Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 29:1-9
I Have Led You Forty Years in the Wilderness

In Amos 9, and which is referring to Israel, it says –

“‘I will plant them in their land,
And no longer shall they be pulled up
From the land I have given them,’
Says the Lord your God.” Amos 9:15

It is one of those verses that simply cannot be spiritualized, and so I like to remind people of it from time to time. It is speaking of a particular group of people, a particular land that they were given, and of an occurrence that can have only one meaning.

That meaning cannot be, “This was fulfilled when they were returned from Babylon.” This is because the people being addressed were sent into exile from their land again after that.

Nor can the meaning be, “This is fulfilled in Christ’s work during His first advent and the church has now replaced Israel.” Only a fool would attempt to make such a claim. The church is not given a land grant to where Israel is today. In fact, it is given no land grant at all.

Either the words are in error, and thus the Bible is not the word of God, or the words – without any other possible meaning – are that Israel the people will be brought back to Israel the land, and when that occurs, they will never be uprooted from the land again.

Any other analysis does damage to the intent of the words. But this should not surprise us that the Lord would bring them back and do this. The reason why is not because of them at all, but because of Him – His glory, His honor, His covenant-keeping.

The keeping of Israel, even through the destruction of Israel, is seen once again in our passage today. It is because of the righteousness of the Lord, and nothing that they have done, that this has come about.

Text Verse: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.” Romans 3:21, 22

What is important to understand concerning Israel is that Isaiah said, even before there was a first exile, that there would be a second one –

“It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time
To recover the remnant of His people who are left,
From Assyria and Egypt,
From Pathros and Cush,
From Elam and Shinar,
From Hamath and the islands of the sea. Isaiah 11:11

The return of Israel to the land in our day was clearly spoken of and it is something that will never be needed to occur again. God’s word tells us that this is the case.

The righteousness of God is reflected in the law. That should be taken as an axiom. “This is God’s law, and therefore, it reflects His righteousness.” That isn’t a problem at all. The problem isn’t found in the law. Rather, it is found in our inability to meet the demands of the law. As Moses says to Israel, “Therefore, keep the words of this covenant, and do them.”

If one was actually able to perform as Moses says, what would that mean concerning such a person? Think on that and we’ll find out before we close. Once you realize what the inevitable answer must be, you can see why even thinking it is an utterly crazy notion.

And this is why Paul says, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed.” He then explains what that means, saying, “…even the righteousness of God.” What is it that pleases God? It isn’t our attempts at being righteous, but in trusting in His provision of righteousness.

As Paul says, this is revealed in “the Law and the Prophets.” Israel is promised to never be uprooted from their land again. And this is, according to Isaiah, after a second exile.

That will take some doing. In failing to uphold the law, being uprooted from the land is an inevitable consequence. But we are assured in the word that they will be planted, and they will remain. That can only mean one possible thing as well… Jesus.

It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Words of the Covenant (verse 1)

These are the words of the covenant

The Hebrew Bibles will have this verse affixed to the end of Chapter 28 as a completing thought for the blessings and the curses. But the word translated as “these” does not necessarily speak of either what precedes or what follows. It simply speaks of something in the surrounding text.

In this case, Moses speaks of the covenant in the coming verses. Therefore, this verse is surely rightly fixed as an opening to Chapter 29, as he says in verse 29:12, “that you may enter into covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath, which the Lord your God makes with you today.” He again refers to it in verse 29:15.

^{1 (con’t)} which the Lord commanded Moses to make

asher tsivah Yehovah eth Moshe likrot – “which commanded Yehovah Moses to cut.” The word karath signifies to cut off, cut down, etc. A covenant is said to be “cut” because it involved the cutting of flesh and then the parties passing through the pieces of the animal.

As such, it was a witness to the severity of the covenant. One might say, “Just as this animal was cut in order to establish this covenant, so may it happen to me if I violate it.” In the case of this covenant, it is one commanded to be enacted by Moses at the command of the Lord. The other party is next stated…

^{1 (con’t)} with the children of Israel

The Hebrew reads, “sons of Israel,” signifying those who represent the tribes from whom the people issue. Jacob, who is Israel, was the son of promise, and his twelve sons, along with his two adopted sons – meaning the sons of Joseph – comprise the family whom the Lord chose to continue to reveal Himself in the history of redemption. This is next specifically said to be…

^{1 (con’t)} in the land of Moab,

This is now almost forty full years after the reception of the law at Sinai. It is in another country, and it is after an extended period of exile in the wilderness. And yet, the words are being spoken forth as law to which Israel is to be bound to.

The name Moab means, “From Father.” As such, the words anticipate that which comes from God, and which will be carried out by Him in the giving of Christ. For now, one might ask, “Under what authority does the right exist to heap more laws upon the people…”

^{1 (con’t)} besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.

milebad ha’berit asher karath itam b’khorev – “from alone the covenant which cut with them in Horeb.” It is of note that this is the last time the name Horeb is used in Deuteronomy. It means “Arid,” “Waste,” or “Desolate,” coming from kharav, meaning to be dry or dried up.

It was first used in Exodus 3:1 when Moses came to the mountain and the Lord spoke to him from the burning bush. The idea that is being conveyed is that the word of the Lord, meaning that which provides life, is coming from the barren place. The Lord is doing something in the world to bring restoration. That process is uniquely tied into this covenant that was made at Horeb.

The words of the Lord, through Moses, which comprise this part of the law, are specifically said to be “apart” or “besides” those given at Horeb (meaning Sinai). What authority is there to add these words? That will be explained in a moment.

As far as the words here, they are similar to those that ended Chapter 26 of Leviticus. That was the chapter that detailed the blessings and the curses that could be expected to come upon Israel as spoken forth by the Lord.

This first verse of Deuteronomy 29 also follows right after the chapter that detailed the blessings and the curses of this book –

“These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the Lord made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.” Leviticus 26:46

“These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.”

If the covenant was cut at Sinai, how can it be that more laws can be added to the covenant? The word “besides” is not indicating a new covenant, but that the words are added to the covenant besides that which has already been given.

The answer goes back to Exodus. The covenant was first agreed to in Exodus 19:7, 8 –

“So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. ⁸ Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

Then, in Exodus 24, the ceremony for the cutting of the covenant was conducted, animals were sacrificed, and the blood was sprinkled. At that time, it said –

“Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.’” Exodus 24:7

The words they spoke, qol asher dibber Yehovah na’aseh v’nishma, mean, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and we will hear.” The word used there, shema, means to hear, but hearing is often associated with obedience, such as “I want you to hear me,” which means “I want you to do as I say.”

However, one cannot be obedient unless he first hears. In the preceding chapter of Exodus, before this covenant rite was conducted, it said –

“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. ²² But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.” Exodus 23:20-22

In other words, despite the covenant being cut in Exodus 24, more words of instruction were already said to be coming from the Lord to which the people must be attentive. This is why the people said the words, “…and we will hear.” They committed to doing even before hearing.

The people didn’t say that they would hear and then they would obey. They said that they would do, and then they will hear – meaning both hear and then do what has been heard. The Book of the Covenant which was presented to them, and which led to the cutting of the covenant, was not the entire body of the law. It is what the entire body of the law was based on.

After that, however, Israel violated that same covenant. While Moses was on the mountain receiving the continued law, the people fashioned the golden calf. In this, they violated the covenant, and the Lord had every right to destroy them based on their disobedience.

However, Moses petitioned for them, and the Lord – full of grace and mercy – forgave their sin –

“The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, ⁷ keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6, 7

It was at this time, while Moses was again on the mountain, that the Lord agreed to Moses’ petition and said to him –

“Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.” Exodus 34:10

The words confirmed that Moses’ request was granted. The Lord said, hinneh anoki koreth berit – “Behold, I cut a covenant.” The Lord was confirming that the covenant would continue.

Israel had broken it and it could have been annulled. As such, they would have been liable to the entire weight of the penalty – meaning death – as pictured in the original shedding of the blood of the animals. But they had found grace.

Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord relented from fulfilling the terrifying terms of the covenant which they had violated. From here on, it is the Lord God that made, or “cut,” the covenant. It is one-sided and therefore if there was any disagreement, Israel would bear the blame. Likewise, if there was harmony between the two, only the Lord would receive the glory.

What occurred in Exodus 34 did not mean that the original covenant was simply reinstated. Nor did it mean that there was a “new covenant.” In the forgiving of the people’s transgressions, the thought “describes rather His future rule as a constant, continuous establishment of a covenant” (Lange).

Therefore, the entire time of His dealing with Israel under the covenant is a transitional phase that only anticipates a New Covenant. This is confirmed many hundreds of years later in the words of Jeremiah –

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— ³² not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. ³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴ No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34

The word of the Lord through Jeremiah points back to the covenant that was broken by Israel after being brought out by the Lord. Thus, the law of Moses is a transitional phase of the Lord’s redemptive workings. It only anticipates a New Covenant at some point in the future.

Until that time, the Mosaic Law continued to be added to in Moab, and it was then explained and spoken forth by prophets during the time of its administration, right up until the coming of Christ who would fulfill it, annul it through His blood, and at the same time initiate a New Covenant.

Because of these things, there is no need for sacrifices to confirm the covenant. It is a part of the ongoing covenant that began at Horeb (Sinai). This is confirmed by what was said early in Deuteronomy as well –

“The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.” Deuteronomy 5:2

It is taken as an axiom there that what Moses says afterwards in Deuteronomy is all a part of this same covenant. But an important point concerning this on-going giving of the law is that it anticipates the call of the Gentiles as well as the restoration of Israel. That will be seen later, in Chapter 32 –

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people;
For He will avenge the blood of His servants,
And render vengeance to His adversaries;
He will provide atonement for His land and His people.”

Paul cites this in Romans 15 to show that even the Mosaic Covenant anticipated the inclusion of the Gentiles in what God is doing in His redemptive plans. Everything is tied up in the coming of Messiah, everything.

Looked at from this perspective, and understanding what He is doing, it is incredible that people believe the church has replaced Israel. What the Lord has done is for them and through them. The Gentiles are graciously grafted into what is promised to Israel. With this understood, the narrative continues…

The covenant is made, and it will stand
Even if you fail to do your part of it
You may be exiled from your land
But I will keep you always; to this, I commit

When you fail to keep and to do
I will still be sure to uphold My part, My friend
My words, like Me, are faithful and true
And I will perform My word, even to the end

**You, O God, are our only hope, it is true
And to You, O God, shall our praises forever ring
We shall hold fast to the One who is faithful and true
And to Him shall our voices forever sing

II. That You May Prosper (verses 2-9)

² Now Moses called all Israel and said to them:

What Moses will do now is comparable to what Joshua will later do in Joshua 24. It is a way of reminding the people of the past so that they will pay heed into the future. In order to do this, he calls together the entire assembly. In their gathering, he says…

^{2 (con’t)} “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt,

The words “You have seen” are emphatic. It is as if he says, “You most certainly have seen.” Although it was forty years earlier, the elders were alive at the time and they can speak for all, witnessing to the truth of Moses’ words.

In this, Moses returns the minds of the people back to Egypt once again. He is doing this to make a point concerning the greatness of the Lord. If He has performed magnificently and fearfully in the past, He is fully capable of doing so in the future as well.

The covenant is what binds the two parties together, and the Lord has the right to judge every infraction against it. If the Lord did the great things that Moses now describes in order to establish His covenant with Israel, then how much more should He do great things against those who trample underfoot the covenant!

^{2 (con’t)} to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land— 

The Lord brought plagues against the mighty nation that Israel was in bondage to. Pharaoh ruled over them and yet, the Lord was victorious over him. At the same time, the Lord brought judgment against the servants of Pharaoh while sparing Israel. Likewise, the Lord brought destruction upon the land, and yet He spared the land of Goshen where Israel was.

The judgments were targeted, precise, and severe. Israel, even those before Moses now, saw this with their own eyes…

³ the great trials which your eyes have seen,

The previous verse was in the plural – “Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: “You (pl) have seen all that the Lord did before your (pl) eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land.” This verse now switches to the singular, addressing the nation collectively –

“the great trials which your (sg) eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders.” As normally is the case, Cambridge arrogantly denies the words are from a single source, saying that the singular “betrays the composite nature of the passage.”

Anyone adding new verses in, and wanting them to look original, would have consistently used the plural. But when considering this from Moses’ seat as he addresses the people, the change from the plural to the singular is both natural and expected.

Not every person gathered before him was alive during the entire time from the exodus until arriving at Moab. The change to the singular acknowledges that.

