The Continuity of the Covenant
31:1 to 34:12

Most believe that the Israelites were encamped on the edge of the Promised Land for about three months. It had probably been over seven months since they began their final approach to the Land. The events that occurred during that seven month time may have proceeded as follows: the peaceful passing through Edom, Mo’ab, and Ammon; the conquest of Sihon and Og; the beginning of settling into the inheritance by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-tribe of Manassah, while the rest of the tribes set up camp across the Jordan River from Jericho; Moses’ completion of the book of Deuteronomy and presentation of it to the people; the transfer of authority from Moses to Joshua; Moshe’s death; the mourning of God’s people for him; the preparation of God’s people for entrance into Canaan.⁶⁵⁴

We now come to the closing statements of Deuteronomy. After all the miracles, prophecies, warnings, encouragements, and after forty long years, the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land. Here Moses, still standing strong (34:7), gives us his last concluding remarks and advice, full of experience and wisdom.

Choose Life
30: 11-20

Choose life DIG: Is the Torah a means of salvation, or our blueprint for living? Explain. Where can Isra’el find God’s Word? What choices does Moses set before Isra’el? How will Isra’el show the choice they’ve made? Who witnesses Isra’el’s choice? What deciding factor does verse 20 provide for anyone still wavering between the two choices?

REFLECT: What modern objections have you heard or used, which sound like the ones in verses 11-13? From this passage, would you be able to recognize genuine faith when you see it? How so? By what clues? By what action verbs? How can you live out the verbs of verse 20? Why would anyone choose death and cursing over life and blessing?

Obedience to the Torah was not the means of achieving salvation, but the response to a salvation that the righteous of the TaNaKh had already experienced.

The day before Moses died.

Because we’re created in the image of God, we have minds to think with, hearts to feel with, and wills to decide with, and ADONAI calls us to make the proper decisions. We’re not robots; we can hear God’s Word, learn God’s will, and decide for ourselves either to obey or disobey. Moshe made it clear that making the proper decision isn’t a difficult task. After all, we have the revealed truth of God in His Word, and the Ruach Ha’Kodesh to teach and guide us. We don’t need to go up to heaven to find the Word, or even across the sea to a different nation, because YHVH has brought His Word to us.⁶⁴⁸

God’s covenant is accessible to all (30:11-14): The emphasis returns once again to the present, the renewal ceremony being enacted on the plains of Mo’ab. Moses declared: For this mitzvah that I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you to understand, nor is it beyond your reach (30:11). This belief is reflected in the B’rit Chadashah: We know that we love God’s children by this – when we love God and obey His commandments. For this is the love of God – that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome (First John 5:1-3)?

The mitzvah that ADONAI was commanding B’nai Isra’el to follow was not in the heavens, that they should say: Who will go up for us to the heavens and get it for us, and have us hear it so we may do it? Nor is it across the sea, that you should say: Who will cross over for us to the other side of the sea and get it for us, and have us hear it so we may do it? No, the word is very near to you – you can speak it because it is in your mouth and you know it because it is in your heart to do it (Deuteronomy 30:12-14; Romans 10:6-8).

In other words, the Torah is not among those things that the humble person does not bother with (Psalm 131:1) or that even the wise find beyond their understanding (Proverbs 30:18). It is not, therefore, impossibly idealistic, unrealistic, or unachievable. Torah is a balance between ideal standards and earthly realities. The idea that God deliberately made the Torah so demanding that nobody could live by it belongs to a distorted theology that tries to make the gospel look better by putting the Torah down. The frequent claims by various psalmists who have lived by God’s Torah are neither exaggerated nor exceptional. They arise from the natural assumption that ordinary people can indeed live in a way that is generally pleasing and faithful to ADONAI in His stream of blessing, so to speak.

And the Israelites could find joy and delight in doing so: Happy is the one who has not walked in the advice of the wicked, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the Torah of ADONAI, and on His Torah he meditates night and day. He will be like a planted tree over streams of water, a stream of blessing, producing its fruit during its season. Its leaf never drops – but in all he does, he succeeds (Psalm 1:1-3).

This is neither self-righteousness, nor a claim of sinless perfection, for the same psalmists are equally quick to confess their sins and failings, fully realizing that only the grace that could forgive and cleanse them would likewise enable them to live again in the covenant of obedience.⁶⁴⁹ Theoretically, then, the Torah was an impossible standard to live up to, but practically, it was achievable in the same way that the Sermon on the Mount is theoretically an impossible standard, but practically, very achievable. Likewise, just as good works in the B’rit Chadashah are not the means of salvation, but the evidence of salvation (James 2:21-26), obedience to the Torah was not the means of achieving salvation, but the response to a salvation that the righteous of the TaNaKh had already experienced.

The call to choose (30: 14-20): Moses never taught the Israelites that they were saved by good works, by obeying the 613 mitzvot of the Torah. Early in his first book he stated that Abram was justified by faith (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Et – Abram Believed the LORD and He Credited It to Him as Righteousness). However, here in Deuteronomy, Moshe spoke to the people about fellowship, not justification. When we obey the Torah, we enter into God’s stream of blessing; it is our blueprint for living (see the commentary on Exodus Dh – Moses and Torah). If, however, we live in the world (First John 2:15-16), we enter into God’s s of cursing. That was, and is, the choice . . . spiritual life or spiritual death.

