ESTABLISHED AS GOD'S HOLY PEOPLE

Passage: Deuteronomy 28:1-35

Key verse: 9

NIV

Blessings for Obedience

28 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow(A) all his commands(B) I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.(C) 2 All these blessings will come on you(D) and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

3 You will be blessed(E) in the city and blessed in the country.(F)

4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.(G)

5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.(H)

7 The Lord will grant that the enemies(I) who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.(J)

8 The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless(K) you in the land he is giving you.

9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people,(L) as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands(M) of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name(N) of the Lord, and they will fear you. 11 The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock(O) and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.(P)

12 The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse(Q) of his bounty,(R) to send rain(S) on your land in season and to bless(T) all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.(U) 13 The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow(V) them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.(W) 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left,(X) following other gods and serving them.

Curses for Disobedience

15 However, if you do not obey(Y) the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today,(Z) all these curses will come on you and overtake you:(AA)

16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.(AB)

17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.(AC)

18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.(AD)

19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.(AE)

20 The Lord will send on you curses,(AF) confusion and rebuke(AG) in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin(AH) because of the evil(AI) you have done in forsaking him.[a] 21 The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.(AJ) 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease,(AK) with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought,(AL) with blight(AM) and mildew, which will plague(AN) you until you perish.(AO) 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.(AP) 24 The Lord will turn the rain(AQ) of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

25 The Lord will cause you to be defeated(AR) before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven,(AS) and you will become a thing of horror(AT) to all the kingdoms on earth.(AU) 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds(AV) and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.(AW) 27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt(AX) and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. 29 At midday you will grope(AY) about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue(AZ) you.

30 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her.(BA) You will build a house, but you will not live in it.(BB) You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit.(BC) 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation,(BD) and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. 33 A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression(BE) all your days.(BF) 34 The sights you see will drive you mad.(BG) 35 The Lord will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils(BH) that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.(BI)

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Footnotes
  1. Deuteronomy 28:20 Hebrew me
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Blessings for Obedience

28 “And (A)if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you (B)high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and (C)overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and (D)blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be (E)the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your (F)kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be (G)when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 “The Lord (H)will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord (I)will command the blessing on you in your barns and (J)in all that you undertake. (K)And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 9 (L)The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 And (M)all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are (N)called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be (O)afraid of you. 11 And (P)the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in (Q)the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, (R)to give the rain to your land in its season and (S)to bless all the work of your hands. And (T)you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you (U)the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, 14 (V)and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Curses for Disobedience

15 “But (W)if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and (X)overtake you. 16 Cursed shall you be (Y)in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

20 “The Lord (Z)will send on you curses, confusion, and (AA)frustration in all that you undertake to do, (AB)until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. 21 The Lord will make (AC)the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 22 (AD)The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought[a] and with (AE)blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And (AF)the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

25 (AG)“The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you (AH)shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And (AI)your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and (AJ)there shall be no one to frighten them away. 27 The Lord will strike you (AK)with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and (AL)scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will strike you with (AM)madness and blindness and confusion of mind, 29 and you shall (AN)grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways.[b] And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. 30 (AO)You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. (AP)You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. (AQ)You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you. 32 (AR)Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, (AS)but you shall be helpless. 33 A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, 34 so that you are driven mad (AT)by the sights that your eyes see. 35 The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs (AU)with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

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Footnotes
  1. Deuteronomy 28:22 Or sword
  2. Deuteronomy 28:29 Or shall not succeed in finding your ways
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Blessings for obedience (1-14)

If God's people pay attention to God's word and follow it, they will always be on top--never at the bottom (1,13). Every ordinary activity of life will be blessed; enemies will be destroyed. God's people will indeed be a holy people (9) and a kingdom of priests (1

). But they must not turn aside from the commands of God or follow any other gods.

2. Curses for disobedience (15-35)

If God's people, who have covenanted with God to love and serve him, do not obey his laws--which they promised to obey, they will be cursed. Everything they do will fail; they will suffer from disease, mental illness, and defeat at the hands of enemies. The best blessings of life--marriage, building one's own home, having one's own business--will all turn into nightmares.

Prayer: Lord, help me to keep your word in my heart so that I may live a blessed life instead of a cursed life.

One Word: Keep God's law and be blessed