\/span>, Deu 28:22<\/span>; Zec 1:6<\/span>). The blessing of God is a vera causa <\/em>in human life. It is not to be resolved entirely into natural tendencies. A cheerful mind conduces to health; virtuous habits tend to prosperity, etc. But this is not the whole. Conspiring with natural tendencies, we must recognize a special providence, a designed direction of the beneficent powers of nature and life, so as to pour treasures of goodness on the favored individual. Virtue has its natural reward in the approval of conscience; but it would not of itself suffice to bring about the exceptionally fortunate condition in the outward lot which these verses represent. So strongly was this felt by the philosopher Kant, that, as is well known, he postulates the existence of God, for the express purpose of bringing about an ultimate harmony between virtue and felicity.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SPHERE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> BLESSING<\/strong>. The covenant rested largely on temporal promises. Jehovah was doubtless felt by the believing soul to be a better portion than any of his gifts (Psa 16:1-11<\/span>.; 73<\/span>.), and the relation which he sustained to his worshipper could not but be thought of as subsisting beyond death, and yielding its appropriate fruit in a future life (Psa 16:11<\/span>; Psa 17:15<\/span>; Psa 48:14<\/span>; Psa 49:14<\/span>, Psa 49:15<\/span>; Heb 11:9-17<\/span>). Yet, inasmuch as “life and immortality” had not been clearly brought to light (2Ti 1:10<\/span>), his favor was specially exhibited in the abundant communication of earthly blessings. A higher order has supervened, and the temporal promises of these verses are swallowed up in better and more enduring ones (Heb 8:6<\/span>). The gospel does not sever the connection between godliness and prosperity. It gives it a new sanction (1Ti 4:8<\/span>). Were the obedience of God’s children more uniform and perfect, and piety more widely diffused in communities, the connection would be more manifest than it is. But on the whole, temporal prosperity occupies a lower relative place in the New Testament than in the Old.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> The spiritual man, serving Christ, and witnessing for him amidst the evil of the world, is more frequently exposed to persecution (Mat 5:11<\/span>; Mat 10:24<\/span>, Mat 10:25<\/span>; Joh 4:15-21<\/span>). He has more occasion to take up the cross (Mat 16:24<\/span>). He may require to sacrifice all he has, with life itself, for Christ’s sake and the gospel’s.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Temporal prosperity is in every case subordinated to spiritual good (2Co 12:7-10<\/span>; 3Jn 1:2<\/span>). Bacon’s saying has, therefore, truth in it, “Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament; adversity is the blessing of the New, which carrieth the greater benediction, and the clearer revelation of God’s favor.” Adversity, however, even in the New Testament, is but a step to something higher. Spiritual compensations now; hereafter, “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory “(Mar 10:30<\/span>; 2Co 4:17<\/span>).<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> OPERATION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> BLESSING<\/strong>, It is viewed as pervading every department of the earthly life. It mingles itself with all the good man is, with all he does, with the circumstances of his lot, with the powers of the natural world which constitute his environment. It rests on his person, on his household, on his possessions. It helps him against his enemies, making him wealthy and powerful (Abraham, Job), and exalting him to a position in which others are dependent on him. It attends him in city and field, in his coming in and going out, so that whatever he does prospers (Psa 1:3<\/span>). These promises demonstrate:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> That the providence of God, in the sphere of the outward life, is free, sovereign, all-embracing.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> That there is under this providence a connection between outward events and circumstances and spiritual conditions.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> That, subordinately to higher ends, piety and virtue, under this providence, will be rewarded by prosperity. (See a valuable treatment of this subject in M’Cosh’s ‘Method of the Divine Government,’ bk. 2. Deu 2:1-37<\/span>.) Yet glorious as these promises are, they “have no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth” of the promises of the New Testament.<\/p>\n

Promises:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Of salvation (Rom 5:9<\/span>, Rom 5:10<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Of spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3<\/span>).<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> Of a heavenly inheritance (1Pe 1:3<\/span>, 1Pe 1:4<\/span>).<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> Of “riches” of goodness which will remain unexhausted through eternal ages (Eph 2:6<\/span>, Eph 2:7<\/span>).<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> Of perfected transformation into the moral image of God (Psa 17:15<\/span>; 1Co 4:1-21 :49; Col 1:22<\/span>; 1Jn 3:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CONDITION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> BLESSING<\/strong>. Obedience (Deu 28:1<\/span>, Deu 28:2<\/span>, Deu 28:9<\/span>,Deu 28:13<\/span>, Deu 28:14<\/span>).<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Legally, perfect obedience.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Evangelically, obedience habitual and sincere, albeit imperfect.<\/p>\n

The meritorious <\/em>ground of a believer’s acceptance, and of the blessings he receives, is the obedience unto death of Christ (Rom 5:19-21<\/span>). Christ expiates his sins, and fulfils de novo <\/em>the condition of the covenant. It is well to remember, as explaining anomalies in the histories of righteous men under the old covenant, that the promises in these verses were primarily national<\/em>. <\/em>They could be realized to the individual only in connection with the obedience of the nation as a whole. When apostasy provoked God’s judgments, pious individuals suffered in the general calamities. They suffered, too, as drawing upon themselves the hatred of the wicked. Hence the development in the Psalms and Prophets of the idea of the “Righteous Sufferer”One whose afflictions are entailed on him by the hatred and injustice of the wicked, or who, innocent himself, suffers as a member of the body politic. This idea, which has throughout a Messianic reference, culminates in the prophecy of the” Servant of Jehovah” (Psa 52:1-9<\/span>; Psa 53:1-6<\/span>.), who, by the holy endurance of sufferings for others, makes their sin his own<\/em>, <\/em>and vicariously atones for it.J.O.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:8<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The blessing that maketh rich.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. FULL<\/strong> STOREHOUSES<\/strong>, WITHOUT<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S BLESSING<\/strong>, ARE<\/strong> NOT<\/strong> RICHES<\/strong>. God does not count a man rich further than the good things he has are of real and lasting benefit to him. Wealth unblessed of God is not to be desired.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Unblessed good is <\/em>ill (Ecc 5:10-15<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> It turns <\/em>to illis not enduring (Pro 13:22<\/span>), takes wings and leaves, is a curse to offspring (Ecc 5:14<\/span>, Ecc 5:15<\/span>; Ecc 6:2<\/span>; Jas 5:1<\/span>, Jas 5:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S BLESSING<\/strong>, WITHOUT<\/strong> FULL<\/strong> STOREHOUSES<\/strong>, MAKES<\/strong> RICH<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> It enriches the little we have. A man with a moderate competence, and peace and comfort in the use of it, may be richer than the man whose means are tenfold greater (Psa 37:16<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> It makes adversity a means of spiritual enrichment.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> It is itself the best of all riches (Hab 3:17-19<\/span>).J.O.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:9<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Established.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Probation, in the case of the faithful, ends in establishment. If Israel would keep the commandments, God would “perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle” them as “an holy people” to himself, and so confirm the promises made to the fathers. A like promise to the Church and to Christians (Act 16:5<\/span>; Rom 1:11<\/span>; Col 2:7<\/span>; Heb 13:9<\/span>; 1Pe 5:10<\/span>; 2Pe 1:12<\/span>). Establishment is:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Unto holiness.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> A result of God naming his Name upon his people (Deu 28:12<\/span>, Hebrew), i<\/em>.e<\/em>. <\/em>dwelling with them, and revealing his attributes in saving, sanctifying, blessing, and exalting them.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> The reward of fidelity.<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> A proof of God’s fidelity. God “hath sworn” to fulfill his word (Heb 6:17<\/span>, Heb 6:18<\/span>; cf. 1Co 1:9<\/span>; Php 1:6<\/span>).J.O.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:10<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The world afraid of the godly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S PEOPLE<\/strong> CALLED<\/strong> BY<\/strong> HIS<\/strong> NAME<\/strong>. God calls or names his Name upon them, i<\/em>.e<\/em>. <\/em>distinguishes, owns, chooses, recognizes them as his, by dwelling among them (2Co 3:16<\/span>), by causing his blessing to rest upon them, by answering their prayers, by favoring their cause, by establishing their work (Psa 90:13-17<\/span>). “God is love” (1Jn 4:8<\/span>). His “Name” expresses pre-eminently that attribute of his character (Exo 34:6<\/span>, Exo 34:7<\/span>). It can, therefore, be revealed only upon or in relation to his own people.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> NOMINAL<\/strong> AND<\/strong> REAL<\/strong> CALLING<\/strong>. “They are not all Israel which are of Israel” (Rom 9:6<\/span>). Real, as distinguished from nominal, saints are marked:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> By obedience to the Divine commands (Deu 28:9<\/span>; Mat 7:22<\/span>). <\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> By separation from the world (2Co 7:1-16 :17, 18). <\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> By the power of holiness dwelling in them. <\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> By manifold tokens of the Divine favor.<\/p>\n

Thus the world “sees” them to be what they are (Act 4:13<\/span>).<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THOSE<\/strong> KNOWN<\/strong> TO<\/strong> BE<\/strong> CALLED<\/strong> BY<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S NAME<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> FEARED<\/strong>. Worldly men fear them. They fear the holiness that resides in them. They fear their prayers. They fear their power with God. They feel that there dwells in them a Presence whom they have every reason to dread (Act 2:43<\/span>).J.O.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:13<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Moral gravitation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In studying the histories of the good men of the Bible, we notice how, notwithstanding the numerous causes which act adversely to their fortunes, the constant tendency of their piety is to lift them upwards. A law is none the less a law because other laws come in to interfere with, modify, suspend, or counteract its operation. A cork or other light body may be pushed under water, but the law of its nature is to rise to the top. Violence may abnormally depress the righteous man’s fortunes, but the “law” of piety is to elevate them. Mingle lighter and heavier bodies in water, and the heavier gradually sink, while the lighter mount surfacewards. So piety, both from its own nature and by the blessing of God upon it, tends to raise a man in favor and influence, and gradually to improve his fortunes; while ungodliness as invariably drags him down. The good man gains ground; his enemies lose it. He mounts to be the head, and they sink to be the tail. He is uppermost; they are undermost. Illustrate from the histories of Joseph, David, Daniel. It is the same today. As years advance, the good man grows in influence; slowly but surely overcomes his first difficulties; is trusted, sought after, looked up to; rises in social position; ultimately occupies the seats of honor; while those who started life with him, but took a different course, gradually lose their advantages, fall one by one out of rank, and are driven to the wall (cf. Pro 4:8<\/span>; Pro 13:22<\/span>, etc.).J.O.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:15-48<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The curse.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like the blessing, the curse is a reality. It cleaves to the sinner, pursues him, hunts him down, ruins and slays him (Deu 28:45<\/span>). Does some one say, “An exploded superstition”? If so, it is a superstition in the belief of which mankind has shown itself singularly unanimous. View its reality as attested:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> By conscience<\/em>. <\/em>The criminal cannot divest himself of the belief that avenging powers are following on his track.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> By experience<\/em>. <\/em>“Rarely,” says Horace, “has Punishment, though lame, failed to overtake the criminal fleeing before her.” Greek tragedy rests on an induction from the facts of life.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> By mythology<\/em>. <\/em>It was a conviction, true alike to conscience and the facts of life, which the Greeks sought to personify in the Erinyes, in Nemesis, and in Ate, who clung to a man or to a family in punishment for some half-forgotten crime.<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> By literature<\/em>, <\/em>which is full of the recognition of avenging powers. The Bible confirms the substance of this varied teaching, but lifts the subject out of the region of mythology. Jehovah alone has power to bless and curse. The blessings and curses of men have no efficacy save as he gives it to them. His blessings and curses are part of the moral government of the world, and turn exclusively on moral conditions. This is the contrast between the Bible and the heathen idea of a curse. The curse was a prominent part of heathen sorcery, but was wrought with charms and incantations. Protection against it was sought, not in a life of virtue, but in counter-charms and amuletsin conjurations more powerful than those of the enemy. The Bible countenances no such superstitions<\/em>. <\/em>Incantations are valueless. A curse is futile against those whom God has blessed (Num 23:20-23<\/span>).<\/p>\n

The Bible doctrine is:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Simple.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Rational.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> Ethical.<\/p>\n

That of heathenism (with its modern survivals, the evil eye<\/em>, <\/em>charms, witches, etc.) is conspicuously the reverse.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CURSE<\/strong> IN<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> NATURE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> A<\/em> natural fruit of sin<\/em>. <\/em>Natural process is not the whole. But a larger place may be allowed it than it had in the blessing. The blessing is “gift;” sin’s fruit is of “debt””wages” (Rom 6:23<\/span>). Conceivably, yet without miracle, God might have withheld from virtue its appropriate outward reward. But no power, even that of God, could prevent the sinner from reaping wretchedness and woe as a result of sin. “The righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more <\/em>the wicked and the sinner” (Pro 11:31<\/span>). The wiser course is not to oppose God to the laws of our moral nature, but to recognize him in them, and to draw from them a knowledge of his character and will. These, like all punitive laws, are the executors of his judgments. The sinner, having placed himself in conflict with the laws of life, of society, and of the outward universe, necessarily suffers in mind, body, and estate. Sin introduces discord, disorder, lawlessness, into the soul<\/em>. <\/em>It blinds and infatuates (Deu 28:28<\/span>, Deu 28:29<\/span>). It makes wretched. This wretchedness is aggravated:<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> By remorse and self-reproach.<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> By sense of Divine anger.<\/p>\n

(3)<\/strong> By opprobrium of society.<\/p>\n

(4)<\/strong> By imaginative terrors.<\/p>\n

Sin poisons the fountains of health<\/em>, <\/em>and induces diseases (Deu 28:22<\/span>, Deu 28:27<\/span>, 85). The internal anarchy spreads outwards. The bonds of society <\/em>are loosened; wealth accumulates in the hands of the few; the unhappy toilers, oppressed and spoiled, sink deeper and deeper in debt and wretchedness. At this stage the nation becomes an easy prey to the first strong power that cares to pounce upon it (Deu 28:29-38<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> An effect of hostile action on the part of God<\/em>. <\/em>We fail of a complete view if we look only at the hostile relation of the sinner to God, and leave out of account the hostile relation which God assumes to the sinner. It is not merely that the sinner gets into conflict with himself and with the world around him, but nature and providence, under the direction of a hostile will, take up an antagonistic relation to him. Their movements are no longer for his good, but hostile and retributive (Deu 28:20-24<\/span>). So the mental <\/em>maladies of Deu 28:28<\/span> are more than the merely natural effects of sin (cf. 1Ki 22:22<\/span>). “The inquiring mind,” says Dr. M’Cosh, “will discover designed combinations, many and wonderful, between the various events of Divine providence. What singular unions of two streams at the proper place to help on the exertions of the great and good! What curious intersections of cords to catch the wicked, as in a net, when they are prowling as wild beasts! By strange but most apposite correspondences, human strength, when set against the will of God, is made to waste away under his indignation, burning against it, as, in heathen story, Meleager wasted away as the stick burned which his mother held in the fire.” Laws of nature are the warp, Divine providence the woof, of this awful garment of the curse with which the sinner clothes himself.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CURSE<\/strong> IN<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> OPERATION<\/strong>. Pictured in these verses in ample and vivid detail. The counterpart of the blessing (Deu 28:15-26<\/span>). Takes effect in misfortune (Deu 28:20<\/span>), sore diseases (Deu 28:21<\/span>, Deu 28:22<\/span>), scouring by natural agencies (Deu 28:23<\/span>, Deu 28:24<\/span>), invasions by enemies (Deu 28:25<\/span>, Deu 28:26<\/span>). Action and reaction lead to the reproduction of these evils in aggravated forms. To worse bodily plagues (Deu 28:27<\/span>) are superadded mental maladies (Deu 28:28<\/span>, Deu 28:29<\/span>), issuing in renewed panic and defeat in war (Deu 28:29<\/span>), with innumerable resultant calamities (Deu 28:30-33<\/span>). Confusion and anarchy unite with oppression to produce madness of heart (Deu 28:34<\/span>), disease pursues its ravages in forms of increasing malignity (Deu 28:35<\/span>), and the nation ultimately sinks in total ruin (Deu 28:36<\/span>, Deu 28:37<\/span>). Meanwhile, co-operating with these causes to reduce it to subjection, the curse has been working in all labor and enterprise, thwarting, blasting, destroying (Deu 28:43<\/span>, Deu 28:44<\/span>; cf. Amo 4:6-12<\/span>; Hag 1:5-12<\/span>; Mal 2:2<\/span>). The full terribleness of the Divine curse, however, is only brought out in the New Testament. As the re-laden of God to the soul goes deeper than life in the world, so it extends beyond it. The worse part of the curse is the sinking of the soul in its own corruptions, with the drying up of its possibilities of life, peace, and joy, under the weight of the Divine displeasurean experience of “indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile” (Rom 2:8<\/span>, Rom 2:9<\/span>). Happily, no man in this life knows what the full extent of that curse is (Isa 57:16<\/span>). A remedial system is in operation, in virtue of which no soul is utterly deserted of grace, and even the natural workings of sin are manifoldly checked, limited, and counteracted. Space is thus given for repentance, and salvation is possible. The end, however, if the riches of this goodness and forbearance are despised, will only be the more terrible (Rom 2:3-10<\/span>).<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CURSE<\/strong> IS<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> CAUSES<\/strong>. Sin, disobedience <\/em>(Deu 28:45<\/span>, Deu 28:46<\/span>). The curses written in this book were literally fulfilled. Israel would not serve the Lord with joyfulness and gladness of heart, thereforesad retribution!she had to serve her enemies “in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things” (Deu 28:48<\/span>; cf. the prodigal son, Luk 15:14-17<\/span>). All sin ends in bondage. Nations that imitate Israel in her sins may expect <\/em>to be made like her in her punishment.J.O.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:37-42<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

God, Ruler in nature.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> NATURAL<\/strong> OBJECTS<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> HIS<\/strong> CREATION<\/strong>. The Psalmist bids us lift up our eyes to the hills, and seek help from God, “who made heaven and earth” (Psa 121:2<\/span>). It is this which enables him to help us, and makes it reasonable in us to implore and trust in his assistance; as well as leads us to fear his displeasure. Seed, vineyards, olive trees, are his creatures, and subserve his purposes. He who made can destroy.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> NATURAL<\/strong> AGENCIES<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> UNDER<\/strong> HIS<\/strong> CONTROL<\/strong>. The<\/em> greater <\/em>agencies of naturerain (Deu 28:23<\/span>, Deu 28:24<\/span>), pestilence (Deu 28:21<\/span>), diseases (Deu 28:27<\/span>, Deu 28:35<\/span>). The lesser <\/em>agencieslocusts (Deu 28:38<\/span>, Deu 28:42<\/span>), worms (Deu 28:39<\/span>), “powder and dust” (Deu 28:24<\/span>). He marshals these agencies at will, appoints them their work, superintends them in the doing of it. He brings strength out of weakness, making the feeblest creatures the instruments of his most terrible strokes of vengeance.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> FRUITFULNESS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> EARTH<\/strong> IS<\/strong> DEPENDENT<\/strong> ON<\/strong> HIS<\/strong> BLESSING<\/strong>. He gives, and he can at will withhold. It is a false science which sees only “laws” in the productiveness of nature, and ignores the hand and blessing of a living God.J.O.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:49-59<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The extremity of the curse.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A truly appalling description of the evils which would overtake apostate Israel; one, too, not more remarkable for the sustained vehemence and energy of its thought and diction, than for the minuteness and literality with which its predictions have been fulfilled.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PROPHECY<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THE<\/strong> LIGHT<\/strong> OF<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> FULFILLMENT<\/strong>. The wonderfulness of these predictions is not removed by any date we may assign to the Book of Deuteronomy. For:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> It is certain that the Assyrian and Chaldean invasionsto which a reference is no doubt included (Jer 4:13<\/span>; Jer 5:15<\/span>)fell far short of what was necessary for their complete fulfillment.<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> The Babylonian Captivity was only of seventy years’ duration.<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> The Jews returned and remained long afterwards in possession of their land.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> It is equally certain that, in the subsequent conquest of the nation by the Romans, with the dispersion that followed; the rod which lasts to our own day, every feature in the prophecy has been <\/em>exhaustively fulfilled.<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> The Romans agree better than either Assyrians or Chaldeans with the description or the foreign foes in verses 49, 50.<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> The sufferings of the siege (verses 52-57) had their literal fulfillment in the Roman wars, and especially in the siege of Jerusalem under Titus (cf. Josephus, ‘Wars of the Jews,’ bk. 5:10, 3; 6:3, 3, 4; 6:8, 2).<\/p>\n

(3)<\/strong> “Hundreds of thousands were sold as slaves” (cf. verse 68); “and the whole people were cast forth as wanderers among the Gentiles; and they have ever since remained a nation of exiles, unsettled, harassed, and oppressed, in many instances most cruelly, not only by pagans and Mohammedans, but also (to our shame be it spoken) by Christian nations; and still remaining a distinct people, though without a home” (Whately, ‘Evidences’).<\/p>\n

(4)<\/strong> “To <\/em>serve other gods” may mean no more than to be banished from the territory of Jehovah, and to dwell in and be compelled to conform to the laws of a country where other gods are recognized (cf. 1Sa 26:17<\/span>). It is also true that, to shield themselves from persecution, the Jews have too often been willing to dissemble and conform to worships which their hearts abhorred (saint and image worship: adoration of the host, etc.); while in idolatrous countries their religion is frequently so corrupted as to be scarcely recognizable. The Beni-Israel, near Bombay, eg<\/em>. <\/em>remain a distinct people, but, together with Jehovah, worship the gods of the Hindus. Predictions<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> so minute, <\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> so extensive in their range, yet <\/p>\n

(3)<\/strong> so exhaustively verified by events, cannot be ascribed to accident, but constitute an irrefragable proof of the inspiration that dictated them.<\/p>\n

Their fulfillment converts the very unbelief and rejection of the Jews into a powerful argument for Christianity.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> LESSONS<\/strong> FROM<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PROPHECY<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> The severity of God<\/em>. <\/em>If the fulfillment of these predictions teaches anything, it is that God will not shrink from the punishment of sin. We shudder as we read the details of these curses”plagues wonderful . great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance” (verse 59), and ask ourselves, Can God really tolerate the sight of, not to say inflict, such incredible sufferings? Yet we find that not one of these curses failed of its accomplishment. So solemn a fact bids the sinner pause and ponder his <\/em>chance of escaping in the great “day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom 2:5<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> The self-ruinous character of sin<\/em>. <\/em>The fulfillment of these threatenings was largely, though not wholly, brought about by simply giving sin scope to work out its own evil results. The bitterest element in retribution must be the feeling which the sinner has of self-wrought ruin. “He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption” (Gal 6:8<\/span>). Like water, which, left to itself, will not cease running till it has found its level; like a clock, which, left to itself, will not cease going till it has run itself completely down; like a tree, which, left to grow, cannot but bring forth its appropriate fruit;so sin has a level to seek, a course to ran, a fruit to mature, and “the end of those things is death” (Rom 6:21<\/span>).J.O.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:52<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The high and fenced walls.<\/strong><\/p>\n

God’s enemies will ultimately be driven from all their defenses. Cities “great and fenced up to heaven” will be no defense to them, any more than they were to the Canaanites (Deu 9:1<\/span>). Horses and chariots (Psa 20:7<\/span>), numbers, prowess, wealth (Pro 10:15<\/span>), arts of policy, leagues with foreign powers (Isa 30:1-33<\/span>.), afford no protection when God is the besieger. Spiritually, the sinner will ultimately be driven out of every “refuge of lies.”<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Self-righteousness; every mouth shall be stopped (Rom 3:19<\/span>). <\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> False trusts (Mat 3:9<\/span>; Mat 7:22<\/span>). <\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> Evasions and excuses (Mat 25:26<\/span>; Luk 14:18<\/span>).J.O.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:56<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Deu 28:57<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The delicate lady.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Cf. Isa 3:16-26<\/span>.) The queens of select society have little reason to be vain of their excessive and artificial delicacy. They need not pride themselves in it, or think that it entitles them to look haughtily on others. For<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> DELICACY<\/strong> IS<\/strong> NOT<\/strong> CHARACTER<\/strong>. It is consistent with a vain, light, scornful, wicked disposition. The tender and delicate lady in this verse is one of the enemies of God. The purest types of female character avoid those extravagances of delicacy which, indulged in, become second nature. Character alone entities to respect. To be vain of beauty or breeding, when the heart is false and the life untrue to God, is to be vain of an ornamented husk within which lies rottenness. “‘Tis only noble to be good.”<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> DELICACY<\/strong> IS<\/strong> AN<\/strong> ACCIDENT<\/strong> OF<\/strong> FORTUNE<\/strong>. It is adventitiousan accident of position. Born in another sphere, she who boasts of it would not have had it. It is the product of artificial conditions, of which she reaps the benefit, but which she had no part in creating. It is not gained by her own exertions, or attributable to her worth or merit. If she values it, let her at least not despise others. She might have been the cottager, the cottager the lady.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> DELICACY<\/strong> IS<\/strong> VALUELESS<\/strong> WHEN<\/strong> FORTUNE<\/strong> CEASES<\/strong> TO<\/strong> SMILE<\/strong> ON<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> POSSESSOR<\/strong>. No change of circumstances can rob of its value the possession of knowledge, talents, virtue, good breeding, or refinement. These will grace the humblest home, will prove a passport to respect in any society. It is different with the fastidious and excessive delicacy of the belle. So entirely is this an appendage of a certain social position that, when that is gone, it perishes like a crushed flower. The admirers of the delicate lady have deserted her. She is treated with coldness, even rudeness. No one so helpless, so dependent, as she. She shone, like the moon, in a reflected brightness, and, foolishly inconsiderate, gloried in it as something of her own.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> DELICACY<\/strong> MAY<\/strong> BE<\/strong> COMPELLED<\/strong> TO<\/strong> STOOP<\/strong> TO<\/strong> THE<\/strong> BITTEREST<\/strong> DEGRADATIONS<\/strong>. This is the lesson of the verses before us, and we need not dwell upon it. But the thought of such possibilities should quell pride and awaken awe. The depths of want and woe to which the most delicately nurtured may sink, are only paralleled by the possibilities of joy that lie hidden in the most wretched souls, if they will but forsake sin and give themselves up to Jesus and the guidance of his Spirit.J.O.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:63<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

God rejoicing in judgment.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The language in this verse is bold, almost beyond example. It jars with our conceptions of the Divine Being to think of him as “rejoicing” in the destruction of even the most obdurate of sinners, he declares that he has no pleasure in the death of him that dieth (Eze 18:32<\/span>). Christ predicted Jerusalem’s fall, but “wept over it” (Luk 19:41<\/span>). The language is best interpreted, not of actual joy felt by God in the execution of his judgments, but anthropo-pathically of the certainty, rapidity, and unsparingness with which, like waves chasing each other to the shore, strokes of judgment would descend, as if God took pleasure in inflicting them. The figure is derived from God’s joy in the communication of blessings. As God’s joyin this case a real joywas shown in the number and accumulation of the blessings, so would it be with the judgmentshe would appear to rejoice in the sending of these also. We do not, however, ignore the fact that God must approve of, yea, rest with satisfaction in, every exercise of his perfections, even in the infliction of judgment. The verse, in any view of it, is a very terrible one in its bearings on the prospects of the wicked.J.O.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:65<\/strong> -69<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mental torture as a result of sin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The picture here drawn is true in an especial sense of the Jews in their state of exile, maddened, affrighted, and kept in continual torture and suspense by the persecutions and miseries they have been made to endure. We apply it to the state of the ungodly generallya state of internal misery resulting from transgression.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> UNAPPEASABLE<\/strong> RESTLESSNESS<\/strong>. (Deu 28:65<\/span>.) The sinner is destitute of peace (Isa 57:21<\/span>).<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> There is nothing to give it. No inward source of comfort. No perennial spring of satisfaction.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> There is everything to take it away.<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> An evil conscience.<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> Sense of God’s displeasure.<\/p>\n

(3)<\/strong> Inward disunion and anarchy.<\/p>\n

The consequence is that the sinner cannot settle, tie does not feel at rest. He cannot be happy or contented in any place or occupation. Like a patient tossing under fever, he thinks that his uneasiness arises from his position, whereas it is his disorder. <\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> FEAR<\/strong> AND<\/strong> TREMBLING<\/strong> OF<\/strong> HEART<\/strong>. (Deu 28:65<\/span>, Deu 28:66<\/span>.) “The wicked flee when no man pursueth” (Pro 28:1<\/span>). The guilty conscience is full of terrors. It “does make cowards of us all.” Gives rise to groundless fears (Joseph’s brethren, Gen 45:3<\/span>; Gen 50:15<\/span>). Morbid working of imaginationstarting in sleep (Richard III<\/strong>.), fancying sounds and movements (Macboth). Works despair (Saul, 1Sa 28:1-25<\/span>.). It unnerves and unmans.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> LOATHING<\/strong> AND<\/strong> WEARINESS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> LIFE<\/strong>. (Deu 28:67<\/span>.) A sated despairing feeling, incapable of removal or alleviation. Ennui. Unbearable dragging on of time. “I <\/em>may say that in all my seventy-five years I have never had a month of genuine comfort. It has been the perpetual rolling of a stone, which I have always had to raise anew” (Goethe). Cf. ‘Childe Harold,’ as above<\/p>\n

“He felt the fullness of satiety,
Then loathed he in his native land to dwell;” <\/p>\n

or Matthew Arnold’s lines<\/p>\n

“On that hard pagan world disgust<\/p>\n

And sated loathing fell;<\/p>\n

Deep weariness and sated lust<\/p>\n

Made human life a hell,” etc.<\/p>\n

J.O.<\/p>\n

HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu 28:1-14<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The purpose of temporal blessing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

After the “Amens” from Mount Ebal had been faithfully given, the Levites turned to Gerizim with the detail of blessings<\/em>, <\/em>and received from the assembled thousands the grand “Amen.” We have in these verses before us the purpose of the blessing. The children of Israel had been brought out of Egypt by a Divine deliverance, they were about to settle in Canaan as the people of the Lord. They were a spectacle, therefore, to the rest of the world of how a people fared at the hands of the Lord in obedience or in disobedience. We must regard Israel as a visible experiment, so to speak, for the instruction of the rest of mankind. Now, the rest of mankind at this early stage could only appreciate such a reward as temporal <\/em>blessing. Spiritual blessing would have been no demonstration to them, and have made no impression upon them. Hence it was temporal blessing which God in the main <\/em>gave them. Of course, we do not at all accept the special pleading of Warburton, in his ‘Divine Legation of Moses,’ in favor of temporal rewards and punishments being all <\/em>that the Law of Moses contemplates. There are significant references to a future life in the Mosaic books, but for the reason now stated, God was mainly working in the temporal sphere. Let us notice some of the particulars in which an obedient <\/em>people were to experience blessing.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> CITY<\/strong> LIFE<\/strong> was to be blessed. It has been said that “God made the country, but man the town.” And doubtless the concentration of population in cities is fraught with peculiar temptation and danger. Yet God’s Law is sufficiently “broad” to secure right order and government in cities as well as in country districts. If men would only carry out the law of love, if they would live by the golden rule, then cities would soon put on an air of holiness, and wickedness within them would hide its head. It is through the conscience and heart God’s Law works, and city life can alone be elevated and regenerated thereby. If we had pious mayors, aldermen, and councilors, pious high sheriffs and officials, then corruption, rapacity, and self-seeking would disappear through a general and conscientious desire for the public good.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> AGRICULTURE<\/strong> was to be prosperous. Palestine was intended to be occupied by a pastoral people, and peasant proprietors were to fill the laud. It was to flow with milk and honey if man co-operated with God, and did his share honestly. The conditions of the country, as already remarked (cf. Homily on Deu 11:10-17<\/span>), fostered faith in God, and success was the outcome of constant dependence upon him. A dependent people wrought diligently and received the blessings of nature as the gifts of a faithful God. There was to be increase of cattle, of swine, of sheep, of the fruit of the field, and of all that is implied by “basket and store.” In the basket, as Van Lennep somewhere observes, grapes, olives, and the like are collected, and so the blessing on the basket means general agricultural prosperity.<\/p>\n

Now, there can be no doubt that piety is an excellent handmaid to agriculture. All the cant <\/em>now talked in the name of science about God’s practical exclusion from the “reign of law<\/em>,” is insufficient to overturn the plain truth that those who try to keep his commandments and live in his fellowship are more likely than others to fulfill the conditions of agricultural prosperity.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> POPULATION<\/strong> will increase. The fruit of their body was also to be blessed. We can understand how important numbers are to national power. When the population advances in the sunshine of advancing prosperity, the elements of national greatness are secured. The Malthusian <\/em>scare introduced into political economy was an exaggerated lesson upon prudence. Population progresses with sufficient check upon it in the ordinary struggles of life, without requiring such prophets of evil as the Malthusians have been. The prudence fostered, being of a worldly character, has degenerated, it is feared, in many cases, into licentiousness as legitimate, when marriage, except in most favorable circumstances, is deemed imprudent. Now, it is well known that Palestine must have been very populous, containing about as many human beings to the square mile as the most densely populated countries at the present time, and in its densely filled country districts testified to the general security which then existed.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> They will be VALIANT<\/strong> IN<\/strong> REPELLING<\/strong> INVASION<\/strong>. It is noticeable that foreign conquest is not contemplated when they are settled in the land. It is when the enemies rise up against them that the Lord will give them, as obedient people, the power to disperse them. The invasion may take place in one way, but their rout will be complete, they shall flee before Israel seven ways (Deu 28:7<\/span>)the perfect number indicating perfect defeat. The Lord will not encourage them in a “spirited foreign policy,” but will make them invincible defenders of their hearths and homes.<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> They shall be in a position to LEND<\/strong> UNTO<\/strong> SURROUNDING<\/strong> NATIONS<\/strong>. Not only would they repel successfully all invasion, but be able to lay other nations under obligation. Now, we see that, in being able to serve <\/em>others in this way, lies the secret of sovereignty and influence. The thrifty nations that can lend to others, so far get these others into their power. In the lending power God promises to Israel, if obedient, we see the germ of undoubted ascendancy.<\/p>\n

No wonder, then, that other nations are to fear and to honor them, if this is to be their career. No wonder they are to be the head, and not the tail; to be above only, and not beneath. Obedience will prove the one condition of ascendancy.
Now, it is true that the world can think better in these latter days than it did in the days of Moses. Religion does not now need a demonstration of temporal prosperity nor a favored nation. Religion now demonstrates its reality and sustaining power in making poor saints bright and joyful; in making suffering saints patient and hopeful; and in making the sorrowing ones resigned and confident of reunion. These are the “martyrs” now, and the seed of the Church. At the same time, it may be seen written clearly on the order of providence that “righteousness exalteth a nation;” that the religious nations, other things being equal, are the more prosperous. It cannot but be so. As nations get no resurrection as nations, only as individuals, it then comes to pass that as nations they must be judged in this world, and get their reward or punishment, as the case may be, while the individuals composing the nations may be asked in many cases to wait for their compensation and reward in the world to come.R.M.E.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:15-68<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A nation becoming a beacon.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If Mount Gerizim had the weight cf. the people on the side of the blessing, Mount Ebal had certainly the weight of the deliverance. No wonder the Law was to be written on its rocky tablets, since the major part of the Law consists in such denunciation of possible disobedience as might serve to render it improbable. As Dr. Arnold has said, “As if, too, warning were far more required than encouragement, we find that the blessings promised for obedience bear a small proportion in point of length to the curses denounced against disobedience.” We shall try to sum up the evils here threatened against Israel in case of their disobedience, and then point out their practical and present application.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> DEGRADATION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> CITY<\/strong> LIFE<\/strong>. If the massing of people gives advantages to religious effort, it gives corresponding advantages to sin. Temptation becomes intensified. The leaven of corruption gets speedily through the compacter mass. The very mention of the city and its sins and sorrows brings a frightful panorama before us. Ignorance, drunkenness, irreligion, licentiousness,all these are found in their most fearful forms in cities. No wonder that such a man as Dr. Guthrie delivered a series of special sermons on the subject. Now, the Jews are threatened with a curse upon their city life in case of their disobedience. Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum are but samples of doomed cities through the disobedience of the people (Mat 11:20-24<\/span>).<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> AGRICULTURE<\/strong> will be cursed because of their disobedience. The land of promise will become, through drought and carelessness, a barren waste, like the worn-out lands of slave-holding people, which once were glorious virgin soil. And travelers have no difficulty in believing that Palestine is under the curse of God. The threat of Deuteronomy has become a sad reality, and the land stands as a witness to the faithfulness of God to his threatenings.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> A curse was to rest upon THEIR<\/strong> CHILDREN<\/strong>. No more terrible form of judgment can be supposed than this. Parents are touched deepest in their children. Hence it must have been a great trial for the wayward Jews to find their children deteriorating through their sin, and carrying in their persons the curse of God. Population dwindled, and instead of being the countless people they once were, they have become so small that it is one of the wonders of the world that they maintain their separate existence.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> DISEASES<\/strong> of the most frightful kind were to come upon them. Now, it would seem that certain diseases were peculiar to Egypt, and of these the Israelites were particularly afraid. Now, the Lord threatens them with all the diseases of Egypt, of which they were so afraid (verses 27, 35, 60). The diseases with which the human frame is visited are certainly manifold and terrible. To attach them to sin in a way of natural law only makes the judgment the more terrible. Of course we cannot say special sickness is proof positive of special sin; but we can say that but for sin there would have been no suffering and no sickness; and that sin deserves all that is sent. The frightful character of the sickness and sorrows God sends is the expression of his detestation of man’s sin.<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> FAMINE<\/strong> was a still worse curse. To perish with hunger because of the scarcity of food is terrible. To waste away for want of due nourishment is terrible. Yet this the Lord threatened, and ultimately sent as the history tells us.<\/p>\n

VI.<\/strong> WAR<\/strong> AND<\/strong> SIEGE<\/strong>. The worst enemy of mankind is man. Of all judgments war is worst. And the siege endured in Jerusalem twice over transcends all others recorded in history. Of minor sieges at Samaria and elsewhere we need not speak. According to Josephus, eleven hundred thousand Jews perished in the course of the siege of Jerusalem under Titus by sword, pestilence, or famine. “Besides these eleven hundred thousand, ninety-seven thousand were taken prisoners; and these were reserved, not for the light sufferings commonly undergone by prisoners of war in our days, but for the horrors of the slave-market, and for a life of perpetual bondage.” It is believed that direct reference is made to the Roman eagles in verses 49, 50, etc; and it is known that women ate their children in the terrible siege.<\/p>\n

VII.<\/strong> DISPERSION<\/strong> AND<\/strong> BONDAGE<\/strong>. To those with national spirit dispersion must have been terrible. Emigration is now deemed bad enough, even though it may be to a better inheritance. But the Jewish dispersion threatened was captivity which we know came upon them at different times. The Babylonish Captivity was acknowledged by them to be in consequence of their sins, the recognized curse of God. And even after their return in part to Palestine, they came in for bondage to the yoke of Rome, and felt the yoke of iron on them.<\/p>\n

VIII.<\/strong> The OFFSCOURING<\/strong> OF<\/strong> ALL<\/strong> THINGS<\/strong> unto this day. The Jews were threatened with such a scattering among the nations as would make them universally despised. And they have become so. Even yet, notwithstanding toleration and Jewish money-grubbing, the nation has not secured the respect of mankind. As Byron wrote<\/p>\n

“Tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast,
How shall ye flee away and be at rest!
The wild dove hath her nest, the fox his cave,
Mankind their countryIsrael but the grave!”<\/p>\n

Such in brief are the judgments threatened, and, as history shows us, faithfully executed. The nation constitutes the beacon <\/em>of historythe most terrible evidence of the perils of disobedience! The following lessons of a practical character are surely taught:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Of those to whom much is given shall much be required<\/em>. <\/em>No nation was so favored; but, neglecting its opportunities, no nation has been so cursed. It has been more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, and for Sodom and Gomorrha, than for the Jews.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> It is terrible when judgment has to begin at the house of God<\/em>. <\/em>This is the meaning of the melancholy history. It is a tragedy at the house of God (1Pe 4:17<\/span>). “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall.”<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> The prophetic threatening did not prevent their apostasy<\/em>. <\/em>Though as we believe, having their possible career through disobedience to direct judgment so carefully sketched, the prophecy lay for ages as a sealed, if not a neglected book. We think, with the rich man in Hades, that categorical warning would reform any of our brethren, no matter how abandoned, but find it a mistake (Luk 16:27-31<\/span>). He who knows the end from the beginning has by his prophecy demonstrated that warning is often despised just in proportion to its particularity and faithfulness.<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> The judgment on earth is an image of a more terrible judgment beyond<\/em>. <\/em>“For us, each of us,” said Dr. Arnold, “if we do fail of the grace of God there is reserved a misery of which indeed the words of the text are no more than a feeble picture. There is a state in which they who are condemned to it shall forever say in the morning. Would God it were even! and at even, Would God it were morning! for the fear of their heart wherewith they shall fear, and the sight of their eyes which they shall see.” In forecasting what the doom of the impenitent shall be, we would do well to remember what God has done to sinners in the present life. Imagination may picture postmortem <\/em>pardons and insist on sentiment determining the doom of disobedience, even when perpetuated; but the history of judgment here on earth should make every sane man fear to speak lightly of the judgment beyond. May God preserve us all from such an experience, through the blood and merits of Jesus!R.M.E.<\/p>\n