Dear Heavenly Father, You are such a wonderful Father! Praise You that when You tell us to obey You, it is out of a heart that is looking out for our best and wants us to be full of joy. The choice of our loving obedience to You bringing spiritual life or our living for ourselves bringing spiritual death is not just for this world but for all eternity. It is not worth it to sin by half-hearted “obedience.” Joyful immediate obedience brings eternal joy. Sometimes it may seem easier and more pleasurable to go our own way, but the momentary pleasure will be over in a blink compared to the everlasting joy when we choose lovingly obedience. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). I love You and delight in pleasing You with all my heart. In the name of Yeshua, Your holy Son and His power of resurrection. Amen

In stark clarity, Moses presents the Israelites with the choices before them: fellowship with YHVH and long life in the Land, or death and destruction. See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil. What I am commanding you today is to love ADONAI your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His mitzvot, statutes and ordinances. Then you will live and multiply, and ADONAI your God will bless you in the land you are going in to possess (30:15-16). God’s ability to make good on the promises of the covenant were not for one moment in question; the responsibility now rested with the people.⁶⁵⁰

Those people who decide to disobey ADONAI and commit spiritual adultery will perish and will forfeit abundant life in the Promised Land. Covenantal treachery will bring about the exact opposite of the marvelous blessings YHVH wanted to bestow on His people. But if your heart turns away and you do not listen, you could easily enter the stream of cursing and be drawn away and bow down to other gods and worship them, I tell you today that you will certainly perish! You will not prolong your days on the land, where you are about to cross over the Jordan to go in to possess (30:17-18). To emphasize the importance of this demand, Moshe for the third time uses the expression “today” (30:15 and 18).

Heaven and earth are called as witnesses to the decision set before them. I call the heavens and the earth to witness about you today, that I have set before you: life and death, the blessing and the curse. For the final time, Moses solemnly urged B’nai Isra’el to make the proper choice. Therefore, choose life so that you and your descendants may live, by loving ADONAI your God, listening to His voice, and clinging to Him. For He is your life and the length of your days, that you may dwell on the land that ADONAI swore to your fathers – to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob – to give them (30:19-20). Moses concluded this section by affirming that YHVH, Isra’el’s covenantal LORD (see Ah – Treaty of the Great King), would give them long tenure in the Land if they lived as loyal citizens. For He is your life! Choosing life, for them and their descendants, was equated a wholehearted commitment to a genuine relationship with YHVH.⁶⁵¹

This marks the end of Moshe’s farewell address, the review of the Torah, and the renewal of the covenant. He still has more to say, and what he says is very important. Then Moses will die, and ADONAI will bury him where nobody can find his body. Joshua will then take over and lead Isra’el to triumph in the Land of Promise.⁶⁵²

Haftarah Nitzavim: Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 61:10-63:9
(see Af – Parashah)

This haftarah is the last of seven Haftaroth of Consolation following Tisha B’Av (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Mt – The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple on Tisha B’Av in 70 AD). Jerusalem is responding to the words of comfort begun during Sabbat Nachamu (The Shabbat of comfort, the first of these seven Haftaroth of Consolation, Isaiah 40:1-2). Isra’el is comforted by being clothed in garments of righteousness, which produces Godly praise upon the whole earth (Isaiah 61:10-11), and encouraging the righteous of the TaNaKh not to rest, nor give God rest in prayer, until He fulfills His promise (Isaiah 61:6b-7). Those Israelites who were standing before Moses in our Torah portion above received promises of the covenant. In 62:8-12, God’s promises are reiterated for Isra’el’s blessing. Finally, we can be comforted by the return of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (see the commentary on Isaiah Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ).

B’rit Chadashah suggested readings for Parashah Nitzavim:
Romans 9:30-10:13; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 12:14-15; John 15:1-11

Scripture often likens Isra’el to God’s vineyard (Psalm 80:8-9; Isaiah 5:1-2 and 7). Yeshua , the Kosher King, declares that He is the true vine (John 15:1). As the perfect Gardner, the Father cuts off every branch that bears no fruit and prunes the live branches, to maintain a flow of life that produces fruitfulness instead of unnecessary wood (John 15:2 and 4). The one who abides in the vine courses with life and bears fruit; in fact, there is no place for an unfruitful disciple (John 15:5; Matthew 7:20). Obedience is the cause of fruitfulness, and joy is the result of fruitfulness. Bearing fruit brings glory to God (John 15:8). It requires obedience and prayer to remain connected to the vine (John 15:7 and 10). The love which unites the Father and Son also unites us with the vine. Yeshua concludes: These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and your joy may be full (John 15:11).⁶⁵³

Restoration After Repentance
30: 1-10

Restoration after repentance DIG: How does Isra’el come full circle in verse 1-3? What does it mean to return to ADONAI (see verses 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10)? What promises from God make this repentance possible (see verses 3, 5, 7, and 9)? How does verse 6 fit with 29:4? What in a “circumcised heart” enables one to see with spiritual understanding?

REFLECT: Has God ever restored you? How so? What does it mean for you to “return to the Lord?” How often do you “return?” Why? How has ADONAI changed your heart? Is there any area of your life where you need “heart surgery?” What can you do? What in these verses encourages you? Why? Who can you encourage this week?

A new heart would be an essential feature of the B’rit Chadashah, which will not be fulfilled for Isra’el as a nation until the return of Yeshua Messiah.

The day before Moses died.

So often in Scripture, the thundering voice of judgment is followed by the loving voice of hope. Unfortunately, Isra’el did commit spiritual adultery and follow after other gods, and Ha’Shem did bring on His people the curses stated in His covenant. No nation in history has suffered as much as the nation of Isra’el, and yet no nation has given so much spiritual wealth to the world. In this chapter, Moshe looked down through centuries and saw the future restoration of their Land and under the blessing of God.⁶⁴²

Restoration (30:1-3): After the dire curses of Chapter 28 and the compressed warnings of 29:22-28, this section comes like an oxygen mask to revive hope . . . God will not be defeated by Isra’el’s response, nor bound and imprisoned by the past. Now when all these things come upon you – the blessing and the curse that I have set before you – and you take them to heart in all the nations where ADONAI your God has banished you, and you return (Hebrew: shuwb, to return, or to turn back) to ADONAI your God and listen to His voice according to all that I am commanding you today – you and your children – with all your heart and with all your soul, then ADONAI your God will bring you back from captivity and have compassion on you, and He will return (Hebrew: shuwb) and gather you from all the peoples where ADONAI your God has scattered you (30:1-3).

