“When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,”they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. The Lord will never be willing to forgive them; his wrath and zeal will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the Lord will blot out their names from under heaven. The Lord will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.”-Deuteronomy 29:19-21
No doubt, verses 19-21 are some of the most frightening verses in all of Scripture.
It says that HASHEM will have no mercy and will not forgive those who go whoring after other gods.
The sum total of every curse written in the Torah will fall upon that rebel and his or name will be blotted out from under heaven.
If you’ve ever wondered what the phrase “blot out one’s name” in Scripture really means, well here you go.
It means eternal death.
It is the Curse of the Law (which Messiah saved us from by the way. Thank God!).
It is absolute, final and irrevocable condemnation.
One who signs his or her name on the dotted line of the covenant and then decides to fall away are doomed to suffer the same fate as the Golden Calf worshippers.
They will become as Amalek: one who has been permanently separated from Hashem.
Note that verse 20 says that all of this will occur “according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law”.
There are no secrets or hidden surprises here.
And the Lord isn’t being overly cruel or malicious.
He is being fair and objective.
The consequences of breaking the covenant are being made crystal clear.
If you fulfill its terms and conditions, you will get these blessings.
If you break its terms and conditions, you will get these curses.
And for the individual who commits the ultimate high-handed sin of idolatry and decides to turn his or her heart away from the Lord, he or she will be completely cut off from the Lord forever.
It’s interesting to note that the would-be apostate will not be able to get lost and hide among the other members of the covenant community thinking he is undetected and thus will not be judged.
These verses also make it clear that all the divine punishments and penalties will NOT just take place at the national level meaning only experienced by the community as a whole.
Nope…the Lord will deal with the covenant breakers on an individual one-on-one basis.
There will be no hiding from God.
And one of the reasons why HASHEM will deal with apostates in such a devastating and terrifying manner is so they will be a sign for future generations to not tempt nor test the Lord.
Others who come later (like you and me) will see what happened, and say to ourselves “I sure as heck don’t want that to happen to me” and hopefully be motivated to stay on the straight path.
I know I’ve said a lot of negative stuff here, so let me try to end on a somewhat positive note by asking you this question.
Can you now see why the Apostle Paul was so ecstatic at what Yeshua’s sacrifice had accomplished?
“Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Messiah Yeshua, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”-Galatians 3:13-14
Honestly, I think only an Orthodox Jew like Paul, one who really understood that the Levitical sacrificial system did NOT provide atonement for intentional sins and did not provide atonement for the curse of the Law can really and I mean really appreciate what what Messiah did for not only Israel but the whole world.
I’m done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life,
as clear as crystal,
flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
down the middle of the great street of the city.
On each side of the river stood the tree of life,
bearing twelve crops of fruit,
yielding its fruit every month.
And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
No longer will there be any curse.
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city,
and his servants will serve him.”
-Revelations 22:1-3
I agree 100%! If a man’s name was BLOTTED OUT then it must have been WRITTEN DOWN at one time. He was “once saved”. According to Rev. 3:5, the same i is. But is the backslider true today. God will not blot out the name of one who has been TRUE AND FAITHFUL. And for sure, the backslider is NOT TRUE AND FAITHFUL!!
Thanks for your comment Sammy. Be blessed!
I was raised in Church believing once saved always saved. I am in agreement with you. Yeshua did say “if you love me”, and “to him that overcomes”…
Thanks that someone else has gotten the same message. You’re not trying to earn this free gift you’re just trying to keep it by showing your love and gratitude through your obedience by being led and counseled by Ruach Hakodesh. This is all I know!
I love Hashem and I am not a Jew. He died for me also and He is my life. Pray for all of us that we teach truth and truth by the Torah only.
Amen Joann and thanks for your wonderful comment!