Deuteronomy 28:1-14
1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. 4 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7 “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
9 “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. 4 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7 “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
9 “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
God’s people were promised good and bad consequences for their obedience or disobedience to Him as revealed in His word to them. This first part of the chapter covers the blessings, while the remainder (more than three quarters of the chapter) addresses the consequences of sin which is disobedience to His will and word. It begins with not just obedience, but diligent attention to listen and hear God’s commands with the decided intent to follow what He says. It means to take the LORD at His word and apply it to the heart, mind and soul with all one’s strength throughout life (2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Peter 1:5). Application. The consequences of obedience begin with blessings that run after and overtake the observant hearer. Blessings of peace and joy in all things, such as wherever you go or live, the children, work and it’s produced food for sustenance, not lacking what is needed. There was promised protection from enemies, prosperous savings for the future, and more. Most of all, there was the promise of God establishing them as His holy people who imitated His holiness through willing and joyful obedience (1 Peter 1:16, 2:9). God’s blessings on them and their works were results of this adherence to all He said and wrote down for them to live by. They were warned not to turn aside to the right or left to other gods of the world who did not know or follow Him and His word in a life of worship. We are likewise called to live by His word and work in us, listening to the scriptures and His Spirit living in us when tempted to turn aside fro it (Isaiah 30:21). We are to follow Christ alone, walking in trust of Him and His word by faith, leaning on His grace and work for us for deliverance once and forever from judgement, following what He says as our sustenance (Jeremiah 15:16), and not worshipping any other thing or supposed god of the world like the cults do. Our Savior, Lord and God, Jesus Christ is who we worship and obey in love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). The blessings on our obedience are crowns for His glory in eternity (Revelation 4:10-11, 2 Timothy 4:8, James 1:12, 1 Peter 5:4).
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