Notice the language of God’s Word in this text that is spoken by the mouth of Moses! Moses does not say, “If you sin and God sends you out of your country into exile, and you receive the curses of the Torah upon yourself.” As a prophet of God, Moses says: When all these things come upon you. In other words, this is going to happen to you, you will sin and you will bring upon yourselves God’s curses, the curses of the Torah, and you will be scattered among the nations because you didn’t obey the LORD. Isra’el’s repentance would not obligate YHVH to act, but He chose to restore His people to a place of favor. He will turn from sending judgment on them to showing favor to them and to gathering them to the Land He promised them.⁶⁴³

To some extent the near historical gathering occurred after the Babylonian exile (see the commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule), when a believing remnant returned to the Land and rebuilt the Temple (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah As – Opposition to Rebuilding the Temple). But the far eschatological fulfillment of this promise will not take place until the Lord returns (see the commentary on Isaiah Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Bozrah). But first, a spiritual “operation” must take place, the circumcision of their hearts so that they will receive their Messiah, love their Lord, and experience the spiritual life that He promised.⁶⁴⁴

Repentance (30:5-7): A new heart is an essential feature of the B’rit Chadashah (Ezeki’el 36:24-32), which will not be fulfilled for Isra’el as a nation until the return of Yeshua Messiah. Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the heavens, from there ADONAI your God will gather you (see the commentary on Isaiah De – God Is My Salvation, I Will Trust and Not Be Afraid), and from there He will bring you. ADONAI your God will bring you into the Land that your fathers possessed, and you will possess all of it (see the commentary on Isaiah Kp – My Chosen People Will Inherit My Mountains); and He will do you good and multiply you more than your fathers. Also, ADONAI your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants to love ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live. ADONAI your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you (30:5-7). The total picture is quite different from the one we see in modern Isra’el, where there is little evidence of repentance and where great numbers of people are agnostic.

This is what is called progressive revelation: from Genesis (se the commentary on Genesis En – For Generations to Come Every Male Who is Eight Days Old Must be Circumcised), to here in Deuteronomy, to Jeremiah (see my commentary on Jeremiah (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – The Days are Coming, declares the LORD, When I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el), and then to Colossians 2:1-3. In each step along the way God gives us more clarity about what it means to circumcise our hearts.

Reflection: How do 10:16 and 30:6 harmonize? How should one explain the “tension” between YHVH’s demand that Isra’el circumcise their hearts in 10:16, and His own promise to circumcise their hearts in 30:6? The emphasis is quite different in each context. In 10:26 the circumcision of the heart is a part of the appeal to obedience. It was something required of the people that they were capable of doing. Here in 30:6, however, it is seen to be an act of God, and therefore indicates the B’rit Chadashah, when the LORD would in His grace deal with mankind’s basic spiritual problem.⁶⁴⁵

Restoration (30:8-10): After making it clear that YHVH alone can remake Isra’el’s heart, Moshe returns to God’s expectations of His covenantal people. This message, however, was not just for some distant generation of Israelites. The emphatic pronoun that begins the next verse applies the need for covenantal renewal to Moses’ own audience as well.⁶⁴⁶ But as for you – you will return (Hebrew: shuwb) and listen to the voice of ADONAI and do all His mitzvot that I am commanding you today. The outcome of obedience is blessing. ADONAI your God will make you prosper in all the work of your hand – in the fruit of your womb, and the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil – for good. The future blessing would still be contingent upon obedience, an obedience springing out of love for God in His continuing mercy and grace.⁶⁴⁷ For ADONAI will again rejoice over you for good, as He rejoiced over your fathers – when you listen to the voice of ADONAI your God, to keep His mitzvot and His statutes that are written in this scroll of the Torah, when you turn to ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul (30:8-10). Repentance and obedience are necessary for everyone to come back to God.

Dear Loving Heavenly Father, How marvelous Your willingness to forgive and to restore! I worship You! Your merciful and gracious love is fantastic; but Your love is not a free ticket to do as we please. You are holy. You offer salvation to all who “believe.” For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart it is believed for righteousness, and with the mouth it is confessed for salvation (Romans 10:9-10). Repentance which results in obedience is how true love/belief is shown. Believing in one’s heart is an action belief. The mind may believe something is true, but do nothing about it; but when the heart believes – then the call to action is heard and is heeded.

If someone says to You a million times they love You, but go their own way – what good is it? But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror – – for once he looks at himself and goes away, he immediately forgets what sort of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect Torah, the Torah that gives freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts – he shall be blessed in what he does (James 1:22-25).

Praise You for accepting our repentance when we turn back to You. Praise You that when Your child repents, You forgive even when the sin is as big as adultery and murder as in King David’s repentance and Your forgiveness of him. He said: Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned. Blessed is the one whose guilt ADONAI does not count, and in whose spirit there is no deceit (Psalms 32:1-2). You are a wonderful Father! In Your holy Son Yeshua’s name and the power of His resurrection. Amen

Do Not Worship Other Gods
29: 16-29

Do not worship other gods DIG: What did Moses see in the future? Explain how spiritual adultery would become like a root of bitterness for Isra’el. What responsibilities of the revealed things of Torah place on the Israelites and their children? Was the threat of devastation inevitable? Why? Why not?

REFLECT: How does God hold you personally responsible for your secret sin? Can you spot a spiritual imposter? Are you on the lookout for false doctrine within the Church today? On a scale of one to ten, how much do you trust God when disaster strikes in your life? If you don’t like your answer, how can you change that?

Isra’el’s obedient or disobedient conduct would determine exactly what they received from God’s hand. In other words, the threat of devastation was possible, but not inevitable.

The day before Moses died.

