Skip to main content

Deuteronomy 28:14

By

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.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Daily Devotion: Psalm 88:1-4

By
Psalm 88:1-4  A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. "O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:  (2)  Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;  (3)  For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.  (4)  I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength" I've said this before and I will say it again (and probably more times before we get to the end of the Psalms) - I love the Psalms because I can surely identify with them. Most Psalms start in a low place and as the writer expresses his thoughts, the Lord begins to lift him up out of that dry place.  Though this entire Psalm is a fervent cry unto the Lord, the Psalmist tells us specifically in three verses that he cried daily unto the Lord. Just a few Psalms ago, we were reminded that God always hears our prayers. ...
Read more

Daily Devotion (Video): I Will Fear No Evil - Psalm 23:4

By
Read more

Daily Devotion: Knowing God By Bearing Fruit

By
Some will notice the title is not “Bearing fruit because we know God,” so to avoid getting sidetracked with that, we can start with the fact that we won’t bear any godly fruit unless our heart has been changed and the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Also, to avoid confusion, I’ll be using the terms “bearing fruit,” “good works” and “service” interchangeably.  I took this article’s title from Part 7, of John Piper’s “Look at the Book” session on Colossians 1:9-12. I greatly encourage you to view that short video to get his excellent exposition on this subject.  When I saw the title of the video earlier this year, I got kind of excited because that’s the direction my thinking has gone in the past several years. My thinking was founded Biblically with verses on good works like Matthew 5:16 – “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven.” But I couldn’t expand it to expla...
Read more