HOMILIES BY D. DAVIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu 28:1-14<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The present portion of a good man.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The natural world may be fitly regarded as the visible symbol of the spiritual world, the earthly state a lower copy of the heavenly. The order of cause and effect is as uniform in the spiritual sphere as in the material. Fire in contact with gunpowder will result in explosion. True seed in fitting soil will bear fruit. “Whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap.”<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> WE<\/strong> HAVE<\/strong> HERE<\/strong> A DESCRIPTION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> A GOOD<\/strong> MAN<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> He is described by his teachableness. He “hearkens diligently unto the voice of the Lord.” This is a trait of a true child. He has a sense of need, a sense of dependence upon another. He admits God’s right to instruct and to command. He inquires after God, and reverently listens to his voice. It is his delight to hear the wise precepts of the unerring God.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> He is described by his circumspection. He is observant of God’s ways, discovers manifold and hidden indications of his will. Not only is his ear intent to the whispers of his Father, but his eye is open too. Blindness of mind has gone.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> He is described by his completeness of obedience. He practically “does all <\/em>the commandments of God.” These came of old by the agency of Moses; but a good man detects within the human voice the Divine messagethe authority of Heaven. And his entire conduct is determined by the known will of God.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> GOODNESS<\/strong> IS<\/strong> ALLIED<\/strong> TO<\/strong> GREATNESS<\/strong> AS<\/strong> SURELY<\/strong> AS<\/strong> CAUSE<\/strong> TO<\/strong> EFFECT<\/strong>. “The Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth.” As in nature it is certain that all botanical life shoots upward, or that gases, as they expand, also ascend; so in the spiritual kingdom it is certain that goodness will grow into eminence. ‘Tis not merely an arbitrary decree of God; ’tis the outcome of the very constitution of the universe. The character of Jehovah is a guarantee that the constitutional principles of his empire do not change. Hostile influences and powers may for a time prevent goodness from receiving its due rewardjust as superincumbent clay may prevent the young plant from shooting upward, but the final issue is certain. Faithful service shall be crowned with honor.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> REWARD<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOODNESS<\/strong> IS<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> OWN<\/strong> PERMANENCE<\/strong>. “The Lord shall establish thee an holy people” (Deu 28:9<\/span>). “And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee.” In the life of obedience “God helps those who help themselves.” Separate acts become easier by repetition. They evolve into habits. Habits tend to permanence and constitute character and foreshadow destiny. All proceeds by virtue of an eternal law: “God helps those who help themselves.” It is easier for a good man to resist temptation now than it was in the first stages of his Christian life. Devotion has become the natural outflow of his soul, the fruitage of his new life.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> BEHIND<\/strong> ALL<\/strong> FORMS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> BLESSING<\/strong> A PERSONAL<\/strong> GOD<\/strong> MAY<\/strong> BE<\/strong> SEEN<\/strong>. The material food does not sustain bodily life; it is God acting through the food. Neither fertile land, nor good husbandry, nor auspicious weather, nor all combined, will in themselves secure a copious harvest; it is God acting through natural forces. “The Lord shall command the blessing.” However riches may increase, if God smile not, there will be no joy. The house may be full of children; yet instead of ruddy health there may be wasting sicknessinstead of intellectual vigor, imbecilityinstead of laughter, weeping; the blessing of God is wanting. We may possess substantial homes, yet no security; marauders and incendiaries may infest the land, True prosperity is a Divine Father’s benediction.<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> A GOOD<\/strong> MAN<\/strong> DELIGHTS<\/strong> IN<\/strong> DISTRIBUTING<\/strong> GOOD<\/strong>. He himself becomes an inferior God, a lesser source of blessing. “Thou shalt lend, and shalt not borrow.” The Name of God is put upon him. He acts in God’s stead, and imitates God in all things. The result of the Divine favor will be conspicuous. All people shall see the gracious distinction which marks and signalizes the friend of God. All his beneficent deeds will be covered with a glory not born of earth. His mysterious influence will spread far and wide. He becomes a “burning and a shining light; many will rejoice in his light.”D.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:15-44<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Nemesis of disloyalty.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is instructive that Moses dilates with far greater fullness on the curses attached to disloyalty than on the rewards of disobedience. In the childhood of the world people were more under the influence of fear than of hope, more deterred by threatening than drawn by promise. The message of Moses was admirably adapted to the people’s need.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> EQUITY<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THESE<\/strong> CURSES<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Disobedience under such circumstances of privilege was eminently base and blameworthy<\/em>. <\/em>Disloyalty had no excuse. To refuse to hearken to the Creator’s voice was sheer obstinacy, which could plead no extenuation.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> It was perjury<\/em>. <\/em>They had sworn to be loyal subjects. They had acknowledged the just terms of the covenant, and had entered Canaan on the terms of pledged obedience.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> It was rebellion against their accepted King<\/em>. If <\/em>such flagrant rebellion escaped with impunity, God would be dishonored in the eyes of the universe.<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> The curses were their own choice<\/em>. <\/em>They knew clearly what the fruits of disobedience were. They had seen the fruits in others’ fatein the Egyptians, in their brethren, in the Canaanites. If they should choose other gods, they should be led into captivity, and there <\/em>they should “serve other gods, wood and stone.”<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> The curses were the natural evolution of their crimes<\/em>. <\/em>Sin is the seed of which penalty is the fruit. If they forsook God; God would forsake them. What could be more equitable? Men say, “Depart from me; I desire not the knowledge of thy ways.” God says, “Depart from me; I never knew you.”<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> EXTENT<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CURSE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> It is a complete reversal of the purpose of God<\/em>. <\/em>His purpose had been to blessto bless abundantly. But sin changes the light into gloom, sweetness into bitterness, summer into winter, food into poison. At every point and through every moment the sinner is in direct and absolute antagonism with God.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Every<\/em> earthly possession becomes an instrument of pain<\/em>. <\/em>The body, which is the organic instrument by which the soul has intercourse with the material world, furnishes a thousand avenues for pain. Our children are intended as channels of joy; they become channels of sorrow. Every possession becomes a source of anxiety and care. Every occupation bears a harvest of disappointment. Blight is upon all the summer fruit. Black portents fill every quarter of the sky.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> The natural elements become agents of woe<\/em>. <\/em>The sun becomes as a fiery oven, while no cloud tempers the scorching heat. Fierce winds fill the heated air with fine dust, which afflicts the eye with disease and blindness. Inflammation of the blood and fever follow. The air is charged with pestilence, and men breathe it with every inspiration. Material nature fights for God.<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> The curse includes disordered reason<\/em>. <\/em>Nor can we wonder. The delicate organs of the mind are sustained in vigor by God, and if he withdraw his hand, madness swiftly follows.<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> In proportion to the previous exaltation becomes the degradation<\/em>. <\/em>It is better not to be raised to eminence than to be lifted up and then cast down. This would be a stigma of reproach in the eyes of all the nations.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CERTAINTY<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CURSE<\/strong>. “It shall come to pass.”<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> It is fixed by an inherent necessity<\/em>. <\/em>The law of Nemesis is embedded in the constitution of the universe. As surely as night succeeds to day, as surely as fire melts wax, so surely does penalty follow sin. Every dynamic force in nature is in league with righteousness against sin.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> It is made certain by Jehovah<\/em>‘s word<\/em>. <\/em>His word is a part of himself; and as his nature is unchangeable, so no word of his can ever be revoked. This is his prerogative: “I am Jehovah; I change not.”<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> It is made sure by the holiness of God<\/em>. <\/em>For God to treat sin with levity or with impunity would be to do violence to his own naturewould be to act against himself. In the light of holiness sin must be consumed; and if it inhere ineradicably in the sinner, then must the sinner be consumed likewise. So long as God is holy he must, by the essential quality of his nature, pursue sin unto the death.D.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:45-68<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The remoter consequences of rebellion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The evil if uncured aggravates itselfdevelops new symptoms; and as the evil grows, so misery increases likewise. The man of God foresees a yet further stage of misery in the distant future. His predictions of woe plainly point to the domination of the Roman eagles, and to the miseries consequent upon the final dispersion of the Jews. To the eye of God’s prophet the long procession of coming woes is clearly revealeda series of miseries stretching away through millenniums of years.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> IT<\/strong> IS<\/strong> A NECESSITY<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S RULE<\/strong> SHALL<\/strong> BE<\/strong> MAINTAINED<\/strong>. So long as the universe continues, the Creator must be King. Our only choice is whether we will have him as our Friend or as our Foe. “For he must reign.” We must serve (Deu 28:47<\/span>). To forsake God is not to gain liberty; it is only the exchange of a noble Master for a thousand petty tyrants. “Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness thou shalt serve thine enemies in hunger, and in nakedness.” This is the only alternative. We oscillate like a pendulum between these two pointsserving God and serving cur enemies.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> IN<\/strong> PROPORTION<\/strong> TO<\/strong> THE<\/strong> GOODNESS<\/strong> ABUSED<\/strong> IS<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CURSE<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> FOLLOWS<\/strong>. The language in the earlier part of these comminations clearly points to the overthrow of the people by the Assyrians. That calamity and the consequent captivity were the chastisements of wisdomwere part of the costly training by which Israel might have been recovered to the Divine favor. But even that severe correction soon lost its purifying effect. Another overthrow, more complete and galling yet, was therefore approaching. A yoke of iron was preparing for their neck, which should destroy their national life. More ruthless treatment should be endured under the Romans than under the Chaldeans. The sufferings in the siege were to be unparalleled. Mutual hate and rage would prevail. All the love of human nature would be turned into hateful selfishness. It would be the reign of hell upon the earth.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> FATHERLY<\/strong> KINDNESS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOD<\/strong> IS<\/strong> DISPLAYED<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THIS<\/strong> FORECAST<\/strong> OF<\/strong> SIN<\/strong>‘S EFFECTS<\/strong>. It must have been a pain to the heart of Moses (and greater pain still to the heart of God) to dwell on the terrific consequences of possible disobedience. It would have been more pleasant employment to have sketched out the prospects and rewards of righteousness. Yet in proportion to the pain felt in anticipating the desolation and misery of Israel, was the ardent love for Israel’s good. If affection could erect beforehand any barrier which could withstand the torrent of evil, that barrier shall be erected. If love can abolish hell, it will. What language can measure the Divine love which thus pleads with men to eschew sin? Even a present sight of coming war does not deter men from sin.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> FULFILLMENT<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S THREATENINGS<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> A SIGN<\/strong> FOR<\/strong> FUTURE<\/strong> GENERATIONS<\/strong>. A thousand years elapsed before the woes foreshadowed were inflicted. With the Lord, “a thousand years are as one day.” Nevertheless, every word spoken by Moses became a fact. The prophecy has been turned into history. In part, those prophecies <\/em>are fulfilled today before our eyes: “Ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it;” “the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have any rest.” The present condition of the Jews is a signal proof of the divinity of Scripture, an impressive symbol of the crushing judgments of God. Who can trifle with such a Being? Wisdom says, “Stand in awe, and sin not!”D.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Ver. <\/em><\/strong>1. <\/strong>If thou shalt hearken diligently<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> It is observable, that the prophesies of Moses abound most in the latter part of his writings. As he drew nearer his end, it pleased God to open to him larger prospects of things. As he was about to take leave of the people, he was enabled to disclose to them more particulars of their future state and condition: and so striking is the present chapter more especially, that we may see the greater part of it accomplished in the world at this present time. Moses here proposes at large to the people the blessings for obedience, and the curses for disobedience. Indeed, he had already foretold, at several times, and upon several occasions, that they should be happy or miserable in the world, as they were obedient or disobedient to the law that he had given them; and could there be any stronger evidence of the divine original of the Mosaic law? For, has not the interposition of Providence been wonderfully remarkable in their good or bad fortune? And is not the truth of the prediction fully attested by the whole series of their history, from their first settlement in Canaan to this very day? But he goes into greater length, and is more particular, in recounting the curses than the blessings, as if he had a prescience of the people’s disobedience. I know that some critics make a division of these prophesies; they imagine, that one part relates to the former captivity of the Jews, and to the calamities which they suffered under the Chaldeans; and that the other part relates to the latter captivity of the Jews, and to the calamities which they suffered under the Romans: but there is no need of any such distinction; there is no reason to think that any such was intended by the author. Several prophesies of one part, as well as of the other, have been fulfilled at both periods; but they have all more exactly been fulfilled during the latter period; and there cannot be a more lively picture than they exhibit of the state of the Jews at present, as will appear in the sequel. See Bishop Newton on the Prophesies. <\/p>\n

His commandments, which I command thee<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> Moses gave to the Israelites no laws but such as were commanded by God himself; whose commandments they are called, though enjoined by Moses as God’s vicegerent. See ch. Deu 11:1<\/span>. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The Blessing and Curse and the Renewing of the Covenantthe Last Discourse<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deuteronomy 28 30<\/p>\n

Deu 28:1-68<\/span><\/p>\n

1And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and<\/em> to do all his commandments which I command thee this day: that the Lord thy God will set [give] thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake [reach, come to, fall upon] thee, if [because (for)] thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the 3Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be<\/em>1<\/span> [art thou] in the city, and blessed shalt<\/em> thou 4be<\/em> [art thou] in the field. Blessed shall be<\/em> [is] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks2<\/span> 5[young] of thy sheep. Blessed shall be<\/em> [is] thy basket and thy store [6kneading-trough: so the margin]. Blessed shalt<\/em> thou be<\/em> [art thou] when thou comest in, and blessed shalt<\/em> thou be<\/em> [art thou] when thou goest out. 7The Lord shall cause [give will the Lord] thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8The Lord shall command3<\/span> [May the Lord command] the blessing upon thee [for thy companion] in thy storehouse [gathering places, treasure houses, granaries], and in all that thou settest thine hand unto: and he shall [om<\/em>. he shall] bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 9The Lord shall establish thee [set thee up, confirm] an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. 10And all people of the earth shall see that [for] thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11And the Lord shall make thee plenteous [superabundance will the Lord let thee have] in goods [for good, prosperity, as margin], in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure [his treasure, the good], the heaven to give the rain unto [of] thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13And the Lord shall make [give] thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be [thou art] above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:<\/em> 14And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to<\/em> the right hand or to<\/em> the left, to go after [behind] other gods to serve them. 15But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this 16day: that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt<\/em> thou be<\/em> [art thou] in the city, and cursed shalt<\/em> thou be [art thou] in the field. 17, 18Cursed shall be<\/em> [is] thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be<\/em> [om<\/em>. shall be] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks 19of thy sheep. Cursed shalt<\/em> thou be [art thou] when thou comest in, and cursed shalt<\/em> thou be<\/em> [art thou] when thou goest out. 20The Lord shall send upon [against thee cursing, vexation [perplexity (confusion, consternation)], and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do [which thou wouldest do], until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly:4<\/span> because of the wickedness of thy doings whereby [in respect to which; because] thou hast forsaken me. 21The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. 22The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning [with a parching, withering], and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew 23[yellowing (jaundice?)]: and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. And thy heaven that is<\/em> over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is<\/em> under thee shall be<\/em> iron. 24The Lord shall make [give (as)] the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 25The Lord shall cause [give] thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them; and shalt be removed5<\/span> into 26all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcass shall be meat unto all fowls of the air [heaven], and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them<\/em> away. 27The Lord will smite thee with the botch [ulcer, sore (elephantiasis)] of Egypt, and with the emerods [boils, tumors], and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. 28The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness [dazzling blindness], and astonishment of heart: 29And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee<\/em>. 30Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her [humble her]: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and 31shalt not gather6<\/span> [break, cut off] the grapes thereof. Thine ox shall be<\/em> slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be<\/em> violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee [shall not return to thee]: thy sheep shall be<\/em> given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them<\/em>. 32Thy sons and thy daughters shall be<\/em> given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing<\/em> for them all the day long: and there shall be<\/em>no might in thine hand [and not to God is thine hand]. 33The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours [toil], shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up: and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed always: 34So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 35The Lord shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole [ball] of thy foot unto the top of thy head. 36The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. 37And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word [taunt], among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee. 38Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but<\/em> little in: for the locust shall consume it. 39Thou shalt plant vineyards and dress them<\/em>, but [and] shalt neither drink of<\/em> the wine, nor gather the grapes:<\/em> for the worms shall eat them. 40Thou shalt have olive-trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself<\/em> [thy body] with the oil: for thine olive shall cast his fruit<\/em>. 41Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them [they shall not be for thee; belong, remain]: for they shall go into captivity. 42All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust7<\/span> consume [take possession of]. 43The stranger that is<\/em> within thee shall get up above thee very high [higher and higher]; and thou shalt come down very low. 44He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: 45he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. Moreover, all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed: because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee. 46And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for eDeut Deu 28:47<\/span> Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, for the abundance 48of all things;<\/em> Therefore [So thus] shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things:<\/em> and he shall put [give] a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. 49The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift<\/em>, as the eagle flieth, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand 50[margin: hear]; A nation of fierce countenance [margin: strong of face], which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favor to the young: 51And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also<\/em> shall not leave thee either<\/em> corn, wine, or oil, or<\/em> the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed [utterly destroyed] thee. 52And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced [firm, fortified] walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land which the Lord thy God hath given thee. 53And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body [margin: belly], the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the 54siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: So that<\/em> the man that is<\/em> tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave [keep, as a remnant, save]: 55So that he will not give [Than that he should give] to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left8<\/span> him in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. 56The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, 57and toward her daughter, And toward her young one [margin: after birth] that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things<\/em> secretly in the siege and straitness wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. 58If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious [revered, glorified] and fearful name THE LORD THY GOD; 59Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even<\/em> great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. 60Moreover, he will bring [turn back] upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. 61Also every sickness, and every plague [stroke] which is<\/em> not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring [marg.: cause to ascend] upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 62And ye shall be left few in number [in few people], whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God. 63And it shall come to pass, that<\/em> as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. 64And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor 65thy fathers have known, even<\/em> wood and stone. And among [under] these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind 66[panting of soul]. And thy life shall hang in doubt [hang up over against thee] before thee: and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life [believe in thy life]: 67In the morning thou shalt say, Would God [Who will give?] it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning [who will give the morning]? for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 68And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold [he will give you there for sale] unto your enemies for bond-men and bond-women, and no man shall buy you<\/em>.<\/p>\n

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Deu 28:1-14<\/span>. As the blessings were not specified in the symbolical direction with respect to Gerizim and Ebal, so the following detailed statement of the blessing and the curse occurs here in its proper place. It is inserted as a commentary upon Deu 27:12<\/span> sq., before the renewal of the covenant, Deu 29:1<\/span> sq., which is connected specially with Deu 27:5<\/span>. Comp. the parallel passages from the earlier law-giving. Exo 23:20<\/span> sq.; Leviticus 26<\/span> (Deu 11:26<\/span> sq.). Deu 28:1-14<\/span>. The blessing<\/p>\n

Deu 28:1-2<\/span>. Introductory. Deu 28:1<\/span>. Comp. Deu 7:12<\/span> and other passages. To hear and obey the voice of Jehovah, as to which Israel alone is taught (chap. 4) is repeated again, Deu 28:2<\/span>, as an indispensable condition, and in another form is emphasized in Deu 28:9<\/span>, at the middle, and again at the close, Deu 28:13<\/span> sq. For the rest comp. Deu 26:19<\/span>, (Deu 2:25<\/span>). In Deu 28:2<\/span> the manner of the exaltation of Israel is intimated, Schultz, so far as the way in which it comes to pass, for the blessing of Jehovah enriches without sorrow. Pro 10:22<\/span>. The blessings and the curses also, Deu 28:15<\/span>; Deu 28:45<\/span>, are personified, because God Himself is, as it were, in them. Thus the condition, promise, and way to its fulfilment, form the introduction. Deu 28:3<\/span>. Within and without in its whole life. Deu 28:4<\/span>. Comp. Deu 7:13<\/span>. Deu 28:5<\/span>. See Deu 26:2<\/span>; Exo 12:34<\/span>. Deu 28:6<\/span>. Comp. Num 27:17<\/span>; Psa 121:8<\/span>. Spoken of the individual and of the whole people. (Deu 20:1<\/span>). Deu 28:7<\/span>. Comp. Lev 26:7<\/span> (Deu 2:25<\/span>). The advance is in regular order, the flight in entire dispersion. Comp. Deu 7:20<\/span> sq. Seven<\/strong> because of the covenant. Deu 28:8<\/span>. The optative form renders it more suggestive and impressive. (Lev 25:21<\/span>). Comp. further Deu 12:7<\/span>. Deu 28:9<\/span>. Comp. Deu 7:6<\/span>; Deu 26:19<\/span>; Exo 19:5<\/span> sq., and Deu 8:6<\/span>. As the name of the Lord is to be acknowledged by Israel, in its blessed condition in its own land, so also in Deu 28:10<\/span> by all the nations beyond. (Deu 4:6<\/span> sq.). The name of Jehovah, i.e.<\/em>, Jehovah Himself in His revelation, is called upon Israel, i.e.<\/em>, impressed upon it as the definite characteristic of the people. Not that it is transformed into the glory of the divine nature (Keil) which is not taught even in Isa 63:19<\/span>; Jer 14:9<\/span>, but simply that Jehovah is its husband (Isa 4:1<\/span>) its king, has and holds it as His possession (Deu 12:5<\/span>; Num 6:27<\/span>.) The knowledge of Jehovah, His kingly power and glory, His priestly blessing is over Israel. The fear on the part of the nations is the first result, but that is only the one aspect. Comp. upon Deu 2:25<\/span>. Deu 28:11<\/span>, according to others, to give the pre-eminence. Gen 49:4<\/span>; ut quasi primogenitus omnibus excellas<\/em>, sq.; J. H. Mich. Comp. for the rest Deu 6:24<\/span>; Deu 10:13<\/span>. It is a return to Deu 28:4<\/span>. <\/span>Deu 28:12<\/span> is to be explained according to Deu 11:10<\/span> (Lev 26:4<\/span>). Treasure, store-house. Comp. Gen 7:11<\/span>. Agricultural labor. Comp. Deu 15:6<\/span>; here Deu 28:13<\/span> occurs in a like connection. Position of power and dignity, and indeed continually increasing. Semper sursum<\/em>. Deu 28:14<\/span>. Comp. Deu 5:29<\/span>; Deu 17:11<\/span>; Deu 11:28<\/span>; Deu 6:14<\/span>.<\/p>\n

2. Deu 28:15-68<\/span>. The curse. Deu 28:15<\/span>, is introductory, as Deu 28:1-2<\/span>. <\/span>Deu 28:16-19<\/span> contain a counterpart to the six-fold blessing in Deu 28:3-6<\/span>. Deu 28:17<\/span> is placed more impressively before the fruit of the body. Ver 20 is analogous in form to Deu 28:7<\/span>. Instead of the blessing (Deu 28:8<\/span>). As it happened to the enemy, Deu 28:7<\/span>, so here to Israel. Comp. Deu 7:23<\/span>. Instead of: the threatening word of the divine wrath (Keil) which is scarcely fitting here, others: destruction, injury. alluding to , comp. Deu 28:8<\/span>; Deu 12:7<\/span>. Deu 28:21<\/span>. from its radical meaning, to drive together as a flock, thus on account of its destruction: the pestilence. represents at the same time the contagious nature of the disease. In Deu 28:22<\/span>. shrunken, shrivelled together. Phthisis. Lev 26:16<\/span>. Fever,<\/strong> inflammatory diseases, as also the two following terms. Sword,<\/strong> war, but if we read then it is heat, drought, (Gen 31:40<\/span>). [Blasting and mildew<\/strong>, to blacken and make yellow. The former denotes the result of the scorching east wind, the latter that of an untimely blight falling on the green ear and turning it yellow. Bib. Com., Keil.A. G.]. Deu 28:23<\/span>. Comp. Lev 26:19<\/span>. Instead of rain, the products of the contrary, dust and ashesor: and ashes ( the more coherent, although not coarser dust, as sand) shall fall from heaven upon thee. [When the heat is very great the air in Palestine is often full of dust and sand, the wind is a burning sirocco, so that the air resembles the glowing heat at the mouth of a furnace. Robinson II. 504.A. G.]. Deu 28:25<\/span>. (Lev 26:17<\/span>) in opposition to Deu 28:7<\/span>. According to others: ill usage, cruelty, i.e.<\/em>, thou shalt experience such treatment, or: a football, [a ball for all the kingdoms of the earth to play with, Schultz]. (2Ch 29:8<\/span>). Deu 28:27<\/span>. Comp. Deu 7:15<\/span>. The , as the Kri , are ulcers, boils ( to swell up). The Rabbinical disease of the anus<\/em> men, and in utero<\/em> in women, is not alluded to in the text. (1 Samuel 5<\/span>), to rub, scratch, from the dryness of the skin. Deu 28:28<\/span>. from the fettering, binding of the consciousness, thus insanity, madness. from the drawing together, closing of the eyes. to restrain, to stop the play of the heart. [Keil holds from the fact that blindness occurs between madness and confusion of heart, that it is mental blindness which is here threatened.A. G.]. Deu 28:29<\/span>. At noonday<\/strong>, either objectively; when the things are doubly clear. (Dualis<\/em>) or subjectively when there is even to the blind some shimmer of light. As the blind<\/strong>, i.e.<\/em>, doubly helpless. Thus it neither hits upon the right nor completes it. as in Deu 16:15<\/span> only, utterly. Comp. further Deu 24:14<\/span>. Oppressed and spoiled. Comp. further Deu 22:27<\/span>. Deu 28:30<\/span>. Comp. Deu 20:5-7<\/span>. Kri , to lie with. Deu 28:31<\/span>. Israel must see it, as helpless, as powerless. Deu 28:32<\/span>. To God (no might)<\/strong> (Gen 31:29<\/span>), i.e.<\/em>, thy hand may not, is not strong enough to free them from bondage. Deu 28:33<\/span>. as Deu 28:29<\/span>. Deu 28:34<\/span>. What it must see with the eye of the body, takes away the eye of the spirit. Deu 28:35<\/span>. Comp. with Deu 28:27<\/span>. According to Knobel, Keil, the joint leprosy; but the latter clause is against that view. Deu 28:36<\/span>. Comp. Deu 17:14<\/span> sq.; Deu 28:33<\/span>; Deu 4:28<\/span>. [The leprosy excluded from fellowship with the Lord, and is hence followed by the dissolution of covenant fellowship. This thought connects Deu 28:36<\/span> with Deu 28:35<\/span>. Keil.A. G.]. With Deu 28:37<\/span> at the end, comp. Deu 4:27<\/span>. Deu 28:38<\/span>. See Exo 10:4<\/span>. Deu 28:39<\/span>. Either: not once gather,<\/strong> or: still less, collect, lay up. Deu 28:40<\/span>. Instead of fall off, cast<\/strong> (Knobel, vii. 1), Schultz, Keil, thine olives shall be rooted out, (Deu 19:5<\/span>), by the weather, or by the hand of the enemy. (J. H. Michaelis). According to others: thine olive trees shall cast off (the berries). Deu 28:42<\/span>. from the buzzing tone, or rapid movement of the wings, a peculiar kind of locusts. Deu 28:44<\/span> is a counterpart of Deu 28:12<\/span> sq. Deu 28:45<\/span>. Comp. Deu 28:2<\/span>; Deu 28:15<\/span>; Deu 28:20<\/span>. Deu 28:46<\/span>. Comp. Deu 13:3<\/span>. is that which is hidden in the distant time before or after, here used in reference to the people, and not concerning the individual. [The term forever<\/strong> cannot, with Keil, be limited to the generation smitten with the curse. It is rather to be limited by thy seed<\/strong> in distinction from the holy seed. Thy seed, seed of evil doers, involving themselves in iniquities of their fathersupon such the curse rests forever. There is a remnant here also according to the election of grace.A. G.]. Deu 28:47<\/span>. With joyfulness<\/strong>, which thou hadst, and it went well with thee, (Deu 6:11<\/span>; Deu 8:7<\/span> sq.) or with joy and a good heart, heartily. Deu 28:49<\/span>. Shadowing with broad wing, flying easily and rapidly, rushing with a violent thrust upon the prey, seizing with his sharp claws, the eagle swoops upon the carcass; fitting well even to the Roman power, and to all such enemies, Assyrians, Chaldeans (Isa 8:8<\/span>; Jer 48:40<\/span>). Indeed the more distant, by so much the more barbarous. As Israel would not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, which it understood, it must now hear a language of men which it could not understand, whence instead of any verbal mediation or palliation, the rough, unsoftened violence gives the blow in the case. Deu 28:50<\/span>. According to others: shameless countenance, or: bold in aspect, or: fierce in look. It is well rendered: of firm, hard, features immovable to any mildness, which even the weakness of old age, and the tender years of youth, cannot touch (Isa 13:18<\/span>; Dan 7:7<\/span>; Dan 7:23<\/span>). Deu 28:51<\/span>. Comp. Deu 7:13<\/span>. Deu 28:52<\/span>. Comp. Deu 20:20<\/span>. Deu 28:53<\/span>. As the siege was so comprehensive (Deu 28:52<\/span>, in all thy gates, through all thy land<\/strong>) so it will be exhaustive, there will be no provisions. Comp. 2Ki 6:26<\/span> sq.; Lam 2:20<\/span>. The conquest of Jerusalem by the Romans, (Lev 26:29<\/span>). , a paronomasia. Others: in the anguish and distress. Deu 28:54<\/span>. He who had formerly despised the ordinary food, grudges (Deu 15:9<\/span>) now to those allied to him by nature, love, and fortune, any part of the flesh of his children. Deu 28:55<\/span>. Comp. Deu 3:3<\/span>. Such is the eager craving of hunger. Deu 28:56<\/span>. The still more awful case of the woman, the mother. She who once for softness and delicacy let herself be carried, rode upon the ass or camel, or reclined upon the cushions of the litter. Hengstenberg, Egypt and Moses<\/em>, p. 235. is here of the persons to whom; Deu 28:57<\/span> : with Vav Expl. of the thing which she grudged. Others: on account of, because. Or: even towards the very young, the children just born, which she would rather consume. is separation generally, and is not necessarily used precisely of the after birth. The description refers to a birth in helplessness and in the distress of the siege. That which is born generally, or indeed sons, of whom the mother is usually proud. Comp. further Deu 28:48<\/span>. Deu 28:58<\/span>. Comp. Intro., 2. A wider outlook to the time when the book form of Deuteronomy has completed the Pentateuch. [The book of the law, the legislative parts of the Pentateuch; including Deuteronomy.A. G.]. (Comp. Deu 28:15<\/span>; Deu 28:45<\/span>). It is in accordance with this that Jehovah appears as the name<\/strong>, as He who has made Himself such a name in His progressive revelation. Comp. further Lev 24:11<\/span>; Exo 14:4<\/span>; Exo 14:17<\/span>; Lev 10:3<\/span>. Deu 28:60<\/span>; see Deu 28:27<\/span>; Deu 7:15<\/span>, used as a collective noun. Comp. Deu 9:19<\/span>. Deu 28:62<\/span>. Comp. Deu 26:5<\/span>; Deu 1:10<\/span>. Deu 28:63<\/span>. Is a bold anthropomorphic figure, but spoken from the profoundest view of the truth, since righteousness on the basis of His holiness, as His mercy according to His love, is in full accordance with the nature of God. As He is glorious, so also He is fearful (Deu 28:58<\/span>). Deu 28:64<\/span>; Deu 13:18<\/span>; Deu 4:27-28<\/span>. Deu 28:65<\/span>. Comp. Lev 26:36<\/span> sq. They could not procure rest for themselves, and others will not allow them places for rest; thus in unrest externally, as indeed first inwardly. Deu 28:66<\/span>. Their life hangs suspended before their eyes, as upon a thread, which may be sundered at any moment; thou wilt not be able to trust its preservation; have no confidence in it even. Deu 28:67<\/span> (Deu 5:26<\/span>): Would it were evening! were morning! Deu 28:68<\/span> : The bringing back to Egypt!<\/strong> (not through the Egyptians) must form the close which Moses makes; as Egypt was the beginning in the very opposite sense. That is the highest, beyond which there is nothing, that Israel should return to Egypt, to a bondage still fresh in its recollections, and even a worse bondage. (Hengstenberg: Egypt is a type of future oppressors, as Shinar in Zechariah). Comp. also Num 14:3-4<\/span>. In ships<\/strong>, i.e.<\/em>, with violence packed in slave ships, and without any possibility of escape. By the way<\/strong>, sq. (Deu 17:16<\/span>) as much as to say: back thither whence thou hast come forth never again to see it; a way which they would never have seen again had they been faithful. Even in the slave markets of Egypt, their look, the curse of God, would frighten the buyer away. The fulfillment under Titus, Hadrian. [Schultz: But the word of God is not so contracted. The curses were fulfilled in the time of the Romans, in Egypt, but they were also fulfilled in a terrible manner during the middle ages, and are still in a course of fulfillment, though frequently less sensibly felt.A. G.].<\/p>\n

