Deuteronomy 28:1-14 - Be Careful to Follow His Word!

Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Blessings on Obedience (Leviticus 26:1–13; Deuteronomy 7:12–24)

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.

The people of God under the law of Moses are not so different from we who are in Christ today.  We are all called to hear and heed God’s word in the scriptures written for our admonition (1 Corinthians 10:11, Romans 15:4) to know Christ (John 5:39, Luke 24:27, Hebrews 10:7) and to (2 Timothy 3:16-17) be taught and corrected of His will for us, to mature in faith that we may do the works prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10) from our inception in God’s mind (2 Timothy 1:9, Ephesians 1:4) even before the beginning of time.  Obedience from a willing and thankful heart in Christ is not forced, even if commanded, because the joy in being and doing what we were created for in worship of our Creator and Redeemer far outweighs any doubt or uncertainty of why we obey.  Under the Law of Moses, however, the impetus was to do or die as a seemingly forced command.  In reality, the Law still had hidden grace of willingness but was quickly obscured by the fallen human nature making it all about rules and not about pleasing the LORD as intended.  Only in Christ where the mind of God was revealed to us by His indwelling Spirit is this clarity unveiled 1 Corinthians 2:10, 12, 16) to our renewed minds and cleansed hearts and the underlying truth of willing obedience to His word made known.  True and lasting blessings are more than just checking boxes of obedience to the requirements of the Mosaic Law; these blessings forevermore (Psalm 133:3) are of eternal life in Jesus Christ through obedience (Romans 10:16-17, 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 2:13, Hebrews 5:9, 2 Corinthians 9:13) to the gospel.  We are therefore blessed in these ways listed here and in far greater and eternally lasting ways.  We are blessed to hear His words and believe enough to pursue Him in the direction of obedience in our lives as we are conformed to His image and see our real enemy defeated in the end.  He makes us prosperous in our innermost being and some in our outward lives as well (though not guaranteed and often strained through trials).  The most important blessing is as we read here, to be a holy people to Him now known as being found in the righteousness of Christ (Romans 3:21, 5:17, 10:3-4, Philippians 3:9) and not earned by works as the treasures of heaven are opened to us in heavenly places to behold His glory!  We are therefore all the more careful to obey the commandments of God from a willing heart to be pleasing children of grace and not slave of works vainly attempting to earn the grace of favor in God’s eyes by our efforts.  Be careful to follow His word!