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Deuteronomy 26-29
Blessed or Cursed,
Which Will You Choose To Be?
Psalm 31:1-14 Trusting When You've Caused Your Trouble
1.“In you, Yahweh, I take refuge. Let me never be disappointed. Deliver me in Your righteousness.2.Bow down your ear to me. Deliver me speedily. Be to me a strong rock, a house of defense to save me.3.For you are my rock and my fortress, therefore for your name's sake lead me and guide me.4.Pluck me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me, for you are my stronghold.5.Into your hand I commend my spirit. You redeem me, Yahweh, God of truth.6.I hate those who regard lying vanities, but I trust in Yahweh.7.I will be glad and rejoice in your hesed/loyal love, for you have seen my affliction. You have known my soul in adversities.8.You have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a large place.9.Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am in distress. My eye, my soul, and my body waste away with grief.10.For my life is spent with sorrow, my years with sighing. My strength fails because of my iniquity.13.For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side, while they conspire together against me, they plot to take away my life.14.But I trust in you, Yahweh. I said, "You are my God."Observation
31:1-14.In other Psalms, David appeals to God for deliverance from his enemies on the basis of his own integrity and righteousness. Unfortunately this time, he is in trouble because of his own iniquity (10:13). So his appeal for help and healing is based upon God's character (Your righteousness and mercy) and reputation (Your name's sake), and hesed/loyal covenantal love.
Application
There is always grounds for calling out to God and trusting in Him.
Prayer
My mighty Fortress and God, my times and future are in Your hands; have mercy and deliver me, for Your name's sake. Amen.
Proverbs 8:17-19 An Offer You Can't Refuse
17.“I love those who love me. Those who seek me diligently/early will find me.18.With me are riches, honor, enduring wealth, and prosperity.19.My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold; my yield than choice silver.“Observation
8:17-19.If I told you there was a surefire way to get riches, honor, and prosperity, and not lose them, would you be interested? Probably not, because you have a dozen such offers in your spam box. However, this offer contains the promise of enduring benefit, and the yield is better than (there's another one) gold, even fine gold. It also has been tried and found true over thousands of years, by countless thousands of people, from every culture and walk of life. What does it cost? Just your life, which you're going to waste anyway, if you don't take wisdom up on her offer. It only takes a few hours a week to start, and you can work from home, or while commuting, riding elevators, stuck in traffic, or waiting on line. Once you start reaping the benefits, you'll carve out (as in cut away with a knife) time from other less profitable pursuits to seek wisdom. You'll fall in love, and no sacrifice will be too great to enjoy the bliss of the relationship. Simple formula:
- Fear God (Proverbs 1:7);
- Find out what He wants You to do (Proverbs 2:4-7);
- Follow through: Do it in faith, right away, all the way (Proverbs 3:5-13).
Application
Seek wisdom until you find her, then don't let her go.
Prayer
Lord, I will seek You, Your wisdom and will, early and continually, Amen.
Deuteronomy 26-29 Blessed or Cursed, Which Will You Choose To Be?
The Palestinian Covenant (how to get blessed in the Promised Land) gets ratified (accepted by the people). The sanctions of blessing or cursing are presented. If you are short on time, make time to steep your soul in Chapter 28. Don't skimp on having every word soak into your value system. God's sovereignty gives the choice of experiencing good or evil depending on our response to Him. The consequences are sovereignly decreed. Which set of consequences we experience is totally up to us (see observations on Chapter 29 below).
Deuteronomy 26 First-fruits and First Position
1.when you have come in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, and possess it, and dwell in it,2.you shall take the first of all the fruit of the ground...5.You shall say before Yahweh your God, "A Syrian/Aramean ready to perish was my father; and he went down into Egypt, and lived there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.6.The Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us, and laid on us hard bondage:7.and we cried to Yahweh, the God of our fathers, and Yahweh heard our voice...8.and brought us out of Egypt with...signs, and with wonders9....and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.10.I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, Yahweh, have given me." You shall set it down before Yahweh your God, and worship before Yahweh your God.11.You shall rejoice in all the good which Yahweh your God has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the foreigner who is in the midst of you.14....I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God; I have done according to all that you have commanded me.15.Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the ground which you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey."
