- Deuteronomy 28:1 - 68
Deuteronomy 28:1 - 68
Deuteronomy chapter 28 is a really harsh one to get through. It starts off with the Lord offering blessings for obedience. He tells the people that if they obey his commands, they will be blessed in all things -- wherever they go and whatever they do, they will be blessed.
The Lord tells them that the rest of the world will stand in awe of this nation claimed by God (28:10). That verse really struck me -- can you imagine how glorious a nation that is claimed by God and true to His word would be? Think of the most kindhearted Christian you know -- the person whose light just fills the whole room. If we were to be an entire nation of people who are truly letting the Lord's light shine, it would be an amazing sight.
The chapter starts to turn real dark at 28:15. From there to the rest of chapter 28, the Lord talks about the horrible things that will happen if the nation disobeys the Lord. It's hard to read the rest of the chapter because it so bad -- imagery of women eating the afterbirth and new born babies out of raw hunger (28:57); sons and daughters carted away forever into slavery (28:32); everything they've ever known taken from them and lacking in everything (28:48). The things described in this chapter are horrifying.
There are some things I had to keep in mind while I read. First off, I have to remember that I'm reading God's covenant with an individual nation. Then I had to remember that the Lord took this people out of Egypt in the most miraculous way -- sending horrible plagues down on Egypt and even parting the Red Sea for the escape. These people lived on food that fell from the sky magically every day and every night. The presence of the Lord literally lived among them and guided them the entire way. The Lord was right there among them -- how could they even dare disobey? What reason would they have to?
And now I have to wonder, are we really that different from them? We have the instructions of the Lord right in front of us. I have at least a dozen copies of the word of God in my house. The Lord lives inside me, and His works are evident throughout the world. The Lord provides for me and my family -- He has blessed us greatly. So what's the difference? Why shouldn't we be as fearful as the Israelites when it comes to disobeying the Lord?
I guess the answer is that we should. We should fear to disobey the Lord. I have seen many references to fearing the Lord in the bible. But I think that our culture focuses on the love -- which is a great thing. I certainly focus on the love. But perhaps I should be a bit more mindful about truly fearing the Lord.
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