As far as the words here, they reflect the sentiment spoken by him in Chapter 4, repeating what he said there to some extent –

“Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?” Deuteronomy 4:34

In this he begins with the word massah, meaning testing or trials. It is derived from nasah, to test, or try. This is probably referring to the trials of the people prior to Moses’ arrival. They were in hard bondage, they were afflicted and tested –

“Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. ²⁴ So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. ²⁵ And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.” Exodus 2:23-25

^3 (con’t) the signs,

The othoth, or signs, are things given to represent something else. The Lord gave Moses three signs to give to Israel – the rod which turned into a snake, the leprous hand, and the water which turned to blood. He also gave signs to Pharaoh concerning what would come upon them as the Lord accomplished His work. Next…

^3 (con’t) and those great wonders.

v’ha’mophtim ha’gedolim ha-hem – “and the wonders, the great, the those.” The mopheth, or wonder, comes from yaphah, or beautiful. It speaks of that which is conspicuous and amazing.

This then refers to the plagues which came upon the land. And yet, it also speaks of the fact that Israel was spared at the same time. While Egypt was destroyed, Israel survived through the plagues – each time, it was a wonder in itself. Despite seeing these…

⁴ Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive

The words continue in the singular. There are those in the congregation that this doesn’t apply to, like Joshua and Caleb. However, as a whole, Israel is being exactingly described by their leader.

He uses the word yada, meaning “to know.” It is something that is ascertained by seeing. In the Bible, the heart is the seat of reasoning and intellect. But what occurs in the heart must be processed after information has been obtained. Israel has been presented with the sights –

“You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land— ³ the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders.”

Despite the sensory input, there is no perception as to the meaning behind what they have seen. This is then explained by the next words…

^4 (con’t) and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.

This is not referring to their literal eyes and ears. He has just told them that their eyes saw. In this, he has moved to metaphor and is equating the eyes and the ears to spiritual sensors. This is repeated by Jeremiah where he uses the word “heart” which is translated as understanding, as well as eyes and ears –

“Hear this now, O foolish people,
Without understanding,
Who have eyes and see not,
And who have ears and hear not:” Jeremiah 5:21

This is a theme that carries on throughout the Old Testament, and it is repeated in the New, both when referring to Israel, such as when Paul cites Isaiah in Acts 28 –

“Go to this people and say:
‘Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand;
And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
²⁷ For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’” Acts 28:26, 27

It is also a prayer that Paul made, desiring that his disciples would receive these spiritual sensors –

“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” Ephesians 1:17-21

As with Jeremiah just a moment ago, Paul’s words literally state “being enlightened the eyes of your heart.” The spiritual sensors are to work in accord with the intellect, producing discernment concerning the things of God. However, Moses tells Israel that they still had not arrived at this type of wisdom.

Considering the fact that the time of wilderness wandering is a mirror of the exile of Israel over these past two thousand years, it is evident that Moses’ words are being prophetically directed to Israel today.

After all this time, they still do not understand their role in the redemptive scenario, and they still do not understand that they are, even now, being directed by Moses to look and find Christ –

“But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. ¹⁵ But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. ¹⁶ Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” 2 Corinthians 3:14-16

This lack of discernment by Israel is next explained to them beginning in the most basic way…

⁵ And I have led you forty years in the wilderness.

The word is holek, to walk. More literally, it says, “And I walked you.” To walk signifies the conduct of one’s life. Israel is walking under the law.

In verse 8:2, it said that “the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness.” Now, Moses unites his words with those of the Lord, “And I have walked (meaning led).” Moses, typical of the law itself, represents the direction of the Lord.

Israel disobeyed the law and the Lord punished Israel. And yet, He led them through their time of punishment. Moses, as the lawgiver, conveyed the punishment that resulted, and Moses continued to lead Israel in their punishment. In other words, the law maintained its authority over them in their exile.

Nothing could be clearer than the typology we are seeing. Israel was punished under the law, Israel remains under the law, and Israel is restored based on the promises of the law – leading them to restoration and rest in Canaan, but in type, it anticipates restoration and rest in Christ.

^5 (con’t) Your clothes have not worn out on you,

It is a most interesting set of words. Moses is referring to the salmah, or garment. That ultimately comes from semel, or image. The idea is that the garment takes on the image, or shape, of the person it is on. The image of Israel remained through their wanderings.

The words are to be taken literally. The Lord kept their garments from wearing out. This is the literal occurrence. However, it is to be understood typologically as well. The words have been carefully chosen to reveal what would happen to Israel in the future.

One would think that upon exile, Israel would be disbanded and simply take the image of those around them, like all of the other exiled nations of the world. But this did not happen. The garments not wearing out in the wilderness are typologically given to show us the Lord’s supernatural care of preserving Israel in exile.

This is evident because this verse is a close repeat of verse 8:4 with a specific difference –

8:4 – Your (singular) garment not did wear out on you (singular).
29:5 – Not have worn out your (plural) garments on you (plural).

The people are Israel, and Israel is comprised of the people. We are being instructed in the Lord’s care for Israel. Next, more remarkably, the words now go from the plural to the singular – just to make sure this is understood…

^5 (con’t) and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.

It is incorrect. It says, “and your (singular) sandal not has worn out on your (singular) foot.” The sandal is a symbol of authority over the place it rests. The sandal of Israel, on the foot of Israel, has not worn out, even in their exile.

They still retain the authority that was promised to them. Despite rejecting Christ, they will someday rule the world with Christ as their Head –

“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
³ Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
⁴ He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.” Isaiah 2:2-4

For now, Moses is still schooling Israel on their lack of understanding…

⁶ You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink

Moses tells Israel that they have not participated in three different things during their time in the wilderness.

First, lekhem, or bread, is representative of that which sustains life. It can be used synonymously with food in general. Next is yayin, or wine. It represents our reasoning and that which will change our mind. An example of this is found in Jesus’ words of Matthew 9 –

“Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17

Jesus was speaking of the law and grace. The new wine is the new dispensation of grace to come. The old wine was the dispensation of the law. If one were to introduce the new concept into the old, it would not work because the two were incompatible. Only if one put the new wine in the new wineskin and received the new wine would the mind be changed.

The third item is shekar, or intensely strong drink. That comes from shakar, to be drunk. It is almost always, but not always, used negatively. It is also almost always cited in conjunction with yayin (wine).

Shekar was not to be drunk by the priest while performing his duties, by the Nazirite during his time of separation to the Lord, and Solomon notes that it is not for kings to drink shekar (Proverbs 31:4). As those each imply separation to the Lord, then it can be inferred that shekar is typical of being closely in fellowship with others. This is certainly the case in Deuteronomy 14 –

“And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.” Deuteronomy 14:26

However, this fellowship with others should not be at the exclusion of the Lord.

What this verse is saying is that Israel was wholly dependent on the Lord. They lacked the things that would normally keep people alive and united – food, wine, and strong drink. And yet, they remained a people. The Lord provided manna (Christ) and they drank the water from the rock (Christ) and He kept them as a people, even though they did not recognize Him.

Likewise, Israel in exile has lacked the Bread of Life (Christ), and yet they have been kept alive. They have not had a united cultural expression, and yet they have maintained their culture, and they have not had fellowship as a nation, and yet they have been nationally kept in fellowship – meaning they have remained favorable toward one another despite their separation.

Without recognizing the hand of the Lord in keeping them, they were kept by Him. All of this was done in the wilderness, and all of this was done while they were in exile…

^{6 (con’t)} that you may know that I am the Lord your God.

Who is speaking here? l’maan tedeu ki ani Yehovah elohekem – “to end purpose you (all) may know that I Yehovah your (all) God.” Moses is relaying this, but he is speaking the law, and the law is spoken forth by the Lord. The Lord has a purpose for what He is saying, and what He is saying is based upon what He has been doing.

He has done all of these things with an end goal and purpose, which is for them to know what they have consistently failed to learn. It is that Yehovah is the Lord their God, and that Jesus is the incarnate Lord God. If this is not true, then there would be no reason, at all, to keep them as a people. The end purpose is Christ.

With that understood, Moses next turns to events that only just recently transpired…

⁷ And when you came to this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us to battle, and we conquered them.

“This place” means, east of Canaan. The account of the defeat of Sihon and Og is recorded in Numbers 21:21-35. These two represent the last two foes to be defeated before Israel would receive their inheritance.

Despite coming against Israel, they were both defeated, assuring Israel of their ability to enter into the promise. The Lord brought about the victory through them. Likewise, the two great foes of the end times will come out against Israel, and they will likewise be defeated. What they possessed will be possessed by Israel.

⁸ We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh.

To be precise, the names are in the singular. “to the Reubenite, and to the Gadite, and to half-tribe the Manassite.” The land that was conquered was given to them as an inheritance.

This is especially recorded in Numbers 32. The account focused on the livestock of the people and their desire to not enter the inheritance because of it. But the main point is that the land was conquered by Israel, and it was possessed by several tribes of Israel.

Moses is reminding them, only a short time after the events took place, that it was the Lord who had brought them to this point, and that it was the Lord who led Israel and who then ultimately won the battles for them. Because of this care for them, and because of His ever-present hand upon them, they are admonished, once again, to think and to act upon that knowledge…

⁹ Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them,

The Hebrew reads, “And you (pl. all) shall keep words the covenant, the this, and you (pl. all) shall do them.” One can keep and not do – “This is our law, but I am not going to do it.” Or one can “not” keep and yet do – “There is no law that says I should do this, but I am doing it because it is right.” Israel is instructed to keep and to do.

This is a heavy burden to bear if you think about it. In order to keep and do, the people must know. Otherwise, this would be impossible to perform.

One might not know the law at all. This is a person with no understanding. One may know the law and fail to do what the law says. That demonstrates understanding, but a lack of wisdom. And one can know the law and also do what the law says. That would demonstrate a person with both understanding and wisdom. This is what Moses is conveying to the people.

The Lord had been with Israel, He had clearly displayed Himself and His capabilities to them all along, and He expected them to acknowledge Him by doing what He had (and continues to) instruct them. If they are willing to comply, there is a benefit…

*^{9 (fin)} that you may prosper in all that you do.

It is direct and bears an emphasis: l’maan taskilu eth ka lasher taasun – “to end purpose you (all) will prosper in all that you all (certainly) do.”

The word translated as “prosper” is sakal. It actually bears two separate meanings that unite as one. It means both to prosper and to be wise. It is used by Isaiah when referring to the Messiah –

“Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;
He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.” Isaiah 52:13

This is why some translations say, “Behold My Servant will prosper” (BSB). The Amplified Bible goes an extra step and includes both, to carry the meaning to its fullest intent – “Indeed, My Servant (the Messiah) will act wisely and prosper.”

Moses is certainly thinking on the same lines. In being wise (keeping and doing), the people will prosper. But, as just noted, one cannot do without knowing. There must be an understanding of the law to do the things of the law.

In understanding, there must also be a willingness to perform. And more, there must be a constant willingness to perform. There is not a day where one can take off. Any day without performing (keeping and doing) is a violation of the law.

This is the burden of the law. And it is this very thing that Israel must learn. The law, though good, is an impossible yoke upon the neck of the people. To say, “I have fulfilled the law all of my life, without failing,” is to say, “I am as righteous as God.”

It is a one-for-one correspondence, and it is something the Bible dismisses wholly and entirely. This is why the Bible repeatedly speaks of, and exalts, the righteousness of the Lord. We can do what is righteous, but we can never truly be righteous without it being imputed to us.

Hence, God sent Christ into the world to bring us to that state of perfection that He demands. And without it, there is only an infinite gap between us. Israel has yet to figure this out, and it will continue to be a costly lesson to them. But someday they will learn it. Moses will not enter Canaan because the law has no inheritance with the promise, and the typology must be maintained.

Israel must leave the law behind, trusting in Christ’s fulfillment of it. When they come to that point, they will be in the sweet spot. And the same is true with countless people in the “Christian” world today. They keep bringing themselves back under this impossible weight, looking to merit God’s favor apart from Christ.

Let us be wise and not go down that road. Instead, let us hold fast to the Lord, our Righteousness. Let us hold fast to Jesus.

Closing Verse: “My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.
¹⁶ I will go in the strength of the Lord God;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.” Psalm 71:15, 16

Next Week: Deuteronomy 29:10-19 Be sure to follow obediently in the way… (That He May Establish You Today) (85^th Deuteronomy Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. But He also has expectations of you as He prepares you for entrance into His Land of Promise. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

I Have Led You Forty Years in the Wilderness

These are the words of the covenant
Which the LORD commanded Moses to make
———-and Moses obeyed
With the children of Israel in the land of Moab
Besides the covenant which with them in Horeb He made

Now Moses called all Israel and said to them:
“You have seen all that the LORD did; wonders so grand
Before your eyes in the land of Egypt
To Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land—

The great trials which your eyes have seen
The signs, and those great wonders He did display
Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive
And eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day

And I have led you
Forty years in the wilderness; now your wandering is complete
Your clothes have not worn out on you
And your sandals have not worn out on your feet

You have not eaten bread
Nor have you drunk wine or similar drink
That you may know
That I am the LORD your God; so that you would stop and think

And when you came to this place
Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan
Came out against us to battle
And we conquered them, and from there we pressed on

We took their land and gave it as an inheritance
To the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to half the tribe
———-of Manasseh too
Therefore keep the words of this covenant
And do them, that you may prosper in all that you do

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.

² Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land— ³ the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. ⁴ Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day. ⁵ And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet. ⁶ You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. ⁷ And when you came to this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us to battle, and we conquered them. ⁸ We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹ Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deuteronomy 28:52-61
(The Blessings and the Curses, Part VI)

In our first verse today, a word, batakh, will be introduced. As will be explained again when we get there, it means “to trust.” It is used in the psalms more than 45 times, almost always in connection with trusting in the Lord.

There are things we can trust in, and there are things that we are admonished to not put our trust in. The verses today contain some of the most horrifying words in all of Scripture. That is for certain.

To keep them in context with the people to whom they are directed, I will say, without giving too much personal information, that I have been to several Jewish funerals. Some friends, some family of friends.

At one of them, the rabbi who was doing the ceremony talked about his people and the struggles they had gone through. He even mentioned Leviticus 26 which is the parallel passage to Deuteronomy 28. There, it is in the first person. The Lord says, “I will do this,” and “I will do that.”

On the other hand, here in Deuteronomy 28, it is in the third person. Moses says, “the Lord will do this,” and “the Lord will do that.” Either way, they are words that are so obviously fulfilled in the history of the Jewish people that they simply cannot be dismissed. And yet, this is exactly what the rabbi did when he mentioned the plagues the Lord promised to come upon the people.

It was as if, “This great book established us, and it is our rule and guide for life, but the bad parts do not – no they cannot – apply to us.” I was shocked, but not surprised. We see it in churches all the time. Let us get out our Exacto knife and cut out the things we don’t like. It is not wise, nor is it helpful.

Who are we going to trust concerning the word, concerning the Lord, concerning our theology, and our doctrine? If God is competent, and he made trees so He is, then we should expect that He will get us a word that is suitable for the edification of all people, if they will simply check it out.

Text Verse: “O Israel, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
¹⁰ O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
¹¹ You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.” Psalm 115:9-11

One thing that doesn’t matter is “many.” Too often, we look at “many” and we use that as our guide for making decisions. There are many people on the earth and so there must be many acceptable ways to express ourselves toward God.

There are many cultures on the earth and so there are many ways that people groups can express themselves toward God.

There are many religions, and so there must be many ways to have a relationship with God.

There are many denominations, and so it must be ok to worship God in any of them.

And so on.

The problem with that is that there is only one God. We don’t set the rules, He does. That should be obvious on the surface. But it eludes most people, and it is a tragic flaw in our thinking. Once we can accept that God is God and that He sets the rules – and only then – can we then work to find out “how” He expects us to live.

If there is one God and He has actually only given one way for many to relate to Him, we need to find out what that way is. Is it Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, or what? Does He care at all? It is certainly worth finding out.

Does walking into a shopping mall and pulling a detonator cord, blowing yourself and all the people around you up, please God? Does that, as some are told, guarantee you a place in paradise?

If the Bible is God’s word, and if we think dismissing parts of it are ok, then we only need to look at Israel. The tragic story is of a nation that has, and continues to receive, exactly what it bargained for. God has given an example for the whole wide world to discover exactly what He expects and what happens when those expectations aren’t met.

Wonderful, blessed, and great things, along with tragic, terrible, and extraordinary things are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Siege and Desperate Straits (verses 52-57)

⁵² “They shall besiege you at all your gates

v’hetsar lekha b’kal shearekha – “and he shall besiege to you in all your gates.” As was noted in the verses last week, from verse 49, it speaks of a nation whom the Lord will bring against Israel. In referring to the actions of that nation, the words are in the singular, speaking of it as a united entity.

That continues now – “He shall besiege you,” rather than “They shall be besiege you.” Understanding this, it will be…

^{52 (con’t)} until your high and fortified walls,

The words are prefixed by articles for effect. It says, “until come down your walls, the high and the fortified.” Obviously, one builds walls for protection.

To build them high is intended to make getting over them more difficult, and to give greater advantage to those inside when those outsides are trying to scale them. And more, from a higher elevation, there is an advantage for archers and the like over troops mustered below.

To fortify them obviously is intended to make breeching them more difficult. Having such notable defenses would lead to a feeling of security for those within. The walls are those things…

^{52 (con’t)} in which you trust,

With such strong fortifications, the inhabitants would feel secure. But to trust in such things while failing to trust the Lord can only lead to futility. To highlight this, a new word is introduced, batakh. It gives the sense of being bold, confident, placing one’s hope, and so on.

Where is one’s confidence? In 2 Kings 18 alone, the word is used eight times. The chapter refers to Hezekiah. Of him, it first says in verse 5 –

“He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him.”

In verses 9-12, it notes the besieging of Samaria by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria. The city was taken, and the inhabitants were taken into exile “because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God.” They had failed to put their trust in Him.

After that, starting in verse 13, it refers to the warfare of the cities of Judah by Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Then, from verse 17, it details the coming siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib. Until the end of the chapter, the word batakh is used seven more times in relation to where Hezekiah placed his trust, meaning in the Lord.

After that, the word is used again in Chapter 19 as the account of the siege continues. Despite the overwhelming force that stood outside threatening the city, Hezekiah refused to surrender, but continued to trust (batakh) in the Lord God. Because of this, the account of the siege concludes with these words –

“And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. ³⁶ So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh.” 2 Kings 19:35, 36

Here in Deuteronomy, Moses is laying down the law. Where will the people place their trust? Will it be in the Lord, following Him and being obedient to His law, or will it be in the walls of their cities, the work of their own hands? If that is their hope, he says that such strong fortifications will…

^{52 (con’t)} come down throughout all your land;

If an army is prepared to besiege a city long enough, even the highest and strongest walls will not be able to endure forever. A city is comprised of people and people need food. Eventually, even the greatest and most protected city will run out of it.

In such a state, the soldiers within would be so famished that they would be unable to fend off those scaling the walls or the sappers beneath the walls. In this, the walls which had been the inhabitants greatest trust will come down. One city after another would fall to the foe. But more…

^{52 (con’t)} and they shall besiege you at all your gates

v’hetsar lekha b’kal shearekha – “and he shall besiege to you in all your gates.” Moses returns to the thought of the besieging of the gates of the first clause, exactly repeating those words again. Why would he do this? It is to set a contrast to what was said and what will next be said, which is…

^{52 (con’t)} throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you.

Notice the difference between the two thoughts –

*at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust
*at all your gates throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you

Where is your trust? There are gates and there are gates. There are walls and there are walls. Some are built by man, and some are of the Lord. The contrast to where Israel will place its trust, to its own destruction, and where the Lord Jesus placed His trust, to His own victory, is absolute.

In the 22^nd Psalm, a messianic psalm, the word batakh, or trust, is used three times. Twice it speaks of the trust of the fathers in the Lord –

“But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
⁴ Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
⁵ They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.” Psalm 22:3-5

The third time, it speaks of the faith of the Lord’s Messiah in the Lord –

“But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
¹⁰ I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.” Psalm 22:9, 10

Christ placed His trust in the Lord, even from infancy. The Lord is the Gate of trust –

“Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them,
And I will praise the Lord.
²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord,
Through which the righteous shall enter.” Psalm 118:19, 20

And the Lord is a Wall for those who trust Him –

“‘For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’” Zechariah 2:5

Moses’ implied question for Israel is, “Where will you place your trust?” Israel failed and was punished and exiled. The Lord Jesus never swerved in His trust of the Lord His God. He prevailed where Israel failed. Because of their failures, Moses says…

⁵³ You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters

The words here, as tragic as they are, were given by Moses in advance. Therefore, when such events were to take place, and they did – in fact – take place, the people could go to his words and say, “This is our fault.” The “fruit of your own body” is explained by the words, “the flesh of your sons and your daughters.”

What is as horrifying as the act itself is the fact that before the act, the child would first have to be killed. And this is what the record of Israel details –

“Then, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, ‘Help, my lord, O king!’
²⁷ And he said, ‘If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?’ ²⁸ Then the king said to her, ‘What is troubling you?’
And she answered, ‘This woman said to me, “Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.” ²⁹ So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, “Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.”’” 2 Kings 6:26-29

This also is recorded as occurring in Judah –

“The hands of the compassionate women
Have cooked their own children;
They became food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.” Lamentations 4:10

These and other such examples are given right in Scripture as fulfillment of the words of Moses now. Israel was told that they would eat their own children…

^{53 (con’t)} whom the Lord your God has given you,

In the Bible, having children is considered a blessing from the Lord. However, in rejecting the Lord and shunning His law, the blessing of children would turn into a curse of horror. The unthinkable would become reality…

^{53 (con’t)} in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you.

b’matsor u-b’matsoq asher yatsiq lekha oyevekha – “in siege and in desperate straights which shall distress to you your enemy.” The words are filled with horror – enemies without, complete lack within, and a state of total distress because of the siege of the enemy.

Moses introduces two new words. The first is tsuq. It is a verb signifying distress, being brought into dire straits, and so on. From that comes the other noun, matsoq, meaning dire straits, anguish, and so on. Moses says that the Lord will distress Israel in the sieges and straits that He brings upon the people.

It is in this terrible state that they would do the horrifying thing of eating their own children. This is not only recorded in the Bible, but it is also recorded concerning the siege of Jerusalem by Josephus. Joseph Benson says the following –

“This prediction was repeatedly fulfilled, especially when Vespasian and his son Titus begirt Jerusalem so closely that the besieged were reduced to a most grievous famine, which forced them, after they had eaten up their horses and other creatures, to eat even their own children, whom parents, who had used to live delicately, Moses here foretels, should themselves eat up privately, and let none share with them.” Joseph Benson

What Benson is referring to continues to be explained by Moses in the next words…

⁵⁴ The sensitive and very refined man among you 

Moses uses two words to describe the man of this verse. The first is rak, or “sensitive.” It signifies tender, delicate, soft and the like. The second word is new and rare, anog. It is used only here, in verse 56, and in Isaiah 47:1. It speaks of that which is luxurious or delicate. He then modifies it with the word meod, or very.

The person being described is the kindest and most gentle sort of man. In normal circumstances, he would reach out to help anyone, and he would never dare to be rude or unkind. And yet, in the straits that Moses speaks of, he…

^{54 (con’t)} will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind,

The words translated as “will be hostile” are literally “will be evil his eye.” In his own anguish, he will look at his brother, his beloved wife, and even his own children with contempt and disdain rather than compassion.

In saying “the rest of his children,” it means that he has taken one to eat. In saying “whom he leaves behind,” it is speaking of the other children. More correctly, it reads, “the rest of his children who remain.” One is taken, the others are not, but he will not give a bite of the meal he is preparing to anyone else.

In the siege of Jerusalem Josephus records –

“…in every house where there was any appearance of food (or anything that looked like it, that had the shadow of it) there was a battle; and the dearest friends fought with one another, snatching away from each other, the miserable supports of life.”

That is just what Moses says of this refined man now. He will take one of his own children and look at those around him with an evil eye…

⁵⁵ so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat,

The obvious thought that comes to mind is that his child is already skin and bones. To his demented mind, killing him would be an act of mercy at this point. But because he is nothing but skin and bones, to share him wouldn’t leave enough even for himself. This is all there is, and it isn’t much…

^{55 (con’t)} because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.

Moses repeats the same words as in verse 53, thus forming its own stress on the state of things – “in siege and in desperate straits which shall distress to you your enemy.” Along with that, he adds in the words from verse 52, b’kal shearekha – “in all your gates.”

It isn’t just a city that is besieged so that the residents of other cities could come and help. Rather, there is no help for anyone because invaders have come upon the whole land. None will be spared. No food will be smuggled in. No friendly armies will launch counterattacks.

In this terrible state, the unthinkable for this man has become reality. The horror and the revolting nature of the meal is all he can think of. But the man is not alone…

⁵⁶ The tender and delicate woman among you,

Moses uses the same two words he just used to describe the man to describe now this woman, rak and anog. She is “tender” and “delicate.” She is a woman of culture, she is refined, she is dainty. However you would describe the mildest and sweetest woman, this is who Moses now refers to. She is so cultured that she is one…

^{56 (con’t)} who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground

The word translated as “venture” is nasah. It signifies to test or prove a matter. She is so delicate and soft that she wouldn’t attempt to tread barefooted. Moses also uses the word arets (land) instead of adamah (ground).

Though they are almost synonymous, and are both translated as earth, land, and ground, it appears that he may have chosen arets to speak of any terrain – be it soft grass, the shores of the water, or anywhere else. She would never even attempt it…

^{56 (con’t)} because of her delicateness and sensitivity,

Again, Moses repeats the word anog (delicate) and then he uses the noun form of rak, a word found only here in the Bible, rok, or “tenderness.” The repetition is once again a way of highlighting what is said. Such a completely polished and refined woman…

^{56 (con’t)} will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter,

Again, like the description of the sensitive and refined man, Moses says that this sensitive and refined woman would have an evil eye toward her beloved husband and also toward her own children. The idea here is that of the strongest of possible bonds.