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. The previously unuttered blessings are here immediately and expressly brought out. It is not however merely for the sake of exemplification, when it here, and still more fully in the curses, descends to the utmost particularity, but essentially to bring before us in such an organism of blessing and curse, the most minute providence; that it is not fortune and misfortune, as accidents, or success and failure as the result of human activity, but that in general, and particular, in all and each one, God Himself rules, works, as a savor of life unto life, and of death unto death.
2. Religion is not barely knowledge, nor merely worship, but is here experience, where one day teaches another.
3. As the blessing, measured with an obvious moral determination oraim, takes from earthly prosperity its attractiveness; it appears as a gift which may be enjoyed with peace of conscience, as well as with a fear of desecration. (Harless.)<\/p>\n

4. With a like aim or determination has the temporal distress here, its leading tendency to repentance and conversion, and the usually morally effective character of the curse and the penalty. (Beck).<\/p>\n

5. If Deu 28:12<\/span> points to the heavens as the good treasure of Jehovah, then God dwelling in heaven embraces all, and the rain falling from heaven is the sense image of every good and perfect gift, which with divine strength gives success to every work of the hands of men. (Baumgarten).<\/p>\n

6. That Israel should return to Egypt has the same force as when it is said to man that he shall return to the dust from which he was taken (Gen 3:19<\/span>): is the abrogation and destruction of the history of Israel. (Baumgarten).<\/p>\n

7. If we would understand these curses and blessings, we must retain in Deuteronomy the reference which in Genesis is already directed to the land and the people. This is the theological point of view for this chapter, which proceeds from the promise of God to the patriarchs.
8. [This chapter, in its prophetic declarations, which have been so strikingly fulfilled, contains clear proof of the divine foreknowledge, and of the inspiration of Moses. This is all the more clear since the prophecies relate mainly, and in their extreme and awful particularity, to the curses, which should rest upon the unfaithful people. Moses does not spare his own people, but holds before them the glass of their future defection and sufferings, as he foresaw them. There might have been a motive for dwelling particularly upon their prosperity, but there is no assignable motive for the character of this discourse, unless it is found in the clear foresight given to him of what was to occur.A. G.].
9. [While God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, His holiness and justice demand the punishment of those who disobey His voice, and despise the riches of His goodness. And as He rejoices in all His perfections, so in that sense He rejoices in these displays of His judgment.A. G.].<\/p>\n

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deu 28:1<\/span> sq. Tub. Bib.: Here is the gospel of the old covenant, which presents to us heavenly blessings under the shadow of the earthly. Deu 28:15<\/span>. Starke: O man, thou art troubled about the future, thou questionest the stars and the calendar; take this chapter, which sets before thee blessing and happiness if thou wilt obey God, curse and distress if thou wilt not obey. The horoscope (kalendar) for time and eternity. Berl. Bib.: In the perverted all is perverted. Deu 28:29<\/span>; Deu 28:31<\/span> sq. Richter: Believers must often suffer wrong, but they have ever a Saviour. In their hands there is might, even in prayer. Deu 28:36<\/span> sq. This is the history of the Jews, written by God Himself. The history of Israel a judgment of God. [Has not all human history this character? Is it not a process of judgment?A. G.]. Deu 28:47<\/span> sq. Berl. Bib.: If we will not serve God, then we must be slaves of lust, serve sin, the world, and the devil, and that with a pining spirit, which can find no rest nor satisfaction therein, but must starve in it. The service of the world is a wretched service (as that of the lost son among the swine). How blessed on the other hand is the servant of God, here and hereafterIsrael under the curse of God at home, Deu 28:16<\/span> sq.; 38 sq.; and abroad, Deu 28:36<\/span> sq.; 47 sq.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:48<\/span>. Richter: First the stubborn neck, then the iron yoke.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:49<\/span>. God has rods even far off for disobedient children.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:58<\/span>. The voice out of the fire upon Sinai, to which Israel was warned continually to hearken, began with the name Jehovah; I am Jehovah. Shall we not fear before Him who is the true object of fear; it is the root of all true joyfulness, especially as Jehovah, i.e.<\/em>, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day and for ever.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:63<\/span>. Baumgarten: It is included in the idea of all divine acts, that they are performed with perfect joy. Deu 28:66<\/span>. Many of the Christian fathers have referred this verse to Christ, the life, whom Israel hung upon the cross, and in whom they would not believe. Baumgarten: This was the condition of the Jews in the Persian kingdom, according to the book of Esther, and is their condition in the Turkish empire down to the present time. (Comp. Da Costa, Israel and the Nations<\/em>, also the well-known book of Keith for the fulfillment). [See also Dean Jackson on the Creed. Deu 28:46<\/span>. For ever<\/strong>; yet the remnant, Rom 9:27<\/span>; and the 11th chap. would be saved.A. G.]<\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/span>[Deu 28:3<\/span>. The futures, although allowable, are needless, and take from the force of the original here and in the following verses.A. G.].<\/p>\n

[2]<\/span>[Deu 28:4<\/span>. Literally: the Ashtaroth Astartes of the flocks. See Deu 7:13<\/span>.A. G.].<\/p>\n

[3]<\/span>[Deu 28:8<\/span>. The verb here and is Deu 28:7<\/span> is in the optative, and the literal rendering should be preserved. It is not a command, but a wish.A. G.].<\/p>\n

[4]<\/span>[Deu 28:20<\/span>. Literally: from the face of. The accents do not justify the colon here.A. G.].<\/p>\n

[5]<\/span>[Deu 28:25<\/span>. Literally: for a shaking, agitation. Keil holds that is here in its original uncontracted form, and not a transposed and later form of .A. G.].<\/p>\n

[6]<\/span>[Deu 28:30<\/span>. Margin: prepare, use it as common food, or appropriate it to common uses.A. G.].<\/p>\n

[7]<\/span>[Deu 28:42<\/span>. Literally: the buzzer, from . They were a peculiar kind of locustsapparently more destructive than others.A. G.].<\/p>\n

[8]<\/span>[Literally: from there not being left to him, all, say thing.A. G.].<\/p>\n

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CONTENTS<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This Chapter is a continuation of the former, and is in fact part of it. The curses having been proclaimed in the foregoing, the blessings are subjoined in this. But I conceive that this Chapter is partly prophetical, for many of the things spoken of; were fulfilled in the successive periods of the church. The Christian Reader will find, under GOD the HOLY GHOST’S teaching, much of gospel veiled under the several parts of it, which I hope the LORD will bless to his perusal.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Though I propose to make but a short observation on the whole of these blessings, for the sake of being brief, and that I may not increase the bulk of the present Commentary too much; yet I do beg the Reader to remark with me, the greatness and extensiveness of the blessings here promised. They relate to almost all the circumstances of life, and if read with a view to spiritual, as well as temporal mercies, they are enough to animate every true believer’s heart; because, all the promises in CHRIST JESUS are yea, and Amen; and he himself, is the one, great, and comprehensive mercy of the whole covenant. Blessings are promised to the true seed of Israel, in all their outward concerns, in their persons, in their households, in the city, and in the field; whether at home or abroad, whether in trade or in labour, whether in their journeys, or in their stated resting places, both in lying down, and rising up. And is not JESUS all this, and infinitely more to his people? Oh! how precious is it to found all our mercies in him, and to see him, and enjoy him in every one. Psa 72:17<\/span> . But while I beg the Reader to remark with me, the gospel application of these mercies, I would beg of him not to overlook their temporal application in the history of the Jewish nation. Through a series of ages, Israel was blessed, and distinguished with the divine favor, during the reigns of their successive Kings from the time of Joshua to the Babylonish captivity. See Joshua, the books of Samuel, the books of the Kings, and the books of the Chronicles.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

A Blessing on the Storehouse<\/p>\n

Deu 28:8<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

The storing of the grain is the last of the processes of harvest. We may therefore take the blessing of God upon the housed and winnowed corn as including His blessing upon all previous stages of growth or ingathering.<\/p>\n

I. The Sowing Time<\/strong> This is where industry comes in, and the gift of God is seen also to be His reward and blessing upon human diligence. The preparation of the soil and the choice of the seed application to human life.<\/p>\n

II. The Period of Growth, the Waiting Time. <\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

With growth itself the farmer has nothing to do. It is the work of God, in which man has no part. But he has to weed and protect the crop. Carry the thoughts here suggested into the realm and province of life.<\/p>\n

III. The Gathering Time.<\/strong> We are all gleaners in the harvest-field of life. What use have we made of the season which God has given us?<\/p>\n

IV. The Testing, the Winnowing Time<\/strong> for ‘every man’s work’ shall be tried ‘of what sort it is’. Holy Scripture employs three figures to enforce and emphasize the strict and searching nature of this trial: <\/p>\n

a. The process of winnowing. <\/p>\n

b. The process of the analyst. <\/p>\n

c. The process of burning, the trial by fire. <\/p>\n

Vivian R. Lennard, Harvest-tide,<\/em> p. 101.<\/p>\n

Reference. XXVIII. 67. T. Arnold, The Interpretation of Scripture,<\/em> p. 32.<\/p>\n

The Desired Morning<\/p>\n

Deu 28:67<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

This cry is going up from all the earth in all languages, and sometimes unconsciously. The heart is one, the passion, the vehemence of life is expressive of a common humanity.<\/p>\n

In the first instance, all this refers to a great matter of punishment which the Lord was about to inflict upon His disobedient people. He would not leave them alone, night or day, He would make them feel the thong for every sin they had committed; for every evil word and every evil deed there should be a lash as of a scorpion sting. ‘Would God it were morning!’ It is a great cry, the interpretation of the soul’s dumb desire. The soul is weary, it is confused, confounded, perplexed, mocked, and the darkness itself becomes a whip wherewith the hand almighty scourges and chastises the soul.<\/p>\n

I. The text may be regarded as an aspiration, a hopeful and vehement desire. ‘Would God it were morning!’ That is the aspiration of a puzzled student, a most perplexed and bewildered thinker. He is drooping towards atheism, down to the low dank levels of dejection if not despair. Why so? ‘Because,’ he replies, ‘things are so mysterious; nothing ends in itself; the tuft of smoke has gone back to some primal fire; and all things are so confused, intermingled, and so deeply and tragically engaged in internecine conflict; and there is so much apparently needless suffering on this small globe.<\/p>\n

II. This cry, ‘Would God it were morning!’ is occasioned by Sorrow, written with a large capital, as if it were personalized, turned into an eloquent but grim personality and figure. Yet how poor the world would be if all the books that Sorrow has written were taken out of it! What if sorrow be but the broken clouds of a very sunny day, helping us to see better into the depths of the sky and to feel more sensitively the meaning of interpreting light?<\/p>\n

III. This cry for the true morning is the expression of struggling but hopeful faith. The soul can never give up that idea of the morning. Sometimes its grasp seems to be relaxed, but God will take care that the hope and promise, the sweet confidence of morning, shall not be taken out of the hand. Sometimes we can feel ourselves growing in wisdom; sometimes we are quite sure that we have made an advance upon yesterday. Now and again the old tone of confidence comes into the voice so long choked by tears and sobs, and takes part in some dropped hymn and makes it live again with the newness of its own life. These are mysteries, these are hopes and comforts; these constitute the morning we have been sighing for.<\/p>\n

1. This cry for the morning has been sustained by saintly histories.<\/p>\n

The answer to this aspiration is justified by saintly experience. Men have been delivered; souls have been saved; as a matter of fact, light has really and fully come, so that men have stood up when all other men seemed to be sitting down, and they have towered up to a great representative personality, and have said,’ This poor man cried unto the Lord, and the Lord answered him’.<\/p>\n

2. The morning has come to many; it may come to all. It has come to the grave. One bold sentence in the holy book is, ‘He hath abolished death!’ expunged it, rubbed it out of the world’s language; there is no such word in any gruesome meaning now. The resurrection of Christ was the morning that came upon the death-land. Those who stand upon the Rock of Faith, upon the tomb of Christ emptied and angel-filled, are confident that the morning has come in some places and is coming in all places.<\/p>\n

Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit,<\/em> vol. v. p. 194.<\/p>\n

Reference. XXIX. 4. Spurgeon, Sermons,<\/em> vol. xxvii. No. 1638.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

(See the Deuteronomy Book Comments for Introductory content and Homiletic suggestions).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

XIV<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

THIRD, FOURTH, AND FIFTH ORATIONS<\/p>\n

Deu 27:1-31:13<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is customary to classify the words of Moses in Deuteronomy into three orations, a song and a benediction, but this classification is not exact. His third address is contained in Deuteronomy 27-28. A fourth distinct address with its introduction is contained in Deuteronomy 29-30. A fifth address distinct in introduction and matter is to be found in Deu 31<\/span> , covering only thirteen verses. So that there are at least five distinct addresses, besides the song and benediction, each with an appropriate historical introduction. We consider in this discussion the third, fourth, and fifth addresses.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

THE THIRD ORATION<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

This oration first provided for a most elaborate and impressive renewal and ratification of the covenant when Israel shall have entered the Promised Land, and closes with a most earnest exhortation to obedience, including a notable and far reaching prophecy of the curses that will certainly follow disobedience. The parts of this third oration are very distinct:<\/p>\n

(1) Associating with him the elders of Israel, he directs that on entrance into the Land of Promise, plastered monumental stones shall be erected on Mount Ebal and thereon plainly inscribed all the laws of the covenant, as a perpetual memorial and witness of their possession of the land by Jehovah’s power and grace, conditioned upon their observance of the terms of the covenant. What a lasting library of stone! What a witness to the grounds of their tenure of the land!<\/p>\n

(2) The erection of an altar after the model given in the original covenant at Sinai (Exo 20:24-26<\/span> ) and the sacrifice thereon of burnt offerings as originally provided, thus renewing the ratification of the covenant.<\/p>\n

(3) The sacrifice of peace offerings followed by a Joyful communion feast showing forth peace with Jehovah (arising from the blood of the covenant) and their enjoyment of him.<\/p>\n

(4) Then associating himself with the priests and Levites, he provides for the solemn announcement that they are Jehovah’s people and must obey him.<\/p>\n

(5) He then charges the whole people that on this great day they must take their places in two great divisions, six tribes on Gerizirn and six on Ebal, prepared to repeat after the Levites the responsive blessings and curses of the law.<\/p>\n

He directs that on this great day the Levites shall stand in the valley between the two mountains and solemnly pronounce alternatively twelve blessings and twelve curses, the first eleven of each special statutes as specimens of the whole, and the twelfth of each touching the whole law as a unit. That as each course on disobedience is pronounced by the Levites, the six tribes on Ebal shall repeat it, and as the alternate blessing on obedience is pronounced, the other six tribes on Gerizirn shall repeat it, and when the twelfth blessing and curse touching the whole covenant are repeated, then all the tribes on both mountains in one loud, blended chorus shall say, “Amen.” We shall find in Joshua all these directions becoming history. The history of the world furnishes no parallel in solemnity and sublimity to this great transaction in conception here, and in fulfilment later.<\/p>\n

Deu 28<\/span> is devoted to exhortation based upon these directions and prophecies. It is difficult to summarize this awful exhortation, but we may profitably emphasize the following points of the exhortation:<\/p>\n

(1) If you keep this covenant you shall be blessed in national position and with God. Jehovah shall be your God and ye shall be the head and not the tail; shall be above and not below. Jehovah shall smite all your enemies. Coming against you in one way, they shall flee in seven ways. All other nations shall see that you are called by Jehovah’s name and shall be afraid. Jehovah will establish you as a holy people unto himself.<\/p>\n

If ye keep this covenant ye shall be blessed in all places: in the city, in the field, in the home, in the barn, and in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

Ye shall be cursed in all things: in children, in crops, in herds, in vineyards, in the seasons, and in business (lending to others but not borrowing), in health, in your outgoings and incomings, and especially in peace of mind and joy of heart.<\/p>\n

(2) But if you disobey this covenant and break it, all these groups of blessings shall be reversed into their opposites: Ye shall lose your exalted position among the nations, and with God. Ye shall be outcasts from God; ye shall be the tail of all nations and not the head. Ye shall be beaten in wars; ye shall flee in all battles; ye shall be dispersed seven ways where you went out one. Now you see this curse is national, just like the corresponding blessing was national. Ye shall be cursed in all places: in the city, in the home, in the field, in the barn, in the kitchen, and in all lands of dispersion.<\/p>\n

Ye shall be cursed in all things: in children, in crops, in herds, vineyards, wars, outgoings, incomings, and especially shall ye be cursed in your mind and heart. Ye shall have neither peace of mind nor joy of heart. Here is the curse of mind and heart; it is as awful a thing as I ever read in my life:<\/p>\n

“And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot: but Jehovah will give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul; and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear night and day, and shalt have no assurance of thy life. In the morning thou shalt say, Would it were even I And at even thou shalt say, Would it were morning! for the fear of thy heart which thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see” (Deu 28:65-67<\/span> ). Note particularly the awful picture of their disaster when besieged by enemies, as set forth in Deu 28:49-57<\/span> , so literally fulfilled when Jerusalem was taken by Titus in A.D. 70, and so fearfully depicted by Josephus. The prophecy closes with a reversal of their deliverance from Egypt since as captives they again shall be transported back in ships to become once more a nation of slaves in Egypt. This going into Egyptian bondage we shall find verified in the closing days of Jeremiah. His book of Lamentations furnishes the commentary on a part of this fearful prophecy. Poor man! he himself was carried there, and died there at the downfall of the Jewish monarchy.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

FOURTH ORATION<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fourth address is contained in Deuteronomy 29-30, according to our chapter divisions. The occasion of this address as set forth in the introductory verse is a special present renewing of the Sinaitic covenant by oath, but it is not followed by ratification by sacrifices. The address recites again their miraculous deliverance from Egypt by Jehovah with signs and wonders, his merciful providence in miraculously supplying all their needs throughout their wanderings even though they had not eyes to see nor heart to appreciate. These blessings were light by night and shade by day, guidance in travel, water from the rock, bread from heaven, clothing and shoes that did not wax old or wear out, oracles for perplexities, forgiveness of sin through faith in the antitype of sacrifices, healing when poisoned, health so miraculous that there was not a feeble one in all the host, deliverance in battle. And now after reciting the Egyptian deliverance and the providential miracles while wandering, he tells them that they all stand before Jehovah to renew the oath of the covenant. Particularly note how comprehensive the statement of the human parties to the covenant:<\/p>\n

“Ye stand this day all of you before Jehovah your God; your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and thy sojourner that is in the midst of thy camps, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water; that thou mayest enter into the covenant of Jehovah thy God, and into his oath, which Jehovah thy God maketh with thee this day; that he may establish thee this day unto himself for a people, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he spake unto thee, and as he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath, etc.”<\/p>\n

Elders, tribes, officers, men, women, children, sojourners, and slaves and their children to the latest posterity, and as a national unit, and all touching every individual are bound by this covenant. Now later after that statement of the case he commences his exhortation:<\/p>\n

(1) He warns against the arising of any root or germ of bitterness (Deu 29:18<\/span> ). How radical the law! It does not wait to condemn the stem, or branches, or flowers, or fruit, but strikes at the root hidden from sight. So our Saviour interprets the law condemning the heart fountain from which flow all the streams of blasphemy, murder, adultery, and other overt actions. And so the wise man: “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” And so the letter to the Hebrews quotes this very passage (Heb 12:15<\/span> ) warning them “lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby the many be defiled.”<\/p>\n