Moses describes the painful consequences, for the individual and for the nation, of failing to obey the covenantal stipulations (to see link click Bi – The Stipulations of the Covenant). His warning here suggests that God’s chosen people had been tempted by idolatry and had committed spiritual idolatry in the past. That reality adds weight to Moshe’s concern that Isra’el might do the same thing in the future. Thus, Moses looks to the future from the perspective of his time (29:16-21) and then looks back hypothetically from some future day (29:22-28).⁶³⁴ These verses echo Moshe’s earlier warning that Isra’el should worship ADONAI alone (see Cv – Beware of Idolatry).

From Moshe’s perspective, looking to the future (29:16-21): This short section contains several of the elements of the Near Eastern treaty pattern (see Ah – Treaty of the Great King), namely, the historical prologue (verses 16-17), a statement of the general principle (verse 18), and the threat of the curse falling on the disobedient person (verses 19-21).

Moses reminded the people of the gross idolatry they witnessed while enslaved in Egypt and then while traveling through the wilderness. You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold (29:16-17). This is what happens when you forsake the Word of God. It is human nature to worship something. Even if it is only themselves. However, to worship anything or anyone other than the one true God is idolatry. Therefore, Moshe asks the Israelites to be diligent in this regard.

Moshe warns individual Israelites against thinking that since the nation was involved in a covenantal relationship with YHVH that their own personal conduct was not essential to the fate of the nation.⁶³⁵ Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from ADONAI our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison (29:18). Here we see the same zeal that Paul had. Both of these men were so very protective of the flock that ADONAI had entrusted to them. The sin of idolatry spreads from person to house to clan, as the poisonous branch with bitter fruit infects the whole tree, like the spreading of a false teaching within the body of Messiah. Later, Paul would have the same concern: Now the Ruach clearly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, following deceitful spirits and the teaching of demons (First Timothy 4:1).⁶³⁶

The danger of the people’s harboring an unfaithful group or individual is now seen. Such a person or persons would not be able to hide from the effect of the curse, Ha’Shem would hold each person accountable.⁶³⁷ 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 (29:19). This expression appears to be a proverbial observation employing a figure of speech called a merism, which suggests the totality by referring to two polar elements. Not only will the judgment fall on the covenantal rebel, but also on the whole nation because they allowed themselves to be swept away by idolatry. Like their father the Adversary, they are arrogant narcissists. They remove all true blessings and bring destruction.

To highlight the severity of the divine judgment this person will experience, Moses makes several powerful statements. ADONAI takes this very seriously, and 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 ADONAI will blot out their names from under heaven. ADONAI will single them out from all the tribes of Isra’el for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this scroll of the Torah (29:20-21). John would echo the same sentiment at the end of his book (see the commentary on Revelation Gd – If Anyone Adds to the Words of this Book, God Will Add to Them the Plagues Described). Moses already understood those words and warned Isra’el about the sanctity of the Scriptures.

From a distant future perspective, looking back (29:22-28): Moses believed that the curses described in Chapters 27 and 28 would fall on Isra’el. Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which ADONAI has afflicted it. The whole Land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur – nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. The Land flowing with milk and honey (6:3) will be stripped of any evidence of fertility and abundance – a reversal of God’s provision for the Promised Land.⁶³⁸ It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and their allies Admah and Zeboyim, which ADONAI overthrew in fierce anger. Because of Isra’el’s future spiritual adultery, YHVH will bring such severe judgment against His people that future Israelites and pagans will ask in bewilderment: Why has ADONAI done this to this Land? Why this fierce, burning anger (29:22-24)?

And the goyim will answer: It is because this people abandoned the covenant of ADONAI, the God of their ancestors, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them. Even though the incomparable God, the only God of the universe, chose to establish a covenantal relationship with the nation of Isra’el, His chosen people abandoned that unique relationship and pursued gods that had done nothing for them. Therefore, ADONAI’s anger burned against this Land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book. In furious anger and in great wrath ADONAI uprooted them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now (29:25-28). All this for the opportunity to worship lifeless and powerless pieces of wood and stone.⁶³⁹

Reflection: Although Chapters 28 and 29 are clearly forward-looking, it would be incorrect to regard them as near historical prophecy in the strictest sense of the term. They represent the threat of covenantal curse and in this last section in particular (29:22-28), a hypothetical future scenario. Will Isra’el’s experience of covenantal curse result in every disease or calamity listed in Chapter 29? Will the Land of Promise be absolutely void of vegetation? No. Isra’el’s experience in the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles certainly did not bring about those disastrous results to the degree envisioned in these passages. It seems that this last section of Chapter 29 presents what might happen to Isra’el, not what would happen inevitably. Isra’el’s obedient or disobedient conduct would determine exactly what they received from God’s hand. In other words, the threat of devastation was not a sure thing. It was possible, but not inevitable.⁶⁴⁰

Live faithfully in the light of God’s revelation (29:29): Then Moses rests his case. He doesn’t really know exactly what will happen in the future to Isra’el, but he does what every godly person should do. He or she should completely rely on God. The secret things belong to ADONAI our God, but the words revealed to us in the Torah belong “to us and to our children,” that we may follow them forever (29:29). YHVH is the ultimate judge; God knows the heart of each individual. This verse interrupts the flow of the text. It comes suddenly, and it seems that ADONAI allows the human writer, Moses, to express his deep feelings, and his faith as he gives it all to God. For who has known the mind of ADONAI (Romans 11:33-34)? As Job would say: Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him (Job 13:15 NKJV).⁶⁴¹

There are 10 places in the Hebrew Bible that have dots above the letters, and Deuteronomy 29:29 where we read, “to us and to our children,” is one of these places. These are, according to ancient Jewish tradition, places that hold secrets within these words. “Secrets” means that in the plain meaning of these words not all that is intended is revealed or visible. This principle is true about any coded texts, but they are not often marked with a specific mark, like dots above the letters. So, this idea is not new in any context and in any texts. Yeshua was teaching in parables precisely for the same reason. This is what Yeshua told His apostles when they asked Him why He was using parables to teach: He answered, saying: Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it has not been given to them (Matthew 13:10-11). Yes, God has secret things, things that He chose not to reveal to us. But why do we, as finite, limited, and weak humans want to enter into the secrets when we don’t even understand the revealed things of God that are explicitly written for our instruction and faith?

