Pilots gladly endure all of these precautions in order to fly and land safely at their destinations. Posted Nov 28, 2016 by Michael L. Brown. In Deuteronomy 28, Moses spells out the blessings that will come upon the Israelites if they obey Gods commands. We have the same choice as God's followers. If they did, He would protect them, and if they didnt, He would forsake them(Deuteronomy 28). how does deuteronomy 28 apply to us today. The Israelites were given two choices: obey God's commands and live good lives, or disobey them and face death and disaster. In the ancient Near East it was customary for legal treaties to conclude with passages containing blessings upon those who observed the enactments, and curses upon those who did not. (Harrrison). No. We can read in the Bible how God has helped his people again and again with their problems. We need to trust in God and His promises, even when things are tough (v. 25-29). God had promised the Israelites that if they obeyed his laws and teaching, he would bless them with food, shelter, and land. But Did He Also Write Chapter 34? The Mosaic Covenant is a treaty God made with the Jews, the nation of Israel. In a six-part series, we explored family devotions the importance of it as well as ways to structure the time, to overcome obstacles, and to keep the gospel central. RCCG Sells A Bag Of Rice At N9k To Their Members In Abuja. So what can we learn from all of this? Do not ever think that God is too kind to do anything about sin. 3 He quotes Deut 27.26: All who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." We need to be faithful to God and avoid idolatry (v. 20-24). I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day Should they be guilty of such a sin, since they were so strongly and publicly cautioned against it; and even the heaven and the earth were called upon as witnesses of the law being set before them, which so expressly forbids it, ( Deuteronomy 30:19) that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto you go It doesnt refer to America, because the church bought by the blood of Jesus is a pilgrim people drawn from all the lands, from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. It is a life in which we are obedient to His commands and live in accordance with His will. There is no balancing involved or necessary as far as I can see. We need to rely on His strength and not our own. Therefore, you cant justify yourself. 12 If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge. 2021 16 Mar. 2# Short Commentary & Lesson From Deuteronomy 5.28-30. 5. God made a promise to the Israelites - he would be their God, take care of them, and bless them. As New Testament Christians in the New Covenant, which commands or moral principles are obligatory and would apply regardless of the covenants because they are universal morals that transcend the Mosaic Law? Only God cannot be shaken when the earth seems to crumble beneath us. And let me give you one more example, because he asked about it. Copy. Does that mean that Leviticus 5:16 doesnt apply to us? Here are some key points from the passage that we can apply to our lives: 1. But what we may not realize is that many of these laws are still relevant to us today. The following commentary by David Guzik is a lead to deeper understanding. so what is v. 5 saying and does it apply? Not only do them for once, but keep them for ever; not only set out in his ways, but walk in them to the end. Blessings for Obedience. God told Moses he was pleased when the Israelites obeyed him because they wanted to, not because they had to. There were debates between them about which law was the greatest commandment, so they asked Jesus. But even then, He is faithful to forgive us and restore us when we repent. For example, love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself are in both the Old and New Testaments. Many of those Jews took advantage of the mercy offered through that plan, and many went wayward. In truth, it is a Gospel book which describes beautifully the covenant relationship between Yahweh and his people, the deep and abiding problem of the human heart, and the only remedy for uncircumcised hearts, namely, Gods sovereign and gracious action to redeem by the provision of a greater and better Israel, the true obedient Son and servant King. These xtian fellas keep shooting themselves in d leg..that is all I can say if you deeply understand the post.. Deuteronomy 28:15-68 is a powerful passage that contains a lot of practical applications for our lives today. Our Creator wishes to make Himself known to us. 9. Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 4 It secured a salvation plan for the world, and whether they individually participated in it or not was another question. As a result, each of them experienced a downhill slide. And, therefore, all the promises made to the circumcision, the true Israel, belong to us, Jew and Gentile in Christ Jesus. When we disobey, we can expect His curse. "Be strong and courageous. 28 is specifically about the covenant relationship between God and Israel. 10 " When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge. L.Willows, Your email address will not be published. 