(2) The second point in his exhortation is that he warns them against the vain confidence of security, even though the law be broken. He describes a man or a woman in confidence saying to the heart: “I am all right if I did break the law,” that vain confidence of feeling secure with the law broken, and then he goes on to show that nothing under the heavens is so certain as that Jehovah saw that breach of the covenant and will punish it.<\/p>\n

(3) He foretells that other nations in future days, seeing the awful desolation of their once beautiful land, shall count it a land accursed of God on account of the sins of Israel. That is just exactly what you would say if you were to go there and look at the country. You would be astonished that such a land was ever described as flowing with milk and honey; you would not be able to understand how such a land ever was so beautiful and fruitful as described. You would see it under a curse.<\/p>\n

(4) He warns them that while some things are hidden, inscrutable, the property of God, the revealed things touching both blessing and curse belong to them and to their children. Whatever God reveals, that is worthy of study; whatever he hides, let it alone.<\/p>\n

(5) Then he graciously unfolds this special mercy of God, that if when smitten and scattered and oppressed by all other nations they will in far-off lands of exile and dispersion repent and turn to God, he will forgive and restore them. It was this promise of restoration that prompted the notable paragraph in Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple (1Ki 8:33-40<\/span> ), and encouraged the later prophets, like Zechariah, Ezekiel and Daniel in days of exile, and still later the Apostles, like Paul in his discussion, Rom 11<\/span> , concerning the restoration of the Jews.<\/p>\n

(6) He then assures them that obedience to this law is neither too hard nor too far off, but very nigh to them. Alas, it was both too far off and too hard to be obeyed by unrenewed and unbelieving hearts without faith in Christ. It remained for Paul, a later Jew, and the only other man in all show how by faith alone this salvation was both nigh and easy. (See Rom 10<\/span> .)<\/p>\n

He closes with a most touching invocation to both heaven and earth to bear witness that he that very day set before them these awful, inexorable alternatives: Life and good go together; death and evil are indissoluble.<\/p>\n

FIFTH ORATION<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

This, the last and shortest address, is contained in Deu 31:1-13<\/span> . The first part, verses Deu 31:1-8<\/span> , touchingly refers to his age, “I am now one hundred and twenty years old,” and to the vacation of his office. The great leader can no more go out and come in before them. But they need neither despair nor fear on that account. God’s cause does not die with its great advocates. Moses indeed will be gone, but Jehovah himself will remain their guide and protector. And even a human successor, Joshua, has already been trained to be their captain.<\/p>\n

The second part of this last oration directs that every seventh year, the year of release, the great Land Sabbath, a sabbath a year long, the whole people must be assembled, men, women and children, and that very year in which they have to do no work because the land lies idle, is to be devoted to studying and understanding the entire Pentateuch. I am sometimes blamed for devoting so much time to the Pentateuch. Here is my warrant. The year of the Land Sabbath was to be so devoted. It calls for a year. Happy the man who can master it in one year. What a Sunday school is here, men, women and children devoting a year to the study of the Law! Let us here find the original Sunday school idea; that it is not a school for only little children. The Sunday school idea is that men, women, and children shall come together and hear and be made to understand that Word of God. For example of fulfilment, see the remarkable history in Neh 8:1-8<\/span> . Illustrations may be given of the tremendous power of even a month’s concentration of mind on one study, viz.: the case of a thirty days’ school in geography, arithmetic, writing or mathematics. I would suggest the trial of one summer month devoted to the Pentateuch, the Gospels, Paul’s Letters, Eschatology, the Prophets) the Poetical Books, or the Monarchy.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

QUESTIONS<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. What chapters contain the third oration and of what does it consist?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

2. Itemize the provisions for a renewal of the covenant after entrance into the Promised Land.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

3. Of what does the twenty-eighth chapter consist?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

4. Give a summary of the exhortation based on the required renewal of the covenant.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

5. What the blessings promised for obedience?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

6. What the curses threatened for disobedience?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

7. What chapters contain the fourth oration?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

8. What its occasion?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

9. In what does it consist?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

10. Wherein does this retaking of the oath of the covenant in Oration Four, before they cross the Jordan, differ from the full renewal of the covenant required after they cross the Jordan, aa set forth in Oration Three?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

11. What blessings recited here?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

12. Who were the human parties to the covenant?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

13. Give a summary of the exhortation of the Fourth Oration.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

14. How does he close this oration?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

15. Where do we find the Fifth Oration?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

16. In what does it consist?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

17. Did they ever, apart from the one case cited in Nehemiah, attempt even to keep any part of this Land Sabbath, or its culmination, the Year of Jubilee?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

18. What exact and awful judgment in their later history became the penalty for disregarding the seventh year, or Land Sabbath, and its accompanying year-study of the Law?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

19. Cite the scriptures that prove the enforcement of the penalty for not keeping it.<\/p>\n

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Deu 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe [and] to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:<\/p>\n

Ver. 1. If thou shalt hearken diligently.<\/strong> ] Heb., If hearkening thou shalt hearken; if when God speaks once, thou shalt hear it twice; as David did, Psa 62:11 by a blessed rebound of meditation and practice. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Will set thee on high.<\/strong> ] “Thou shalt ride upon the high places of the earth.” Isa 58:14 There thou shalt have thy commoration, but in heaven thy conversation a<\/em> Php 3:20 being a high and holy people, Deu 26:19 high in worth, and humble in heart, as one saith of Athanasius. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

a<\/em> , – Nazian<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 28:1-2<\/p>\n

1Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God:<\/p>\n

Deu 28:1-2; Deu 28:9; Deu 28:13 if you will This clearly shows the conditional nature of the Mosaic Law and for that matter, all OT covenants (see Special Topic: COVENANT ) except with Noah (cf. Gen 9:8-17). This conditional aspect is also seen in the NT (cf. Mar 1:15; Act 20:21 and Eph 2:8-10). The if you will . . .I will nature of the covenant shows the needed response expected on the believer’s part. The tragedy is that fallen humanity cannot and will not conform or perform, therefore, the OT demands the need for a NT (cf. Jer 31:31-34; Eze 36:22-32; Gal 3:15-29).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:1-2; Deu 28:13 diligently obey. . .being careful to do all His commandments The first VERBAL diligently obey is an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and a Qal IMPERFECT of the same root (BDB 1033, KB 1570), which was a grammatical way of showing emphasis. This is followed by two Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTS:<\/p>\n

1. being careful – BDB 1036, KB 1581<\/p>\n

2. to do – BDB 793, KB 889<\/p>\n

It must be stated that believers’ ongoing covenant relationship with God is affected by their obedience to the light and truth they have and live.<\/p>\n

commandments See Special Topic: Terms for God’s Revelation .<\/p>\n

which I command you today This VERB (BDB 845, KB 1010, Piel PARTICIPLE) is repeated throughout this chapter (cf. Deu 28:1; Deu 28:8; Deu 28:13; Deu 28:15; Deu 28:45). YHWH is sovereign. He always sets the limits and content of the covenant and initiates the encounter with humans.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:1 God will set you high above all the nations of the earth The purpose of the elevation is revelation (cf. Deu 26:19; Deu 28:13)! God wants to draw the world to Himself through Israel (cf. Gen 12:3; Gen 22:18;Exo 19:5-6). See Special Topic: YHWH’s ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN .<\/p>\n

Deu 28:2 blessings The term (BDB 139) is related to the root to kneel (BDB 138). YHWH offers Israel the choice (cf. Deu 11:26-31; Deu 30:1; Deu 30:19). This conformity to YHWH’s covenant requirements determines their destiny!<\/p>\n

will come upon you This idiomatic phrase (BDB 97, KB 112, Qal PERFECT) is used here for blessing, but in Deu 28:15 for the curses.<\/p>\n

overtake The VERB (BDB 673, KB 727, Hiphil) is used of:<\/p>\n

1. blessing, pursuing, and overtaking Israel because of her obedience, Deu 28:2<\/p>\n

2. cursing, pursuing, and overtaking Israel because of her disobedience, Deu 28:15; Deu 28:45<\/p>\n

obey In Deu 28:1 this term (BDB 1033, KB 1570) was an intensified Qal INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and a Qal IMPERFECT. Here it is a Qal IMPERFECT (cf. Deu 28:15; Deu 28:49; Deu 30:10; Deu 30:12-13; Deu 30:17; Deu 31:12) and in Deu 28:45; Deu 28:62 a Qal PERFECT (cf. Deu 30:8).<\/p>\n

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

and to do. No “and” in Hebrew text, but it is read in some codices with Samaritan Pentateuch, The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate. <\/p>\n

this day. See note on Deu 4:26. <\/p>\n

above all nations. See Deu 26:19. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Chapter 28<\/p>\n

Now as we come into chapter twenty-eight,<\/p>\n

It shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently [You see the condition. If you hearken diligently] unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and do all his commandments ( Deu 28:1 )<\/p>\n

You get this over and over again because this was the condition of the covenant. Whereby they could have this land and dwell there. This was the condition of God’s blessing; it was the obedience to the commandments of God.<\/p>\n

that God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of your cows, your flocks, your sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and store. You’ll be blessed when you come in, and blessed when you go out. The LORD will cause your enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee from thee seven ways. The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in your storehouses, and in all that you set your hand to do; the Lord shall bless your land which he gives to you. He shall establish thee an holy people unto himself… And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle… The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give rain unto the land in his season,… thou shalt lend unto many nations, and not borrow. And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail;… if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do them: and shall not go aside from keeping these commandments ( Deu 28:1-14 )<\/p>\n

Now again all the blessings that God is promising to them, conditions upon their keeping the commandments of God and doing them.<\/p>\n

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes [and so forth]: then cursed shalt thou be in the city, and in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of the land, the increase of the cows, the flocks, and the sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when you come in, and cursed when you go out… The LORD shall make the pestilence to cleave unto you,… and the LORD will smite you with consumption… And the heaven that is over you shall be brass, and the earth shall be like iron, the drought. [verse twenty-five] The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And your carcase will be meat for the birds of the air, and the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, therefore you can not be healed. The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, to the astonishment of heart: And thou shalt grope at noonday ( Deu 28:15-19 , Deu 28:21-23 , Deu 28:25-29 ),<\/p>\n

And God goes on to tell to them the curses that will come upon them if they turn away from God and begin to worship and serve other gods, the gods of the land. This is what is going to happen.<\/p>\n

Now, we are dealing with a basic law of God. And it is important that we recognize this. The law of God is expressed in another verse of scripture, which declares: “Righteousness exhalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people”( Pro 14:34 ).<\/p>\n

If a nation will establish itself as a righteous nation, if a nation will place God at the center of its national life, recognizing and acknowledging God, that nation shall be blessed of God abundantly. That was exactly what our founding fathers had in mind when they established this the United States of America. They had in their minds to establish a nation that would guarantee the religious freedoms. A nation though that honored God in the heart and in the life of the nation itself. And it was their purpose to keep the people aware of the dependency upon God.<\/p>\n

And because our nation was thus established, our nation was greatly blessed of God. “America, America, God shed His grace on thee.” And our nation grew strong, and powerful among the nations of the earth. And we today living in this nation are enjoying the benefits that have come to this nation because of the wisdom of the founding fathers in founding a nation with God at the heart and the center, even imprinting on the coins, “in God we trust”. Trying to bring to the people a national conscienceness of the need of God and the centrality of God in the national life. And the nation did become strong; the nation did become prosperous.<\/p>\n

But now in our prosperity we have men in the Supreme Court and throughout our whole governmental processees who do not believe that God should be a part of the nation. These men are men who are controlled by the humanistic philosophies, whose god is materialism. And because they are humanist they have sought to put God out of the national conscienceness, these humanists not only control our government they control the major mass media in the United States. You cannot buy time on the major networks for religious broadcasting because they are controlled by the humanists. They don’t want anything that would cause people to begin to have a national conscienceness of God. They have begun their ruling whereby they have ruled prayer out of the public school, the Bible out of public schools, and now the celebration of Christmas out of the public schools, except in only a secular sense.<\/p>\n

I have on my desk a paper from the superintendent of one of our local school systems here to all of the teachers, telling them that they are to delete any story of Christmas that deals with Mary and the Christ child. That they are not to sing any carols that have anything to do about a baby being born in Bethlehem or anything about Jesus Christ. And it tells how that they must be subtle in these things so they don’t get a big backwash. And it goes ahead and instructs them on their Christmas program, how to do it so as not to give offense to the Christians because Christ has been totally deleted out of it. But it goes ahead and it quotes from certain Supreme Court edicts that makes it necessary to rule even Christmas carols and Christ even out of Christmas. And they are even changing the name and no longer calling it your Christmas vacation, because they don’t even want the word Christmas because it has Christ in it.<\/p>\n

I don’t think I need to tell you that our nation is in a very precarious position tonight. And a strong, great powerful nation, we are deteriorating very rapidly. For the very things that made us strong we are trying to rule out of our national life. And even as God blessed our nation because we were willing to put God at the center of our national life, even as we have chosen now to rule God out of our national life, we are beginning to experience the curses and they are going to extremes. Our nation is rapidly going downhill. We are faced with insurmountable kinds of problems. They are talking about gas rationing right after the first of the year. Kuwait is talking about cutting off twenty-five percent of its oil production making our oil needs even more critical. We already know they can’t do anything about the economy that is in a royal mess. And we see the deterioration of this nation because we have sought by legislature, by court rulings to rule God out of our national life. Our nation was strong because it was founded upon godly principles. It is becoming weak as we seek to rule God out.<\/p>\n

Now, the whole sad thing about this is here we are, enjoying the benefits of our forefathers who had enough foresight to make the constitute, and all, guarantee religious freedoms and it gave us the right for all these things. You see according to the ruling to the Supreme Court students who are gay have a right to meet on campus, to have a room furnished for their meetings so that they can advocate and discuss the gay life, pass out literature and so forth advocating that life. They have a court ruling, a Supreme Court ruling, that gives them that privilege. However, that same Supreme Court ruled that children do not have a right to meet together in a public school building and study or talk about the Bible, even if they meet there at their own choice. And yet we still have printed on our coins “in God we trust”, how hypocritical can a nation be? Whenever there is a national emergency the President says “pray”, as long as you’re not in a school building.<\/p>\n

Now there is just a basic principle involved. When a nation will follow God, that nation will be blessed, when a nation turns from God, that nation is going to be cursed. I am praying that God will bring to us a national revival. I think that that is the only hope for this nation, is a real revival that will cause the people to turn back to God and really elect legislators, presidents, that will appoint Supreme Court and court positions, not to lesbians and homosexuals and all like our governor in the state of California.<\/p>\n

But to men who have a conscienceness of God, who fear God, who realize that they are not the final judge, but one day they are going to stand before the judge to give an account of themselves. And men who have a sense of accountability. If a man doesn’t believe in God he has no sense of accountability. He becomes the authority within himself. And whenever a man becomes an authority within himself you have anarchy, and you have anarchy even within the court system, as they become authorities within themselves to determine what the law says. And if a man has no fear of God within his heart, how can you hope to have righteous judgment? Oh, may God help us as Christians to get up off our couches, and to become active in the sponsoring of godly men for public office. I feel we have an obligation to do so or else we have no right to sit back and cry when the whole thing goes down the tubes.<\/p>\n

So God pronounces the curses that are going to come and He goes on, in verse thirty-seven, He tells them that they shall become, that they will be driven into other nations.<\/p>\n

And they shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD leads you [Verse thirty-seven] ( Deu 28:37 ).<\/p>\n

Now it is interesting that that has happened to the Jew. In being driven into the other nations they became a byword and it seems like they were hated, sometimes even without cause by people. There are people today who have very strong anti-Semitic feelings and the term Jew became almost a dirty term. A byword, a curse, because they disobeyed the commandments of God.<\/p>\n

Verse forty-five,<\/p>\n

More over all them curses shall come upon thee, [in other words, man, if this isn’t enough, God goes on and on and on.] and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and statutes which he commanded thee:… And because you did not serve the LORD, [verse forty-seven] with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things ( Deu 28:45-47 );<\/p>\n

Oh, what a sad, tragic thing, God has given us so much that we would murmur and complain. God has blessed us so much. We murmur because the new one hundred-dollar boots we bought are stiff and we have to break them in, and how about those poor Cambodians who don’t even have shoes? Lepers who don’t even have feet. I mean we have so much to be thankful for and we should be serving God with joyfulness and gladness of heart. God loves a happy disposition. God wants you to serve Him joyfully, not gripingly. Again if you can’t serve God without griping then don’t serve God. If you can’t give to God without complaining then don’t give to God. It’s an insult to God for you to complain about what you’ve given to Him. What a horrible insult to God. So if you can’t give it joyfully then don’t give it, don’t insult God, by complaining about what you’ve given or what you’ve done or had to do for Him. Better not to do it.<\/p>\n

That’s why we don’t ask you to do things around here at Calvary; we don’t want any griping service to God. Whatever you do for God, you do it with your heart and do it joyfully or don’t do it. That’s why we wait for people to come to us and ask how they can serve the Lord before we ever give them any jobs. We never go around soliciting people to fill a job here at Calvary, because we don’t want you to feel pressured. Oh, here comes Romaine again. He’s going to get on me for that job. Oh, what shall I tell him this time, you know? No Way. We will never approach you for any service unto the Lord. That is something that has to come from your own heart, your own desire. Whatever you do for God just do it joyfully with gladness, and God accepts it and receives it and just appreciates it. No other way is God interested in anything you might have for Him.<\/p>\n

Now because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness, you’re going to then serve your enemies in hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and in want of things: and your enemies will put a yolk of iron on your neck, till he has destroyed you. And, the LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue those shalt not understand; [which is a reference to the Roman Empire.] A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young: And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, [and all] and He shall besiege thee in all they gates… [and in verse fifty-three, God said] you are even going to eat the fruit of thine own body, [in other words, you will be so hungry you’ll eat you own children.] ( Deu 28:48-51 , Deu 28:53 )<\/p>\n

And this horrible curse did come to pass in the history of these people as they were driven by hunger to eating their own children as one of the times is recorded in 2 Kings chapter six.<\/p>\n

Verse fifty-eight,<\/p>\n

If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, Jehovah, thy God; Then the LORD will make thy plagues awesome, plague your seed, and give you sore sicknesses of long continuance. And He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt. And you will be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven; because you would not obey the voice of the LORD thy God ( Deu 28:58-60 , Deu 28:62 ).<\/p>\n

You see how obedience is woven into the whole thing? If you obey then consider your blessings, but because you would not obey, because you did not obey, then all the cursing. This is the covenant that God established, God says, “All right, I’m going to give you this land. I’m going to set this covenant with you. Obey me, follow me, you’ll enjoy it you’ll be blessed. Disobey me, turn from Me, and the curses will follow.” It’s just the covenant by which God gave to them the land.<\/p>\n

And the Lord shall scatter thee among all the people, [verse sixty-four] from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known. [And you’re going to hate life; life will be very grievous to you.] In the morning you will say, I wish it was evening, and in the evening you will say, I wish it was morning ( Deu 28:64 , Deu 28:67 ). <\/p>\n

“<\/p>\n

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

We now come to the commencement of the third discourse of Moses. It was preeminently the uttering of solemn warnings in which he laid before the people the results of disobedience and rebellion. He spoke first, however, of the blessings which would follow obedience. They were to have national preeminence. Temporal blessings of all kinds would abound. They were to have victory over their enemies in time of war. The purpose of their King, Jehovah, it was plainly declared, was to fill them with joy and make their path prosperous. They could, however, enter into His purpose only by obeying His law.<\/p>\n

The effect of disobedience was then described as it would obtain among themselves. Adversity of every kind would overtake them. They would be smitten before their enemies, and persistent disobedience would result in their being driven out of the land into which God had brought them. The description of this expulsion proved eventually to have been a prophecy of what actually happened when they were carried away to Babylon. Continuing to speak prophetically, Moses uttered words which the centuries proved to be a detailed description of the Roman mastery of the land and the ultimate destruction of the city.<\/p>\n

In view of so solemn a discourse as this delivered at the close of his period of leadership, it is indeed an appalling thing to think of how these people disobeyed the commandments, rebelled against God, and fulfilled to the letter all Moses had said. There can be but one explanation, and that the one to which the writer of the letter to the Hebrews referredunbelief. The story is a warning for us, revealing as it does the capacity of man for evil, and how, in spite of the clearest warnings, he is capable of disastrous disobedience. More is needed than the law which indicates the way and more than the prophet who urges obedience. <\/p>\n

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Blessings upon the Obedient<\/p>\n

Deu 28:1-19<\/p>\n

A remarkable chapter! The epitome of what Israel might have been, contrasted with what she became! It is on account of the transgressions that the centuries have augmented her sum of misery. Oh, that we may never have to lament what we might have been!<\/p>\n

These opening verses contain the Beatitudes of the Old Testament. They have their counterparts in the New. Remember that God bends over your life, rejoicing to do you good, and finding pleasure in whatever may enrich your life or flow through it to enrich others. Ask especially that in His great power and grace He shall smite your enemies before you, and establish you unto himself, and open to you His good treasure. If you are in Christ, all things are yours. Possess your possessions, 1Co 3:21-22; Oba 1:17; Oba 1:19-20.<\/p>\n

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Deu 28:15<\/p>\n

I. The curse which Moses foretold was the natural consequence of the sins of the people. The Bible meaning of a curse is simply the natural consequence of men’s own ill actions.<\/p>\n

For even in this life the door of mercy may be shut, and we may cry in vain for mercy when it is the time for justice. This is not merely a doctrine; it is a common, patent fact. Men do wrong and escape again and again the just punishment of their deeds; but how often there are cases in which a man does not escape, when he is filled with the fruit of his own devices, and left to the misery which he has earned.<\/p>\n

II. Terrible and heart-searching for the wrong-doer is the message, God does not curse thee; thou hast cursed thyself. God will not go out of His way to punish thee; thou hast gone out of His way, and thereby thou art punishing thyself. God does not break His laws to punish sins. The laws themselves punish; every fresh wrong deed, and wrong thought, and wrong desire of thine sets thee more and more out of tune with those immutable and eternal laws of the moral universe which have their root in the absolute and necessary character of God Himself. The wheels move on, but the workman who should have worked with them is entangled among them. He is out of his place, and slowly, but irresistibly, they are grinding him to powder.<\/p>\n

III. Let us believe that God’s judgments, though they will culminate, no doubt, hereafter in one great day and “one far-off Divine event,” are yet about our path and about our bed now, here, in this life. Let us believe that if we are to prepare to meet our God, we must do it now, for in Him we live, and move, and have our being, and can never go from His presence, never flee from His spirit.<\/p>\n

C. Kingsley, Town and Country Sermons, p. 262.<\/p>\n

References: Deu 28:47, Deu 28:48.-J. Keble, Sermons for the Christian Year: Lent to Passiontide, p. 150. Deu 28:67.-T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. vi., p. 32. Deu 29:4.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxviii., No. 1638.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Sermon Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

24. The Blessing and the Curse<\/p>\n

CHAPTER 28<\/p>\n

1. The blessing promised (Deu 28:1-14)<\/p>\n

2. The curse announced (Deu 28:15-68)<\/p>\n

This is one of the most solemn chapters in the Pentateuch. Orthodox Hebrews read in their synagogues each year through the entire five books of Moses. When they read this chapter, the Rabbi reads in a subdued voice. And well may they read it softly and ponder over it, for here is prewritten the sad and sorrowful history of that wonderful nation. Here thousands of years ago the Spirit of God through Moses outlined the history of the scattered nation, all their suffering and tribulations, as it has been for well nigh two millenniums and as it is still. Here are arguments for the divine, the supernatural origin of this book which no infidel has ever been able to answer; nor will there ever be found an answer.<\/p>\n