Why do we, who don’t even know the basics, want to delve into what God forbids us, and into something that has no practical daily application for us? Why enter into the dark, unclear, unexaminable dangerous field full of landmines? It is important to leave the things that are not clearly delineated and clearly spelled out in the Word of God. To leave them until the LORD reveals His secrets loud and clear. However, YHVH did not leave Moshe in the valley of despair at that time. Next, God gave him the hope of the restoration of the wayward nation (see Fp – Restoration After Repentance).

Dear Great Heavenly Father, We praise You for You are Awesome! Praise You that when life looks bleak, lonely and sad – there is a hope that is sure! Your Word is that hope. Yeshua is Your Word and He is in heaven preparing an eternal home for all who love Him. In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be (John 14:2-3).

We love You and long for the day when we will join the living creatures and elders in heaven in praising and worshiping You– for You are so worthy! And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the One seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before the One seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. And they throw their crowns down before the throne, chanting, “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power” (Revelation 4:9-11a). In Yeshua’s holy name and His power of resurrection. Amen

All of You Are Standing
29: 10-15

All of you are standing DIG: Why was the renewal of the covenant necessary? What people attended this covenant ceremony? Who were the foreigners who chopped their word and carried their water? Who else was it their duty to inform? Upon whom did the covenant depend? Why? What does this show about the covenant? Why wasn’t this covenant limited with the passage of time? What was their enjoyment of the covenant dependent on?

REFLECT: “Today” echos down through the ages every time these words are read. For every new generation, the challenge of the covenant would always be “today” (see Psalm 95:7b-11), just as for every generation of believers, the Lord’s coming is always “soon.” The Church today has much to learn from this social and trans-generational inclusiveness of Isra’el in the days of Moshe and Deuteronomy.

Parashah 50: Nitzavim (Standing) 29:10-30:20
(In regular years read with Parashah 52, in leap years read separately)
(To see link click Af – Parashah)

The Key People: Moshe, speaking to all Isra’el.

The Scene: In the wilderness east of the Promised Land, standing across the Jordan River opposite Jericho. Moshe formally gathered the people to deliver a final solemn message to uphold God’s covenant with them. The people stood before Moshe, from the greatest to the least, in order to enter into a sworn covenant with ADONAI in fulfillment of the promise He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This covenant ceremony marked the climax of Moshe’s earlier appeals in Deuteronomy.

The Main Events: include all Isra’el standing before ADONAI to enter His covenant; Moshe warning that idolatry will defile the Land and scatter the people; the choice between blessing and cursing, life and death; God’s promise to regather the Jewish people; the reminder that Torah is in their mouths and hearts, not too hard to obey; the command to choose life and listen to the voice of YHVH; so that b’nai-Israel will live long in the Land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.⁶³⁰

These verses remind us of the final stages of the covenant ceremony before the oath was taken. The covenant community was assembled and the nature of the event is explained.

The day before Moses died.

A. You are taking your stand with those today (29:10-11): An entirely new generation gathered to take an “oath-of-loyalty” to ADONAI. The fact that they were all standing implies some sort of formal ceremony. It was an incredibly leveling experience for everyone assembled. All of you are standing today in the presence of ADONAI your God without reference to social, economic, gender, or age differences: Your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Isra’el, together with your children and your wives, and the foreigners living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water (29:10-11). The wood chopper was no less a member of the covenant community than the king. The foreigners were from the mixed multitude which joined the Israelites on their departure from Egypt (Exodus 12:38).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your awesome love which offers salvation to all, including Gentiles, who covenant with You as their Lord and Savior. Praise You for Your Messiah who gives light to all. I, Adonai, called You in righteousness, I will take hold of Your hand, I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations (Isaiah 42:6). Praise your great power over death. Because I live, you also will live (John 14:19c). How wonderful is Your encouraging fellowship as You live in believers.  The Spirit of truth . . . you know Him, because He abides with you and will be in you (John 14:17a, c). How wonderful to focus my eyes on the future eternal glory and joy in heaven, instead of on life’s problems, which will soon be over. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18). I love You and look forward to praising You forever! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

B. I am making a covenant (29:12): Each individual of the community made an oath of personal allegiance. You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with ADONAI your God, a covenant ADONAI is making with you this day and sealing it with an oath (29:12). The loyalty to the covenant was guarded by curses (to see link click Ff – Curses for Disobedience). This verse reads literally, your crossing over into the covenant of YHVH your God . . . and into His curse. The noun curse refers to the curses of the covenant.⁶³¹

C. Renew the covenant made at Mount Sinai (29:13): The purpose of the assembly is now declared. The primary function of this assembly was to renew the covenant that the LORD originally made with Isra’el at Mount Sinai (see the commentary on Exodus De – You Will be For Me a Kingdom of Priests). The covenant was made with the nation that very day as His people, that He would be their God as He promised them and as He swore to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (29:13). The core of this section is the core of the covenant itself, the mutual commitment of the people to God and God to the people.

