The Curses For Disobedience
January 19, 2021
Commentary
Moses reminds Israel that they are not naive concerning idolatry (vv. 16-18). They had seen it in Egypt and then had fallen into idolatry along the way to the promised land. Because of this they should watch out for this sin when they entered the promised land and faced new temptations. Judgement would come not only on the one who introduced idolatry but also on the whole nation because they allowed themselves to be swept away by the false worship.
Moses cautioned that the day the Israelites chose to turn from God, a root would be planted that would produce bitterness (v. 18). When we decide to do what we know is wrong, we plant an evil seed that begins to grow out of control, yielding a crop of sorrow and pain. However, we can prevent these seeds of sin from taking root. When we do something wrong, we need to confess it to God and others immediately (I John 1:9). If the seed never finds fertile soil, its bitter fruit will never ripen.
God will destroy them and their land, and all this destruction will be evident to the surrounding nations who will witness their fall. (vv. 24-28) The land that was once referred to as “flowing with milk and honey” was to become barren because the anger of the Lord was kindled against them (v. 27). There are some secrets that God has chosen not to reveal to us (v. 29). Although He has not told us everything there is to know about obeying Him, He has told us enough. Therefore, disobedience comes from an act of the will and not an act of knowledge.
Application
Just as the obedience or disobedience of that Israelite generation had a great effect on those not yet born so will this be true of me today.
Deuteronomy 29:16– 29 (NET)
16 “(For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we crossed through the nations as we traveled. 17 You have seen their detestable things and idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold.) 18 Beware that the heart of no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you turns away from the Lord our God today to pursue and serve the gods of those nations; beware that there is among you no root producing poisonous and bitter fruit. 19 When such a person hears the words of this oath he secretly blesses himself and says, ‘I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit.’ This will destroy the watered ground with the parched. 20 The Lord will be unwilling to forgive him, and his intense anger will rage against that man; all the curses written in this scroll will fall upon him, and the Lord will obliterate his name from memory. 21 The Lord will single him out for judgment from all the tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the covenant written in this scroll of the law. 22 The generation to come—your descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who will come from distant places—will see the afflictions of that land and the illnesses that the Lord has brought on it. 23 The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger. 24 Then all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the Lord done all this to this land? What is this fierce, heated display of anger all about?’ 25 Then people will say, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 26 They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods they did not know and that he did not permit them to worship. 27 That is why the Lord’s anger erupted against this land, bringing on it all the curses written in this scroll. 28 So the Lord has uprooted them from their land in anger, wrath, and great rage and has deported them to another land, as is clear today.’ 29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendants forever, so that we might obey all the words of this law.
Illustration: Restoring a Strained Relationship
One New Year’s Eve at London’s Garrick Club, British dramatist Frederick Lonsdale was asked by Symour Hicks to reconcile himself with a fellow member. The two had quarreled in the past and never restored their friendship. “You must,” Hicks said to Lonsdale. “It is very unkind to be unfriendly at such a time. Go over now and wish him a happy New Year.” So Lonsdale crossed the room and spoke to his enemy. “I wish you a happy New Year,” he said, “but only one.” (Today in the Word, July 5, 1993)