16.This day Yahweh your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances: you shall therefore keep and do them with all your heart, and with all your soul.17.You have declared Yahweh this day to be your God, and that you would walk in his ways, and keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and listen to his voice:18.and Yahweh has declared you this day to be a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all his commandments;19.and to make you high above all nations that he has made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that you may be a holy people to Yahweh your God, as he has spoken.
Observations
26:1-15.Giving God the first portion was an acknowledgment that all was His, including themselves (26:16). If God had not acted on their behalf, they would still be slaving in Egypt.
26:16-19.
List what God expects of His people, and what can they expect of Him.
Question
Who's your God, and where would you be without Him?
Application
Note the responsibilities and results of 26:16-19. Are you lacking any of them?
Prayer
God, You are my God. You own me; I am Yours. I will keep Your desires, with all my heart and all my soul, without compromise. Amen.
Deuteronomy 27 “Curse Me if I Disobey”
1.Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, "Keep all the commandment which I command you this day.2.It shall be on the day when you shall pass over the Jordan to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, that you shall set up great stones:3.and you shall write on them all the words of this law; that you may go in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you.6.You shall build the altar of Yahweh your God of uncut stones; and you shall offer burnt offerings thereon to Yahweh your God:7.and you shall sacrifice peace offerings, and shall eat there; and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God.8.You shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly."
9.Moses and the priests the Levites spoke to all Israel, saying, "Keep silence, and listen, Israel: this day you have become the people of Yahweh your God.10.You shall therefore obey the voice of Yahweh your God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command you this day."11.Moses commanded the people the same day, saying,12."These shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have passed over the Jordan: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin.13.These shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
14.The Levites shall answer, and tell all the men of Israel with a loud voice,15.‘Cursed is the man who makes an engraved or molten image, an abomination to Yahweh, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ All the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’16.Cursed is he who dishonors his father or his mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’17.‘Cursed is he who removes his neighbor’s landmark.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’18.‘Cursed is he who makes the blind to wander out of the way.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’19.‘Cursed is he who deprives the foreigner, fatherless, and widow of justice.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’20.‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s skirt.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’21.‘Cursed is he who lies with any kind of animal.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’22.Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’23.‘Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’24.‘Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’25.Cursed is he who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’26.Cursed is he who doesn’t uphold the words of this law by carrying them out (NIV).’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’"
Observations
27:1-8.God mandated that they set up memorial stones on which were written the law so they would keep it, since that was the basis of blessing in the promised land, which God was graciously giving them.
27:9-26.
The people verbally accepted the responsibility to keep the commands, and accepted the terms of being cursed if they disobeyed. Most of the Ten Commandments are reflected except for the Sabbath.
27:26.
The last curse equates disobedience with denying the validity of the law (failing to uphold it as the standard of conduct).
Application
What steps do you take to ensure that you are doing what God wants you to do? (Hint: Memorizing and meditating on Scripture couldn't hurt.)
Prayer
God who blesses and curses, help me always be behaving so You can bless me. Amen.
Deuteronomy 28 Blessed or Cursed, Which Will You Choose?