2 Chronicles 7:14 is one such example.. If you diligently obey the voice of the LORD: The word if looms large. It is not an agreement God made with anyone else. He was simply a really good interpreter of the Old Testament. A podcast listener, Joe from Boston, writes in with this question: Pastor John, I often struggle to interpret and apply portions of the Old Testament (specifically the prophetic books) where the word of God was being spoken to Gods people as the nation of Israel. These differences in hermeneutics lead to differences over which laws should apply today. And just as the LORD told the Israelites that he would notice if they did "the right thing," he notices us when we do the right thing. In this way, Moses not only describes and predicts the future history of Israel, he also anticipates Gods future redemptive work by which he will circumcise the hearts of the entire community, thus creating a people who will be wholly devoted to him from every tribe, nation, people, and tongue. God's command to destroy these nations was his judgment upon them for the wicked things they had done for many years. 23 If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry; 24 and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.". Paul says in Rom. Deuteronomy 28:1-2: What is this requiring? In the New Testament, God doesn't bless us because of what we do but because of our faith in Christ and His finished works. It was hard to keep all the laws, so they decided, lets keep the most important one. Finally, after thirty-eight years of delay and the death of the previous generation due to their rebellion in the wilderness, Gods patriarchal promises are now finally being fulfilled as the people of Israel are on the verge of entering the land. But he turned away from God after he had accumulated great wealth and built a huge army. That includes the prefatory material and its interpretation of the sermons. being referred to and other "gotcha" laws which might be mentioned fall into one of the first two bins and no longer apply to us today. This was Jesuspoint. Christians are the chosen in the sense that those who are in Christ, putting their trust in Him, are the ones that benefited from that plan of salvation God was working out through Israel. He is to exhort the Israelites regarding God's law. Deuteronomy 28:15-68 is a powerful passage that contains a lot of practical applications for our lives today. I have been unable until now to address the issue of the relationship between the Old Covenant and the Christian. The Puritans is the shining example of what abrogation vs general equity means. We should never take advantage of people in need. But even if we dont experience all of these blessings in our lifetime, we can take comfort in knowing that we are right with God and that we will ultimately inherit all of his promises. How men and women dress will change over time; otherwise, we would be wearing long outer garments without undergarments today. The lawyer is interested in finding a way that he can work his own salvation out by himself. Abraham was saved by faith, not by works and he is the prime example of how everyone has always been saved. It is not a curse causeless, or for some light cause. Old is usually quite good, but not necessarily above correction or improvement. The church has no homeland except heaven and eventually the new earth. 10. Now, a side note: This does not exclude a real future for present day ethnic Israel in Gods purposes, because they will one day profess faith in Messiah Jesus and be grafted back in to become part of the true Israel along with all other Christians who are part of Jesus Christ. See Other Shows. Before Moses dies he gives that same law again a second time in Deuteronomy to the new generation that is now meant to take the land and live according to this law as a nation. God is our only true security- not the government, not our educational system, not money, power, or other people. We need to trust in Gods plan for our lives, even when it doesnt make sense to us (v. 40-42). What does it mean to choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19)? All rights reserved. Everything from Exodus 20 through Deuteronomy. Of course, these blessings are not guaranteed. 4 One of these is that they would be blessed in their cities ( v.3 ). One way to know that is to see how its worded. When we do this, we can rest assured that He will bless us. Just as our law does, the Mosaic Law included universal moral principles. We still must live with the consequences of that sin, though. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. When we chose to believe in God, we are also given a fresh start. There is a plan that we can use for our lives. And the second curse is for those who break Gods covenant. God loves us even when we do things that go against his commands. Here is the way Paul puts it in Philippians 3:3. It was based on their obedience. The Israelites are told that if they obey the Lord and keep His commandments, they will be blessed in every way. I'd like to see where he does that anyway, since the work is no commentary in the true sense whatsoever, but rather a reprinting of Calvin's sermons with prefatory material added by a theonomist. They had to keep the terms of the covenant. Our behavior reveals what we truly believe in our hearts. We need to remember that obedience to God leads to life, while disobedience leads to death (v. 46-68). Young people should be informed of the consequences that are sure to follow when God's instructions are ignored. First and foremost, we need to realize that the Old Testament is still relevant to us today. There has probably been a moment or two in 40 years that maybe Id love my neighbor as myself, but most of