B. I am making a covenant (29:14): I am cutting (Hebrew koret, meaning to cut off or to cut down) this Covenant with an oath. The cutting of a covenant involved the shedding of blood. It was a blood covenant. The implication was that the party who failed to keep the covenant would become like the slain animals that were sacrificed as substitutes for the two parties making the covenant. Once the covenant was made and the two parties walked between the dead animals, the terms of the covenant could not be changed (see the commentary on Genesis Eg – I am the LORD, Who Brought You Out of Ur of the Chaldeans to Give You This Land). So, this ceremony was not reenacted here, but renewed the original covenant the Israelites cut with YHVH at Mount Sinai. It was important to understand that the covenant He made with their fathers and mothers would stand forever, but their enjoyment of its promises depended on their obedience to the mitzvot (29:14).⁶³²

A. You are taking your stand for future generations (29:15): In this passage Moshe looks forward instead of backward. He stresses the continuity of this covenant from the present audience to all future generations, not because YHVH’s covenant mercies are an inherited family right, but because God is faithful to His promise to extend His blessing to all who love Him and obey His mitzvot.⁶³³ I am not only cutting this covenant with those who are standing here with us today in the presence of ADONAI our God, but also with those who are not here today. The community was not limited by the passage of time or race. This text is very important because it states clearly that the covenant of God with Isra’el is not exclusively for Isra’el, but for everyone who is standing with Isra’el. Not only those of the first generation of Isra’el standing there with Moses, but with those Gentiles who were not there at that historical moment. Each new generation, Jew or Gentile must renew the covenant for itself and take its stand before YHVH as did the Isra’el of old. And in the following verses, Moshe warns them of the alternative. If they forsake the Word of Truth and worship false gods, they will end up like the other idolatrous nations around them (see Fo – Do Not Worship Other Gods).

Renewal of the Covenant
29: 1-9

Renewal of the covenant DIG: What do the words, “In addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb” mean? What did Moshe remind the people of? What does each story demonstrate? Was Isra’el able to do what YHVH required of them? Why? Why not? What is the gift of God? When was it given? When will it ultimately be fulfilled for the nation?

REFLECT: What memories help keep you faithful to God? Today, when a crisis of transition comes upon us, we also need to be reminded of God’s faithfulness and of our responsibility to obey Him. Do you have a short memory of the blessings that God has given to you?

The covenant in Deuteronomy wasn’t different from the covenant given in Exodus; rather, it was an explanation and application of that covenant to a new generation ready to enter the Land.

The day before Moses died.

The renewal of the covenant between ADONAI and His people is an integral part of Deuteronomy, for it sets out the terms of the relationship between YHVH and Isra’el. This covenant was the constitution of the theocracy. God was King and had claimed His people for Himself out of Egypt; the people, who owed everything to God, were required to submit to Him in a covenant that was based on love. The approaching death of Moses provided the initial basis for this renewal.

The opening is very similar to 1:1, “These are the words . . . of the covenant the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Mo’ab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb” (which is the name used for Mount Sinai in Deuteronomy) (29:1). Like bookends, this shows us that we are entering the conclusion of the book. Both Chapter 1 and Chapter 29 remind the Israelites of their victory over two kings. When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh (29:7-8). Why these two kings and why this reminder? As we saw in Chapter 1 both of those kings were Amorites (31:4). This brings us back to God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:16, where God gave Abraham the dimensions of the Promised Land. At that time, the sin of the Amorites had not reached its fullness. However, ADONAI had promised that in the fourth generation the Israelites would return to the Promised Land. Therefore, from the time of Abraham to the time of Moses in Deuteronomy 29, the sin of the Amorites had reached its fullness, and the children of Abraham were about to enter the Promised Land.

He is at work for our benefit at all times. Had they forgotten all that He had done for them? ADONAI would remind them of two miracles. First, during the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. Secondly, you ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God (29:5-6). It is interesting that Yeshua brought out the same two points in His sermon on the mount (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Da – The Sermon on the Mount). First: Therefore, do not worry, saying, “What will we eat? Or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear” (Matthew 6:31)? Secondly: It is written, “Man shall not eat by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).⁶²⁶

What does Moshe mean when he writes that his speeches to Isra’el on the plains of Mo’ab are in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb, or Mount Sinai (29:1)? The covenant declared in Deuteronomy wasn’t different from the covenant given at Mount Sinai (see the commentary on Exodus Ek – The Ratification of the Sinai Covenant). Rather, it was an explanation and application of that covenant to the new generation and their new situation in the Land of Promise. If what Moses taught in Deuteronomy had been a separate covenant, he would have offered blood sacrifices to seal the covenant as he did at Sinai (Exodus 24:3-8; Hebrews 9:18-22). Many of the people who accepted the covenant at Sinai had perished in the wilderness, but the ratification of that covenant was made with the entire nation (see the commentary on Exodus De – You Will be For Me a Kingdom of Priests). Therefore, this current generation of Israelites was still held accountable to the LORD to obey that covenant (see Bi – The Stipulations of the Covenant).⁶²⁷

The Hebrew for make a covenant is literally cut a covenant, in which the treaty or covenant was ratified in a ceremony where animals were slain (see the commentary on Genesis Eg – I am the LORD, Who Brought You Out of Ur of the Chaldeans to Give You This Land). It seems very likely that some kind of covenant ceremony is implied in the events recorded here by Moses (see Fn – All of You Are Standing). As the Israelites were about to start a new chapter in the life of the nation, they were about to face many enemies, fight many wars, and undergo many trials. Here, Moshe gives them some sound advice. And he speaks to all of us as well when we face difficult situations. We need to remember what God has done for us.⁶²⁸

Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:

Moshe never seemed to tire of reminding the people of the grace and mercy of God given to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. With your own eyes you saw those great trials, so remember all those signs and great wonders (29:2-3). This historical summary served as a motivation for action. Those signs and great wonders refer to Isra’el’s pilgrimage from the time of their departure from Egypt to their present encampment at Mo’ab. The repetition of the Hebrew verb raah, meaning to see, and the reference to the eyes emphasized that God’s people had personally witnessed what YHVH had done on their behalf. Those to whom ADONAI calls into covenant relationship, those from whom the LORD demands covenant obedience, are those whom He has already acted to save. God’s love has previously been demonstrated . . . ours is anticipated.