It would take a great many pages to follow the different predictions and show their literal fulfilment in the nation, which turned away from Jehovah and disobeyed His Word. What a warning this chapter is to Gentile Christendom! If God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee (Rom 11:21).<\/p>\n

Apart from such general predictions as found in verses 64-66 and fulfilled, as everybody knows, in the dispersion of Israel, there are others, which are more minute. The Roman power, which was used to break the Jews, is clearly predicted by Moses, and that in a time when no such power existed. Read verses 49-50. The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth, a nation, whose language thou shalt not understand. The eagle was the standard of the Roman armies; the Jews understood many oriental languages, but were ignorant of Latin. Which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young. Rome killed the old people and the children. And he shall beseige thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land (verse 52). Fulfilled in the siege and overthrow of Jerusalem by the Roman legions. The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, shall eat their children, for want of all things in the siege and straitness wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates (54-57). Fulfilled in the dreadful sieges of Jerusalem, perhaps the most terrible events in the history of blood and tears of this poor earth. Every verse beginning with the fifteenth to the end of this chapter has found its oft repeated fulfilment. It does not surprise us that the enemy hates this book, which bears such a testimony, and would have it classed with legends.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

if thou shalt hearken <\/p>\n

Deuteronomy 28-29 are, properly, an integral part of the Palestinian covenant, Deu 30:1-9. (See Scofield “Deu 30:3”). <\/p>\n

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

If thou shalt: Deu 11:13, Deu 15:5, Deu 27:1, Exo 15:26, Lev 26:3-13, Psa 106:3, Psa 111:10, Isa 1:19, Isa 3:10, Isa 55:2, Isa 55:3, Jer 11:4, Jer 12:16, Jer 17:24, Luk 11:28 <\/p>\n

to do all: Psa 119:6, Psa 119:128, Luk 1:6, Joh 15:14, Gal 3:10, Jam 2:10, Jam 2:11 <\/p>\n

will set: Deu 26:19, Psa 91:14, Psa 148:14, Luk 9:48, Rom 2:7 <\/p>\n

Reciprocal: Exo 19:5 – if ye Exo 23:25 – And ye Exo 34:11 – Observe Lev 25:18 – and ye Deu 4:40 – keep Deu 7:12 – if Deu 11:27 – General Deu 15:4 – greatly bless Deu 20:6 – eaten of it Deu 28:13 – if that thou Deu 30:15 – General Jos 8:34 – blessings Jos 23:14 – not one thing 1Sa 12:14 – If ye will 1Ki 9:4 – And if thou 2Ki 21:8 – only if they 2Ch 7:17 – if thou wilt 2Ch 33:8 – so that they Ezr 7:6 – the law Psa 119:4 – General Pro 14:34 – Righteousness Isa 44:8 – have declared Jer 11:7 – in the Dan 1:15 – their 1Ti 4:8 – having<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Deu 28:1. If thou hearken diligently The foregoing blessings and curses being appointed to be pronounced in so solemn a manner, Moses takes occasion from thence to enlarge upon both of them, to show the Israelites what they and their posterity had to expect at the hands of God, according as they complied or not with the terms of the covenant which they were now under.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Deu 28:5. Blessed shall be thy basket. The LXX read, thy barns and thy store.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:24. The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust. Our oriental travellers say in succession, that when hurricanes happen in the sandy deserts, they carry the fine sands high in the air, and rain on cities and villages the dust, which penetrates every corner of the houses where the air has access. They often bury camels and asses in the deserts, and form ridges and hills which prove a great obstruction to husbandry. The tracts and roads, after those tempests and gales, are completely lost, and men travel as they can between the ridges, their eyes and ears sustaining great pain from the dust which has penetrated into those more tender senses of the body. The western shore of the Nile was once the most fertile part of Egypt; the sands having since marched in clouds, have buried all the beautiful towns and districts, and turned the fruitful field into a desert.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:27. The botch of Egypt, often referred to: Deu 7:15.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:49. A nation against thee from afar. The Romans, to punish them as rebels, whose language thou canst not understand: this made the calamity greater. Hezekiahs ministers understood the Assyrian tongue, which was a sister language of the Hebrew; but the Latin was difficult to learn. The Romans realized all the horrors of these predictions against a people denationalized and devoted. See on Dan 9:24; Dan 9:27.As swift as the eagle flieth. The Chaldean armies are frequently represented as flying swift as the eagle, which is the prince of birds. One measured by Bruce in Abyssinia, of the golden eagle species, from wing to wing, eight feet four inches, and from the back to the tip of the tail, four feet seven inches. The eagle renews his plumage in the spring, as most birds of prey, to which allusion is made in Psa 103:5. He lives to a great age, and is often found with a bald head.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:64. The Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other. Voltaire, the far-famed infidel of Ferney, in Swisserland, contributed to make Frederick the Great, king of Prussia, an unbeliever. Dr. Steinkoff, minister of the Lutheran church in London, stated one evening in conversation, that Frederick has been heard to say, After all, I think there must be some truth in the prophecies respecting the Jews; they are so often repeated, and so very strikingly fulfilled in the dispersion of that people. So complete is this dispersion, from one end of the earth even to the other, that there is scarcely a port or city without jews. In India, in China, and in central Asia, their condition is most deplorable; they are poor and distressed even to a proverb. Christian nations are now their best friends and protectors. Tertullian, Augustine, Lactantius, and others of the ancient fathers, lay a strong emphasis on the sufferings of the jews, as consequent on their sin of crucifying the Lord of glory.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:66. Thou shalt fear day and night. The fathers apply this to the fears which fell on the jews after the crucifixion, when great fear fell on every soul. Act 2:43. In the dark ages, christians as well as heathens, treated the jews with great cruelty.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:68. Ships. Navigation, in the times of Moses, was well understood.<\/p>\n

REFLECTIONS.<\/p>\n

The covenant made at Sinai forty years before is here repeated to the new generation, and with such enlargements as were calculated most deeply to impress the nation. It is in fact the identical covenant made with Abraham, approaching the crisis of splendour and prosperity. Genesis 12. The promise of the Messiah was superadded, in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed with the fulness of spiritual benefits which should overflow in his kingdom. The temporal blessings, ever to be viewed as shadows and figures of the spiritual, comprehend every good which can contribute to personal, domestic and national prosperity. And these were not vain panegyrics and pompous presumption to allure a wandering nation to a fixed habitation; they were all realized in the reign of David, and of Solomon his son. David had nine hundred thousand men able to bear arms, which must have included a population of six millions, all well nourished in a small tract of country; and Solomon made gold and silver plentiful as iron and brass in Jerusalem. This should encourage every christian to look for the same blessings, temporal and spiritual, to descend on his soul and on his family, while walking in the Lords way.<\/p>\n

After this recital of the blessings of the Hebrew covenant, it was most equitable and meet that the curses, in case of apostasy, should follow. These are painted with horrors of the deepest shade, as the rudest blast of winter, slowly approaching and stripping the earth of all the verdure and beauty of summer; as blasts, covering Israel with desolation, and no more succeeded with reviving spring. They approach as ministers of justice, pursuing guilt for a long time with paternal corrections: but when the sad crisis arrived, that no mercies could soften, no judgment sanctify the obdurate, they inflict the fullest strokes of vengeance by excision of an apostate nation for seventy years. And when the astonished heathens enquired the cause of those singular calamities, they were told it was because they had forsaken the covenant of the Lord. Yea, Daniel himself, weeping in captivity, owns the equity of the punishment, and hallows the memory of Moses: chap. 9. Thus the Hebrews were made instructive to the heathen, and instructive to future ages.<\/p>\n

From the nature of those blessings and curses we learn that the prosperity and adversity of families and nations are immediately connected with their piety or profaneness. All objections brought to the contrary, from the prosperity of the wicked, are derived from flattering periods in their history. It may safely be averred, that the main series of ancient and modern history, whether written by believers or unbelievers, will evince, on viewing the rise, splendour, and fall of families and states, that the doctrine of Moses is consonant to providence. Angels also, viewing the judgments of God on a fuller scale, cease not to cry, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts.<\/p>\n

After historically tracing the chastisements apostate Israel should sustain from the Assyrians, the soul of our venerable prophet, elevated with the terrors of vision, and having for a moment the veil of futurity uplifted, launched forth beyond the line of patriarchal prophecy, and saw what heaven had not dared to entrust to any mortal, nor even to him till the approach of death. He saw the Messiah and his gospel rejected; he saw the whole Hebrew nation as a putrid carcase in Gods esteem; he saw the wide-spread eagle ensigns of the Romans waving in the air, and gathering on the guilty as around their lawful prey. He saw more: he saw all the horrors of the siege of Jerusalemthe famine, the pestilence, the slaughter, the destruction of the city, and consequent captivity of the people!<\/p>\n

Josephus is more copious, but not more correct than Moses, who wrote sixteen hundred years before. Nay, the prophet saw more than the historian lived to see. He saw the subsequent sieges by Adrian throughout all the land, occasioned by new revolts: Deu 28:52. He saw the famine, pestilence and sword, exhaust all their treasures of vengeance on this guilty people, for the murder of the Son of God, and the rejection of mercy. He saw the few in number, scattered among all nations, from one end of the earth even to the other; and there compelled sometimes to serve the heathen gods, and sometimes the papal christian gods, as once they were openly obliged to do both in Spain and Portugal. Thus to whatever nation they fled, they had no rest for the soles of their feet, but had a trembling heart; and even till the period of the reformation, their life hung in doubt. Christians, here is instruction for you. Turn your eyes towards this covenant nation, a nation cast away till the times of the gentiles are fulfilled. Where can you visit a nation, where can you enter a port destitute of Hebrew exiles? Wherever they wander, they are Gods witnesses, attesting the truth of prophecy, and the consequences of rejecting the gospel. They are not dispersed, as in Babylon, for corrupting their covenant with idols: quite the contrary: but a little before their ruin, the mere sight of a Roman eagle on the walls of Jerusalem occasioned an insurrection of the people. They are rejected for rejecting Christ. Therefore I again say, christians fix your eye on those instructive men; and beware lest you also be destroyed for making light of the gospel. Tremble, licentious age, tremble, lest the glory should depart from you, and rest on them. Tremble, lest when the joy of receiving them back should be as life from the dead, you, in return, should be exposed to all the vengeance they have sustained.<\/p>\n

The very striking accomplishment of this extraordinary prophecy, is not only an incontrovertible proof of the truth of revelation; not only irresistible in reclaiming a candid infidel; but it is extremely consolatory to all weak and tempted believers. I do aver that whenever I have been exposed to the injections of Satan concerning the truth of any one doctrine of revelation; for ministers are men; the study of this and other prophecies has always sustained me; and removed the transient doubt with more than a sunbeam of celestial day. Hence I earnestly recommend this study, accompanied with prayer, above all means to weak and troubled minds. It will not only confirm them in the faith, but greatly increase their piety and reverence for God. A young christian, well instructed in this sublimest branch of revelation, clothes himself with a coat of mail, which bids defiance to the sneers and shafts of infidelity, and repels his foes with the word of God, which is sharper than any two-edged sword. They sink for want of ground; but he stands firm, being supported by the Eternal Rock. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Deuteronomy 28<\/p>\n

In approaching the study of this remarkable section of our book, the reader must bear in mind that it is by no means, to be confounded with chapter 27. Some expositors, in seeking to account for the absence of the blessings in the latter, have sought for them here. But it is a grand mistake – a mistake absolutely fatal to the proper understanding of either chapter. The obvious fact is, the two chapters are wholly distinct, in basis, scope and practical application. Chapter 27 is – to put it as pointedly and briefly as possible – moral and personal. Chapter 28 is dispensational and national. That deals with the great root principle of man’s moral condition, as a sinner utterly ruined and wholly incapable of meeting God on the ground of law; this, on the other hand, takes up the question of Israel as a nation, under the government of God. In short, a careful comparison of the two chapters will enable the reader to see their entire distinctness. For instance, what connection can we trace between the six blessings of our chapter and the twelve curses of chapter 27? None whatever. It is not possible to establish the slightest relationship. But a child can see the moral link between the blessings and curses of chapter 28.<\/p>\n

Let us quote a passage or two in proof. “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God” – the grand old Deuteronomic motto, the key note of the book – “to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth; and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God” – the only safeguard, the true secret of happiness, security, victory and strength – Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.”<\/p>\n

Is it not perfectly plain to the reader that these are not the blessings pronounced by the six tribes on mount Gerazim? What is here presented to us is Israel’s national dignity, prosperity, and glory founded upon their diligent attention to all the commandments set before them in this book. It was the eternal purpose of God that Israel should be pre-eminent on the earth, high above all the nations. This purpose shall, assuredly, be made good although Israel, in the past, have shamefully failed to render that perfect obedience which was to form the basis of their national pre-eminence and glory.<\/p>\n

We must never forget or surrender this great truth. Some expositors have adopted a system of interpretation by which the covenant blessings of Israel are spiritualised and made over to the church of God. This is a most fatal mistake. Indeed, it is hardly possible to set forth in language, or even to conceive the pernicious effects of such a method of handling the precious word of God. Nothing is more certain than that it is diametrically opposed to the mind and will of God. He will not and cannot sanction such tampering with His truth, or such an unwarrantable alienation of the blessings and privileges of His people Israel.<\/p>\n

True, we read, in Galatians 3. “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive” – what? Blessings in the city and in the field? Blessings in our basket and store? Nay; but “the promise of the Spirit through faith.” So also we learn, from the same epistle, in Galatians 4, that restored Israel will be permitted to reckon amongst her children all those who are born of the Spirit, during the Christian period. “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.”<\/p>\n

All this is blessedly true; but it affords no warrant whatever for transferring the promises made to Israel to New Testament believers. God has pledged Himself, by an oath, to bless the seed of Abraham His friend – to bless them with all earthly blessings, This promise holds good and is absolutely inalienable. Woe be to all who attempt in the land of Canaan. to interfere with its literal fulfilment, in God’s own time. We have referred to this in our studies on the earlier part of this book, and must now rest content with warning the reader, most solemnly, against every system of interpretation which involves such serious consequences as to the word and ways of God. We must ever remember that Israel’s blessings are earthly; the church’s blessings are heavenly. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ.”<\/p>\n

Thus, both the nature and the sphere of the church’s blessings are wholly different from those of Israel, and must never be confounded. But the system of interpretation above referred to does confound them, to the marring of the integrity of holy scripture, and the serious damage of souls. To attempt to apply the promises made to Israel to the church of God, either now or hereafter, on earth or in heaven, is to turn things completely upside down, and to produce the most hopeless confusion in the exposition and application of scripture. we feel called upon, in simple faithfulness to the word of God, and to the soul of the reader, to press this matter upon his earnest attention. He may rest assured it is, by no means, an unimportant question; so far from this, we are persuaded that it is utterly impossible for any one who confounds Israel and the church, the earthly and the heavenly, to be a sound or accurate interpreter of the word of God.<\/p>\n

However, we cannot pursue this subject further here. we only trust that the Spirit of God will arouse the heart of the reader to feel its interest and importance, and give him to see the necessity of rightly dividing the word of truth. If this be so, our object will be fully gained.<\/p>\n

With regard to this twenty-eighth of Deuteronomy, if the reader only seizes the fact of its entire distinctness from its predecessor, he will be able to read it with spiritual intelligence and real profit. There is no need whatever for elaborate exposition. It divides itself naturally and obviously into two parts. In the first, we have a full and most blessed statement of the results of obedience. (See verses 1-15.) In the second, we have a deeply solemn and affecting statement of the awful consequences of disobedience. (See verses 16-68.) And we cannot but be struck with the fact that the section continuing the curses is more than three times the length of the one containing the blessings. That consists of fifteen verses; this of fifty-three. The whole chapter furnishes an impressive commentary on the government of God, and a most forcible illustration of the fact that “our God is a consuming fire.” All the nations of the earth may learn from Israel’s marvellous history, that God must punish disobedience, and that, too, first of all, in His own. And if He has not spared His own people, what shall be the end of those who know Him not “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” It is the very height of extravagant folly for any one to attempt to evade the full force of such passages, or to explain them away. It cannot be done. Let any one read the chapter before us and compare it with the actual history of Israel, and he will see that as sure as there is a God on the throne of the majesty in the heavens, so surely will He punish evildoers, both here and hereafter. It cannot be otherwise. The government that could or would allow evil to go unjudged, uncondemned, unpunished, would not be a perfect government, would not be the government of God. It is vain to found arguments upon one-sided views of the goodness, kindness and mercy of God. Blessed be His Name, He is kind and good and merciful and gracious, long-suffering and full of compassion. But He is holy and just, righteous and true; and “he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world [the habitable earth, oikoumenen] in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance [given proof, pistin] unto all, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” (Acts 17.)<\/p>\n

However, we must draw this section to a close; but, ere doing so, we feel it to be our duty to call the reader’s attention to a very interesting point in connection with verse 13 of our chapter. “The Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them.” This, no doubt, refers to Israel as a nation. They are destined to be the head of all the nations of the earth. Such is the sure and settled purpose and counsel of God respecting them. Low as they are now sunk, scattered and lost amongst the nations, suffering the terrible consequences of their persistent disobedience, sleeping, as we read in Daniel 12, in the dust of the earth; yet they shall, as a nation, arise and shine in far brighter glory than that of Solomon.<\/p>\n

All this is blessedly true, and established, beyond all question, in manifold passages in Moses, the Psalms, the prophets and the New Testament. But, in looking: through the history of Israel, we find some very striking instances of individuals who were permitted and enabled, through infinite grace, to make their own of the precious promise contained in verse 13, and that too in very dark and depressing periods of the national history, when Israel, as a nation, was the tail and not the head. We shall just give the reader an instance or two, not only to illustrate our point, but also to set before him a principle of immense practical importance and universal application.<\/p>\n

Let us turn, for a moment, to that charming little book of Esther – a book so little understood or appreciated – a book which, we may truly say, fills a niche and teaches a lesson which no other book does. It belongs to a period when, most assuredly, Israel was not the head, but the tail; but, notwithstanding, it presents to our view the very edifying and encouraging picture of an individual son of Abraham so carrying himself as to reach the very highest position, and gaining a splendid victory over Israel’s bitterest foe.<\/p>\n

As to Israel’s condition, in the days of Esther, it was such that God could not publicly own them. Hence it is that His name is not found in the book, from beginning to end. The Gentile was the head and Israel the tail. the relationship between Jehovah and Israel could no longer be publicly owned; but the heart of Jehovah could never forget His people; and we may add, the heart of a faithful Israelite could never forget Jehovah or His holy law; and these are just the two facts that specially characterise this most interesting little book. God was acting for Israel behind the scenes, and Mordecai was acting for God before the scenes. It is worthy of remark that neither Israel’s best Friend, nor their worst enemy, is once named in the book of Esther; and yet the whole book is full of the actings of both. The finger of God is stamped on every link in the marvellous chain of providence; and, on the other hand, the bitter enmity Of Amalek come out in the cruel plot of the haughty Agagite.<\/p>\n

All this is intensely interesting Indeed, in rising from the study of this book, we may well say, “Oh! scenes surpassing fable and yet true.” No romance could possibly exceed in interest this simple but most blessed history. But we must not expatiate, much as we should like to do so. time and space forbid. We merely refer to it now in order to point out to the reader the unspeakable value and importance of individual faithfulness, at a moment when the national glory was faded and gone. Mordecai stood like a rock for the truth of God. He refused with stern decision, to own Amalek. He would save the life of Ahasuerus and bow to his authority as the expression of the power of God; but he would not bow to Haman. His conduct, in this matter, was governed simply by the word of God. The authority for his course was to be found in this blessed book of Deuteronomy. Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God” – here was the true secret of the whole matter – “therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.” (Deut. 25: 17-19.)<\/p>\n

This was distinct enough for every circumcised ear, every obedient heart, every upright conscience. Equally distinct is the language of Exodus 17. “And the Lord said unto Moses, write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua; for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it JEHOVAH-nissi [the Lord my banner]: for he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” (Vers. 14-16.)<\/p>\n

Here then was Mordecai’s authority for refusing a single nod of his head to the Agagite. How could a faithful member of the house of Israel bow to a member of a house with which Jehovah was at war? Impossible. He could clothe himself in sackcloth, fast and weep for his people, but he could not, he would not, he dare not bow to an Amalekite. He might be charged with presumption, blind obstinacy, stupid bigotry, and contemptible narrow-mindedness; but with that he had nothing whatever to do. It might seem the most unaccountable folly to withhold the common mark of respect from the highest noble in the kingdom; but that noble was an Amalekite, and that was enough for Mordecai. The apparent folly was simple obedience.<\/p>\n

It is this which makes the case so interesting and important for us. Nothing can ever do away with our responsibility to obey the word of God. It might be said to Mordecai that the commandment as to Amalek was a bygone thing, having reference to Israel’s palmy days. It was quite right for Joshua to fight with Amalek; Saul, too, ought to have obeyed the word of Jehovah instead of sparing Agag; but now all was changed; the glory was departed from Israel, and it was perfectly useless to attempt to act on Exodus 17 or Deuteronomy 27.<\/p>\n

All such arguments, we feel assured, would have no weight whatever with Mordecai. It was enough for him that Jehovah had said, “Remember what Amalek did…. Thou shalt not forget it.” How long was this to hold good? “From generation to generation. Jehovah’s war with Amalek was never to cease until his very name and remembrance were blotted out from under heaven. And why? Because of his cruel and heartless treatment of Israel. Such was the kindness of God toward His people! How then could a faithful Israelite ever bow to an Amalekite? Impossible. Could Joshua bow to Amalek? Nay. Did Samuel? Nay; “he hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.” How then could Mordecai bow to him? He could not do it, cost what it might. It mattered not to him that the gallows was erected for him. He could be hanged, but he could never do homage to Amalek.<\/p>\n

And what was the result? A magnificent triumph! There stood the proud Amalekite near the throne, basking in the sunshine of royal favour, boasting himself in his riches, his greatness, his glory, and about to crush beneath his foot the seed of Abraham. There, on the other hand, lay poor Mordecai in sackcloth and ashes and tears. What could he do? He could obey. He had neither sword nor spear; but he had the word of God, and by simply obeying that word, he gained a victory over Amalek quite as decisive and splendid in its way, as that gained by Joshua, in Exodus 17 – a victory which Saul failed to gain, though surrounded by a host of warriors selected from the twelve tribes of Israel. Amalek sought to get Mordecai hanged; but instead of that he was obliged to act as his footman, and conduct him in all but regal pomp and splendour through the street of the city. “And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: and let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken. Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour. And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning and having his head covered.”<\/p>\n

Here, assuredly Israel was the head and Amalek the tail – Israel, not nationally but individually. But this was only the beginning of Amalek’s defeat and of Israel’s glory. Haman was hanged on the very gallows he had erected for Mordecai, “And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.”<\/p>\n

Nor was this all. The effect of Mordecai’s marvellous victory was felt far and wide over the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the empire. “In every province, and in every city whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.” And, to crown all, we read that “Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.”<\/p>\n

Now, reader, does not all this prove to us, in the most striking manner, the immense importance of individual faithfulness? Is it not eminently calculated to encourage us to stand for the truth of God, cost what it may? Only see what marvellous results followed from the actings of one man! Many might have condemned Mordecai’s conduct. It might have seemed like unaccountable obstinacy to refuse a simple mark of respect to the highest noble in the empire. But it was not so. It was simple obedience. It was decision for God, and it led to a most magnificent victory, the spoils of which were reaped by his brethren at the very ends of the earth.<\/p>\n