the time, no. Moses . Deuteronomy 28: 1 "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. As a Christian for 40 years, I have not had a split second of my life as a follower of Christ when I loved the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind. Do we try to build status elsewhere? If Beeke actually lists it as his #1 commentary, as you claim, I'd have to say that's a pretty poor choice, since it technically is not a commentary. The list is severe, and includes everything from being cursed in the city to being cursed in the field. We are citizens of a new nation, a heavenly kingdom. The head is the leader, the one who . If youre seeking to justify yourself, then you have to treat your neighbor this way, and youre not going to be able to consistently treat your neighbor this way. wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? It is important for us to have God's attitude about someone else's property, and not to allow the attitude of the world to rub off on us. By so doing they will become faithful sons, which wonderfully and gloriously, God promises to do in the future. A man must NOT treat his wife as a slave, even if she is a captured prisoner of war. + 2 All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, + because you keep listening to the voice of Jehovah Deuteronomy 28 is a chapter in the Bible that describes the blessings and curses that will come to the people of Israel if they obey or disobey Gods commands. See How To Advertise. Second, it shows us the power of Gods curse. We are not being arbitrary when we say homosexuality is forbidden. This is because some claim a great many of the laws given to ancient Israel still apply today while others claim none of them do and that under the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-33) believers are only responsible for fulling the "law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2) or the "law of love" (Matthew 22:37-40 . God restored the Israelites even though they continued to turn against him. The first case ( Deuteronomy 22:13-19) is of a man who marries a woman and then falsely charges her with being a harlot (not being a virgin when he married her). His blessings are poured out on us abundantly, and we enjoy His favour and protection. 1. He said that dividing wall has been torn down now so that the Jews and Gentiles can be combined into one new man on the New Covenant having been built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles in Christ Jesus the cornerstone. What does "I set before you life and death" mean in Deuteronomy 30:19? So to recap, I'm bumping into a question that has a different answer depending on one's embracing of a "theonomic" worldview? Upon condition that they observe and do all his commandments (and in order to obedience there is need of observation) and that they keep the commandments of God ( v. 9) and walk in his ways. Moses knew that he was about to die, so before he left the people he blessed them. The blessings include material abundance, victory in battle, and protection from enemies. Even though the old and new generation have received innumerable blessings from the Lord, their hearts are hard. In other words, when step one says that we are heirs of all the promises, we have to take into account that those promises may be fulfilled differently today because of the changes that have come into history through the words and the work of Jesus. God gave instructions to parents that they must first understand and internalize His laws and ways and then teach them to their own children. We have no such promise in the Bible. Why would God command the Israelites to destroy their enemies without mercy? 2. Salvation in the OT (based on the Abrahamic Covenant) was always by faith, and never by works. In all these ways, Deuteronomy is a Gospel book and required reading for Gods people today. How can we discern if warnings or promises directed towards Israel are applicable to other nations, the body of Christ in the global church, or even to ourselves as individuals? Explore our latest content and live stream the radio program with our mobile apps. Deuteronomy 28:9-10 promises the people that "the Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself and all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord." . 17:14-20 ). We need to be humble before God and remember His goodness to us (v. 33-36). The ritual laws of sacrifice teach us that "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22) and point us to Jesus on the cross. PSA 89:30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; 31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; 32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. It is God who gives us the ability to work and who blesses us with more than we need. Deuteronomy 28 Message To All Black Christians Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: It's been a long ride for our people, the so called black man and woman in this land of America. It is difficult to overstate the importance of Deuteronomy in Scripture and Gods unfolding redemptive plan. We will not be able to escape them! Their crops will fail, their flocks and herds will dwindle, and they will be cursed with few children. Then, the lawyer who raised the question, seeking to justify himself, asks who is his neighbor. Deuteronomy 31:6. In this song of blessing, Moses reminded the Israelites that God was their only true, safe place of security. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of Christians may rightly embrace the promises of the Old Testament made to Israel, because in union with the Messiah, Jesus, we are Israel, we are the true Israel. Similarly, God has already saved us from our worst enemy - slavery to sin. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, I wouldn't trust any editing job on Calvin's sermons that was done by a theonomist with the specific intent of proving that Calvin himself was in fact a theonomist. Some people may be deceiving themselves. Moses summed up his song by once again stressing to the people the importance of knowing God's Law, applying it to their lives, and teaching it to younger generations. The law is not that the creditor shall not receive the debt if the debtor, or his friends for him, can pay it; but he shall not exact it by a legal process. Popular Bible Quotations For Memorization And Meditation Deuteronomy 31:8, Re: Deuteronomy 28 Is Not For Christians; Ephesians 1:3 Is Our Key To Blessings, About The High Rate Of Extramarital Sexual Affairs Today. God is vitally concerned for Israel and for all peoples and their well-being. We are not blessed because we do this or that in the New Testament, we are blessed because Christ already took away the curse of the law and we are ONLY left with blessings. He wants us to turn back to him. Editorial: Reading Deuteronomy for Gods People Today. We have the commands against homosexuality in Corinthians and Romans, so it becomes clear that this is a universal and it is not just simply a provision of the Old Testament Law, while the punishment is limited to that old system and not applicable in the New Testament. King Solomon, for example, was very successful at first. It is all over the book of Hebrews, but here is Hebrews 10:12 and 14: When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Moses lays out the blessings which will result (Deut 28:1-14), but he also warns them that disobedience will result in judgment and exile from the land (Deut 28:15-68), which in fact, he predicts will occur. But that is the good news. Moses did not get to enter Canaan because he had disobeyed God. We, both as individuals and collectives find times and seasons of apparent fullness and lack, opportunity and trial- that it can seem that we are very blessed or not at all. *SMDH* GOSHEN DONE LED MORE PEOPLE INTO HELL FIRE THAN BEELZEBUB WITH THIS HIS DOCTRINE, 8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a. 26 " When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, 2 w you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall x go to the place that Deuteronomy 28:1-2, The promise of God in Deuteronomy 28:1-2 offers many powerful insights that we can learn from when we listen with our hearts and open ourselves to applying the wisdom of its mighty blessing to our lives with obedience. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever because He is God. The purpose of finding the greatest commandment was to focus on keeping that really well and not worry so much about the others. They say it looks like were picking and choosing the Old Testament Law because were against homosexuality, but we dont follow these other details. Deuteronomy 28 1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering. And here is the promise. Deuteronomy, rightly understood and placed in its location in redemptive-history, is far more than an ancient history book of Israel. Gentiles were never under the old contract. We often do not realize or understand that there is an unspoken opposite action for not obeying the treaties. Well, the fact is that many of the things mentioned in Deuteronomy 28 are still relevant to us today. The spiritual implications of Deuteronomy 28:15-68 are far-reaching. Let me see if I can simplify some very complex issues and provide a two-step process that enables Joe and the rest of us Christians to appropriate the Old Testament, especially the promises for our use as Christians in the 21st century. Israel was to fulfill the role of Adam by living as a kingdom of priests (Ex 19:5-6), to serve as Gods son and representative and thus display to this poor, fallen world what it means to be truly human. 1. The offence of the cross is the nullification of sacrifice and self effort in receiving God and receiving from God - that you no longer need obedience to the law to be justified and belong to the commonwealth of zion. b. This book is named after the main character of its second part. They wouldnt be able toescapethe blessings. All the rules, regulations, preparation and sacrifices are meant to translate for us to the most realistic form what is at stake to be as holy as God. Deuteronomy 8 - A Warning Against Pride A. God's work of building humility in Israel during the wilderness wanderings. For instance, the first blessing is for those who obey Gods commandments. A regular family devotions time enables us to systematically disciple our children in "the whole counsel of God" ( Acts 20 . 1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice It begins when you "love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and strength" (6.5). In Deuteronomy 28:1-13, God tells the Israelites that He would reward their obedience by giving them children, crops, livestock, and victory over their enemies, but He also tacks on fifty-four more verses describing the curses that would come upon the nation if they didn't obey Himincluding diseases, heat and drought, military defeat, boils,