We’ve now finished the first section of Deuteronomy Chapter 28 (verses 1-14) which dealt with all the blessings Israel would receive from God IF they listened AND obeyed Him.
And remember, the normal way the Israelites “listened” to God was by studying the instructions and commands of Moses and DOING THEM.
This brings me to a really important point that will again shed light on one of the many falsehoods promoted in Christianity.
Have you ever heard a pastor or Bible teacher speak on “seeking God’s Will on a matter”?
The typical idea promoted is that in order to know what the Lord wants us to do in a certain situation, we’re supposed to go to Him in prayer in order to get some kind of personal spiritual revelation.
Well, for the most part, that’s a bunch of BS.
Why?
Because Scripture (referring only to the OT) already covers pretty much EVERYTHING we need to know concerning the Lord’s Will for us in our lives.
Yes, God’s Word is that comprehensive.
When folks say “I need to seek God’s Will on the matter”, it’s usually because of one of two things.
One is they haven’t studied enough to show themselves approved so they simply don’t possess the necessary knowledge needed to do God’s Will in a certain circumstance.
Or two, they already know God’s Will on the matter (because He has made it plain in His Word) but they don’t really want to do it because it’s a pain in the neck, it will cost them too much money, be too much of a personal sacrifice or whatever.
So they try to seek another alternative besides what has already been plainly revealed.
They’re just hoping to find some nice convenient loop-hole to get out of doing what the Lord through BOTH His Word and their conscience has already convicted them they must do.
You don’t need to seek God’s Will on whether you should work on the Sabbath or not…just quit the job.
Or you don’t need to seek God’s Will on whether or not you should eat that curry sauce whose ingredients list shows it has shellfish inside it…throw it out or don’t order it (if you’re at a restaurant).
Okay, enough of this rant.
Let’s move on.
The remaining part of this chapter deals with the opposite of blessings which are aptly called the “curses”.
The ancient Jewish Sages actually have a special title for this list of curses here in Deuteronomy 28.
They call it TOKHEHAH.
Literally, the word means “warnings”.
Hence, the appropriate way to understand these curses is to think of them as divine threats.
The idea being communicated here is that just as Israel’s OBEDIENCE to the Lord’s Torah results in a series of clearly defined blessings, so too does DISOBEDIENCE result in a series of clearly defined curses (“penalties” or “consequences”).
The next time we meet, we’re going to be studying the curses.
If you grew up in the gentile church, I must warn you to brace yourself, because you’re about to be exposed to some hard truths straight from the mouth of HASHEM that are going to force you to rethink all of the doctrines you’ve been taught up until now.
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