If God’s historically proven grace can, in a sense be taken for granted, the human response certainly cannot. Verse 4 injects a surprisingly paradoxical note, yet one that is consistent with Moshe’s stark realism elsewhere. He knows that the eyes that had witnessed the Exodus had not become eyes of faith (1:30-32). The ears that heard the thunder of Mount Sinai did not become ears of obedience, in spite of good intentions (5:26ff). The hearts that learned the message from these events, namely, that YHVH alone was God, were still capable of turning away and worshipping other gods.

It is this persistent fickleness of human nature, even among the people of God, that creates the apparent contradiction between 29:2, “Your eyes have seen . . . your own eyes you saw,” and 29:4, “ADONAI has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.” People can see the very works of God, hear the very voice of God, and yet still neither trust nor obey Him. This awful fact trailed the footsteps of Yeshua Himself, broke His heart, and caused Him to declare: You will keep on hearing but will never understand; you will keep looking, but will never see. For the heart of this people has become dull, their ears can barely hear, and they have shut their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts. Then they would turn back, and I would heal them (Matthew 13:14-15). Paul also reflected on this verse in his interpretation of the rejection of Messiah by some of his contemporary Jews, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes not to see and ears not to hear until this very day” (Romans 11:8), and in a broader context (Romans Chapters 9-11) heavily influenced by these verses in Deuteronomy.

Dear Heavenly Father, How wonderful that You call Your children those who chose to believe in you as Lord and Savior (John 1:12). You are not calling into a mere friendship; but into a covenant relationship that agrees to put you first as the one we love most and seek to please in all we do. You take us as Your child and put Your robe of righteousness on us so we can enter your holy heaven. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). It cost You so much to come from heaven (John 6:41) and bear the shame, great pain and agony of Your death on the cross. The pains and trials that I go through here on earth will soon be forgotten when I spend eternity with You in Your holy heaven. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18). I love and worship You! In Yeshua’s holy name and His power of resurrection. Amen

Returning to our text, we must face the question of what is meant by the words: ADONAI has not given you (29:4) . . . On the surface, it may appear to suggest that Isra’el’s failure to understand, trust, and obey was somehow God’s fault! Such a suggestion, however, is at odds with the whole thrust of the book of Deuteronomy which rebukes the Israelites for their own personal failure, and challenges them instead to respond properly to YHVH. Nor can this verse mean that somehow Isra’el was incapable of faith and obedience. Such a thought is rejected in this very speech (30:11-14). The urgent appeal to choose life (see Fq – Choose Life) would be merely a sham if Ha’Shem had somehow determined in advance that Isra’el could not respond to His mitzvot. It seems, therefore, that this phrase reflects a feature of the Hebrew language and thought in which events and processes that today would be expressed as consequences of human choice are attributed to YHVH’s active will. The sovereignty of God includes even those who oppose Him.

But the words also express a deeper truth, namely, that hearts understand, eyes see, and ears hear only through the gift of ADONAI. Knowledge of God, faith in God (Ephesians 2:8), and obedience to God are themselves gifts of grace, at the same time they are matters of human choice and response. In some sense, however hard it is for us to understand in our finite minds, the persistence and wholly responsible failure of Isra’el to make the right response to YHVH and to live accordingly, was indeed because the gift had not yet been fully given to the nation of Isra’el as a whole.⁶²⁹

Thus, the words of Moshe at the edge of the Promised Land can also be seen as being fulfilled in the far eschatological future. Jeremiah would point to a day when ADONAI would indeed “give” the people hearts to know and obey, in the context of not merely a renewed covenant, but a B’rit Chadashah altogether (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el). Hosea 6:1-3 tells us that in the last three days of the Great Tribulation (see the commentary on Revelation Cg – The Great Tribulation) all Isra’el will be saved (Romans 11:26). At that time, God will declare: I will put My Torah within them. Yes, I will write it on their heart. I will be their God and they will be My people. No longer will each teach his neighbor or each his brother, saying: Know ADONAI, for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more (Jeremiah 31:32b-33).

Therefore, so keep the words of this Covenant and do them, so that you may prosper in everything you do (29:9). On the day before his death, Moses assembled all Isra’el to initiate them into the covenant with YHVH. The whole nation was standing before Moshe who had previously summoned them to assemble (29:1).

Haftarah Ki Tavo: Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 60:1-22
(to see link click Af – Parashah)

Isaiah’s vision of Isra’el’s far eschatological future springs from a hope to console anyone who loves God and desires His fame and glory to abound throughout the earth! Compare Isaiah 60:11 and 19-20 with Revelation 21:23-26 and find the similarities between what Isaiah saw and what John saw. ADONAI is doing an amazing thing through the righteous of the TaNaKh in preparation for all Isra’el being saved (Romans 11:26). YHVH is doing an amazing thing through His body, the Church, as more and more churches are supporting Messianic congregations. Prayerfully seek God about how He wants you to invest yourself in making disciples of Yeshua Messiah among Isra’el and the nations.

B’rit Chadashah suggested readings for Parashah Ki Tavo:
Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:1-23; Acts 28:17-31; Romans 11:1-15; Luke 21:1-4

In the Torah portion, Moshe is standing in Mo’ab and instructing the nation proclaiming, Ki Tavo (When you come into) the Land, you must give ADONAI your firstfruits and your tithes (26:1-2). In the B’rit Chadashah portion, Yeshua is standing in the Temple courts observing the giving of the tithes and instructing the apostles that giving when it hurts has more value than giving out of the overflow of abundance (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Je – The Widow’s Offering). How can this be true? To the world, value is determined materially, more money equals more value. But in God’s economy, however, value is determined spiritually, more faith equals more value. Where was the widow’s faith? In what, or whom was she trusting? Is money your idol? Are you trusting in your own ability to bring in material resources to provide for you and your family, or is the LORD receiving all the glory as the Great Provider? How can you step out in faith to obey YHVH and thus store up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20)?

