You choose, Life or Death

Blessings for Obedience

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 ¹ If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. ² All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

Curses for disobedience

Deuteronomy 28:58-59 ⁵⁸ If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God— ⁵⁹ the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.

Moses and the Israelites were in the land of Moab. Moses was getting ready to hand his leadership over to Joshua so he prepared his farewell speech. At this time in Deuteronomy the Israelites had come to a stand still while the transferring took place. The Israelites were getting ready to enter the land of Canaan. His speech was to remind the Israelites what God was requiring of them as his people in order to live in the promise land and enjoy the rest and fellowship with him. This speech that Moses was giving was a speech that was needed time and time again. The word Deuteronomy means (repeating of the law). Moses was speaking from his heart but yet was very stern in letting them know that God was requiring total commitment from them in order to cross Jordan into the promise land.

Deut. 28 tells us of the blessing and curses that were presented to the Israelite. These blessings and curses are very real for us in this day and age. God still requires total commitment from us. If you will notice the blessings were placed before the curses, I believe it is because God wants to show his favor on his obedient children. He wants to encourage them to follow out of love not out of fear.

All through the Bible God is telling us that he is ready to bless his children and speaks of the things he plans on doing in the future. The bible is also full of promises and prophecies and with those promise and prophecies comes conditions. God wants us to come into agreement with him and place our life in his hands and be obedient children so he can bless us. (28:1-2) are the promise for those that are being obedient. (28:58-59) are the judgment for those that are being disobedient.

The blessing I for one feels to be the most rewarding one is (28-9) 9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. What a better way to live then to know we are a child of the most high and we walk in his favor. Here are just a few.

Blessings for being obedient:

Deut 28:3-14 ³ You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. ⁴ The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. ⁵ Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. ⁶ You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

CURSES

If we do not keep God's commandments, we not only loose the blessings that are promised, but we willfully place ourselves under the curses, either or, you choose. You want a life which includes all misery not just some but all misery? How strong and powerful are the curses? I’ll say this, you NEVER get away from them, and they fallow you (the sinner) were ever you go. Wherever the sinner goes, the curse of God follows. What ever he owns falls under that curse. While under the curses there will be no happiness. Here are just a few of the curses, there are way to many for me to add them here so if you would like to know the rest of the curses you can find them in Deut 28.

Curses for Disobedience

Deut 28:15-21¹⁵ 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: ¹⁶ You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. ¹⁷ Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. ¹⁸ The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

What do we need to do so these curses do not fallow us? It is with true repentance and obedience. This book is not just for the Israelites of the Bible. These blessings and curses are for us today, but we have Jesus who became the curse and redeemed us from the curse of the law by going to the cross. Therefore we have mercy and grace. Praise God!!

Have you ever sat in a class room knowing that you are going to be taking a test and wish you knew the answers to the whole test? God has laid out before us what he has promised us for obedience and what the judgment (curses) are for disobedient. His is your wish that has come true. God has given us the answer to the test of life.

The Offer of Life or Death

Deut 30:19-20  ¹⁹ This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live ²⁰ and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

So what do you choose?

May God Bless you and yours.

Carrieg