For further illustration of the subject suggested by Deuteronomy 28: 13, we must refer the reader to Daniel 3 and Daniel 6 there he will see what morally glorious results can be reached by individual faithfulness to the true God, at a moment when Israel’s national glory was gone; their city and temple in ruins. The three worthies refused to worship the golden image. They dared to face the wrath of the king, to withstand the universal voice of the empire, yea, to meet the fiery furnace itself, rather than disobey. They could surrender life, but they could not surrender the truth of God.<\/p>\n

And what was the result? A splendid victory! They walked through the furnace with the Son of God, and were called forth from the furnace as witnesses and servants of the Most High God. Glorious privilege! Wondrous dignity! And all the simple result of obedience. Had they gone with the crowd, and bowed the head in worship to the national god, in order to escape the dreadful furnace, see what they would have lost! But, blessed be God, they were enabled to stand fast in the confession of the grand foundation truth of the unity of the Godhead – that truth which had been trampled under foot amid the splendours of Solomon’s reign; and the record of their faithfulness has been penned for us by the Holy Spirit, in order to encourage us to tread, with firm step, the path of individual devotedness, in the face of a God-hating, Christ-rejecting world, and in the face of a truth-neglecting Christendom. It is impossible to read the narrative and not have our whole renewed being stirred up and drawn out in earnest desire for more deep-toned personal devotedness to Christ and His precious cause.<\/p>\n

Similar must be the effect produced by the study of Daniel 6. We cannot allow ourselves to quote or expatiate. We can only commend the soul-stirring record to the attention of the reader. It is uncommonly fine, and it furnishes a splendid lesson for this day of soft, self-indulgent, easy-going profession, in which it costs people nothing to give a nominal assent to the truths of Christianity; but in which, notwithstanding, there is so little desire or readiness to follow, with whole-hearted decision, a rejected Lord, or to yield an unqualified and unhesitating obedience to His commandments.<\/p>\n

How refreshing, in the face of so much heartless indifference, to read of the faithfulness of Daniel! He, with unflinching decision, persisted in his holy habit of praying three times a day, with his window open toward Jerusalem, although he knew that the den of lions was the penalty of his act. He might have closed his window and drawn his curtains and retired into the privacy of his chamber to pray, or he might have waited for the midnight hour when no human eye could see, or human ear hear him. But no; this beloved servant of God would not hide his light under a bed or a bushel. There was a great principle at stake. It was not merely that he would? pray to the one living and true God, but he would pray with “his windows open towards Jerusalem.” And why “toward Jerusalem”? Because it was God’s centre. But it was in ruins. True, for the present and as looked at from a human standpoint. But to faith, and from a divine standpoint, Jerusalem was God’s centre for His earthly people. It was and it shall be, beyond all question. And not only so, but its dust is precious to Jehovah; and hence Daniel was in full communion with the mind of God when he opened his windows toward Jerusalem and prayed. He had scripture for what he did, as the reader may see by referring to 2 Chronicles 6. “If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name.”<\/p>\n

Here was Daniel’s warrant. This was what he did, utterly regardless of human opinions; and utterly regardless, too, of pains and penalties. He would rather be thrown into the den of lions than surrender the truth of God. He would rather go to heaven with a good conscience than remain on earth with a bad one.<\/p>\n

And what was the result? Another splendid triumph! “Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, BECAUSE HE BELIEVED IN HIS GOD.”<\/p>\n

Blessed servant! Noble witness! Assuredly he was the head, on this occasion, and his enemies the tail. And how? Simply by obedience to the word of God. This is what we deem to be of such vast moral importance for this our day. It is to illustrate and enforce this that we refer to those brilliant examples of individual faithfulness at a time when Israel’s national glory was in the dust, their unity gone and their polity broken up. We cannot but regard it as a fact full of interest, full of encouragement, full of suggestive power, that in the darkest days of Israel’s history as a nation we have the brightest and noblest examples of personal faith and devotedness. We earnestly press this upon the attention of the Christian reader. We consider it eminently calculated to strengthen and cheer up our hearts in standing for the truth of God at a moment like the present, when there is so much to discourage us in the general condition of the professing church. It is not that we are to look for such speedy, striking and splendid results as were realised in those cases to which we have referred. This is by no means the question. What we have to keep before our hearts is the fact that, no matter what may be the condition of the ostensible people of God at any given time, it is the privilege of the individual man of God to tread the narrow path and reap the precious fruits of simple obedience to the word of God and the precious commandments of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

This, we feel persuaded, is a truth for the day. May we all feel its holy power! We are in imminent danger of lowering the standard of personal devotedness because of the general condition. This is a fatal mistake; yea, it is the positive suggestion of the enemy of Christ and His cause. If Mordecai, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel had acted thus, what would have been the result?<\/p>\n

Ah! no; reader, we have ever to bear in mind that our one great business is to obey and leave results with God. It may please Him to permit His servants to see striking results, or He may see fit to allow them to wait for that great day that is coming when there will be no danger of our being puffed up by seeing any little fruit of our testimony. Be this as it may, it is our plain and bounden duty to tread that bright and blessed path indicated for us by the commandments of our precious and adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May God enable us, by the grace of His Holy Spirit so to do! May we cleave to the truth of God with purpose of heart, utterly regardless of the opinions of our fellow men who may charge us with narrowness, bigotry, intolerance and such like. We have just to go on with the Lord.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Mackintosh’s Notes on the Pentateuch<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Deuteronomy 28. Blessings and Curses.This chapter is held by Kuenen, Dillmann, Driver, Addis, etc. to belong in the main to D (Deu 28:12-26 or Deu 28:5-26?). In favour of this conclusion note: (a) Moses speaks in the first person as in Deu 28:5-26. (b) It forms a fitting hortatory conclusion to Deu 28:12-26 (or Deu 28:5-26); cf. Exo 23:20-33, and Lev 26:3-43, which close the Book of the Covenant (Exo 20:22 to Exo 23:33) and H (Leviticus 17-26) respectively. (c) Many stylistic features characteristic of D recur in this chapter. (d) The curses of Deu 28:15 ff. may easily have excited in Josiah the strong emotion described in 2Ki 22:11-13; cf. 2Ki 22:16 f. Of this chapter the following parts are probably late additions: Deu 28:25 b, Deu 28:36 f., Deu 28:41; Deu 28:47 f., Deu 28:63-67, all of which presuppose the Exile; Deu 28:49-57, which imply the Chaldean invasion, and Deu 28:10 (cf. Lev 24:11).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:1-14. The blessings annexed to obedience to the new law are all of a temporal character (the consecration to Yahweh in 9f. is to special privileges as His elect people).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:5. basket: see Deu 26:2; it shall be blessed, i.e. full.kneading-trough: see Exo 8:3; Exo 12:34.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:6. comest in and goest out: all the activities of human life (see Deu 31:2, Psa 121:8).<\/p>\n

Deu 28:7. seven: an indefinite number, implying many (see Deu 28:22, seven plagues), Deu 28:25.<\/p>\n

Deu 28:12. See Deu 11:10*.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

FROM MOUNT GERIZIM — BLESSINGS<\/p>\n

(vs.1-14)<\/p>\n

Though Chapter 28 does not say that these blessings were pronounced from Mount Gerizim, yet Chapter 27:12 indicates this. But the blessings were prefaced; by the conditions of verse 1. They would be effective only if Israel diligently obeyed the voice of the Lord, observing carefully all His commandments. If so, God would set them high above all nations, and all the blessings that follow would come upon them (v.2).<\/p>\n

They would be blessed in the city and in the country (v.3). If they were obedient the place they lived would not make any difference in their blessing.<\/p>\n

They would also find blessing in regard to their children and the produce of their crops, in the increase of their herds, of their cattle and of their flocks (v.4). This natural increase is typical of spiritual increase that believers receive then they practice a spirit of devoted obedience to the Lord. There will be lasting results from their labors.<\/p>\n

These blessings would be in their basket and in their kneading bowl (v.5). This is more in connection with women’s work. It is not that they would be provided with everything apart from working, but rather that their would be blessed. How much happier it is to work and find blessing in it than to be handed everything without working!<\/p>\n

God’s blessing too would be consistent, whether in their coming in or going out (v.6). We may surely apply this to the blessing of private life or assembly life, that is, coming in to enjoy the privileges of fellowship with the saints of God, or going out with the gospel of God’s grace to evangelize those in the world.<\/p>\n

With God’s blessing on them they would have no difficulty in defeating their enemies. Though the enemies would come with a united front, appearing to be too formidable for Israel, yet God would scatter them to retreat seven different ways, in confusion (v.7). Though Satan puts on a show of unity in his opposition to the truth, the fact that he is a master of intrigues and lies renders him helpless to achieve real unity, for falsehood is confusion, and a simple stand for truth will throw these evil attempts back into the confusion men think they can overcome.<\/p>\n

In obedience to God Israel could count upon His blessing in their storehouses, the lay up of produce for future use, and in everything that might occupy their attention (v.8). In a spiritual way this will be true for obedient Christians too.<\/p>\n

If they obeyed, the Lord would, on the basis of their obedience, establish them in a practical way as a holy people for Himself (v.9. The position He had given them was one of holiness, and He promised that their practical character would be the same if they were obedient. This would have a real effect on other nations in recognizing God’s interest in this special people, and these nations would stand in awe of Israel (v.10).<\/p>\n

They would be blessed by the Lord with plenty, whether in children, in livestock and in crops (v.11). “The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hands” (v.12). They would lend to many nations, but would never need to borrow.<\/p>\n

In such a case Israel would be the head of the nations, and not the tail (v.13). Sadly, through rebellion against God Israel became the tail for centuries, not even having possession of their land, and they are still far from the place of being head of the nations. But when they are turned back to receive the Lord Jesus, their true Messiah, there will be such a change that they will again be the head of all nations for the entire thousand years of millennial blessing.<\/p>\n

Israel’s fall, however, was not through any lack of encouragement on God’s part. The whole book of Deuteronomy is full of admonitions, warnings and encouragements, and verse 4 should have spurred them to diligently serve the Lord and never turn to idols and self-will.<\/p>\n

CURSES FOR DISOBEDIENCE<\/p>\n

(vs.15-68)<\/p>\n

This section dealing with curses occupies a far larger place than that speaking of blessings. Likely the reason is that God knew perfectly well that Israel would soon depart from Him in callous disobedience, so that they would have no opportunity to experience the blessings promised on condition of obedience, but every opportunity to experience the many curses that were really their own choice.<\/p>\n

If Israel would not obey God’s commandments and statutes, they would be cursed wherever they went, in the cities, in the country (v.16), in their house provisions (v.17), through their children, the produce of their land and in the offspring of their livestock (v.18). Whether coming in or going out (v.19), that is changing from one to the other would not alleviate the misery. The Lord would send on them cursing, confusion and rebuke in whatever they occupied themselves with (v.20), not relieving this before they died early. Plagues would afflict them until they were consumed, by death or by scattering them from the land (v.20)<\/p>\n

Because of Israel’s disobedience, it would be the Lord Himself who would inflict on them consumption, fever, inflammation, severe burning fever, the scourge of an enemy’s sword, scorching and mildew (v.22). This was not merely punishment, but God’s way of seeking to drive them back to Him. Yet it would continue until they perished, for God knew the stubbornness of their hearts. If they would only confess their guilt and turn from it, certainly God would forgive and restore them, but Israel’s history thus far has been one of rebellion.<\/p>\n

For this reason the heavens would be bronze and the earth iron (v.23). This would match their attitude. They could expect no loving answer from heaven in their praying for material blessings or relief, for the heavens would be as impervious as their own heart. The earth would be like iron, not soft enough to produce anything, because their hearts were also hard.<\/p>\n

The rains of their land would be exchanged for powder and dust (v.24). this is not only negative (a lack of rain), but as positive curse, to cause great distress. The Lord too would deliver them to humiliating defeat before their enemies (v.25). They would “go out one way,” that is, in apparent unity, but would “flee seven ways,” in total defeat and disarray. All nations also would consider Israel a troublesome people to all the earth.<\/p>\n

The nation would be further humiliated by many dead being left without burial, birds and animals feeding on their dead bodies with no one there to frighten them away (v.26). Also the Lord Himself would inflict on them boils, tumors, scabs and itching which they would find no way of relieving (v.27), and added to this mental derangement, blindness and confusion of heart (v.28). Even in broad daylight they would grope, trying to find their way: they would be taken advantage of by oppression and robbery, with no one to intercede for them (v.29).<\/p>\n

One might be engaged to marry a woman and another man commit fornication with her (v.30). Things like this happen all around us today. But if an engaged man and woman are walking with the Lord this would not happen. How important to put the Lord first in marriage. If both husband and wife do this, the Lord will preserve them. But when disobedient to God, an Israelite might build a house and never live in it, or he might plant a vineyard and never enjoy its fruits. Their livestock might be slaughtered before their eyes, but not for their benefit, or livestock might be stolen violently and never restored (v.31).<\/p>\n

Their sons and daughters would be taken captive and given as slaves to people of another nation, leaving the parents in depressed anxiety and hopeless weakness to do anything about it (v.32). As one instance, as to the little girl who was taken from her home as a slave for the wife of Naaman the Syrian (2Ki 5:2), how would her parents feel about this? In the heart of the little girl herself, however, the grace of God beautifully triumphed to lift her above the trauma of her separation from her country and her relatives, so that she was genuinely concerned for the health of the man who had taken her captive (v.3). This is a lovely illustration of the fact that no matter how devastating may be the results of disobedience to God, the grace of God can overcome this where there is an honest turning to Him.<\/p>\n

A foreign nation, before unknown to Israel, would come from a distance to overrun their land, oppressing and crushing the people and eating what they had produced for themselves (v.33). Thus Israel would be driven to insanity through witnessing things that were unbearable (v.34). No strength would be left in their knees or legs because of sore boils that resisted healing, and the whole body would be dreadfully affected (v.35).<\/p>\n

But not only would they suffer in their land, for the Lord would see that they and a king they had desired would be taken captive to the country of foreigners, where the only worship they would know would be idolatrous (v.36). In those circumstances they would find no rest, but would rather become the object of the contempt and ridicule of all the nations (v.37). How sadly true has this proven in all Israel’s history since the captivity by the Assyrians and by the Babylonians took place centuries ago, and has been repeated in the scattering of Judah from their land following the crucifixion of their Messiah. Many nations still today engage in the ridicule and persecution of the Jews.<\/p>\n

Israel would plant much seed and get little return (v.38), for locusts would consume their crops. Worms would eat up the fruit of their vineyards (v.39). They would have no return from their olive trees (v.40). This can be applied to believers spiritually today. Whatever planting we do, whatever energy we have in declaring the Word of God to others, it will bear little fruit if we ourselves are guilty of disobedience to God. How important that our spoken testimony be accompanied by a testimony of faithfulness in our practical life!<\/p>\n

Because of Israel’s disobedience to God, their sons and daughters would go into captivity (v.41). This has been spiritually true in many Christian households. Though the children have heard the gospel of God’s grace, if the parents are disobedient, it is very likely that the children will be taken captive by a legal type of Christianity that puts them in bondage to human laws.<\/p>\n

Locusts would consume the trees and all the produce of the land (v.42). Israel has often suffered from such infestations. This is a direct infliction of God which ought to have driven Israel back to Him in repentance. Aliens would get the ascendancy over Israel. They would have to borrow from aliens instead of the opposite way around (v.44), thus the foreigner would be the head and Israel the tail, a reversal of what would be true if Israel were obedient (vs.12-13).<\/p>\n

Because of disobedience all these curses would come on Israel until they were destroyed (v.45). Has Israel been destroyed? Yes! God says in Hos 13:9, “0 Israel, you are destroyed, but your help is in Me.” Destruction does not mean annihilation. Rather, to destroy is to render unfit for the purpose for which something was first made, just as a dish, smashed to pieces, is destroyed though not annihilated. So Israel’s destruction is not permanent, as Rom 9:1-33; Rom 10:1-21; Rom 11:1-36 assure us, for God knows how to restore in His matchless grace.<\/p>\n

These curses would be a sign and a wonder on Israel and their descendants (v.46). This sign is a witness to God’s faithfulness and truth in dealing with His own failing people. This would make men wonder at the great sovereignty and righteousness of God, who would not spare sin in His own chosen people. All of this would be true because of their not serving the Lord with joy and gladness of heart when they had every reason to do so (v.47).<\/p>\n

In refusing to serve God they would become servants to their enemies, and in this would suffer hunger and thirst and nakedness. Instead of the yoke of law (which was hard enough) being put on their necks, they would have a yoke of iron, that is, being in bondage to cruel enemies (v.48).<\/p>\n

The Lord would send a foreign nation against them that would show no respect for old age and no compassion toward children (vs.49-50). This likely refers to the attack of the Assyrians (2Ki 17:5-6), which devastated the ten tribes, and later to the attack of the Babylonians, when Judah was brought under bondage (2Ki 24:1-3).<\/p>\n

These enemies would devastate the land of all its produce, leaving nothing for Israel (v.52). They would besiege the cities, no matter how well fortified, causing the starving occupants to go so far as to eat their own children (v.53). See 2Ki 6:28-29 and Jer 19:8-9. We may well wonder why such things would not drive people’s hearts back to the Lord, but in verse 54 we read that even the most refined of people would become hostile toward their wives and their children. Such would be the desperation occasioned by hunger that there would be no consideration left for even the closest loved ones (v.55).<\/p>\n

The graphic details of all this, and how both men and women would be affected, are most painful to read. Verses 56 and 57 speaks of even the tender and delicate woman, who would eat her new born infant and her placenta, in secret, hiding this from her husband. The reason is again pressed in verse 58, “if you do not carefully observe all the words of these laws that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD.”<\/p>\n

Great and prolonged plagues and prolonged sicknesses would be inflicted on them, similar to the plagues and diseases that Egypt suffered before the Exodus, causing death and destruction so that they would be left few in number (v.62) in contrast to the multiplied millions which once they enjoyed.<\/p>\n

Just as the Lord at one time had blessed and multiplied the nation, so He would curse and diminish them (v.63) and scatter the people among all nations, where they would serve idols (v.64). We know this has taken place, for Jews have been scattered over all the world and the recognition of their God has become vague and in many cases extinct.<\/p>\n

Yet among these nations they would find no relief, no rest, but fear and trembling, failing eyes and anguish of soul (v.65), with apprehension day and night that they might love their lives (v.66). In the morning they would wish it were evening and in the evening would wish it were morning, because of a constantly traumatic existence (v.67).<\/p>\n

The Lord would take them back to Egypt in ships (v.68). This may not be literal, but symbolical, for Egypt is a type of the world. Once God had rescued them from this worldly domination, but they would return to it. Becoming slaves again, they would be offered for sale, but being reduced to such an unhealthy state as to be not worth buying.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe [and] to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will {a} set thee on high above all nations of the earth:<\/p>\n

(a) He will make you the most excellent of all people.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

C. The blessings that follow obedience 28:1-14<\/span><\/p>\n

"For the purpose of impressing upon the hearts of all the people in the most emphatic manner both the blessing which Israel was to proclaim upon Gerizim, and the curse which it was to proclaim upon Ebal, Moses now unfolds the blessing of fidelity to the law and the curse of transgression in a longer address, in which he once more resumes, sums up, and expands still further the promises and threats of the law in Ex. xxiii. 20-23, and Lev. xxvi." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 3:435.] <\/span><\/p>\n

Moses began positively by holding out blessings as inducements to obedience (cf. Gen 1:28-30). He stated the greatest blessing, and the one that comprehends all those that follow, first: Israel could become the most exalted of all nations on the earth. The condition for this blessing was obedience to the Word of Yahweh. So important was this condition that Moses stated it three times in this section-at the beginning (Deu 28:1), middle (Deu 28:9), and end (Deu 28:13-14; cf. Deu 28:15; Deu 28:45; Deu 28:58; Deu 28:62)-in both positive and negative terms. Specifically, he enumerated six benefits using four merisms in each of which representative extremes describe the whole. God would give His people blessing everywhere, economically, with safety, and in all their activities (Deu 28:3-6). Then, in the typical hortatory (exhorting) fashion characteristic of Moses in Deuteronomy, he elaborated on these blessings (Deu 28:7-14).<\/p>\n

"The Canaanites believed that Baal had a house in the heavens with an opening in the roof from which the rains were sent. Whether this constitutes the background for the figure underlying the storehouse in the heavens here [Deu 28:12], Moses did insist that it was the Lord who would either bless Israel with abundant rain or withhold rain because of her disobedience." [Note: Kalland, p. 168.] <\/span><\/p>\n

"It was only in feeble commencement that this blessing was fulfilled upon Israel under the Old Testament; and it is not till the restoration of Israel, which is to take place in the future according to Rom. xi. 25 sqq., that its complete fulfillment will be attained." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 3:436-37.] <\/span><\/p>\n

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

MOSES FAREWELL SPEECHES<\/p>\n

Deu 4:1-40, Deu 27:1-26; Deu 28:1-68; Deu 29:1-29; Deu 30:1-20.<\/p>\n

WITH the twenty-sixth chapter the entirely homogeneous central portion of the Book of Deuteronomy ends, and it concludes it most worthily. It prescribes two ceremonies which are meant to give solemn expression to the feeling of thankfulness which the love of God, manifested in so many laws and precepts, covering the commonest details of life, should have made the predominant feeling. The first is the utterance of what we have called the “liturgy of gratitude” at the time of the feast of first fruits; and the second is the solemn dedication of the third years tithe to the poor and the fatherless, and the disclaimer of any misuse of it. Further notice of either after what has already been said in reference to them would be superfluous. The closing verses (Deu 26:16-19) of the chapter are a solemn reminder that all these transactions with God had bound the people to Yahweh in a covenant. “Thou hast avouched Yahweh this day to be thy God” and, “Yahweh hath avouched thee this day to be a peculiar people (am segullah) unto Himself.” By this they were bound to keep Yahwehs statutes and judgments, and do them with all their heart and with all their soul, while He, on His part, undertakes on these terms to set them “high above all nations which He hath made in praise, and in name, and in honor,” and to make them a holy people unto Himself.<\/p>\n

But the original Deuteronomy as read to King Josiah cannot have ended with chapter 26, for the thing that awed him most was the threat of evil and desolation which were to follow the non-observance of this covenant. Now though there are indications of such dangers in the first twenty-six chapters of Deuteronomy, yet threats are not, so far, a prominent part of this book. The book as read must consequently have contained some additional chapters, which, in part at least, must have contained threats. Now this is what we have in our Biblical Deuteronomy. But in chapters 27 and 28 there are reduplications which can hardly have formed part of the original authors work. An examination of these has led every one who admits composite authorship in the Pentateuch to see that from chapter 27 onwards the original work has been broken up and dovetailed again with the works of JE and P; so that component parts of the first four books of the Hexateuch appear along with elements which the author of Deuteronomy has supplied. We have, in fact, before us, from this point, the work of the editor who fitted Deuteronomy into the framework of the Pentateuch; and it is of importance, from an expository point of view even, to endeavor to restore Deuteronomy to its original form, and to follow out the traces of it that are left.<\/p>\n