1.It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that Yahweh your God will set you on high above all the nations of the earth:2.and all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.3.You shall be blessed in the city, and you shall be blessed in the field.4.You shall be blessed in the fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the fruit of your animals, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock.5.Your basket and your kneading trough shall be blessed.6.You shall be blessed when you come in, and you shall be blessed when you go out.7.Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck before you. They will come out against you one way, and will flee before you seven ways.8.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.9.Yahweh will establish you for a holy people to himself, as he has sworn to you; if you shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and walk in his ways.10.All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of Yahweh; and they shall be afraid of you.11.Yahweh will make you plenteous for good, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give you.12.Yahweh will open to you his good treasure in the sky, 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, and you shall not borrow.13.Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if you shall listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do,14.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.15.But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, that all these curses shall come on you, and overtake you.16.You shall be cursed in the city, and you shall be cursed in the field.17.Your basket and your kneading trough shall be cursed.18.The fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock shall be cursed.19.You shall be cursed when you come in, and you shall be cursed when you go out.20.Yahweh will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke, in all that you put your hand to do, until you are destroyed, and until you perish quickly; because of the evil of your doings, by which you have forsaken me.21.Yahweh will make the pestilence cling to you, until he has consumed you from off the land, where you go in to possess it.22.Yahweh will strike you with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with the sword, and with blight, and with mildew; and they shall pursue you until you perish.23.Your sky that is over your head shall be brass, and the earth that is under you shall be iron.24.Yahweh will make the rain of your land powder and dust: from the sky shall it come down on you, until you are destroyed.25.Yahweh will cause you to be struck before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them, and shall flee seven ways before them: and you shall be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth.26.Your dead body shall be food to all birds of the sky, and to the animals of the earth; and there shall be none to frighten them away.27.Yahweh will strike you with the boil of Egypt, and with the tumours, and with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed.28.Yahweh will strike you with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart;29.and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways: and you shall be only oppressed and robbed always, and there shall be none to save you.30.You shall betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: you shall build a house, and you shall not dwell therein: you shall plant a vineyard, and shall not use its fruit.31.Your ox shall be slain before your eyes, and you shall not eat of it: your donkey shall be violently taken away from before your face, and shall not be restored to you: your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have none to save you.32.Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people; and your eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day: and there shall be nothing in the power of your hand.33.The fruit of your ground, and all your labors, shall a nation which you don’t know eat up; and you shall be only oppressed and crushed always;34.so that you shall be mad for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.35.Yahweh will strike you in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore boil, of which you can not be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.36.Yahweh will bring you, and your king whom you shall set over you, to a nation that you have not known, you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone.37.You shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples where Yahweh shall lead you away.38.You shall carry much seed out into the field, and shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it.39.You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine, nor harvest; for the worm shall eat them.40.You shall have olive trees throughout all your borders, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off.41.You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity.42.All your trees and the fruit of your ground shall the locust possess.43.The foreigner who is in the midst of you shall mount up above you higher and higher; and you shall come down lower and lower.44.He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him: he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.45.All these curses shall come on you, and shall pursue you, and overtake you, until you are destroyed; because you didn’t listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you:46.and they shall be on you for a sign and for a wonder, and on your seed forever.47.Because you didn’t serve Yahweh your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things;48.therefore you shall serve your enemies whom Yahweh shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron on your neck, until he has destroyed you.49.Yahweh will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies; a nation whose language you shall not understand;50.a nation of fierce facial expressions, that shall not respect the person of the old, nor show favour to the young,51.and shall eat the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; that also shall not leave you grain, new wine, or oil, the increase of your livestock, or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.52.They shall besiege you in all your gates, until your high and fortified walls come down, in which you trusted, throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land, which Yahweh your God has given you.53.You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, whom Yahweh your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you.54.The man who is 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 whom he has remaining;55.so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat, because he has nothing left him, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your gates.56.The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,57.and toward her young one who comes out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your gates.58.If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, YAHWEH YOUR GOD;59.then Yahweh will make your plagues wonderful, and the plagues of your seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and severe sicknesses, and of long continuance.60.He will bring on you again all the diseases of Egypt, which you were afraid of; and they shall cling to you.61.Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, Yahweh will bring them on you, until you are destroyed.62.You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of the sky for multitude; because you didn’t listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.63.It shall happen that as Yahweh rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so Yahweh will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and you shall be plucked from off the land where you go in to possess it.64.Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone.65.Among these nations you shall find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of your foot: but Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul;66.and your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you shall fear night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life.67.in the morning you shall say, "I wish it were evening!" and at evening you shall say, "I wish it were morning!" for the fear of your heart which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.68.Yahweh will bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I said to you, you shall see it no more again: and there you shall sell yourselves to your enemies for bondservants and for bondmaids, and no man shall buy you.
Observation
28:1-68.I included the entire text because it is very beneficial. Don't skim. Read it slowly. God promises a boatload of blessings if His people loyally obey (28:13-14), and He promises a double boatload of curses if His people don't listen and obey. (Most are more motivated by fear than desire.)