In saying “wife of his bosom,” or “husband of her bosom,” it is speaking of someone so close that the two are as close to one another as if they are one. And as the children have issued from them, they are one in the same stock. No human relationships could be any closer. And yet, for this once refine and tender woman, she will refuse them…

⁵⁷ her placenta which comes out from between her feet

This is a word found only here in the Bible, shilyah. Some translations say “her young,” but this is unlikely. It is more likely referring to afterbirth. The word comes from shalah meaning to extract.

The woman is at the time of birth, and so she has withdrawn herself from being near anyone else in order that she will be alone to consume what passes from her. But knowing that the placenta would only lightly satisfy her, she plots to also add to it…

^{57 (con’t)} and her children whom she bears;

The use of the plural, children, certainly means one, twins, or triplets. Her affection for the child or children to be born would be completely lacking. In her deranged thinking, she probably thought it a just and fair trade. “My body has been the vessel to produce the child, now the child will be the means of sustaining my body.

Such is the nature of the horror of being besieged and there being nothing left to eat. And so, to bear a child would be to set forth a meal…

^{57 (con’t)} for she will eat them secretly for lack of everything

ki tokelem b’khoser kol ba’sather – “for she will eat them [plural – probably meaning the afterbirth and the child] in lack all, in the secret.” The words of Moses are so direct, so personal, and so horrifying that surely none could believe they were possible. Who could even imagine it?

But in abandoning the Lord, there would be a time of dread that those who have never faced such a thing could not even think possible. And yet, he says that it would come…

^{57 (con’t)} in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.

The NKJV translators lazily copied the translation from verse 55 and restated it here. However, here it only says, “in your gates,” not “in all your gates” as it said in verse 55. Such lack of attention to detail is unacceptable for a translation committee.

Despite that, for the third time in a row, Moses returns to the same general words as were used in verses 53 and 55 – “in siege and in desperate straits which shall distress to you your enemy in your gates.” Thus, he is forming a very heavy stress on the state of what it will be like when the Lord turns His favor away from Israel.

As already seen, this came to pass in various degrees in 2 Kings 6 and in Lamentations 4. This is also noted in Ezekiel 5. Moses had warned, the law was given, and Israel shunned both the Lord and His word. Because of this, the prophet confirmed what lay ahead –

“Thus says the Lord God: ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her. ⁶ She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have refused My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.’ ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are all around you, have not walked in My statutes nor kept My judgments, nor even done according to the judgments of the nations that are all around you’— ⁸ therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Indeed I, even I, am against you and will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. ⁹ And I will do among you what I have never done, and the like of which I will never do again, because of all your abominations. ¹⁰ Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments among you, and all of you who remain I will scatter to all the winds.” Ezekiel 5:5-10

Ezekiel was referring to the tragedy that would come upon the people in the first exile, which had already begun. Eventually, the city was destroyed as prophesied, including the resulting horrors he conveyed to the people.

However, in failing to heed after that, the same tragedy came upon them again as recorded by Josephus and as relayed on Wikipedia. It is a story that occurred during the Roman siege that so closely matches Moses’ words that it can be considered nothing but a fulfillment of these verses here in Deuteronomy –

“Josephus relates that there was a Mary, daughter of Eleazar originally from the village of Bethezuba in the district of Perea, east of the Jordan River, who had previously fled to Jerusalem. Distinguished in family and fortune, her property, treasures and food had been plundered by the Jewish defenders of the city during the siege. Famine was “eating her heart out, and rage consuming her still faster”. Maddened by hunger she took the infant at her breast and said to him: ‘Poor little mite! In war, famine, and civil strife why should I keep you alive? With the Romans there is only slavery and that only if alive when they come; but famine is forestalling slavery, and the partisans are crueler than either. Come you must be food for me, to the partisans an avenging spirit, and to the world a tale, the only thing left to fill up the measure of Jewish misery.’ And in ‘defiance to all natural feeling’ she killed her son, then roasted him and ate one half, hiding the rest.
Almost immediately the rebels appeared (‘sniffing the unholy smell’) and threatened to kill her on the spot unless she revealed what she had prepared. As she uncovered what was left of the child she offered them a share. They left her in horror and the ‘entire city could not stop thinking of this crime and abomination.’ When the news reached the Romans, ‘some refused to believe, some were distressed but on most the effect was to add enormously to their detestation’ of the enemy at hand. Titus disclaimed all responsibility as he had repeatedly offered peace and amnesty for surrender.”

Though not in the Bible itself, and though Josephus – at times – contradicts or misunderstands some of the things found in Scripture, his eyewitness writings of the time in which he lived serve as a witness to what occurred in Israel after their rejection of Christ Jesus.

On the one hand, there is disobedience leading to the horror spoken of in these verses concerning the offspring of the people. On the other hand, there is the note of the blessing for Christ who perfectly obeyed the will of His Father by accomplishing everything set forth for Him to do –

“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. ¹¹ For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, ¹² saying:
‘I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.’

¹³ And again:
‘I will put My trust in Him.’
And again:
‘Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.’
¹⁴ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. ¹⁶ For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” Hebrews 2:10-18

Instead of those in Israel rejecting brother, wife, or offspring, and consuming their own children, Christ was willing to come to save His brethren, die for His bride (Ephesians 5:25), and to suffer for the children God has given Him. The contrast between the two is complete.

As for Israel, it has been a heavy burden laid upon them, but the law came by their own agreement to be under it, and it came with advanced warnings of what it meant to reject what it says. Moses will again confirm this thought in the next verse…

He was so gentle and such a loving soul
He never harmed a thing in his whole wife
But something has come over him that he cannot control
And it has separated any love he had, even for his wife

She was the epitome of tenderness and sensitivity
Never did she dare to put the sole of her foot to the ground
But she has destroyed her own child in the siege of the city
And has hidden his body to eat when none are around

How could such a thing happen? It is a world full of woe
There is only horror and disaster to be found
Where will it end? No one can know
But look at what has happened with the terror all around 

Oh God, may our trust be in You alone
You are our God, our only Helping Stone

II. Until You Are Destroyed (verses 58-61)

⁵⁸ “If you do not carefully observe

This is somewhat of a paraphrase. The words are more precise, saying, “If not you keep to do.” There is the keeping and the doing as has been mentioned in earlier sermons. One can keep and not do, and one can do without keeping. But what is expected is that the people will both keep and also do…

^{58 (con’t)} all the words of this law that are written in this book,

The English gives the sense for us to understand, but in the original Moses is very specific, leaving out any possibility of ambiguity – “all words, the law the this, these written in the book the this.” One can only see that absolute perfect adherence to what is stated is the expectation.

For Israel, there was the sacrificial system for failure to meet this perfect standard, but the intent is not to fail and then seek forgiveness. It is, instead, to perform and not need to seek it. In keeping and doing, there is a demonstration of the attitude of the people…

^{58 (con’t)} that you may fear

The words, “that you may fear” are not correct. Rather, it says “to fear.” Using “that” implies one clause gives the purpose for the other. Rather the second clause explains the first. In observing and doing, the people are showing reverential fear.

Taken together, it says, “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, to fear…

^{58 (con’t)} this glorious and awesome name,

ha’shem ha’nikbad v’ha’nora – “the Name, the heavying, and the feared.” The verb kavad means heavy, weighty, or abounding with. Thus, “the glorying” is a good way to understand the meaning. The word nora is a verb meaning to fear. Being prefixed by the article, it thus means “the feared,” and so “the awestriking” may get the point across as well. And that superlative name is…

^{58 (con’t)} THE LORD YOUR GOD,

YEHOVAH ELOHEKHA – YEHOVAH YOUR GOD. It is a term used many times in Deuteronomy when speaking of the Lord in general, but because of how Moses has preceded it with the previous clause that is filled with superlatives, the full cap title is a sweet touch to offset the words.

By stating it the way he has, it appears that Moses has shown that the name Yehovah that was explained to him at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14 (I AM THAT I AM), is now more fully developed to Israel. It is not just that He is “Yehovah, who is your God,” but that he is “YEHOVAH YOUR GOD.”

The name, and the people to whom the name has been presented, are united in a new revelation of Himself. God is progressively revealing who He is and what His relationship with Israel is. Therefore, if they fail to keep and to do the words of the law and to fear the Name, the heavying, and the feared (YEHOVAH YOUR GOD) …

⁵⁹ then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues

The nature of the plagues is stated first – “And will make extraordinary, Yehovah, your plagues and plagues your descendants.” Also, the word “plagues” is the same word that was used to describe the beating a person was to receive for violating the law – up to forty stripes – seen in Deuteronomy 25:3.

Therefore, this is certainly more than just plagues of pestilence, but plagues, hazards, social afflictions against the people, and dare we even say of events such as the pogroms and the holocaust. It is the stripes of punishment for rejecting the law and the Lord from whom the law came. These will be…

^{59 (con’t)} —great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses.

This seems to show that the idea of “stripes” is more suited. There are both great and prolonged stripes and great and prolonged sicknesses. The two work hand in hand. In being afflicted, such as when the Jews were all clustered into the ghettos (a stripe), the sicknesses would then accompany the stripes.

⁶⁰ Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt,

Here, the word “disease” is singular. It reads, “And he will return in you every infirmity Egypt.” The word translated as “disease” is used now for the second and last time, madveh.” In both Deuteronomy 7:15 and here, it is referring to disease found in Egypt.

It comes from a word signifying infirmity and it was something that they should have forever left behind, but the Lord promises to bring them back upon the people when they fail to heed. These may or may not be the diseases that afflicted the Egyptians during the plagues upon Egypt. The reason is that a different word is used when describing those in Exodus 15 –

“There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, ²⁶ and said, ‘If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.’” Exodus 15:25, 26

Either way, whether those particular plagues, or whether it was general diseases that were found in Egypt that the Israelites personally experienced, of them, he specifically notes…

^{60 (con’t)} of which you were afraid,

The words are more personal, “which you were afraid of their presence.” In other words, like AIDS or some other debilitating disease that people are fearful of even being around, they shall return to the people of Israel, but more…

^{60 (con’t)} and they shall cling to you.

They will reappear among the people and there will be no way to shake them off. Where one person goes, it will follow. And when it does, it will cling to whoever is near him, sticking like glue. But more than these, the Lord promises extra that the people had not even considered…

⁶¹ Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law,

Here again, Moses uses the same word translated elsewhere as “stripe” that he used in verse 59, “Also, every sickness and every stripe, which is not written in this Book of the Law.”

Things that would be completely unknown, more terrible, more enduring, more terrifying, and so on – all of these would come upon Israel for their failure to heed. All of these and more…

*^{61 (fin)} will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed.

This is the sixth of seven times that Moses uses the word shamad, or “destroy” in this chapter. As we have already seen, it means just that, to destroy, bring to naught, perish, and so on. However, it does not have to be taken in its absolute sense.

Moses knows that Israel will be destroyed. They will be so crushed that there appears to be no hope for them at all. And yet, he knows that the Lord has promised to preserve them through their destruction and to never utterly annihilate them. But that will not ease the pains they are sure to face while they are facing them.

In Jeremiah 6, the prophet uses the same two words that Moses now uses (sickness and stripe) to describe what had befallen the people as an attempted corrective measure –

“For thus says the LORD of hosts:
‘Cut down her trees;
cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be punished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7As a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her evil;
violence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
lest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make you a desolation,
an uninhabited land.’”

Jeremiah probably read the words after penning them and said, “Yes, the Lord is true to His word.” He may have wondered what the end of it all would be. But it wasn’t for him to know. He simply wrote what the Spirit inspired, and he waited to see where things would head.

To this day, people in Israel still don’t know where things will go, because – for the most part – the are wholly ignorant of His word. And of those who have studied it, almost none of them have done so with the thought of Christ Jesus being the One to whom the words point.

Think of that rabbi I mentioned at the beginning of our word today. There he is, telling his people about how unreliable the word is, when it told – in the minutest detail – exactly what would come to pass. But unless one wants to admit that he is (or his people are) in the wrong, there will be no understanding.

Let us not make this error. God is God and we must let Him be so in our lives. Think clearly, think soberly, and think about Israel. If nothing else on this planet explains what is right and what is not concerning who God is (and there many things that do), Israel surely does.

We cannot ignore this word, which tells us of such things, and go unscathed. And the fact is that above all else, this word tells us of Jesus. Therefore, to reject what it says about Him is to find only condemnation.

Pay heed to the word, accept it as it is given (and in its proper context), and you will do well. Of this, I am absolutely certain. If you do not, things will not go well. And of this, I am absolutely certain. Come to Christ and find God’s favor. Amen.