As we have said, we must look for the threats and promises which undoubtedly formed part of it. These are contained in chapters 27 and 28. But a careful reader will feel at once that chapter 27 disturbs the connection, and that 28 should follow 26. In Deu 27:9-10 alone seem necessary to give a transition to chapter 28; and if all the rest were omitted we should have exactly what the narrative in Kings would lead us to expect, a coherent, natural sequence of blessings and curses, which should follow faithfulness to the covenant, or unfaithfulness. The rest of chapter 27 is not consistent either with itself or with Jos 8:30, where the accomplishment of that which is commanded here is recorded. In Deu 27:1-3 Moses and the elders command the people to set up great stones and plaster them with plaster and write upon them all the words of this law, on the day when they shall pass over Jordan, that they may go in unto the land. In Deu 27:4 it is said that these stones are to be set up in Mount Ebal, and there an altar of unhewn stones is to be built, and sacrifices offered, “and thou shalt write upon the stones very plainly.” From the position of this last clause and the mention of Mount Ebal, the course of events would be quite different from that which Deu 27:1-3 suggest. The stones were, according to Deu 27:4 ff., to be set up in Mount Ebal; out of these an altar of unhewn stones was to be built; and on them the law was to be inscribed, and this is what Joshua says was done. But if we take all the verses, Deu 27:1-8, together, we can reconcile them only by the hypothesis that the stones were set up as soon as Jordan was crossed, plastered, and inscribed with the law; that afterwards they were removed to Mount Ebal and built into an altar “of unhewn stone,” upon which sacrifices were offered. But that surely is in the highest degree improbable; and since we know that in other cases two narratives have been combined in the sacred text, that would seem the most probable solution here. Deu 27:4-8 will in that case be a later insertion, probably from J. In the same connection Deu 27:15-26 contain a list of crimes which are visited with a curse and no blessings; this cannot be the proclamation of blessing and cursing which is here required. Further, this list must be by a different author, for it affixes curses to some crimes which are not mentioned in Deuteronomy, and omits such sins as idolatry, which are continually mentioned there. This section must consequently have been inserted here by some later hand. It must probably have been later even than the time of the writer of Jos 8:33 ff., since the arrangement as reported there differs from what is prescribed here. Moreover, as there is nothing new in these sections, and all they say is repeated substantially in chapter 28, we may give our attention wholly to Deu 28:1-68, as being the original proclamation of blessing and curse.<\/p>\n

But other entanglements follow. Chapters 29 and 30 manifestly contained an adieu on the part of Moses, who turns finally to the people with an affecting and solemn speech of farewell. That appears m chapters 29 and 30. But for many reasons it is impossible to believe that these chapters as they stand are the original speech of Deuteronomy. The language is in large part different, and there are references to the Book of the Law as being already written out. {Deu 29:19 f. 26, and Deu 30:10} It is probably therefore an editors rewriting of the original speech, and from the fact that “it contains many points of contact with Jeremiah in thoughts and words,” it is probably to be dated in the Exile. But there is another noticeable thing in connection with it. It has a remarkable resemblance in these and other respects to Deu 4:1-40. That passage can hardly have originally followed chapters 1-3, if as is most probable these were at first a historic introduction to Deuteronomy. The hortative character of Deu 4:1-40 shows that it must have been placed where it is by a reviser. But the language, though not altogether that of Deuteronomy, is like it, and the thought is also Deuteronomic. Probably the passage must have been transferred from some other part of Deuteronomy and adapted by the editor. A clue to its true place may perhaps be found in Deu 4:8, where “all this law” is spoken of as if it were already given, and in Deu 4:5, where we read, “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments.” These passages imply that the law of Deuteronomy had been given, and in that case chapter 4 must belong to a closing speech. We probably shall not be in error, therefore, in thinking Deu 4:1-40 ; Deu 29:29 are all founded on an original farewell speech which stood in Deuteronomy after the blessing and the curse.<\/p>\n

But it may be asked, if that be so, why did an editor make these changes? The answer is to be found in two passages in chapters 31 and 32 which cannot be harmonized as they stand. In Deu 31:19 we are told that Yahweh commanded Moses to write “this song” and teach it to the children of Israel, “that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel,” and Deu 31:22, “So Moses wrote this song.” But in Deu 31:28 f. we read that “Moses said, Assemble unto me all the elders of the tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them.” Obviously “these words” are different from “this song,” and are meant for a different purpose. The same ambiguity occurs at the end of the song in Deu 32:44 ff., where we first read of Moses ending “this song,” and in the next verse we read, “And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel.” Now what has become of “these words”? In all probability they were the substance of chapters 4 and 29 and 30, and were separated and amplified, because the editor who fitted Deuteronomy into the Pentateuch took over the song in chapter 32, as well as those passages of 31 and 32, that speak of this song, from JE. He accepted them as a fitting conclusion for the career of Moses, and transferred the original speech, which we suppose to have been the last great utterance of the original Deuteronomy, putting the main part of it immediately before the song, but taking parts out of it to form a hortatory ending (such as the other Moses speeches have) to that first one which he had formed out of the historic introduction. This may seem a very complicated process and an unlikely one; but after the foundation had been built by Dillmann, Westphal has elaborated the whole matter with such luminous force that it seems hardly possible to doubt that the facts can be accounted for only in this way. By piecing together 4, 30, and 31 he produces a speech so thoroughly coherent and consistent that the mere reading of it becomes the most cogent proof of the substantial truth of his argument.<\/p>\n

An analysis of it will show this.<\/p>\n

(1) There is the introduction; up till now the people have understood neither the commands nor the love of Yahweh. {Deu 29:1-9}<\/p>\n

(2) There is the explanation of the Covenant; {Deu 29:10-15}<\/p>\n

(3) A command to observe the Covenant; {Deu 4:1-2}<\/p>\n

(4) Warning against individual transgression, which will be punished by the destruction of the rebel; {Deu 29:16-21; Deu 4:3-4}<\/p>\n

(5) Warning against collective transgression, which will be punished by the ruin of the people. {Deu 4:5-26} The author, from this point regarding the transgression as an accomplished fact, announces:<\/p>\n

(6) The dispersion and exile of the people; {Deu 4:27-28}<\/p>\n

(7) The impression produced on future generations by the horror of this dispersion Deuteronomy (Deu 29:22-28);<\/p>\n

(8) The conversion of the exiles to God; {Deu 4:30-31}<\/p>\n

(9) Their return to the land of their fathers. {Deu 30:1-10}<\/p>\n

(10) In conclusion, it is stated that the power of Yahweh to sustain the faith of His people and to save them is guaranteed by the past; {Deu 4:32-40} and there is no reason therefore that the people should shrink from obeying the commandment prescribed.to them. It is a matter of will. Life and death are before them; let them choose. {Deu 30:11-20}<\/p>\n

The analysis of the remaining chapters is not difficult. Deu 31:14-23; Deu 31:30, form the introduction to the song, Deu 32:1-43, just as Deu 32:44 is the conclusion of it. Both introduction and song are extracted probably from J and E. Deu 32:48-52 are after P. Then follows the blessing of Moses, chapter 33. Finally, chapter 34 contains an account of Moses death and a final eulogy of him, in which all the sources JE, P, and D have been called into requisition. The threefold cord which runs through the other books of the Pentateuch was untwisted to receive Deuteronomy, and has been re-twisted so as to bind the Pentateuch into one coherent whole. That is the result of the microscopic examination which the text as it stands has undergone, and we may pretty certainly accept it as correct. But we should not lose sight of the fact that, as the book is now arranged, it has a notable coherence of its own, and the impression of unity which it conveys is in itself a result of great literary skill. Not only has the editor combined Deuteronomy into the other narratives most successfully, but he has done so not only without falsifying, but so as to confirm and enhance the impression which the original book was meant to convey.<\/p>\n

We turn now to the substance of the two speeches-the proclamation of the blessing and the curse, and the great farewell address. As we have seen, the first is contained in chapter 28. If any evidence were now needed that this chapter was written later than the Mosaic time, it might be found in the space given to the curses, and the much heavier emphasis laid upon them than upon the blessings. Not that Moses might not have prophetically foretold Israels disregard of warnings. But if the heights to which Israel was actually to rise had been before the authors mind as still future, instead of being wrapped in the mists of the past, he could not but have dwelt more equally upon both sides of the picture. Whatever supernatural gifts a prophet might have, he was still and in all things a man. He was subject to moods like others, and the determination of these depended upon his surroundings. He was not kept by the power of God beyond the shadows which the clouds in his sky might cast; and we may safely say that if the curses which are to follow disobedience are elaborated and dwelt upon much more than the blessings which are to reward obedience, it is because the author lived at a time of unfaithfulness and revolt. Obviously his contemporaries were going far in the evil way, and he warns them with intense and eager earnestness against the dangers they are so recklessly incurring.<\/p>\n

But after all we have seen of the spirituality of the Deuteronomic teaching, and its insistence upon love as the true bond between men and God and the true motive to all right action, it is perhaps disappointing to some to find how entirely these promises and threats have their center in the material world. Probably nowhere else will the truth of Bacons famous saying that “Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament” be more conspicuously seen than here. If Israel be faithful she is promised productivity, riches, success in war. Even when it is promised that she shall be established by Yahweh as a holy people unto Himself, the meaning seems to be that the people shall be separated from others by these earthly favors, rather than that they shall have the moral and spiritual qualities which the word “holy” now connotes. Other nations shall fear Israel because of the Divine favor. Israel shall be raised above them all. If it become unfaithful, on the other hand, it is to be visited with pestilence, consumption, fever, inflammation, sword, blasting, mildew. The earth is to be iron beneath them, and the heaven above them brass. Instead of rain they are to have dust; they are to be visited with more than Egyptian plagues. Their minds are to refuse to serve them; they are to be defeated in war; their country is to be overrun by marauders; their wives and children, their cattle and their crops, are to fall into the enemys hands. Locusts and all known pests are to fall upon their fields; and they themselves are to be carried away captive, after having endured the worst horrors of siege, and been compelled by hunger to devour their own children. And in exile they shall be an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word, and shall be ruled by oppressive aliens. Worst of all, they shall there lose hope in God and “shall serve other gods, even wood and stone.” Their lives shall hang in doubt before them. In the morning they shall say, “Would God it were evening,” and at even they shall say, “Would God it were morning.” All the deliverance Yahweh had wrought for them by bringing them out of Egypt would be undone, and once more they should go back into Egyptian bondage.<\/p>\n

All that is materialistic enough; but there is no need to make apology for Deuteronomy, nevertheless. The prophet has taught the higher law; he has rooted all human duty, both to God and man, in love to God, and now he tries to enlist mans natural fear and hope as allies of his highest principle. How justifiable that is we have already seen in chapter 12.<\/p>\n

But a more serious question is raised when it is asked, does Nature, in definite sober truth, lend itself, in the manner implied throughout this chapter, to the support of religious and moral fidelity? At a time when imaginative literature is largely devoting itself to an angry or querulous denial Of any righteous force working for the unfortunate and the faithful, there can be no question what the popular answer to such a question would be. But from the ranks of literature itself we may summon testimony on the other side. Mr. Hall Caine, in his address at the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution, maintains in a wider and more general way the essence of the Deuteronomic thesis when he says, “I count him the greatest genius who touches the magnetic and Divine chord in humanity which is always waiting to vibrate to the sublime hope of recompense; I count him the greatest man who teaches men that the world is ruled in righteousness.” And his justification of that position is too admirable not to be quoted: “Life is made up of a multitude of fragments, a sea of many currents, often coming into collision and throwing up breakers: We look around and see wrong-doing victorious, and right-doing in the dust; the evil man growing rich and dying in his bed, the good man becoming poor and dying in the street; and our hearts sink and we say, What is God doing after all in this world of His children? But our days are few, our view is limited, we cannot watch the event long enough to see the end which Providence sees.” “It is the very province of imaginative genius,” he goes on to say, “to see that which the common mind cannot see, to offer to it at least suggestions of how these triumphs of unrighteousness may be accounted for in accordance with the law that righteousness rules in the world.” We would go further. It is one of the main purposes of inspiration to go beyond even imaginative genius, to point out in history not only how right may perhaps ultimately triumph, but how it has been in reality and must be victorious. For it will not do to shut off the world of material things from the working of this great and universal law. Owing to the narrow fanaticism of science, modern men have become skeptical, not only of miracle, but even of the fundamental truth that righteousness is profitable for the life that now is, that in following righteousness men are co-operating with the deepest law of the universe. But it remains a truth for all that. It is written deep in the heart of man; and in more wavering lines perhaps, but still most legibly, it is written on the face of things. With the limitations of his time and place, this is what the Deuteronomist preaches. Doubtless he has not faced, as Job does, the whole of the problem; still less has he attained to the final insight exhibited in the New Testament, that temporal gifts may be curses in disguise, that the highest region of recompense Is in the eternal life, in the domain of things which are invisible but eternal. He does not yet know, though he has perhaps a presentiment of it, that being completely stripped of all earthly good may be the path to the highest victory-the victory which makes men more than conquerors through Christ. Nevertheless he is, making these allowances, right, and the moderns are wrong. In many ways obedience to spiritual inspirations does bring worldly prosperity. The absence of moral and spiritual faithfulness does affect even the fruitfulness of the soil, the fecundity of animals, the prevalence of disease, the stability of ordered life, and success in war. This was visible to the ancient world generally in a dim way; but by the inspired men of the Old Covenant it was clearly seen, for they were enlightened for the very purpose of seeing the hand of God where others saw it not. But they never thought of tracing out the chain of intermediate causes by which such results were connected with mens spiritual state. They saw the facts, they recognized the truth, and they threw themselves back at once upon the will of God as the sufficient explanation.<\/p>\n

We, on the other hand, have been so diligent in tracing out the immediately preceding links of natural causation that, for the most part, we have been fatigued before we reached God. We consequently have lost view of Him; and it is wholesome for us to be brought sharply into contact with the ancient Oriental mind as we are here, in order that we may be forced to go the whole way back to Him. For the fact is that much of that very process of decay and destruction from moral causes is going on before us in countries like Turkey and Morocco, where social righteousness is all but unknown, and private morality is low. A truly modern mind scorns the idea that the fertility of the soil can be affected by immorality. Yet there is the whole of Mesopotamia to show that misgovernment can make a garden into a desert. Where teeming populations once covered the country with fruitful gardens and luxurious cities, there are now in the lands of the Tigris and Euphrates a few handfuls of people, and all the fertility of the country has disappeared. Irrigation channels which made all things live have been choked up and have been gradually filled with drifting sand, and one of the most populous and fertile countries of the world has become a desert. In Palestine the same thing may be seen. Under Turkish domination the character of the soil has been entirely changed. In many places where in ancient days the hills were terraced to the top the sweeping rains have had their way, and the very soil has been carried off, leaving only rocks to blister in the pitiless sun. Even in the less likely sphere of animal fecundity modern science shows that peace and good government and righteous order are causes of extraordinary power. And the movements which are going on around us at this day in the elevation and depression of nations and races have a visible connection with fidelity or lack of fidelity to known principles of order and justice. This can be said without concealing how scanty and partial in most cases such attainments are. Prevailing principles can be discerned in the providence which rules the world. And these are of such a kind that the connection which obedience to the highest known rules of life has with fertility, success, and prosperity, is constant and intimate. It is, too, far wider reaching than at first sight would seem possible. To this extent, even modern knowledge justifies these blessings and curses of Deuteronomy.<\/p>\n

But it may be asked, is this all the Old Testament means by such threats and promises? Does it recognize any even self-imposed limitations to the direct action of Divine power? Most probably it does not. Though always keeping clear of Pantheism, the Old Testament is so filled and possessed by the Divine Presence that all second causes are ignored, and the action of God upon nature was conceived, as it could not fail to be, on the analogy of a workman using tools. Now that the methods of Divine action in nature have been studied in the light of science, they have been found to be more fixed and regular than was supposed. The extent of their operation, too, has been found to be immeasurably wider, and the purposes which have to be cared for at every moment are now seen to be infinitely various. As a result, human thought has fallen back discouraged, and takes refuge more and more in a conception of nature which practically deifies it, or at least entirely separates it from any intimate relation to the will of God. It is even denied that there is any purpose in the world at all, or any goal, and to chance or fate all the vicissitudes of life and the mechanical changes of nature are attributed. But though we must recognize, as the Old Testament does not, that ordinary Divine action flows out in perfectly well-defined channels, and is so stable in its movement that results in the sphere of physical nature may be predicted with certainty; and though we see, as was not seen in ancient days, that even God does not always approach His ends by direct and short-cut paths, -these considerations only make the Old Testament view more inspiring and more healthful for us. We may gather from it the inference that if the fertility of a land, the frequency of disease, and success in war are so powerfully affected by the moral and spiritual quality of a people, it is very likely that in subtler and less palpable ways the same influences produce similar effects, even in regions where they cannot be traced. If so, whatever allowance may be required for the inevitable simplicity of Old Testament conceptions on this subject, however much we miss the limitations we have learned to regard as necessary, the Deuteronomic view as to the effects of moral and spiritual declension upon the material fortunes of a people is much nearer the truth than our timorous and hesitating half-belief. To find these effects emphasized and affirmed as they are here, therefore, acts as a much needed tonic in our spiritual life. Coming too from a man who possessed, if ever man did, Divinely inspired insight into the process of the world and the ideal of human life, these promises and warnings bring God near. They dissipate the mists which obscure the workings of Gods Providence, and keep before us aspects of truth which it is the present tendency of thought to ignore too much. They declare in accents which carry conviction that, even in material things, the Lord reigneth; and for that the world has reason to be supremely glad.<\/p>\n

Certainly Christians now know that prosperity in material things is by no means Gods best gift. That great principle must be held to firmly, as well as the legitimacy of the vivid hopes and fears of Old Testament times regarding the material rewards of right-doing. In many ways the new principle must overrule and modify for us those hopes and fears. But with this limitation we are justified in occupying the Deuteronomic standpoint and in repeating the Deuteronomic warnings. For to its very core the world is Gods; and those who find His working everywhere are those whose eyes have been opened to the inmost truth of things.<\/p>\n

With regard to the farewell speech contained in chapters 29 and 30 and the related parts of chapter 4 and chapter 31 there is not much to be said. Taken as a whole, it develops the promises and threats of the previous chapters, and repeats again with affectionate hortatory purpose much of the history. But there is not a great deal that is new; most of the underlying principles of the address have been already dealt with. Taken according to the reconstruction of the speech and its reinsertion in its original framework, the course of things would seem to have been this. After the threats and promises had been concluded, Moses, carrying on the injunction of Deu 3:28, addressed {Deu 32:8} all the people and appointed Joshua to be his successor; then he wrote out “this law,” and produced it before the priests and elders of the people, with the instruction that at the end of every seven years, at the feast of release, in the feast of tabernacles, it should be read before all Israel, men, women, and children. {Deu 31:9-13} Then he gave the book to the Levites, that they might “lay it up” by the side of the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh their God, that it might be there for a witness against them when they became unfaithful, as he foresaw they would. He next summons all Israel to him, and delivers the farewell address contained in chapters 4, 29, and 30, an outline of which has already been given, according to Westphals recombination. This would seem to indicate that Moses himself inaugurated the custom of reading the law and giving instruction to all the people, which he prescribed for the feast of tabernacles in the year of release. After the law had been given he addressed the whole people in this farewell speech.<\/p>\n

But though on the whole there is no need for detailed exposition here, there are one or two things which ought to be noticed, things which express the spirit of Deuteronomy so directly and so sincerely that they can be identified as forming part of the original Deuteronomic speech. One of these is unquestionably Deu 30:11-20. At the end of the farewell address a return is made to the core of the whole Deuteronomic teaching: “Thou shalt love Yahweh thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” This was announced with unique emphasis at the beginning; it has lain behind all the special commands which have been insisted upon since; and now it emerges again into view as the conclusion of the whole matter. For beyond doubt this, and not the whole series of legal precepts, is what is meant by “this commandment” in Deu 30:2. Both before it, in the sixth and tenth verses {Deu 30:6, Deu 30:10}, and after it, in the sixteenth and twentieth verses {Deu 30:16, Deu 30:20}, this precept is repeated and insisted on as the Divine command. Had the individual commands or the whole mass of them together been meant, the phrase used would have been different. It would have been that in Deu 30:10, where they are called “His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law,” or something analogous. No, it is the central command of love to God, without which all external obedience is vain, which is the theme of this last great paragraph; and a clear perception of this will carry us through both the obscurities of it, and the difficulties of St. Pauls application of it in the Romans.<\/p>\n

Of this then the author of Deuteronomy says: “It is not too hard for thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” That is to say, there is no mystery or difficulty about this commandment of love. Neither have you to go to the uttermost parts of the sea to hear it, nor need you search into the mysteries of heaven. It has been brought near to you by all the mercy and forgiveness and kindness of Yahweh; it has been made known to you now by my mouth, even in its pettiest applications. But that is not all; it is graven on your own heart, which leaps up in glad response to this demand, and in answer to the manifestation of Gods love for you. It is really the fundamental principle of your own nature that is appealed to. You should clearly feel that life in the love of God and man is the only fit life for you who are made in the image of God. If you do, then the fulfillment of all the Divine precepts will be easy, and your lives will lighten more and more unto the perfect day.<\/p>\n

Now, for an Oriental of the pre-Christian era such teaching is most marvelous. How marvelous it is Christians perhaps find it difficult to see. In point of fact, many have denied that Old Testament teaching ever had this character. Misled by the doctrines of Islam, the great Semitic religion of today, many assert that the religion of ancient Israel called upon men to submit to mere power in submitting to God. But the appeal of our text to the heart of man shows that this is an error. No such appeal has ever been made to Mohammedans. Their state of mind in regard to God is represented by the remark of a recent traveler in Persia. Speaking of the Persian Babis, who may be described roughly as a heretical sect whose minds have been formed by Mohammedanism, he says: “They seemed to have no conception of absolute good, or absolute truth; to them good was merely what God chose to ordain, and truth what He chose to reveal, so that they could not understand how any one could attempt to test the truth of a religion by an ethical and moral standard.” Now that is precisely the opposite of the Deuteronomic attitude. Israel is encouraged and incited to right action by having it pointed out that not only experience, not only Divinely given statutes and judgments, but the very nature of man itself guarantees the truth of this supreme law of love. The law laid upon men is nothing strange to, or incongruous with, their own better selves. It is the very thing which their hearts have cried out for; when it is proclaimed the higher nature in man recognizes it and bows before it. It is not received because of fear, nor is it bowed before because it is backed by power which can smite men to the dust. No; even in its ruins human nature is nobler than that; and Deuteronomy everywhere teaches with burning conviction that God is too ethical and spiritual in nature to accept the submission of a slave.<\/p>\n

This reading of our passage is plainly that which St. Paul takes in Rom 10:5-6. He perceives, what so many fail to do, that the spirit and scope of the Deuteronomic teaching are different from that of the purely legal sections of the Pentateuch. Paul therefore quotes the Pentateuch as having already made the distinction between works and faith which he wishes to emphasize, and as having distinctly given preference to the latter. Leviticus keeps men at the level of the worker for wages, while Deuteronomy in this passage, by making love to God the essence of all true observance of the law, raises them almost to the level of sons. And just as in those ancient days the highest manifestations of God had not to be labored for and sought by impotent strivings, but had plainly been made known to them and had found an echo in their hearts, so now the highest revelation had been brought near to men in Christ, and had found a similar response. They did not need to seek it in heaven, for it had been brought to earth in the Incarnation. They did not need to descend into the abyss, for all that was needed had been brought thence by Christ at His resurrection. And in the New Testament as in the Old, the simplicity of the entrance into true relations with God is emphasized. Love and faith are the fundamental conditions. From them obedience will naturally issue, since “to faith all things are possible, and to love all things are easy.”<\/p>\n

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe [and] to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 1. For the connection see on … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 28:1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5621\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}