If His people don't serve Him, so He can rejoice to bless them, He will rejoice to punish them, having them sorrowfully serve those who afflict them.
Question
Do people have a choice in whether or not they obey, and the degree to which they obey?
Application
Either way we will not be our own masters, so it makes sense to serve God in the midst of delight and blessings, rather than evil masters in deprivation and cursings. Your choice. Chose wisely.
Prayer
God who rejoices to bless, keep this chapter firmly in my thinking, so You don't have to rejoice over cursing me. Amen.
Deuteronomy 29 Who Controls Your Eyes and Heart?
1.These are the words of the covenant which Yahweh commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.2.Moses called to all Israel, and said to them, you have seen all that Yahweh did before your eyes in the land of Egypt..4.but Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day.5.I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes have not grown old on you, and your shoes have not grown old on your feet.6.You have not eaten bread, neither have you drunk wine or strong drink; that you may know that I am Yahweh your God.7.Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us to battle, and we struck them:8.and we took their land9.Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.10.You stand this day all of you before Yahweh your God...12.that you may enter into the covenant of Yahweh your God, and into his oath, which Yahweh your God makes with you this day;13.that he may establish you this day to himself for a people, and that he may be to you a God, as he spoke to you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
18.lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turns away this day from Yahweh our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be among you a root that bears gall and wormwood;19.when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, "I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, to destroy the moist with the dry."20.Yahweh will not pardon him, but then the anger of Yahweh and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book shall lie on him, and Yahweh will blot out his name from under the sky.21.Yahweh will set him apart to evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that is written in this book of the law.24.even all the nations shall say, "Why has Yahweh done thus to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?"25.Then men shall say, "Because they forsook the covenant of Yahweh,27.therefore the anger of Yahweh was kindled against this land, to bring on it all the curse that is written in this book;28.and Yahweh rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as at this day."29.The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Observations
29:4. God did not give (perfect tense) the ears, nor eyes nor heart, because He has just spent dozens of chapters in these five books stressing their responsibility to hear, observe, and do with all their heart. They have the responsibility to seek and understand. He's given them all the evidence they need, but requires them to focus or fail. It's not that He sets up all the promises to bless and curse and then only gives a few or none the ability to see and get the blessing, and then punishes the ones to whom He didn't give the ability to hear and do. He clearly wants all the nation to “get it”, both cognitively and materially, for that is how He glorifies Himself. He gives them evidence in 29:2-3 and 5-8 so they can see/perceive and “get it.”Preview Dt 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore CHOOSE life, that you may live, you and your seed; 20 to love Yahweh your God, to obey his voice, and to cleave to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days; that you may dwell in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
29:18-22.
The fact that some “hearts” will turn away indicates to everyone but the most blind and stubborn that God doesn't control individual hearts (cf Solomon 1Kg 10). Most did hear, see and perceive, both to make the covenant, and get the blessings (as noted in the Book of Joshua), but by the time of Judges, many hearts turned away from fully following God (cx Caleb). Unfortunately many NT believers have the mindset of 29:19, and will reap similar ensuing consequences.
29:24-28.
These verses sadly describe much of the history of Israel up to AD 1948.
Application
God reveals things for His people to do, in order to get blessed. Set your ears to hear and your heart to do (worship is a response to revelation).
Prayer
God of wonders, thanks for Your care, provision, and instruction; may I be wholehearted in doing what You've revealed for me to do. Amen.
Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: God graciously cares for His people in ways they're not even aware of. He also gives His people the choice of experiencing His blessing or cursing. Then He gives incentives to hear, observe and do what He wants, and disincentives to disobey. He wants us to choose to get the blessings, but doesn't force the choice. Blessing an obedient people is His means of glorifying Himself. He gets no glory from obedient rocks staying where He put them.
Us in a nutshell: We have a choice to make which has real ensuing positive or negative consequences (which implies the ability to exercise our will or volition freely in one direction or another). We need to look at what God offers and embrace the option that yields the greatest benefit to both ourselves and God. We have the capacity to be deceived, and rationalize our bad choices, stubbornly following falsehood. That path leads to guaranteed destruction.