Joshua to Succeed Moses

Continuing a chronological Bible study: 

(Deuteronomy 31:1) And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.

In the last chapter Moses had been speaking to the people about the choice they had before them, life following their Lord God, or death without Him.  It appears he now appeared to them another time, or perhaps it was just a change in subject.  He spoke the following words to them.

(2) And he said to them, "I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in; also the Lord has said to me, 'You shall not go over this Jordan.'"

Moses began by telling the people that he was old, 120 years old, and he could no longer easily go to and fro.  Additionally, he told them, the Lord had said he would not be going over the Jordan into their promised land (Deuteronomy 3:27).

(3) "The Lord your God, He will go over before you, He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall possess them; Joshua, he shall go over before you as the Lord has said."

As Moses would not be going over with them, he encouraged the people by telling them that the Lord would go before them to destroy the nations which occupied the land, and that Joshua would lead them as the Lord had previously said (Deuteronomy 3:28).

(4) "And the Lord shall do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, and to the land of them whom He destroyed."

The Lord would deliver those nations to them as He had done for them to the nations of Sihon and Og (Numbers 21:25).  Just as He had given Sihon and Og's lands to the Israelites to possess, so would He give this land of Canaan to them.

(5) "And the Lord shall give them up before your face, that you may do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you."

The Lord would give those nations of Canaan over to the Israelites to do to them as He had directed in Deuteronomy 7:1-3, utterly destroy them, showing no mercy, nor making any agreements or marriages with them.

(6) "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, He who does go with you, He will not fail you nor forsake you."

Moses encouraged the people to be strong and of good courage and not to fear those nations they were going in to destroy, for their Lord God would be going with them, and He would not fail to fulfill His promises to them that they would destroy the Canaanites and possess their land.

(7) And Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of a good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them and you shall cause them to inherit it."

Moses then called Joshua and spoke to him in front of all the people.  He told him also to be strong and of good courage for he would be leading the people into the land which the Lord had sworn to their forefathers to give them, and he was to be the one to lead them to victory over the nations of Canaan so that they might inherit their land.

(8) "And the Lord, He who does go before you; He will be with you, He will not fail you, neither forsake you; fear not, neither be dismayed."

Moses encouraged Joshua by telling him that the Lord would be going before him and that He would not fail to fulfill His promises that He would deliver the Canaanite nations to them.  Moses told him not to fear and not to be discouraged.

(9) And Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.

Moses wrote this book of the laws of God, this book of Deuteronomy, or perhaps it rather meant the entire Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, that had been written by him.  As this was the end of his life, it makes sense he would have delivered all of his writings to the priests and to the elders of Israel.

(10) And Moses commanded them, saying, "At the end of seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the Feast of Tabernacles, (11) When all Israel has come to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He shall choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing."

Moses commanded the priests and elders that at the end of seven years, actually every seven years, when it was the year of rest for the land and the remission of debts to poor debtors, at the end of that year at the Feast of Tabernacles when all Israel came to appear before the Lord in the place of His choosing, they were to read that book of law before all Israel in their hearing.

(12) "Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and your stranger within your gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law."

Normally it was all males that were required to attend the feasts, but at that particular seventh year Feast of Tabernacles, the men were to gather their entire families, men, women, children, and any strangers among them, to hear the words of the law, and to learn the words of the law and God's commandments that they might have the correct reverential fear and respect for their Lord God, and do as He had commanded in the law.

(13) "And their children, who have not known, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over Jordan to possess it."

By reading the law every seven years, future generations of children who had not known the law, would be able to hear it and learn it and learn to fear their Lord God in the land their fathers were going over the Jordan River to possess.

(14) And the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, your days approach that you must die; call Joshua and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation that I may give him a charge." And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses.  He told him that he would soon die.  Therefore, He told him to call Joshua and have them both present themselves in the tabernacle so that He could give Joshua a charge.  Moses and Joshua did just as the Lord commanded and presented themselves before Him in the tabernacle.

(15) And the Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud, and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.

The Lord appeared to Moses and Joshua in a bright pillar shaped cloud as He had often appeared in the wilderness.  The pillar of cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.

(16) And the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers; and this people will rise up and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land where they go among them and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them."

The Lord told Moses that he would die, and the people would eventually fall away from God and break their covenant with Him to start worshiping the idols of the nations of the land of Canaan.

(17) "Then My anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, 'Are not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?'"

When the people fell away from Him, God said His righteous anger would grow against them and He would turn away from them.  When He did that, removed His favors and protection from them, then would many evils and troubles come upon them until they were devoured.  The people would then realize that all those troubles had come upon them because God was no longer among them.  It's as I have often said, God doesn't necessarily have to proactively send an evil punishment; just by turning His face and His protection away, the evils of the world naturally occur.  It seems the Israelites will come to realize that.

(18) "And I will surely hide My face in that day for all the evils which they shall have done, in that they are turned to other gods."

Indeed God said He would turn His face away from His people because of their evil deeds turning to other gods.  Let those other gods protect them and let them see how well that works for them!

(19) "Now therefore write this song for you and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel."

The Lord told Moses to write a song that He would dictate to him, and he would record in the next chapter.  He told Moses to teach the song to the Israelites so that they could recite it, and it would be a witness against them when they called it to mind in the future.

(20) "For when I shall have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, that flows with milk and honey, and they shall have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them and provoke Me and break My covenant."

God prophesied that after He had brought the Israelites into the land He had sworn to their forefathers, that land that abounded with all good things, they will have become fat and happy and complacent, and then they would turn to other gods and worship them, provoking their Lord God and breaking their covenant with Him.

(21) "And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles have befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness, for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants, for I know their imagination which they go about even now before I have brought them into the land which I swore."

When it came to pass that God had turned from them and many evils and troubles had come upon them, they would remember that song which God had given them as a witness and a forewarning.  God knew this would eventually come to pass because He knew their hearts and the inclinations they had toward idolatry even at that moment before He had even brought them into the land He had sworn to their forefathers.

(22) Moses therefore wrote this song the same day and taught it to the children of Israel.

Moses indeed wrote the song the Lord told him to write, and he taught it to the Israelites.

(23) And He gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, "Be strong and of a good courage, for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you."

The Lord then commissioned Joshua, first telling him to be strong and of good courage, to bring the Israelites into the land the Lord was giving them.  He then assured Joshua that He would be with him.

(24) And it came to pass when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book until they were finished, (25) That Moses commanded the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, (26) "Take this book of the law and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord that it may be there for a witness against you."

When Moses had finished writing the book of the law, he told the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant, specifically the priests, to place the book beside the ark, on the side of it, that it would be a constant visible witness against the people.

(27) "For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck; behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against the Lord, and how much more after my death?"

Moses said he knew how rebellious the people had been against God and His laws as he had witnessed for the past forty years in the wilderness.  He wondered aloud how much more rebellious they would be after he was gone.

(28) "Gather to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them."

Moses asked that all the elders and officers of the people be gathered to him so that he might speak the words of his song in their hearing, and call heaven and earth to record that day against them, to bear witness of what he delivered to them, and to bear witness against them should they disobey the laws he had given them, and to bear witness that they had been warned about what would happen if they did disobey.

(29) "For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands."

By a spirit of prophecy or perhaps only by what God had told him, Moses said he knew that after his death the people would become totally corrupt and turn away from the laws of God that He commanded through Moses.  Evil would come upon them because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord and provoked Him to righteous anger because of the things they did.

(30) And Moses spoke in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song until they were ended.

Moses began to recite the song the Lord directed him to write in the hearing of all Israel, or at least to their leaders whom he had gathered to him.  He recited all the words of the song from beginning to end in the following chapter.

Choose Life

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 30:1) "And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, where the Lord your God has driven you,"

In the last chapter, Moses called all the people together to again enter into covenant with their Lord God in Moab.  He now begins a speech in which he tells the people that when all the things he had told them in the past few chapters came upon them, especially the blessings and curses that had been pronounced and prophesied by Moses, they should remember them in all the nations where the Lord had sent them.

(2) "And shall return to the Lord your God and shall obey His voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, (3) That then the Lord your God will turn your captivity and have compassion on you and will return and gather you from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you."

When the people had been scattered to various nations, when they called to mind the things the Lord had told them through Moses about His blessings and curses, and then returned to the Lord and obeyed His commands with all their hearts and souls, the Lord would then turn back to them and have compassion on them and gather them from all the nations wherein He had sent them.

(4) "If you are driven out to the outmost of heaven, from there will the Lord your God gather you and from there He will fetch you."

No matter how far the people might be, if they had returned to the Lord with all their hearts and souls, He would gather them from wherever they might be.

(5) "And the Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed and you shall possess it, and He will do you good and multiply you above your fathers."

Their Lord God would gather them and bring them back to the land which their fathers had possessed, that promised land of their forefathers, and they would again possess it.  The Lord would do good for them and multiply their numbers greater than the numbers of their fathers. 

(6) "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."

Their Lord would then circumcise their hearts and the hearts of their descendants, circumcise the foreskins of their hearts (Deuteronomy 10:16), cut through the hardness of their hearts, that they would love their Lord with all their hearts and with all their souls that they and their descendants might live.

(7) "And the Lord your God will put all these curses upon your enemies and on them who hate you, who persecuted you."

The Lord would then put all the curses recorded in Deuteronomy 28 upon their enemies and those who hated and persecuted them.

(8) "And you shall return and obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you this day."

At that time they would return to the Lord to do all that He had commanded them through Moses that day.

(9) "And the Lord your God will make you plenteous in every work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, for good, for the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers."

Then would the Lord bring upon them His blessings, making them successful in every work of their hands, giving them an abundance of children, a large increase in their livestock and in the harvests of their land, doing only good for them.  He would again rejoice over them as He had once rejoiced over their forefathers.

(10) "If you shall hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

The Lord would bring all those blessings upon the people if they listened to and obeyed their Lord God, to keep all His commandments and statutes that were written in the book of the law recorded by Moses, if they turned to the Lord with all their hearts and souls.

(11) "For this commandment which I command you this day is not hidden from you, neither is it far off."

It would be easy for God's people (and us this day) to listen to and obey the Lord for His commandments were not hidden from them (nor us).  It is not some secret held in a faraway land or in heaven, but God had given it to them, and to us with His Bible still with us.

(12) "It is not in heaven that you should say, 'Who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it?' (13) Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say, 'Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it?' (14) But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it."

Indeed, Moses went on to say that God's word and His laws were not stored secretly in heaven nor in a faraway land, but it was very near to them, not only in the written word, but written on their hearts, and recited by their mouths, so that they (and us today) were without excuse (Romans 1:20).  

(15) "See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil, (16) In that I command you this day to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God shall bless you in the land which you go to possess it. (17) But if your heart turns away so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, (18) I denounce to you this day that you shall surely perish and shall not prolong your days upon the land which you pass over Jordan to go to possess it."

The Lord through Moses had set before the people the choice between life and goodness and death and evil.  If they loved their Lord God, walked in His ways, kept His commandments and statutes and judgments, they would live and multiply and the Lord would bless them with goodness in their land that He was giving them.  However, if they turned their hearts away and would not listen to and obey Him, but were drawn into other cultures and worshiped other gods and served them, then they would have death and curses.

(19) "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live, (20) That you may love the Lord your God and that you may obey His voice and that you may cleave to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."

Moses called upon heaven and earth as witnesses to record that day against the people, that he had set before them, as the Lord had directed He do, life and death, blessing and cursing, both the life and blessings they would have if they chose to obey their Lord, and the death and curses they would receive if they chose to turn away from Him.  Moses exhorted them to choose life that both they and their descendants might live, that they may love and obey their Lord and cling to Him as He was their very life and length of days in the land the Lord had promised to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

What a simple choice we have!  Just choose life that is only found in the Lord God, and in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ!  It makes all our decisions so much easier.  Should women choose abortion?  God said, "Choose life!" That both you and your babies may live!  Should we endorse homosexual marriage that cannot produce life?  God said, "Choose life!"  Should we encourage transsexualism that cannot produce life?  God said, "Choose life!"  Should we embrace certain environmental laws that starve and kill the people?  God said, "Choose life!"  Should we remove God from schools and the public square?  God said, "I AM your life!"  Should we support nations that enslave and kill the people?  God said, "Choose life!"  Should we allow drug cartels and sex slave operators and terrorists to pour over our borders unchecked?  God said, "Choose life!"  And yes, we can choose to save the lives of immigrants, but they must come through legal channels and be vetted.  And if those legal channels need to be modified to make it easier for good people to be added to our numbers, then that is what we must do.  The way we are doing it now only leads to death.  Choose life!

The Covenant Renewed in Moab

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 29:1) These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.

In the last chapter, Moses had recited a list of blessings that would be bestowed upon the people if they adhered to their covenant with the Lord and obeyed His commandments and statutes, as well as an extensive list of all the curses that would come upon them if they disobeyed and did not follow His commandments.  Now Moses began the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded he make to the Israelites there in the land of Moab, which were in addition to the covenant God had made with them forty years earlier.

(2) And Moses called to all Israel and said to them, "You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharoah and to all his servants and to all his land, (3) The great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles."

Moses called out to all the people of Israel and reminded them of all the things the Lord had done in Egypt to Pharoah, his servants, and all his land.  He reminded them of all the trials, or plagues which tried the Egyptians, and all the signs and great miracles they had observed in Egypt.

(4) "Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear to this day."

As it had been forty years since the exodus from Egypt, most of the people had been young and not yet able to fully understand the significance of all that God had done in Egypt.

(5) "And I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out upon you and your shoe has not worn out on your foot."

Moses reminded them of how he had led them in the wilderness for forty years, yet their clothes and shoes had not worn out during that time.

(6) "You have not eaten bread, neither have you drunk wine or strong drink, that you might know that I am the Lord your God."

Moses, under inspiration of the Lord, reminded them they had had no food or wine in the wilderness, yet the Lord had sustained them with manna and water, that they would know that their provisions came from the Lord alone, and He was willing to supply all their needs.

(7) "And when you came to this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us to battle, and we conquered them."

Moses also reminded them about how when they had come to that place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan had come out against them, yet the Lord had led them to victory over them.

(8) "And we took their land and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites and to the Gadites and to the half tribe of Manasseh."

The people had taken the land of the conquered kings and had given it to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half tribe of Manasseh.  Thus the Lord had begun giving their inheritance to them.

(9) "Keep therefore the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do."

Because God had done so many good things for them, Moses told the people they must keep up their end of their covenant with God and do all He commanded them so that they might prosper in all things.

(10) "You stand this day all of you before the Lord your God, your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, (11) Your little ones, your wives, and your stranger that is in your camp, from the cutter of your wood to the drawer of your water, (12) That you should enter into covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath, which the Lord your God makes with you this day."

Moses stated that as they all stood before the Lord that day, all of them from captains and elders to all men, and to their wives and children and to the strangers among them to the lowest servant among them, should all enter into covenant with their Lord God, confirmed with a solemn oath.

(13) "That He may establish you today for a people to Himself, and He may be to you a God, as He has said to you, and as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."

By entering into that covenant with their Lord God, they would be His special people, and He would be their only true God, as He had previously said to them, and as he had sworn to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

(14) "Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath, (15) But with him who stands here with us this day before the Lord our God and also with him who is not here with us this day, (16) (For you know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt and how we came through the nations which you passed by, (17) And you have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among you)."

Through Moses, the Lord told His people that He had not made this covenant to them alone, those who had come out of Egypt and witnessed the abominations and idols of the various nations they had come through and had entered into covenant with Him forty years prior, but to all the new generation of people who had come since then, and to all who would come after them.  Dare I say, even to us this day?  If we would only agree to that covenant with God and with Jesus, that He is our only God, and follow His commandments, we could expect all the blessings that He gave His children as we have been grafted into that special vine of people (Romans 11:17).

(18) "Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turns away this day from the Lord our God to go serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that bears gall and wormwood; (19) And it come to pass, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, 'I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of my heart to add drunkenness to thirst;' (20) The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and His jealousy shall burn against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven."

This is a continuation from verses 12 to 15 before his parenthetical statement in verses 16 and 17, about the covenant that all the people should enter into, lest any among them, whether it be man or woman or entire family or even entire tribe, might turn away from their Lord God to serve the gods of those pagan nations they had seen; lest there be one among the people with a bitter heart that bore bitter fruit, and it should come to pass that when he heard of the curses that should come upon him should he not obey the Lord, he would inwardly pronounce himself blessed and secure from the curses of the law.  He would believe that he would have peace and prosperity even though he walked according to his own lusts and desires, adding drunkenness to thirst, meaning as a drunk cannot be satisfied with just one drink, so this man will continually thirst after and partake of more and more wickedness.  The Lord will not spare this man or woman, regardless of what they think of themselves, for as stated before, the Lord will not be mocked, and His anger and jealousy will burn against that person.  Jealousy, in the sense of the Lord, does not refer to envy, but rather passionate zeal to care for His people and have them be His people and not fall under the fatal spell of another.  All the curses written in this book would lie upon that person and his name would be blotted out from under heaven, from the Book of Life, unable to have everlasting life in heaven.  Once again, dare I suggest that this applies to us today?  To those churches and people who think God would understand that times are different now?

(21) "And the Lord shall separate him to evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law."

The Lord will separate such a person (v. 18-20) to his evil punishment out of all the tribes of Israel.  He will be separated and made an example of by all the curses that will come upon him.

(22) "So that the generation to come of your children who shall rise up after you and the stranger who shall come from a far land shall say, when they see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the Lord has laid upon it, (23) The whole land brimstone, and salt, burning, it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor any grass grows there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath;"

The curses that came upon such a person or tribe would be so devastating that for generations to come, their descendants and strangers who might come from a faraway land, would still see the evidence of the plagues and sicknesses the Lord laid upon that land, that it was barren, brimstone and salt, burning, like Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboim which the Lord had overthrown in His righteous anger.  Upon seeing such a sight, those people would say what follows.

(24) "Even all nations shall say, 'Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why the heat of this great anger?'"

Not only future generations and the strangers who came into the land, but all nations would ask why the Lord had done so to the land and why He was so angry.

(25) "Then men shall say, 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt, (26) For they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they did not know and He had not given to them, (27) And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book, (28) And the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger and in wrath and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as this day.'"

The people who knew the history of what happened to that land would answer that it was because the people there had forsaken the covenant their Lord God had made with them when He brought them out of Egypt.  They had forsaken Him and served other false gods, and the Lord's righteous anger and indignation brought all the curses that had been forewarned in His book of laws.  The Lord removed them out of that land and had cast them into another land as it remained that day.  It was the consequence of forsaking their covenant with the Lord that had been forewarned by Him, but they had not believed Him and had turned away from Him.

(29) "The secret things belong to the Lord, but those things revealed belong to us and to our children forever that we may do all the words of this law."

Moses concluded with an admonition that there were many things that the people did not and would not know concerning the sovereign Lord and His actions.  However, the things He had revealed to them and to their posterity forever in His book, the things He had commanded them to do, completely outlined for them, those things they should do.  They had all they needed, as we do in His Bible, to follow Him and live according to His commandments.  Though we may not have all the answers, we have enough so that we are without excuse. 

Blessings for Obedience and Consequential Curses for Disobedience

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 28:1) "And it shall come to pass, if you shall hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, to observe to do all of His commandments which I command you this day, that the Lord your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth."

In the last chapter, Moses told the people when they entered into their land that the Lord was giving them, they were to erect a monument of stone that listed all of God's commandments, and were to make two mountains, Gerizim and Ebal, visible reminders of blessings (Mount Gerizim) and curses (Mount Ebal).  Then Moses and the priests would call out several curses to which the people were to answer, "Amen" in their agreement with the just curse.  Moses now continued with his speech, telling the people if they would diligently follow God's commandments, their Lord God would set them high above all nations, making them the most excellent among all people.

(2) "And all these blessings shall come on you and overtake you, if you shall hearken to the voice of the Lord your God."

Moses told the people that if they would listen to and diligently perform God's commandments, they would be overwhelmed by all the blessings they would receive.

(3) "Blessed you in the city and blessed you in the field."

Moses began a list of the blessings they could expect if they followed God's commandments.  They would be blessed wherever they were in the land the Lord was giving them, in the city and in the field.

(4) "Blessed the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your cattle, and the flocks of your sheep."

Moses told them they would be blessed with many children and those children would be blessed.  Everything of theirs would be blessed, their land, their livestock, and the increase of their livestock.

(5) "Blessed your basket and your store."

The baskets they carried with their immediate needs, as well as their storehouses where their goods were stored, would be blessed.  It might rather or also mean the baskets they used to collect their fruits and the storehouses where their produce was kept.

(6) "Blessed you when you come in and blessed you when you go out."

In all their business of the day, they would be blessed coming and going, in everything.

(7) "The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck down before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways."

The Lord would make their enemies who rose up against them to be struck down and to flee from them.

(8) "The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses, and in all that you set your hand to, and He shall bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you."

The Lord would bless them with overflowing storehouses; He would bless them in all the work they did; and He would bless them with health and long life with an abundance of all good things in the land that He was giving them.

(9) "The Lord shall establish you a holy people to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways."

The Lord would set His people apart from the rest of the world as His holy people if they kept His commandments and walked in His ways.

(10) "And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you."

All the people of the world would see that they were called the Lord's special people, and they would be afraid of them.

(11) "And the Lord shall make you plenteous in goods, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you."

The Lord would give them plenty of all goods, He would increase their numbers with plenty of children, plenty of livestock, and plentiful harvests, in the land that He had sworn to their forefathers to give to them.

(12) The Lord shall open to you His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand, and you shall lend to many nations, and you shall not borrow."

The Lord would open up heaven to give them rain in due season and He would bless all the works of their hands.  They would have an abundance that they could share with other nations, but they would never need to borrow.

(13) "And the Lord shall make you the head and not the tail, and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath, if you hearken to the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day to observe and to do."

Moses said that the Lord would make them the head of all nations and not the tail, being subject to other nations.  They would only be above other nations, having dominion over them, and never subject to them.  That is, if they listened to and obeyed God's commandments.

(14) "And you shall not go aside from any of the words which I command you this day, the right hand or the left, to go after other gods to serve them."

They were to obey God's commandments and not stray from them in any way to go after other gods to serve them.

(15) "But it shall come to pass, if you will not hearken 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 upon you and overtake you."

