Year 1, Week 23, Day 1 Bible Reading Observations

Year 1, Week 23, Day 1

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Deuteronomy 28.

Today’s reading continues the matters begun in the previous day’s reading. Deuteronomy 27-28 outline something that Israel was to do once they entered into the Promised Land. The Israelites were to assemble at Mt. Ebal and at Mt. Gerizim as a part of their renewal of the Mosaic Covenant. While half of the tribes would assemble on Mt. Ebal and half of the tribes would assemble on Mt. Gerizim, the Israelites would recite the blessings but also curses associated with the Covenant in connection to obedience and disobedience to stipulations of the Covenant. Deuteronomy 28 builds on the curses mentioned in Deuteronomy 27 by adding additional curses, but also declaring the blessings associated with obedience. 

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was the simple and clear connection between living well in the Land and being exiled from the Land: "For those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.” (Psalm 37:22). The condition of obedience would result in a long abundant stay in the Land: “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). On the other hand, the condition of disobedience would result in a difficult stay in the Land: “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you…All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things” (Deuteronomy 28:15,45-47). Continued disobedience would eventually result in removal from the Land: "And the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.” (Deuteronomy 28:64).

It cannot be said enough that this section of Deuteronomy serves as a framework for understanding the rest of the Old Testament. This section of Deuteronomy, even when not explicitly stated, provides a way to interpret all that unfolds in Israel’s life as a nation. Every subsequent battle victory or defeat is not determined by the strength and strategy of Israel’s army, but by their covenant faithfulness (or unfaithfulness). Every subsequent provision or lack is not descriptive of their agricultural skills and efforts, but by their covenant faithfulness (or unfaithfulness). Every day that Israel dwells in the Land or that they are in exile from the Land does not depend upon any factors or dynamics other than their covenant faithfulness (or unfaithfulness). While the LORD will be patient and slow to anger, we have a clear structure that indicates whether Israel is faithful or not.

The number of curses enumerated in Deuteronomy 27-28 clearly outnumber the stated blessings. What is intriguing about some of the stated curses is the connection that is made to the past in Egypt. The curses are stated in ways that are reminiscent of the plaques put upon Egypt: “The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed…And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you.” (Deuteronomy 28:27,60). The description of curses is even cast in such a way that the threat of exile from the Land is likened to a return to Egypt: "And the LORD will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.” (Deuteronomy 28:68).

With the promises of blessings and the threats of curses, what is being stressed to Israel is the need for faithful service to the LORD indicated by obedience to the stipulations of the Covenant. If Israel would simply obey the LORD, the LORD would take care of all the rest—He would dwell near to His people and bless them in every facet of their existence in the Land. But Israel would prove to be unable to uphold their end of the agreement. Israel would not deserve any of the blessings and earn all of the curses. The moral universe that the God has designed attaches blessings to obedience and curses to disobedience. There is no escaping this reality: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7). But the reality of this moral structure controlling blessings and curses is resolved, not by undoing this moral structure but by perfectly fulfilling in their the substitutionary work of Jesus. The perfect obedience of Jesus secures the blessings He has for His people: "Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:8-9). The perfect sacrifice of Jesus absorbs all the curses that His people earned on their own: “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrew 2:17).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe