Deuteronomy 28:14 "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, to go after other gods to serve them."
This 28th Chapter of Deuteronomy is filled with blessings and cursings. There
are Blessings in obedience and Cursings in disobedience. I wanted to
speak to the whole of the chapter in this writing. As you make a complete
reading of the chapter you will see 14 verses that speak of the blessings and
54 verses that speak of the cursings that come due to disobedience. At
first glance, you might think it should be the other way around. But as you
think upon these things you realize how dangerous it is to walk contrary to
God's Word.
Let's get the negative out of the way as we begin. Here are just a few of the
cursings that are experienced because of disobedience to God. I will condense
them to say, there will be no prosperity in the city. There will be no
prosperity in the country. The crops will not produce enough to even be able to
present the firstfruits as a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the Lord. There
won't be enough to eat in the cupboards. Your cattle, your sheep, your
crops, your children will not be increased. There will be diseases and
illnesses that follow you constantly. You will go out against your enemy one
way and run from them in seven ways.
An interesting verse is found in Deuteronomy 28:37, "And thou shalt
become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the
LORD shall lead thee." God says the nation that walks away from Him
will become a laughing stock among all the other nations. God says He
will bring a nation against the nation that walked away from Him, "And he
shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced 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." (Deuteronomy 28:52) "And among 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) And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou
shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life."
(Deuteronomy 28:65-66)
Can we get an idea of how devastating it will be for any nation to try to go against
the Word of God in their everyday dealings with one another and with nations of
the world? God takes very seriously this matter of His children obeying
Him. I mentioned only 14 verses speak to the blessings of the Lord; but,
if you see the severity of the other 54 verses then you realize those 14 verses
are much better than having to endure the wrath of God.
I want us to have the blessed assurance of how sweet and wonderful life can be
as we walk with our Heavenly Father. In Psalm110:1, "The LORD said unto my
Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
footstool." We read in Psalm 16:11, "Thou wilt shew me the
path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are
pleasures for evermore." So, we ask ourselves this morning:
Which shall it be? Blessing in obedience or cursing in
disobedience? I pray that I will be found walking in that path of life
where there is indeed fulness of joy.