However, Moses said that if the people did not listen to and obey the words of their Lord God and follow all His commandments and statutes, that curses rather than blessings would overtake them.

(16) "Cursed you in the city and cursed you in the field."

Moses then began a list of curses that would come upon the people if they did not obey God's commandments.  As a direct opposite to the blessings in verse 3, they would be cursed in anything they did, whether in the city or in the fields.

(17) "Cursed your basket and your store."

If the people did not obey God's commandments, they would find that their baskets of goods and their storehouses would be cursed and perhaps empty.

(18) "Cursed the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, the increase of your cattle, and the flocks of your sheep."

If the people did not obey God's commandments, they would find that their very bodies and health would be cursed, as their children would be or their lack of children, as well as their livestock.  All they would do would be cursed.

(19) "Cursed you when you come in and cursed you when you go out."

If they disobeyed God's commandments, they would find that they were cursed in all of their business of the day, whether coming or going.

(20) "The Lord will send upon you cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that you set your hand to for to do until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly because of the wickedness of your doings whereby you have forsaken Me."

The Lord would send curses and troubles to the people in all that they set their hands to until they were quickly destroyed because of their disobedience whereby they abandoned Him.  I don't doubt that the Lord in His almighty power could send whatever curse He wanted, but it was always in an effort to get His people to turn back to Him which was their only hope for salvation and life.  However, I don't believe that God always has to send a curse; sometimes just by turning His back on us because we have pushed Him away, we are cursed because we don't have Him to protect and guide us in this fallen world.

(21) "The Lord shall make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from off the land where you go to possess it."

The Lord would make a pestilence come upon them and stay with them until they had completely perished from the land He was giving them.

(22) "The Lord shall strike you with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew, and they shall pursue you until you perish."

The Lord would strike them with consumption, a progressive wasting away of their bodies.  He would strike them with fever and inflammation and burning; He would strike them with the sword, blasting winds, and mildew.  He would strike them with various plagues that would continue until they had perished from the land.

(23) "And your heaven that is over your head shall be brass, and the earth that is under you, iron."

The heaven above them would be as brass, hard and dry and not letting any moisture come through it.  The earth under them would be as iron, hard and impenetrable.

(24) "The Lord shall make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed."

Instead of rain, the Lord would send dust storms upon them until they were destroyed.

(25) "The Lord shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them and shall be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth."

The Lord would cause them to be defeated by their enemies.  In direct opposition to the blessing in verse 7, the Israelites would be the ones to go against their enemies one way and then flee from them seven ways, and they would be removed from their land into various kingdoms of the earth.

(26) "And your carcass shall be food to all the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the earth, and no man shall frighten them away."

Their bodies would be left as food for the birds and animals with no one to frighten them away.

(27) "The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with the hemorrhoids, and with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed."

The Lord would strike them with the boils of Egypt, either a disease well-known in Egypt or with the boils which the Egyptians were plagued with for refusing to let Israel go.  He would strike them with hemorrhoids, scabs, and rashes, from which they could never be healed.

(28) "The Lord will strike you with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart."

The Lord would strike them with insanity, blindness, and dread.  The blindness spoken of here seems to refer to a mental blindness, not knowing what to do.

(29) "And you shall grope at noonday as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways, and you shall be only oppressed and plundered evermore, and no man shall save you."

Like a blind man gropes in darkness even at noonday, so would the people grapple with things most evident and clear because they would lack discretion and judgment.  They would not prosper in any of their ways, and they would be only oppressed and plundered forevermore.  No man would be able to save them.

(30) "You shall betroth a wife and another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house and you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard and shall not gather its grapes."

They would be cursed in all things.  They would betroth wives, but other men would take their wives-to-be sexually.  They would build houses but never get to live in them and plant orchards but never be able to gather any fruit, either because they were destroyed or plundered.

(31) "Your ox slain before your eyes, and you shall not eat of it; your ass violently taken away from before your face and shall not be restored to you; your sheep given to your enemies, and you shall have none to rescue them."

Their oxen would be slain in front of them and they would not be able to partake of the flesh, their donkey would be seized as well as their sheep and given to their enemies, with no hope of getting them back.

(32) "Your sons and your daughters given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail for them all the day long, and there will be no might in your hand."

Their children would be given to other nations of people, and they would look for them to be returned all day long, but would fail, and there would be no strength in them to do anything about it.

(33) "The fruit of your land and all your labors a nation which you do not know shall eat up, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed always. (34) So that you shall be mad for the sight of your eyes which you shall see."

