Thoughts
Deuteronomy 28
The blessings and curses are conditional: obey God and receive blessing; disobey and face curses.
The Hebrew of the Blessings reads like a poem and we really miss out in the English
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה בָּעִיר, וּבָרוּךְ אַתָּה בַּשָּׂדֶה.
בָּרוּךְ פְּרִי-בִטְנְךָ, וּפְרִי אַדְמָתְךָ, וּפְרִי בְהֶמְתֶּךָ,
שְׁגַר אֲלָפֶיךָ, וְעַשְׁתְּרוֹת צֹאנֶךָ.
בָּרוּךְ טַנְאֲךָ, וּמִשְׁאַרְתֶּךָ.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה בְּבֹאֶךָ, וּבָרוּךְ אַתָּה בְּצֵאתֶךָ.
Word-by-word (ish):
- Barukh atah ba-ir – Blessed are you in the city
- u’barukh atah ba-sadeh – and blessed are you in the field
- Barukh peri-bitn’kha – Blessed is the fruit of your womb
- u’peri admatekha – and the fruit of your land
- u’peri behemt’kha – and the fruit of your livestock
- Shegar alafekha – the calves of your herds
- ve-ashtarot tzonekha – and the lambs of your flocks
- Barukh tan’akh u-mishartekha – Blessed is your basket and your kneading bowl
- Barukh atah bevo’ekha – Blessed are you when you come in
- u’barukh atah betz’etkha – and blessed are you when you go out.
| Category | Blessings for Obedience | Curses for Disobedience |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Blessed wherever you live, city or countryside. | Cursed wherever you live, city or countryside. |
| Family & Provision | Children, crops, herds, and food will flourish. | Children, crops, herds, and food will fail. |
| Work & Prosperity | Work prospers; you lend, not borrow; head, not tail. | Work fails; foreigners consume your harvest; you borrow; tail, not head. |
| Health & Safety | Health, peace, and victory over enemies. | Disease, fear, and defeat by enemies. |
| Justice & Worship | Known as God’s people, living in righteousness. | Idolatry, injustice, and oppression bring shame and scattering. |
| Siege & Desperation | Peace and security in the land. | Siege, famine, desperation, and cruelty. |
| Final Outcome | Exalted as God’s treasured nation, secure among the nations. | Exile, scattering, slavery, and humiliation, even back to Egypt. |
Deuteronomy 29
About 40 years has passed since the original covenant with God, but many people died in the wilderness since then.
Moses reminds Israel all God has done for them and to fully obey His covenant
All of Israel stand present to be established as God’s people and carry it for generations to come.
Moses warns against anyone who turns away to idols or thinks they can “get away with it.”
Vs 20b “and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven”
If they do not keep the covenant, the curses will come upon them and future generations and foreigners will see the devastation of the land and ask why.
vs 29. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”
Deuteronomy 30
After experiencing the blessings and curses, if Israel returns to God with all their heart, He will have compassion and restore them.
He will “circumcise their hearts” so they can love Him fully and live.
Obedience is possible and expected. It is not too hard or too far off.
God presents a clear choice: life and good or death and evil.
- Loving and obeying God leads to life, blessing, and long days in the land.
- Choosing rebellion leads to death and destruction.
- Moses urges them: “Choose life!”
Moses called upon creation, earth and heaven as witnesses.
Questions
Why are the curses in Deuteronomy 28 so much more descriptive than the blessings?
How do we know when something is a curse for disobedience vs sin nature taking over?
What does ‘blot out’ mean in Deuteronomy 29:20?
30:3 “then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.” Is this Modern Israel?
Application
Continuing the theme of obedience, we also see the them of restoration. God wants us to obey and gives us all the tools to do so. He also sees our heart as we are called to ‘circumcise our hearts’ in order to have a desire to obey. Who are we truly living for, God or ourselves? We should have an internal commitment to God’s Law. But no matter how much we sin, how far we stray, God promises restoration to those that have accepted His Sacrifice. Choose life with God every day.
Jo Reads The Bible 
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