Bible Study March 21

March 21, 2023

Reading today you will probably see the same observation I made ‘it would have been easier to follow the Lord than fail Him.” Today our reading is from two chapters 28 and 29.

Chapter 28 –

The third address of Moses is found in chapters 27, 28, 29 and 30 to verse 20. Chapter 28 lays out the divine blessing for obedience to the covenant and the consequences for disobedience.  The chapter is hugely out of balance with fourteen verses attributed to blessings and fifty-four to curses for disobedience. The promises for obedience were spectacular. But they had to be careful follow all His commandments. Israel’s blessing would affect all the nations around them, their enemies would not be able to stand against them.

Blessing were wonderful they would be the head and not the tail among all nations. There is terrible fallout from disobedience. It would cause God to afflict them with physical and mental plagues like He placed on Egypt.

Verse 30 – 68 outline the worst horrors a nation could have with he coming siege and exile of Israel two terrible judgements would eventually come true (28:52, 63-64). In the distant future the nation of Babylon would swoop down on Israel and it was so bad they did the unthinkable they would give into cannibalism. Moses spared no detail in telling them what to expect if they were disobedient. Faithfulness to the covenant would grant them everything disobedience would cost the everything.

Chapter 29 –

This chapter picks up with the Israelites being reminded the words of the covenant came for the Lord through Moses. Once again Moses provided an important review of Israel’s history. Yet to the day the Lord has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, and ears to hear. This was a sad recognition that even as they stood on the plains of Moab they had not grasped His deliverance and sustaining power. If they followed His covenant, He would do all he said He would do; they would succeed in everything they did. These people were standing with Moses before the lord to enter into the covenant with Him. Previously their parents had entered into covenant but they broke the covenant.

Should anyone consider himself exempt from the covenant, he would bring down the whole nation as well as every curse in Deuteronomy.

To make his point more graphic Moses described the destruction of Israel for idolatry in terms of the land becoming a burning waste od Sulphur and salt…like…Sodom and Gomorrah.