Their harvests and everything they worked for would be eaten up by foreign nations they did not even know of, and they would always be oppressed and crushed to the point that they would be driven mad at the sight of all the calamities and persecutions they would see.

(35) "The Lord shall strike you in the knees and in the legs with a sore botch that cannot be healed from the sole of your foot to the top of your head."

The Lord would strike them with severe boils in their knees and their legs which could not be healed, and they would spread all over their entire bodies.

(36) "The Lord shall bring you and your king whom you shall set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there shall you serve other gods, wood and stone."

The Lord would bring the people and the king they had selected to rule over them to a nation neither they nor their forefathers had ever known, and there they would serve idols made of wood and stone.

(37) "And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations where the Lord shall lead you."

They would become an astonishment to all other nations that observed them because of their overthrow and captivity and miserable condition they found themselves in.  They would become a proverb or a saying among the nations where the Lord would lead them, to the effect of "None but a Jew would have done so," or "Do you think I am a Jew?"

(38) "You shall carry much seed out into the field and shall gather little in for the locust shall consume it. (39) You shall plant vineyards and tend them but shall neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes for the worms shall eat them. (40) You shall have olive trees throughout all your borders but shall not anoint with oil for your olives shall drop."

All that the people planted and tended to would be brought to nothing.  Their plants would be either eaten and destroyed by pests, or would fail on their own.

(41) "You shall beget sons and daughters, but you shall not enjoy them, for they shall go into captivity."

They would have children, but their children would be taken captive from them.

(42) "All your trees and fruit of your land the locust shall consume."

Locusts would consume all their plants and trees, not only their crops as in verses 38-40, but every green thing.

(43) "The stranger who is within you shall get up above you very high, and you shall come down very low. (44) He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail."

The strangers or aliens among the people would become very high above them in wealth and power and honor, and they would become very low.  Those strangers or aliens among them would be in positions to lend to them, but they would be unable to lend to anyone because of their low circumstances.  The strangers among them would become their rulers above them, and they would be the lowly bottom, serving them.

(45) "Moreover, all these curses shall come on you and shall pursue you and overtake you till you be destroyed, because you did not hearken to the voice of the Lord your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. (46) And they shall be upon you for a sign and for a wonder and upon your descendants forever. (47) Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all."

Moses told the people that all the curses he was detailing to them would come upon them and overtake them until they were destroyed if they did not listen to and obey God's commandments and statutes.  Those curses would be upon them and remain on them and their descendants to be observed by others as a sign of the wrath of God and the fulfillment of prophecy and the truth of divine revelation. And that would be because they did not serve their Lord God with a joyful and glad heart for all the things He had done for them.

(48) "Therefore shall you serve your enemies which the Lord shall send against you, in hunger and in thirst and in nakedness, and in want of all things, and he shall put a yoke of iron upon your neck until He has destroyed you."

Because they had not served God, they would be forced to serve the enemies He would send against them.  They would be in hunger and thirst and nakedness and in want of all things, and He would bring them into bondage to their enemies until they were destroyed.

(49) "The Lord shall bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies, a nation whose tongue you shall not understand. (50) A nation of fierce countenance which shall not regard the person of the old or show favor to the young; (51) And he shall eat the fruit of your cattle and the fruit of your land until you are destroyed, whom shall not leave you corn, wine, or oil, the increase of your cattle or flocks of your sheep, until he has destroyed you. (52) And he shall besiege you in all your gates until your high and fenced walls come down, in which you trusted, throughout all your land, and he shall besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you."

The Lord would bring a nation from the far ends of the earth as they knew it, a nation whose language they would not understand.  It would come upon them as an eagle that flies swiftly in to snatch its prey.  It would be a fierce nation with no regard for young or old, but would swoop in and eat all the produce of their land and the increase of their livestock until they were left with nothing and destroyed.  They would be surrounded and attacked from all sides until all their high fenced walls in which they had trusted to keep them safe had come down throughout the entire land that their Lord had given them.

(53) "And you shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and in the dire straits in which your enemies shall distress you."

The people would be brought to such dire straits and severe famine that they would kill and eat their own children!

(54) "The man tender among you and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother and toward the wife of his bosom and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave, (55) So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat because he has nothing left him in the siege and in the dire straits in which your enemies shall distress you in all your gates."

Even the most gentle and delicate man would become so barbaric that he would not even provide for his wife and his other children and family with the flesh of the children he killed.  The verse states that was because he had nothing left in the siege, but more than that has afflicted him.  Even with nothing left, the natural order of men would be to be the protector and provider for their families, but under this siege as part of the curse, even the most gentle men would become shockingly unnatural and barbaric.