Closing Verse: “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense;
Their foot shall slip in due time;
For the day of their calamity is at hand,
And the things to come hasten upon them.” Deuteronomy 32:35

Next Week: Deuteronomy 28:62-68 Some will find hell by ignoring these verses, and yet they think they will find heaven… (The Blessings and the Curses, Part VII) (83^rd Deuteronomy Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. But He also has expectations of you as He prepares you for entrance into His Land of Promise. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Blessings and the Curses, Part VI

“They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and
———-fortified walls
Those in which you trust
Come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you
———-at all your gates
Throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you
———–as is right and just

You shall eat the fruit of your own body
The flesh of your sons and your daughters – yes, this is true
Whom the LORD your God has given you
In the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy
———-shall distress you

The sensitive and very refined man among you
Will be hostile toward his brother, acting so unkind
Toward the wife of his bosom
And toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind

So that he will not give any of them the flesh; their meat
Of his children whom he will eat

Because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits
In which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates

The tender and delicate woman among you
Who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground
Because of her delicateness and sensitivity
Will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son
———-and her daughter, if they be found

Her placenta which comes out from between her feet
And her children whom she bears, so she will them treat

For she will eat them secretly for lack of everything
———-in the siege and desperate straits
In which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates

“If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law
That are written in this book by which you should be awed
That you may fear this glorious and awesome name
THE LORD YOUR GOD

Then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants
Extraordinary plagues; a vile mess
Great and prolonged plagues—
And serious and prolonged sicknesses

Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt
Of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you
———-they shall from you not be stripped

Also every sickness and every plague
Which is not written in this Book of the Law
Will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed
Because you did not show Him respect and awe

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

⁵² “They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you. ⁵³ You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you. ⁵⁴ The sensitive and very refined man among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind, ⁵⁵ so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates. ⁵⁶ The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter, ⁵⁷ her placenta which comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of everything in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.

⁵⁸ “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, ⁵⁹ then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses. ⁶⁰ Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. ⁶¹ Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed.

 

Deuteronomy 28:38-44
The Blessings and the Curses, Part IV

The people of Israel obviously failed to uphold the words of this law, because they were sent into exile. Can anyone here disagree with that? The Lord, directly through Moses, and through the prophets, warned Israel to pay heed.

They were given all the information they needed in advance to live rightly, and all of the warnings that explained what would happen if they didn’t. They had only themselves to blame when the disasters that are stated came upon them.

Eventually, the prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, and the exile of the people came to pass. But along with those things, came their prophesied return to the land, just as they were told would come about. In fact, the things spoken were so precise that Daniel knew exactly when to pray for restoration –

“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— ² in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.” Daniel 9:1, 2

As such, Israel couldn’t say, “Well, we are finally getting what we deserve by being returned to the land.” No, the best they could say is, “Well, despite our unfaithfulness, the Lord has been faithful to us.” But once they were in the land, they again neglected the Lord. Hence, the bad spoken of in the law continued after their return…

Text Verse: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Consider your ways! ⁸ Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,’ says the Lord. ⁹ ‘You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. ¹⁰ Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. ¹¹ For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.’” Haggai 1:7-11

Despite their neglect of the Lord, He sent them prophets to tell them what to do, and He promised to bless them as they did it. It’s all one giant lesson that, unfortunately, still has not been learned by them.

They were exiled a second time according to everything stated in the law. They only have themselves to blame for the past two thousand years of misery. Yes, it is more than common for them to blame those woes on pretty much anything else but themselves, but that is how it is.

And now that they are back in the land, they are certain that it was because they somehow deserve it, or because of their own smarts, power, or ability. They are just like their fathers at the time of Haggai. But their unfaithfulness does not, once again, negate the faithfulness of the Lord.

I say this sermon after sermon, and it is a word to them. But it is also a word to those in the church who completely fail to get it. They dismiss Israel of today, being back in the land today, as an aberration. Or they simply reject that there is any connection between the two.

A little more study (and trust in God’s word) and a little less reliance on nonsense, and they would get it right, just as Israel should. How sad that we can’t. But all of this serves a purpose. And we will see that purpose, once again, in today’s verses. When everything is placed in relation to Christ, it all makes sense.

Along with that is His word that puts such things into their proper perspective. There are an immense variety of tools to help us do that. One of them will be seen in the verses today, parallelism. I will explain it now, and then we will get right into the passage.

Parallelism is a type of construction found in sentences where clauses or complete sentences carry the same grammatical structure. Parallelism can help explain what is actually being conveyed when words or thoughts are otherwise difficult to pin down. Further, the syntactical similarities can be used to provide rhetorical effect.

Now, we will proceed. Great things, such as parallelism, are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Four Points of Loss (verses 38-41)

³⁸ “You shall carry much seed out to the field

The words of this verse are set in contrast to those of verse 28:11 –

“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.”

It takes a certain amount of grain to sow an entire field. The thought of carrying out food that could be eaten, especially at the beginning of the harvest season when supplies would be dwindling, would be tough especially if things weren’t going so well.

The weight of the bag would seem heavy – “I could have a lot of meals with this…” But one cannot reap unless he first sows. And so, much seed is carried out to the field. During the time of Israel’s disobedience, it would be better to just eat the grain and die…

^{38 (con’t)} but gather little in,

What is promised as a blessing for obedience is now stated as a curse for disobedience. In it is a word found only this one time in Scripture, translated as “consume.” It is khasal, coming from a primitive root meaning to eat off.

The idea being set forth in these words is that at the beginning of the cycle, the farmers would take bags and bags of seed saved from the previous crop, and they would sow it into the field. However, at the end of the harvest, there would be little to show for all of the effort. This will be the case as noted by Isaiah because of the sins of the people –

“Woe to those who join house to house;
They add field to field,
Till there is no place
Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land!
⁹ In my hearing the Lord of hosts said,
‘Truly, many houses shall be desolate,
Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant.
¹⁰ For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath,
And a homer of seed shall yield one ephah.’” Isaiah 5:8-10

The disastrous nature of Isaiah’s words is realized in what the homer and the ephah represent. The weights are described in Ezekiel 45 –

“The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, so that the bath contains one-tenth of a homer, and the ephah one-tenth of a homer; their measure shall be according to the homer.” Ezekiel 45:11

If an ephah is one-tenth of a homer, and if an entire homer yields only one ephah, then there is to be such a loss of grain in the harvest season that the yield will not be enough to even sow one-tenth of the land the next year, even if nothing was used for food or selling. The output speaks of total disaster. Of the reason for the disaster in this case, Moses says…

^{38 (con’t)} for the locust shall consume it.

The locust plague upon the land is spoken of in several places. At times, it is symbolically used to represent invading armies. But the thought of the locust is generally that of destroyed produce –

“What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten;
What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;
And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.” Joel 1:4

The reason for the coming of the locust has already been explicitly stated here in Deuteronomy 28:15, saying, “if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.” That is then reflected in the words of Amos –

“‘I blasted you with blight and mildew.
When your gardens increased,
Your vineyards,
Your fig trees,
And your olive trees,
The locust devoured them;
Yet you have not returned to Me,’
Says the Lord.” Amos 4:9

The symbolism here is that of the failure of the people under the law. A great harvest indicates obedience and prosperity. As the curse is promised, and as it is said to have come upon the people, it is an overall note of Israel’s failure. The harvest season fails to produce. This is in contrast to what Christ sets forth. Even before the completion of His ministry, His sowing of seed anticipated the magnitude of His harvest –

“Then He said to them, ‘The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’” Luke 10:2

&

“Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! ³⁶ And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ³⁷ For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.” John 4:35-38

The idea of the prosperity of the harvest after first sowing one’s seed (Christ in His death, and those who follow Him) is reflected in the psalms –

“Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
⁶ He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.” Psalm 126:5, 6

For now, along with the lack of harvest because of the great devourer of the fields, the locust, another calamity is noted…

³⁹ You shall plant vineyards and tend them,

A vineyard is planted in the hopes of gathering grapes. It is something that requires attention and care, but it is also dependent on the right conditions to be healthy, such as the right moisture for the type of vine.

Israel is told that they will, in fact, plant vineyards. They already knew the land was favorable for this when the spies were sent into the land many years before. Upon their return, they brought a cluster of grapes as evidence.

Thus, Moses acknowledges that this will be the regular practice of the people henceforth. However, in disobeying the Lord and in the failure to adhere to His word, there will be consequences…

^{39 (con’t)} but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes;

The translation adds two unnecessary articles: v’yayin lo tishteh v’lo teegor – “and wine no you shall drink, and no you shall gather.” To say “the wine” implies there is wine, and to say “the grapes” implies there are grapes to gather. But both thoughts are erroneous.

There will be no grapes to gather, and thus there will be no wine to drink. The words speak of complete futility concerning the effort put forth.

In this clause is a new word, agar, meaning “to gather.” It will be seen here and twice in the proverbs (6:8 and 10:5). It comes from a primitive root signifying “to harvest.” There will be no such gathering because of the lack of grapes…

^{39 (con’t)} for the worms shall eat them.

It is singular: ki tokelenu ha’tolaat – “for shall eat them the worm.” Because of the singular, the tola, or crimson grub worm, is set forth as the destroyer. It will come forth and ravage the efforts of the people. In the prophets, the vineyard is set forth as a people group. The fruit is the product of that group, and the wine is a cultural expression such as joy, debauchery, wrath, and so on.

Though a bit lengthy, this is well-expressed in Isaiah 5 –

“Now let me sing to my Well-beloved
A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard:
My Well-beloved has a vineyard
On a very fruitful hill.
² He dug it up and cleared out its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
He built a tower in its midst,
And also made a winepress in it;
So He expected it to bring forth good grapes,
But it brought forth wild grapes.
³ ‘And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.
⁴ What more could have been done to My vineyard
That I have not done in it?
Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes,
Did it bring forth wild grapes?
⁵ And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard:
I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned;
And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
⁶ I will lay it waste;
It shall not be pruned or dug,
But there shall come up briers and thorns.
I will also command the clouds
That they rain no rain on it.’
⁷ For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,
And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant.
He looked for justice, but behold, oppression;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.” Isaiah 5:1-7

The vineyard is Israel and Judah, the people of God. Jesus then takes this example, and shows that what the Old Covenant failed to do, He would accomplish in the giving of the New Covenant –

“Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. ³⁴ Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. ³⁵ And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. ³⁷ Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
⁴⁰ “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
⁴¹ They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Matthew 21:33-41

Jesus’ words speak of the leaders of Israel under the law. In saying that he would give the vineyard to other vinedressers, He was not saying that the church would replace Israel. Rather, He was referring to the covenant arrangement.

Israel and Judah would be led under a new type of leader (Jeremiah 31:31) of which the Gentiles would participate in as well – sharing in the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:12). As for “the worm,” which destroyed the vineyard, it is a picture of Christ –

“But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
⁷ All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
⁸ ‘He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!’” Psalm 22:6-8

The symbolism was clearly seen when we looked at the book of Jonah where the tola, or crimson grub worm, pictured Christ destroying the plant that grew as shade over Jonah’s head. The vineyard of God’s people under the law would be destroyed, but the vineyard of God’s people would remain, tended to by new dressers of the vine.

⁴⁰ You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory,

This is to be taken as an axiom. Moses has already said that the land is filled with olive trees –

“So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, ¹¹ houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant…” Deuteronomy 6:10, 11

This implies that the olive trees are well-established. Unlike vineyards that need a lot of attention, olive trees need some pruning and the like, but they should generally be hardy enough to produce olives once they are up and running. They are considered to be rather low-maintenance plants.

When Israel moves in, they will have olive trees, and the trees should produce accordingly. However, in their disobedience…

^{40 (con’t)} but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil;

v’shemen lo tasuk – “and oil no you shall anoint.” This is a new word, suk, meaning to anoint. It comes from a primitive root signifying “to smear over.” Hence, it is the act of anointing.

As before, there will be the hope of harvest, and the heartbreak of having none. To anoint oneself is to enjoy the luxury of the olive upon the body. It is a blessing beyond just eating, but of tending to the body in a way that both blesses the individual and excites those around as well –

“Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ³ Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.” Ruth 3:2, 3

Such will not be the case for disobedient Israel. And Moses explains why…

^{40 (con’t)} for your olives shall drop off.

It is singular: ki yishal zetekha – “for plundered your olive.” Pretty much every translation, including the Greek, gives the sense of the olives simply failing – dropping off, casting off, and so on.

However, that might require the verb nashal to be used in a way not intended. As such, this may be a form of the verb shalal, which means “plunder,” “spoil,” “booty,” and so on.

I would prefer this, rather than them simply “dropping off” for a particular reason. If you’re still awake, and if the Lord hasn’t come for us at the end of the next verse, I will enlighten you as to why.

No matter what, there will be no anointing from the olive. In the Bible, the olive clearly evinces the idea of a witness. For example, this is said of the “two witnesses” of Revelation 11:3 who are then explained in Revelation 11:4 –

“These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.” Revelation 11:4

But these two witnesses are more fully explained in Zechariah 4 –

“So I said, ‘I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. ³ Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.’ ⁴ So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, ‘What are these, my lord?’” Zechariah 4:2-4

“Then I answered and said to him, ‘What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?’ ¹² And I further answered and said to him, ‘What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?’
¹³ Then he answered me and said, ‘Do you not know what these are?’
And I said, ‘No, my lord.’
¹⁴ So he said, ‘These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.’” Zechariah 4:11-14

The olive goes from the idea of being a witness, to the idea of anointing and being anointed. This then is explained in the same metaphor by Paul concerning the failure of the Old Covenant to the supremacy of the New (the Christ) covenant. This is seen in who the “witness” is that is “anointed” to convey its message.

“For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. ¹⁷ And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, ¹⁸ do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
¹⁹ You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.’ ²⁰ Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. ²² Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. ²³ And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?” Romans 11:16-24

The words of Paul neither indicate that the Jews have been replaced by the church, nor do they indicate that there is one gospel to the church and one to Israel.

The point is that Israel continued with the law and is no longer a suitable witness to what God is doing in Christ. Christ has come, and those who received him (predominantly Gentiles) are now the witness. Someday, the matter will swing back in the other direction when Israel is brought into a right (New) covenant relationship with the Lord.

The two witnesses of Zechariah and Revelation, Enoch and Elijah it is believed, reflect this union. Enoch is not a Hebrew, Elijah is. Both testify to the work of God in Christ for all people. As I noted, a minute ago, this idea of being a witness (the olive tree) goes to the idea of anointing and being anointed (the olive oil) –

“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, ²² who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” 2 Corinthians 1:21, 22

Israel is currently broken off as a witness, and they lack the anointing of the Spirit. All of this is seen in the curses of Deuteronomy 28 as is spoken forth by Moses. Next…

⁴¹ You shall beget sons and daughters,

Israel has continued on for millennia. The fact that they have testifies to the truth of the words of Moses now. They will have sons and daughters. Were it not so, there would be no Israel. However, in times of disobedience, it would be quite often the case that they would be deprived of them. Moses, in advance of such times, calls out the warning…

^{41 (con’t)} but they shall not be yours;

The sense is wrong. In begetting children, it means that they are their children. Rather, it reads: v’lo yihyu lak – “and no shall be to you.” Even though they belong to those who beget them, they will not be with their begetters. It is the state of being deprived of one’s continuance. Thus, there is the sense of complete desolation in this regard. The name ends. And there is a tragic reason for this…

^{41 (con’t)} for they shall go into captivity.

ki yeleku ba’shviy – “for they shall go in the captivity.” The word “captivity” is brought alive. It has become the foe of the people, carrying away their sons and daughters. The chances of ever returning to one’s family, home, city, and country are infinitesimally small, and they grow smaller with each day that passes. As Moses has already said of this earlier –

“Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand.” Deuteronomy 28:32

Moses reaffirmed and explained what he has already stated. Israel cannot say they were not warned. As far as this verse, the idea of begetting sons in a new way, and with a new and unbreakable bond of sonship is found in Christ through the New Covenant –

“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:10-13

“And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all, ⁵⁰ nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.’ ⁵¹ Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵² and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.” John 11:49-52

The number of verses that speak of this unbreakable and eternal bond between a Parent and His children is abundant. What Israel could not be assured of, meaning keeping their children under the Mosaic code, was only reflective of their state as children of God.

On the other hand, what God has done in Christ in the New Covenant is reflective of our eternal security in the arms of our heavenly Father. Thank God for Jesus.

As you are still awake (well, most of you), and as the Lord has obviously not come for us, and because we have now completed this verse, I promised you an explanation of the verb concerning the olives noted in the previous verse. Why do I think it is shalal, plundered, and not nashal, to drop off? The reason is the parallelism used by Moses in the verses we have so far looked at –

1. You shall carry much seed out to the field
2. but gather little in
3. for the locust shall consume it

 

1. You shall plant vineyards and tend them
2. but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes
3. for the worms shall eat them

 

1. You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory
2. but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil
3. for your olives shall drop off (rather: your olive shall be plundered)

 

1. You shall beget sons and daughters
2. but they shall not be yours
3. for they shall go into captivity

 

In seeing the results of the four actions, it is apparent that the word “plundered” is most probable. Each has had an external action taken against it – the locust consumes, the worm eats, your olive is plundered, your children go in the captivity. Therefore, the word shalal is probably the best choice for the Hebrew.

It would be improper to be dogmatic about this, but the parallelism calls out for this rendering. In this, you can see the importance of looking at such passages in this light. When you study the word, look for these internal cues, and you will be in the sweet spot of at least knowing that you may have a particular insight not readily seen in a cursory reading of what is before you.

Of these past four verses, Micah calls out the curses of all four of them to the people, but in a different order: children, grain (sowing), olives, and then the produce of the vine –

“You shall eat, but not be satisfied;
Hunger shall be in your midst.
You may carry some away, but shall not save them;
And what you do rescue I will give over to the sword.
¹⁵ You shall sow, but not reap;
You shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
And make sweet wine, but not drink wine.” Micah 6:14, 15

The sad state of not attending to the law, even after being warned through the prophets, is the lot of Israel. Someday, they will see the futility of the law and understand their need for Christ Jesus who has set before redeemed man a new and better hope.

Here am I and the children God has given Me
Because of the work I accomplished before Him
We are united as an eternal family
When before, such a state seemed tenuous, even grim

What the law could never do because it was weak
I accomplished with My own glorious right hand
For any who will an eternal relationship seek
Come to Me and it shall be so; the union shall stand

Here am I and the children God has given Me
Because I prevailed over the law that was set against you
When they nailed My body to that tree
It was in fulfillment of what I was sent to do

Come and partake of the wonder of this family
Come and be My children; yes, come unto Me

II. Lower and Lower (Verses 42-44)

The words of our three final verses today are pretty much the opposite of the blessings stated in verses 12 and 13 –

“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.” Deuteronomy 28:12, 13

For now, instead of the Lord opening His good treasure from the heavens, He will open His stores of destroying insects…

⁴² Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land.

The translation is deficient for several reasons: kal etsekha uperi admatekha yeyaresh ha’tslatsal – “Every tree yours, and fruit your ground shall possess the cricket.” The word tree is singular, the word “land” is better rendered as “ground,” and the word “locusts” is both singular (with an article), and it is a different creature than what was just seen in verse 38. It is ha’tslatsal, or “the cricket.”

It is a new word, tslatsal, that comes as a reduplication of the word tsalal, meaning to tingle or quiver. By reduplicating it, one gets the sense of whirring or chirping. This word will be seen six times and the other uses will help give the sense – cymbals, fishing spears (harpoons which rattle together), and whirring wings (Isaiah 18:1).

I chose “cricket,” to disassociate it from the locust, but it could be some insect that buzzes, like flies. Whatever they are, they are identifiable by their sound, and they would consume the vegetation readily. Because the word also means “cymbals,” one would think “cricket” to be a good choice.

As far as what they do, the word used is yarash. It signifies to possess or inherit. As such, it means that it has taken over the trees and fruit as a possession. There are other words that signify “consume,” and so the thought may be that they come and eat the fruit to the point it is useless without actually eating it all.

As far as trees, there are types of mole crickets that can damage root systems. Hence, I am still going with them as the offender. As I am not a renowned entomologist, please do not buzz with excitement over my translation. In the end, it may be moth-eaten or swatted down like a fly.

What seems obvious is that, like the trees and fruit of Israel when the people did not heed the Lord’s words, man under law is simply unable to flourish or to bear proper fruit. Paul says just this in Romans 7 –

“Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. ⁵ For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.” Romans 7:4, 5

Next, in contrast to being “above only, and not beneath,” as it said in verse 13, Moses says…

⁴³ “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you,

ha’ger asher b’qirbekha yaaleh alekha malah maelah – “The stranger who in your midst shall rise above you, upwards, upwards.” In verse 13, Moses’ words were simply put and not superlative. When they were right with the Lord, Israel would be above, but they would not consider themselves overly exalted.

In other words, no matter how “above” they were in relation to others, they were always under the Lord. But Moses’ words now are in the superlative. In not putting the Lord first above them, the stranger who was in their midst – meaning right among them – would be exalted above them and continue to rise above them. At the same time…

^{43 (con’t)} and you shall come down lower and lower.

v’atah tered matah matah – “and you shall go down, lower, lower.” Again, Moses speaks in the superlative. Israel won’t just go down, but they will continue to go down. There will be no hope of ever rising from their undignified state. One cannot first help but think of Christ’s contrast to this –

“(Now this, ‘He ascended’—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)” Ephesians 4:9, 10

Christ voluntarily placed Himself under the law. In doing so, He descended even to death. But in His fulfillment of the law, He has ascended to the highest point of all. For those in Christ, the same is true. To be “in” Christ (in Your midst, O God), means to be raised with Him –

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-6

In contrast to them are those who hold to the law for their justification, trusting in “self,” because the law is of deeds. As Jesus says, “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33).

Though speaking to the leaders of the law, being leaders implies having followers. If you reject Christ, you, by default have placed your hope elsewhere. The only way for Israel to get out of the bind they are in is to come to the One who can raise them to Himself.

And finally, instead of lending to other nations and being the head, as stated in the blessings, the curse will bring the opposite…

⁴⁴ He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him;

The word “he” is in the emphatic position. “HE shall lend to you.” The one who was in the midst of the people, and who was the borrower, is the one who now has risen above Israel, and he is the lender.

So much will this be the case that there is no time when Israel would lend to him. Whatever Israel possessed, it would be unneeded by the stranger who had risen above them. Likewise…

*^44 (fin) he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

Again, “he” is in the emphatic position, “HE shall be the head.” It is an embarrassment of the highest sense. The great and exalted nation of the Lord has become the very tail of everything that is going on because they have rejected the Lord who established them.

The words of this final verse seem to recall the words of Isaiah –

“For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them,
Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.
¹⁴ Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel,
Palm branch and bulrush in one day.
¹⁵ The elder and honorable, he is the head;
The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
¹⁶ For the leaders of this people cause them to err,
And those who are led by them are destroyed.” Isaiah 9:13-16

Israel was promised to be the head, but in not seeking the Lord, they would be the tail. And even the head of Israel, its leaders, would be a part of the tail. In failing to come to Christ and remaining under law, one can only expect this position, and the fate of being cut off.

In contrast to this is Christ, who fulfilled the law, He is now the Head. It is a term used of Him repeatedly in the epistles, such as –

“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:18

As such, those who are in Christ, even though once strangers to the covenants, are raised to an exalted position in Him.

“Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— ¹² that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:11-13

This is what it means to be a part of what God has done in Christ, or to reject what He has done in Him. The law is a tutor. It was given as such, and it was never to be considered a means to an end, except as it is fulfilled in Christ.

However, Israel is responsible to this law until they are willing to exalt the One to whom the honor of this law belongs. It is only in Messiah that a true and right understanding of what it means to be right with God is realized.

God promised the covenant blessings, and He was faithful to provide them as long as Israel was living even remotely in accord with what they were commanded. And God is just in bringing upon them the curses when they are not.

All of this is a lengthy lesson for the world to read about and then to choose what is good and right. The law is good and holy, but it cannot make man – who is already infected with sin – good and holy. But its fulfillment can. Thank God for Jesus who lived it out, died under it, and established a new and better hope for us through His shed blood.

And thank God for Jesus who proved it by coming out of that tomb and giving us an everlasting hope. The contrast is made, and it is complete – the law or grace. Choose wisely. Christ has done it all for you, if you will just reach out to Him.

And remember to pray for Israel who is the subject of these verses, in the sense that they are obligated to what is said until they get it right. Until they do, they will have many woes to go through, and many will never see the good that God has prepared for them. Pray for their eyes to be opened when you pray for the lost in your own life.

Closing Verse: “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; ³¹ but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. ³² Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law.” Romans 9:30-32

Next Week: Deuteronomy 28:45-51 More bad for Israel here in these verses, and that ain’t no jive… (The Blessings and the Curses, Part V) (81^st Deuteronomy Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. But He also has expectations of you as He prepares you for entrance into His Land of Promise. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Blessings and the Curses, Part IV

“You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in
———-for the locust shall consume it
You shall plant vineyards and them you shall tend
But you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes
For the worms shall eat them, this shall be their end

You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory
Hoping for a great crop
But you shall not anoint yourself with the oil
For off shall your olives drop

You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours
For they shall go into captivity at My hand
Locusts shall consume all your trees
And the produce of your land

“The alien who is among you shall rise
Higher and higher above you
And you shall come down lower and lower
Because you were neither faithful nor true

He shall lend to you
But you shall not lend to him, your finances shall fail
He shall be the head
And you shall be the tail

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

³⁸ “You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it. ³⁹ You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. ⁴⁰ You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off. ⁴¹ You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity. ⁴² Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land.

⁴³ “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. ⁴⁴ He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

 

 

 

Deuteronomy 28:30-37
The Blessings and the Curses, Part III

This is our third Deuteronomy 28 sermon, and the second involving the curses that would be laid upon Israel for their failure to heed the word of the Lord and to honor Him as He has set forth. These are words of tragedy, terror, loss, destruction, anguish, and horror.

And yet, if one looks at them in the proper light, they are words of victory and of the enormity of what God has done in Christ. They drip with the richness of His power, ability, and capability.

While typing the sermon you are now presented with, which was on 13 September 2021, I was so elated after typing the first verse that I did something I rarely do. I stopped and sent it to Sergio.

This is something I don’t like doing, meaning sharing sermon content before the thing is presented. This is for several reasons, but one is simply that I want the presentation to not be spoiled for people by their own reading or hearing what I have to present.

You know I get excited by sermon content, and I often stop with the written notes and add in all kinds of comments off the top of my head during the sermon. That will not have the same force or impact if what is presented on Sunday has already been shared with someone.

Along with that, I can think of probably 3-5 reasons that I don’t want to share content in advance. But with such a mournful passage, and yet with such a delightful anticipation of Christ presented, even in the very first verse, I felt like exploding with joy. And so, I shared it…

Text Verse: “Oh, how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
⁹⁸ You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies;
For they are ever with me.
⁹⁹ I have more understanding than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.” Psalm 119:97-99

None of my instructors, meaning the commentators I read each week for sermon information, will normally make the connections to the Lord that are so obviously staring at us when the words are carefully considered.

At times, John Gill will come up with some Christological connection, but he will often take it down the wrong path, so you have to be careful with his thoughts. But they may be just right enough to send you down the correct avenue.

This is, although much less so, at times true with the others I refer to. They are very good at mechanical analyses of what is going on, and also of historical truths that relate to whatever is said. But more than anything, and I am certain of this, the Lord wants us to find how Scripture points to Christ directly, or how what He has done now includes us, or even Israel of the future.

In other words, the highest form of analyzing the Old Testament Scriptures is found in typology. Jesus and the apostles hint at this in Luke 24:27, John 5:39 and John 5:46, Acts 8:35, and so on. The epistles reveal this to us as well when the apostles take actual examples of Scripture and equate them directly to Christ, or spiritual truths relating to Christ.

Paul says the Rock in the wilderness was Christ. He says Christ is our Passover Lamb, a sentiment repeated through comparison by Peter and John, Paul equates Sarah and Hagar as the two covenants in Galatians 4, demonstrating how what Christ has done is superior to the Mosaic code.

On and on it goes. This is the heart of what God has placed into the living word. It is what causes the life to pulse through it and take form, and it is the Spirit that brings it to life! This is the highest form of interpretation, if we can accurately place it into words.

When Sergio received the comment from our first verse (verse 30), he said, “WOW. WHAT A PICTURE OF CHRIST and HIS BRIDE!” He then noted Rhoda’s excitement about it too. But not wanting to spoil the rest of the sermon, and yet keep them excited about wanting to know more when it is published, a few minutes later, I added in “More Christ in 31! What a treasure.”

Yes, great treasure is to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Oppressed and Crushed Continually (verses 30-34)

³⁰ “You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her;

The three clauses of this verse, though seemingly random thoughts, are actually part of one thought process. The first is that of the destruction of a coming marriage, one that has already gone through the betrothal process.

The Hebrew will, at times, have a written form, and then a form that is spoken audibly when the verse is read. The written form of these words is much more violent, saying, “You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her.”

It is a new word in Scripture, shagel, signifying “to violate,” or “to ravish.” Thus, the idea is of her being forcibly taken away and raped. The other three uses of the word are found in Isaiah 13:16, Jeremiah 3:2, and Zechariah 14:2.

The sentiment being conveyed is obvious. There will be horror for every betrothed couple. For the man, there will be no joy of marriage, and for the woman, there will be the terror of being violated, accompanied by all of the negatives associated with such treatment – captivity, sexual bondage, carrying the child of an invader, or even being raped, tortured, and killed.

The man had made plans and designs for this wife, but they are to be robbed from him. And more…

^{30 (con’t)} you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it;

The idea of building a house is that of preparing for married life. In a betrothal contract, the girl’s father will want her to be tended to in a proper fashion. As such, he may say, “Yes, you can have my daughter, but you need to have suitable accommodations for her before you receive her. It is the thought of Jesus’ words to his followers –

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And where I go you know, and the way you know.” John 14:1-5

The Lord’s people are His betrothed, as Paul explicitly says in 2 Corinthians 11:2 –

“For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”

As such, Christ is preparing a place for His betrothed. When He is ready and when she is ready (Romans 11:25), Christ will return to consummate the marriage. For disobedient Israel, the hopes of such a time of joy will be taken from them by their foes. But more…

^{30 (con’t)} you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes.

This must be paraphrased to understand what is being conveyed. It reads: kerem tita v’lo tekhalelenu – “vineyard you shall plant, and no you shall eat as common.” The verb khalal signifies to bore or pierce, and thus to begin. But it is also frequently translated as “profane.” The idea here is that of the dedication of fruit to the Lord –

“When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. ²⁴ But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the Lord. ²⁵ And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:23-25

The word is explicitly stated in Deuteronomy 20 –

“Also what man is there who has planted a vineyard and has not eaten of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man eat of it.” Deuteronomy 20:6

The man cannot eat of the fruit until the set time, lest he profane it. Thus, he can begin to eat once that period is complete because the fruit has gone from holy to the Lord to common.

In this, the man has his wife picked out and the betrothal is arranged. He is building his house for their home. Further, he has arranged for income, food, and joy through the planting of a vineyard.

They anticipated having raisins, wine, and surplus to sell. But only after the fruit has gone through its dedication process. Until then, he will not partake of the “wine that makes glad the heart of man” (Psalm 104:15).

This process would have been followed by those, still under the law, at Jesus’ time. His parable of the vinedressers becomes clearer when taken in relation to this precept –

“A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. ¹⁰ Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ¹² And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.
¹³ “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’ ¹⁴ But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.” Luke 20:9-17

This then helps make understandable the words of the Lord just prior to His crucifixion –

Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Luke 22:17, 18

The betrothed of the Lord is being prepared, the house is being built, and the vineyard is set apart as holy to the Lord. Someday, what Israel is denied because of disobedience, the Lord will receive in its fulness because of His obedience.

As for Israel, the verse conveys the utter futility of the situation. If the house is built, and if the vineyard has fruit that can be eaten, then he has gone through all of the time, expectation, and labors of starting out his life with his betrothed. And yet, all of it will be taken from him.

³¹ Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it;

The literal truth of this is terrible. The ox is an animal that has productive value for work on the land. This would be robbed of disobedient Israel. The labors would be multiplied greatly in plowing the fields.

But oxen are also clean animals used for food, lots of it, and which are of a healthy nature. It is an animal that could be used for feeding a large party of friends at a festive gathering, like a feast day or a wedding. And this is what Jesus refers to in Matthew –

“And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: ² ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, ³ and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. ⁴ Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’” Matthew 22:1-4

What Israel will be denied because of disobedience, the Lord will share with others because of their faith in Him.

^{31 (con’t)} your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you;

The donkey is an unclean animal, but it is one that provides a great deal of benefit. It is an easy mode of transportation, it is used for carrying heavy burdens, it can be used in plowing, and so on. To take the donkey is to deprive the man of the comforts of possessing a donkey.

In the case of Christ, apart from His crown of thorns, there are few things that convey the idea of Israel’s humble King more poignantly than the donkey –

“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold, your King is coming,
Sitting on a donkey’s colt.” John 12:15

In their disobedience, the symbol of Israel’s king would be stripped from them and not restored to them. When He returns to them, it will not be on a donkey, but on a white horse. The symbolism of Deuteronomy speaks forth the prophetic future.

^{31 (con’t)} your sheep shall be given to your enemies,

Sheep are given to man for food, for clothing, for gaining capital wealth, and so on. In Israel’s disobedience, these will be ripped from them, depriving them of all the benefit they could have possessed, but which they squandered away.

And this is more than a literal occurrence. There is no better metaphor of God’s people in Scripture than that of sheep. It is used consistently in the Old and New Testaments as such. Having sheep implies being a shepherd. Israel’s sheep would be taken from the bad shepherds and would be given to their true Shepherd –

“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. ¹⁵ As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” John 10:14-16

^{31 (con’t)} and you shall have no one to rescue them.

v’ain movoshia – “And no savior for you.” It is the same words as in verse 29 which closed out our verses last week. It is also the same word, in the same form, as is found in the prophetic verse of Isaiah 19 that anticipates the coming Messiah –

“And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them.” Isaiah 19:20

Israel would reject the Lord Yehovah, they would reject His incarnation in the Person of Jesus, and their sheep would be taken from them while leaving them with no Savior. Next…

³² Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people,

The curses continue and multiply in tragedy with these words. The very fruit of the womb, and the continuance of the name, will be taken from Israel for their failure to uphold and perform the word of the Lord.

This idea of having one’s children taken from someone has been so foreign to us in our modern society that only in the very recent past has this started to be introduced into our thinking, with the exception of being for the gravest of reasons or the most serious of offenses.

With the introduction of the current “plague” surrounding us, lefties in the government, news media, judiciary, and academia are proposing children be robbed away from their parents if they are unwilling to be vaccinated. Against that, the outcry has been great due to the unthinkable nature of it.

However, these words have literally been fulfilled again and again in Israel’s history. Adam Clarke provides one example of it –

“In several countries, particularly in Spain and Portugal, the children of the Jews have been taken from them by order of government, and educated in the Popish faith. There have been some instances of Jewish children being taken from their parents even in Protestant countries.” Adam Clarke

In such an occurrence, Moses woefully says…

^{32 (con’t)} and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long;

The idea of the people simply sitting and staring comes to mind. It is like the young man who waits and waits for the girlfriend who changed her mind and isn’t coming to a date at the movies, but it goes on from day to day.

The moments tick by, the eyes are lifted yet again, they scan the horizon, they peek into the wooded forest, they search through the wavering mirage hanging over the desert – whatever the surroundings, there is no movement of son or daughter to catch the attention of the eyes. The anguish of loss continues on.

In what Moses says, there is a word found only once in the Bible, the adjective kaleh. Rather than, “your eyes shall look and fail,” it more precisely reads, “and your eyes look, and failingly, for them.” There is only pining and grief.

The sense is that of being utterly destitute of any hope. There is not even a glimpse of them except in the anguished memory of the mind. But the Lord, through Moses, told Israel in advance that this would be the case. They cannot blame Him. Even if these words were not recorded, they would have no case against Him. How much more is it so when they were warned ahead of time.

The words of Jeremiah refer to such an occasion which is then picked up by Matthew and applied to the time of Christ’s advent. But at the time of Jeremiah, it was both a reality and also a point upon which the Lord promised restoration –

“Thus says the Lord:
‘A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because they are no more.’
¹⁶ Thus says the Lord:
‘Refrain your voice from weeping,
And your eyes from tears;
For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord,
And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
¹⁷ There is hope in your future, says the Lord,
That your children shall come back to their own border.’” Jeremiah 31:15-17

However, Moses speaks only of loss, not restoration. The mournful words would occur repeatedly in Israel’s history because of their failure to honor the Lord. In this despondent state, Moses says…

^{32 (con’t)} and there shall be no strength in your hand.

v’ain l’el yadekha – “and no to God your hand.” It is a proverbial expression found also in Genesis 31:29, Proverbs 3:27, and Micah 2:1. Most translations express the word el, or God, as simply reflecting might, strength, or power. But that could be rendered in other ways.

Rather, this is a way of conveying that there is no ability to lift a hand to Him, and thus there is no help to be expected from Him. This devastating curse that will befall Israel because of disobedience is reversed in Christ. Where children will be removed from them, He will instead be given them –

“Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.” Hebrews 2:13

With this realized, the author immediately continues. Where there was no ability for Israel to lift a hand to God in the loss of their children, Christ possessed the power of God to secure release for His children –

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2:14, 15

³³ A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually.

The words of this verse were taken and expanded upon by the Lord through Jeremiah –

“‘Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar,
O house of Israel,’ says the Lord.
‘It is a mighty nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
¹⁶ Their quiver is like an open tomb;
They are all mighty men.
¹⁷ And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread,
Which your sons and daughters should eat.
They shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
They shall destroy your fortified cities,
In which you trust, with the sword.’” Jeremiah 5:15-17

The labors of Israel would be taken from them and consumed by their enemies, and in the devastation from their hands, there would be oppression and crushing. This is the lot for Israel who failed to bear fruit for the Lord. Their fruit would be taken from them.

The words of this verse go beyond Jeremiah (tangible fruit), and the Babylonian exile though. Christ conveys the same thoughts found in this verse concerning the spiritual fruit Israel was to bear and how He would take it from them –

“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. ⁴⁴ And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Matthew 21:43, 44

Everything in Israel’s physical existence, again and again, points to spiritual truth in their intended spiritual role. But the law stood against them. Only in Christ can that which is pleasing to God be found. For Israel, the woe continues from Moses’ words…

³⁴ So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see.

This verse is to be given as a summary result based on the previous verses. In what happened to them, they would be driven mad.

In this is a new word, shaga. It is a verb signifying raving through insanity. What the eyes will behold will madden the mind. Only confusion, disorder, and an inability to grasp reality will be the result of what will come upon the people for simply failing to hold to the law set before them.

When things are going well, such a thought is inconceivable. But that is what makes it so terrible when such things do occur. In the past year, because of the things that have come upon the world through hyping of the current “plague,” this has literally come true in countless minds. Many people have completely lost control of their senses.

If this is true when there is only minimal danger in reality, imagine what it was like for Israel when true dangers suddenly swept over them. And as soon as they would become reestablished in a new land and with a new direction, the sword of the Lord would come out and sweep over them again.

Even for two millennia, this has come to pass. John Gill refers to a literal fulfillment of these exact words of Moses –

“In Germany, in their rage and madness, they burnt a city and themselves in it; and, in the same country, being summoned by an edict to change their religion, or to be burnt, they agreed to meet together in a certain house, and destroy one another; and first parents killed their children, and husbands their wives, and then killed themselves; leaving only one person to be their doorkeeper, who finished the tragedy by destroying himself, as their own historian relates.” John Gill

If only they heeded the words of Moses, all of this would have been avoided. But their eyes have been blinded and their minds have been brought to insanity. John Lange pithily sums up this verse, saying, “What it must see with the eye of the body, takes away the eye of the spirit.”

This is the result of a state of no hope. When all is crushed, destroyed, or taken away for a people with no hope, then only maddening hopelessness is left. They had abandoned the Lord, and so the Lord abandoned them.

But in Christ is the victory. And in Him, the eyes see what Israel could not see. No matter what state a grounded believer finds himself in, there is still the state of unshakeable faith, and thus nonremovable hope. Paul reveals this to us –

“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” Ephesians 1:15-21

The terror of a life with no hope, one which leads only to madness in the eyes that behold such catastrophe, is perfectly replaced with hope leading to eyes of understanding that Christ has, in fact, triumphed over the law, over the curse, and over the state of death that man has faced since his first father.

The choice is yours what shall come upon you
You are told in advance how it can go well
If you follow My words and are faithful and true
You will find heaven and you will avoid hell

I offer you what is good; I offer you what is right
You are told in advance how it can go well
Be diligent by day, and be obedient at night
And you will find heaven instead of ending in hell

Be faithful to the word, learn from it what to do
I assure you in this, you will do well
Follow it and find My Son, given for you
In Him you will find heaven, without Him there is only hell

Oh, Israel! Come to the everlasting well
And drink of the Water that will keep you from hell

II. An Astonishment, a Proverb, and a Byword (verses 35-37)

³⁵ The Lord will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed,

Here, the shekhin, or “boil” is brought up again. It is the sixth plague to have fallen on Egypt. It was considered a leprous ailment as defined in Leviticus 13. It was also just mentioned in verse 27, last week. It would make such a person unclean and defiled. As such, he would be excluded from fellowship within the society.

As the words continue in the singular, you Israel, it is saying that Israel would “be cut off from covenant union with God” (Pulpit Commentary). This exact affliction, in this exact manner, is what Job was afflicted with –

“So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. ⁸ And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.” Job 2:7, 8

Because it specifies the knees and legs, the idea being conveyed is an inability to bow, kneel, or prostrate oneself. Thus, it speaks of punishment upon Israel for failing to render to the Lord such obeisance. What they deprived Him of, He punishes them with in like manner. Further, Moses says…

^{35 (con’t)} and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.

mi’kaph raglekha v’ad qadedodekha – “from sole your foot and until crown your head. The idea is that of authority (that which is below the sole of the foot) and honor (the crown of the head). That is seen, for example, in the blessing of Jacob upon Joseph, and which is substantially repeated by Moses later in Deuteronomy –

“The blessings of your father
Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.” Genesis 49:26

Israel is punished for their lack of honoring the Lord, they have been stripped of authority, and they have been deprived of honor. Exactly the opposite is said of Christ who prevailed where Israel failed –

“You have crowned him with glory and honor,
And set him over the works of Your hands.
⁸ You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” Hebrews 2:7, 8

Christ always honored His Father (John 8:49), He submitted Himself to His will (Hebrews 10:7), and He was perfectly obedient to His law (Romans 10:4). In this, unlike Israel who was crowned with shame and the covenant curses, thus losing their right to kingdom authority, He was crowned with glory and honor and received authority over all of God’s kingdom.

³⁶ “The Lord will bring you and the king whom you set over you

Like in verses 8 and 21, the first word of the verse is a jussive: yolek Yehovah otekha v’eth malkekha asher taqim alekha – “May cause to walk Yehovah you and king whom you set over you.” A jussive is basically an indirect command. Moses is calling out for the Lord to do this in response to Israel’s rebellion.

The words continue in the singular. Moses is not saying, “If this guy doesn’t pay heed, then may this happen.” Individual transgressions were to be handled by the individual in personal repentance, or by the community concerning a serious infraction.

Rather, Moses is calling for the Lord to directly act when the nation turns from Him and does not turn back. “May the entire nation, inclusive of the king who has so grossly failed in his responsibilities, to be caused to walk…”

^{36 (con’t)} to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known,

The meaning is exile. It is the gravest punishment national Israel could expect. However, this does not mean it is the final punishment they could expect. To be removed from the land signified a total rejection of them as a people fit for being in the presence of the Lord.

While in exile, they would continue to receive the covenant punishments detailed here and elsewhere in the law. They had become unclean, and they were to be removed from His presence.

However, it DOES NOT mean, as replacement theologians claim, a total rejection of the people – thus violating the covenant by the Lord. He has promised to keep them as a people forever. But in their state of disobedience, He has promised to do so apart from His land, and apart from a right covenant relationship.

This occurred at various points in Israel’s history, both to the northern tribes and to the southern tribes, such as at the time of Zedekiah the king –

“Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ He also did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ For because of the anger of the Lord this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.” 2 Kings 24:18-20

& then…

“Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city. And the king went by way of the plain. ⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. ⁶ So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him. ⁷ Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.” 2 Kings 25:4-7

In this state of exile…

^{36 (con’t)} and there you shall serve other gods—wood and stone.

This was certainly voluntary for most, and it continues to be voluntary for many even to this day. Statues of Buddha and Krishna adorn Jewish homes throughout the world and in homes found in Israel. But it was also involuntary as well. Such an event is recorded in Daniel –

“To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, ⁵ that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; ⁶ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” Daniel 3:4-6

What happened to Israel, Yehovah’s firstborn son (Exodus 4:22), who was exiled from their kingdom – inclusive of the king who sat over them – is set in complete contrast to Christ. Where they were sent to worship other gods, we see how Jesus, God’s only begotten Son (John 3:16), prevailed and is granted a permanent kingship over all of the kings of the earth.

The entire 2^nd Psalm refers to this –

Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
² The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
³ “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
⁴ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
⁵ Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
⁶ “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
⁷ “I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
⁹ You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
¹⁰ Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
¹² Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. Psalm 2

While Israel and her failed kings served other kings and gods of wood and stone, Christ – the Lord God – is served by other kings. The contrast is complete between the two.

For Israel, in their state of exile, Moses is quite clear about how they would be considered by those nations they were exiled to or fled to…

³⁷ And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword

Here, the exact opposite of verse 10 is seen. If Israel obeys…

“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.” Deuteronomy 28:10

However, in their disobedience and time of cursing, instead of being called by the name of the Lord, Moses speaks out three forms of derision by which they will be called –

Shamah. It is a new word, a noun ultimately coming from a root signifying “to stun.” Thus, it speaks of an astonishment, a waste, a desolation, a horror, and so on. The vast number of uses will be found in the book of Jeremiah.

This is not speaking of the land, but of the people. They will be called this term, signifying that so pervasive is their state of horror that they will even be considered unclean among, and to, the Gentiles.

Whereas the Jews kept separate from and wouldn’t eat or even associate with Gentiles (see Acts 10:28), in their dispersion, they would be considered so unclean that the Gentiles would not venture to eat or associate with them.

Mashal. This is a proverb or parable. It is a pithy saying, usually as a lesson of what to do or what not to do. Israel, in their exile would become a lesson to the nations of how not to act and how not to treat the Lord. Psalm 44 shows that exactly this occurred to Israel –

“You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and a derision to those all around us.
¹⁴ You make us a byword among the nations,
A shaking of the head among the peoples.
¹⁵ My dishonor is continually before me,
And the shame of my face has covered me.” Psalm 44:13-15

Sheninah. It is also a new noun coming from a word signifying to sharpen or pierce. Thus, it is something pointed, and hence a taunt – as if a word that pokes at a person. One might think of the way people deride the Jews with a multitude of expletives that I can’t repeat lest YouTube filters were to pick them up and ban the sermon for simply saying them.

One can see a Jew walking down the road and a group of people calling out all of these names, exactly as it continues to happen to this day. And, according to Moses, it is all a self-inflicted wound.

The ADL spends innumerable hours defending the Jewish people. But when they keep putting out heroes like Chuck Schumer; Jerry Nadler, and a continuous stream of really unlikeable people who have no care at all for the Lord who established them; when they continue to promote every perversion one can think of; when they jubilantly exult in the murder of the unborn; and so on; the prophetic words of the Lord, through Moses, are consistently and continuously vindicated.

Israel need only look in the mirror to discern why all of the calamities of their history have come upon them…

*^{37 (fin)} among all nations where the Lord will drive you.

They have sat, and many still sit, in synagogues in almost every nation of the world. They read the words of Moses which are fulfilled in their sitting, and they accept no responsibility for the lengthy and continuous times of trial that they have faced.

Until they search out and discover the “why” of their state, they will never stop facing the horrors that have plagued them for these past two thousand years. This is their sadness, this is their misery, and this is based upon the prophetic warning of Moses. “Israel, pay heed lest all this trouble and terror fall upon you.”

In contrast to them, being an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among the nations because of their disobedience, we see the complete and absolute contrast to them in the Lord Jesus who perfectly fulfilled what Israel so miserably failed at…

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

His name alone is exalted because He alone accomplished what Israel was given opportunity to work out. But the lesson had to be brought forth, and Israel was chosen for it to be so. In their choosing, the offer was made, and in the offering, they also agreed.

Though the words and the sadness are highlighted in them, they are only a reflection of each and every one of us. Their life under the law is for our instruction and learning as well as for them. The law was given to lead us to the Door, but it is we who must open it and pass through.

As individuals, some of them have – along with many, many Gentiles. As a nation, they have yet to do so. Until they do, terrible times remain ahead for them. But God has covenanted with them, the Lord has stated that it will happen, and the word testifies to the truth of this.

For now, pray for Israel the nation as you would for any individual you care for. They carry a very heavy burden that they don’t even seem to realize they are still obligated to. Yes, pray for Israel, and praise be to God for Jesus Christ our Lord who has made access to our heavenly Father available once again. Praise God for His grace that is found in Jesus Christ our Lord. And all of God’s people say… Amen.

Closing Verse: “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” John 1:16-18

Next Week: Deuteronomy 28:38-44 More curses to come in these verses, yes plenty more… (The Blessings and the Curses, Part IV) (80^th Deuteronomy Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. But He also has expectations of you as He prepares you for entrance into His Land of Promise. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Blessings and the Curses, Part III

“You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her
You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it
You shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes
A dismal future, you must admit

Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall
———-not eat of it
Your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you
———-and shall not to you be restored
Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have
———-no one to rescue them
Because my words of law you have ignored

Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people
And your eyes shall look and fail, please understand
With longing for them all day long
And there shall be no strength in your hand

A nation whom you have not known
Shall eat the fruit of your land, so it will be
And the produce of your labor
And you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually

So you shall be driven mad, yes to insanity
Because of the sight which your eyes see

The LORD will strike you in the knees
And on the legs, something you will dread
With severe boils which cannot be healed
And from the sole of your foot to the top of your head

“The LORD will bring you, and the king whom you set over you
To a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known
And there you shall serve other gods
Yes, you shall serve other gods—wood and stone

And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword
———-a sad fate it is true
Among all nations where the LORD will drive you

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

³⁰ “You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes. ³¹ Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them. ³² Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand. ³³ A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually. ³⁴ So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see. ³⁵ The Lord will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.

³⁶ “The Lord will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods—wood and stone. ³⁷ And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you.