Deuteronomy 28:15-35

IF YOU DO NOT OBEY THE LORD YOUR GOD...

Keywords 28:15

However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

 

1. All these curses will come on you (15-20)

God redeemed his people and gave the covenant of Law to bless them by showing them the best way to live and to maintain a love relationship with him. But those who did not carefully keep it would be cursed, impacting every way of life: urban or rural, kitchen and children, crops, and health.

2. The LORD will… (21-35)

These curses are not “cause and effect,” impartial rules of law. Rather, the emphasis here is that the LORD himself will curse: their bodies, nations, society, minds, families, businesses, etc.… This reveals the love of God in a covenant with his people: When they violate the covenant, they break their relationship with God by abusing his love and grace. Due to sin, this covenant could not be kept. God’s mercy is revealed in the New Covenant: God poured all these curses on Jesus, who became a curse for us (Gal 3:13). He sent the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, empowering us to obey his word and to live in communion with God by faith.

 

Prayer Father, you redeemed us by grace, and our relationship matters to you so much. Help me to carefully keep the covenant in Jesus’ blood daily.

One Word If you love me, obey my teaching