Deuteronomy 28:1: It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that the LORD your God will set you on high above all the nations of the earth:
Deuteronomy 28:15: But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, that all these curses shall come on you, and overtake you.
The descendants of Israel entered into a covenant with God after they left Egypt. God through Moses gave them a law, and their responsibility was to obey.
Just as God delivered the Israelites from bondage because of Abraham’s obedience (Exodus 2:24), He promised to continue blessing the Israelites if they were obedient. Yet, this “exodus” generation of Israelites did not obey, and they were therefore punished. In Deuteronomy, their descendants were taught that this same treatment would be given to them. After delivering the law to this new generation of Israelites, God through Moses promised rewards for obeying Him and curses for disobeying.
This is a recurring theme in the Old Testament. The Israelites, led by Joshua, were able to take Canaan because of obedience, yet because they did not fully obey in driving out the inhabitants of the land, they were left with “snares and traps,” “scourges in [their] sides,” and “thorns in [their] eyes,” (Joshua 23:13; cf. Numbers 33:55).
Following the conquest of Canaan, the Israelites continually rebelled against God. God punished them for their rejection of Him (Judges 2:10-15), but delivered judges (executive leaders) to lead them out of oppression. These judges led the Israelites to repentance and consequent forgiveness (Judges 2:18). Sometime after, Israel would again turn to sin, again be punished, and the cycle continued (Judges 2:19-23). The theme of reward for obedience and punishment for disobedience continued into the period of the kings. David, who was largely obedient (1 Kings 15:5), prospered as king, as did Solomon toward the beginning of his reign (1 Chron. 29:23). Yet, Solomon’s disobedience led to the dividing of the kingdom, as his descendants were kings over Judah and Benjamin only (1 Kings 11:11-13), with the northern ten tribes forming their own kingdom.
In the period of the divided kingdom, rewards for obedience and punishment for disobedience continued further. The northern ten tribes were taken captive by Assyria for wickedness (2 Kings 17:6ff). The southern kingdom of Judah was faithful and blessed at times, but ultimately, disobedience led Judah into Babylonian captivity (2 Kings 25:1-10).
This theme is simple: obey God and good will happen; disobey God and bad will happen.
Just as the Israelites had the responsibility to obey the Law of Moses, we today are responsible for obeying the Law of Christ (Hebrews 9:15).
Under the Old Law, God often (though not always) bestowed blessings on the faithful that were physical in nature.
Today, we have no guarantee of great physical prosperity if we are faithful to Him. We do, however, have promises of spiritual blessings if we obey the Law of Christ, and eternal doom if we do not.
Yet, as happened thousands of years ago, many take lightly our need for obeying God. Like Israel, we have blessings promised if we obey God’s will for us, while we have a punishment promised if we don’t. May we obey God, and receive the rich spiritual blessings He offers.
– Michael Hickox