(56) "The tender and delicate woman among you who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom and toward her son and toward her daughter, (57) And toward her young one who comes out from between her feet and toward her children whom she shall bear, for she shall eat them for want of all secretly in the siege and dire straits in which your enemy shall distress you in your gates."

Even the most tender and delicate woman who would not have even set the sole of her foot on dirty ground would also become so barbaric as to eat her own children and even her newborn baby.  She would eat them in secret and not provide any to her other children and husband.  Again it's not just because she was so hungry; she had also lost all sense of humanity and became as a ravenous wolf.  However, even a ravenous wolf would feed its young.

(58) "If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD, (59) Then the Lord will make your plagues severe, and the plagues of your descendants, great plagues and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses and of long continuance."

These were the curses that would come upon the people if they disobeyed the laws of God that Moses had written in this book of Deuteronomy.  They should have a proper awe and reverence for their Lord as He held their very lives and the lives of their descendants in His hands.  The glorious name Moses gave that was translated as THE LORD THY GOD was in the original Hebrew "Yehovah Elohim," which meant the self-existent, eternal God.  If the people did not obey God's laws, then He would make their plagues severe and prolonged, and even to their descendants, severe and prolonged plagues and sicknesses.

(60) "Moreover He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt which you were afraid of, and they shall cling to you. (61) Also every sickness and every plague which is not written in the book of this law, those the Lord will bring upon you until you are destroyed. (62) And you will be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God."

Additionally, the Lord would bring upon the people all the diseases of Egypt which they had been afraid of when they lived among the Egyptians, and those diseases would continue with them.  Also any other sickness or plague that was not mentioned in the curses Moses wrote in this book would come upon them until they were destroyed.  They would be destroyed as a nation, but note that Moses said they would be few in number, so there would be a remnant of God's people that remained.  However, as God would have them as numerous as the stars in the heaven, they would be brought to a small remnant because they had not obeyed God's word.

(63) "And it shall come to pass, as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice to destroy you and to bring you to nothing, and you shall be plucked from off the land where you go to possess it."

If the people would not obey the Lord and hold to their covenant with Him, then the Lord who had rejoiced over His people and was pleased to do them good would rather rejoice in their destruction and being brought to nothing.  It's not that God would find pleasure in destroying His people, but rather He would rejoice in righteous judgment and the preservation of the honor of His laws.  God will not be mocked (Galatians 6:7).  The people would be violently plucked off the land which their Lord had given them.

(64) "And the Lord shall scatter you among all people from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods which neither you nor your fathers have known, wood and stone."

The Lord would scatter His people all over to various places all over the world.  There they would serve other gods made of wood and stone that neither they nor their forefathers had ever known.  They would not have their Lord God to serve there.

(65) "And among these nations you shall find no ease, neither shall the sole of your foot have rest, but the Lord shall give you there a trembling heart and failing of eyes and sorrow of mind, (66) And your life shall hang in doubt before you, and you shall fear day and night, and shall have no assurance of your life. (67) In the morning you shall say, 'I wish to God it were evening!' and at evening you shall say, 'I wish to God it were morning!' for the fear of your heart in which you shall fear and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see."

Among the nations to which they would be scattered they would find no peace.  Their feet would find no rest as they would have to move from place to place always with a fearful heart, and their eyes would never find one to deliver them, and they would have great sorrow of mind because of their afflictions.  Their lives would always be in doubt, whether they might survive through the day until night.  They would also fear the night, wondering if they would survive till the morning.  They would have constant terror in their hearts for the sights their eyes beheld, dreadful cruelty and torture.

(68) "And the Lord shall bring you into Egypt again with ships by the way of which I spoke to you, 'You shall see it no more again,' and there you shall be sold to your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, but no one will buy."

The Lord would bring them back to Egypt in ships.  Where He had once miraculously led them out of Egypt through the midst of the Red Sea, He would now deliver them back in slave ships.  In Deuteronomy 17:16, Moses said that God had said, "You shall not return that way again."  God never intended that they should be returned to bondage and indeed, they would not return "that way," but would return in ships as slaves.  There in Egypt they would be offered for sale as slaves but no one would want to buy them as they had become so despicable to all mankind.  

What an awful state in which a cursed Israel would find herself!  Moses spoke prophetically, certainly under inspiration of God, as through the years we have seen the fulfillment of these prophecies as truth.  Once again, I am struck by the thought that God didn't necessarily have to bring all these curses upon Israel, although He certainly can and will in order to bring His people back to Him, but I tend to think that God simply turns His back on a people who pushes Him away and lets them perish in the world of their own making.  Oh, that we all should heed such warnings!