Summary of the Covenant Demand
29:1 to 30:20

Moses begins this section by reminding the children of Isra’el of YHVH’s faithfulness to them in bringing them from Egypt to the plains of Mo’ab, as well as of the covenantal relationship into which they are entering with God – a relationship that promises cursing for disobedience and blessing for obedience. In the light of those realities, Moshe challenges Isra’el to renew this covenant and choose life and blessing rather than death and cursing.

Chapter 29 is a summons to the covenant oath which is finally taken in Chapter 30. It reflects the overall pattern of the Near Eastern Treaty (to see link click Ah – Treaty of the Great King), with a review of ADONAI’s past works and deliverance (see Fm – Renewal of the Covenant), a call to enter into the covenant (see Fn – All of You Are Standing), a warning that the curses of the covenant will fall on the rebels (see Fo – Do Not Worship Other Gods), although ultimate restoration is intended (see Fp – Restoration After Repentance), and finally a call to the firm decision to accept the covenant (see Fq – Choose Life). So, this whole section is a kind of summary of the total covenant demand.⁶²⁴

This section picks up and summarizes much of the earlier material, condensing the message of the whole book in two chapters. It concludes with almost evangelical fervor, and it’s not surprising that the second half of Chapter 30 finds echoes in the teaching of both Yeshua and Paul.⁶²⁵

The Diaspora
28: 58-68

The diaspora DIG: What would be the cause of Isra’el’s divine judgment? Why is this eleventh curse the worst of all? What meaning does this chapter give to the “glorious and awesome name” of ADONAI your God? How could such a great God be so merciless? Why do the Jews suffer when the wicked Gentile nations escape suffering?

REFLECT: How many people with a trembling heart and failing eyes turn to the LORD for help? How would being “afraid night and day, and having no assurance for their lives” serve a similar purpose? How have you been disciplined in your lifetime by ADONAI, and what did you learn from it? What is the message today for the Church in these scriptures?

Moshe then elaborated on the specific conditional curses in verses 28:16-19, which were an elaboration of the specific conditional blessings of 28:3-6. In 28:20-68, Moses pronounced eleven curses that Isra’el would suffer if she did not live wholeheartedly in accordance with God’s mitzvot (to see link click Ez – Statutes, Mitzvot, and Ordinances). Each individual judgment essentially had one goal: to turn Isra’el from disobedience.⁶²⁰

The fundamental cause for this divine judgment does involve Isra’el’s conduct, but it also involved their attitude of heart – an adamant refusal to revere God’s lofty character.

In the eleventh curse, Moses summarizes the curse of YHVH, the terrible details of the preceding verses give way to a broader picture; the effect of this final section, however, is no less terrifying, for little by little Moshe unfolds to his audience the manner in which every blessing God’s covenant of love for His people could be reversed.

Dear kind and loving heavenly Father, I worship You! You are completely holy and totally love at the same time. The question of how a loving God could promise harsh punishments is answered when I look at the reason behind the giving of each of these judgements. Your loving desire is to turn Isra’el away from the wrong path of disobedience and onto the right path of eternal joy in loving relationship with You. You love each of Your children dearly. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children (John 1:12) of God (First John 3:1a)! You never want anything to hurt Your children, but You use discipline as a tool to bring Your child back onto the right road. “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son” (Hebrews 12:5b-6). How important it is to listen to Your small discipline. Then You will not have to discipline more. If the discipline is ignored, then You must make the punishment harsher. How wonderful to have learned lessons in the past and know that discipline for that error is done for the lesson is learned. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11).

Praise Your patience in training Your children to be holy like you. Sometimes You use discipline when there is wrong and sometimes You use trials to purge out impurities. But You never discipline harsher than is needed, nor are You too soft. You know exactly how much pressure to use to form the character of Your child into a beautiful vessel for You.  In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. You are a wonderful Father! I love You! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen 

11. The diaspora (28:58-68): The two worst curses were saved until the conclusion of Moshe’s address on curses for disobedience, and then specifically illustrated: the siege (see Fj – Military Siege) and the scattering.

The action on the part of the Israelites: If . . . you do not take care to do all the words of this Torah, the things written in this scroll, to fear this glorious and awesome Name, ADONAI your God there would be consequences (28:58). Once again, this mitzvah is not threatening loss of salvation, but loss of blessings.

The action on the part of YHVH: Then . . . ADONAI will make your plagues and the plagues of your descendants extraordinary – terrible and prolonged plagues, severe and prolonged illnesses (28:59). The potential curses described in the verses below are not the fickle acts of an unknown or vindictive deity; they are the just acts of a righteous God whose covenant of love would have been rejected by His own people.

a. He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt that you were afraid of. Also, every illness and plague that is not written in the scroll of this Torah, ADONAI will bring on you, until you are destroyed. In the redemption from Isra’el diseases were heaped on her enemies, but because of the curse of covenantal treachery, diseases will cling to Isra’el (28:60-61). The statement until you are destroyed occurs six times in this chapter (here, verses 24, 45, 48, 51, 61) like repeated hammer blows. This experience of covenantal cursing would bring Isra’el to the brink of extinction, and provides a sad contrast to what God intended for His chosen people. The fact that YHVH did not exterminate Isra’el when he drove them out of the Promised Land (covenantal curse) later in her history (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule) indicates that this verb is somewhat overstated. The strength of the language, however, prevents one from minimizing the full extent of this threat.⁶²¹

b. You will be left few in number, now less than one percent of the world population, instead of being like the stars of the sky in number (Genesis 15:5, 22:17, 26:4; Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 1:10, 7:7, 10:22) – because you did not listen to the voice of ADONAI your God. Now just as ADONAI rejoiced over you to do you good and to multiply you, so ADONAI will rejoice over you to ruin and destroy you; and you will be uprooted from the land that you are going in to possess. Even though they were once enslaved in Egypt, the Hebrews greatly multiplied in numbers, now however, because of her future rebellion she will be left few in number (28:62-63).

c. ADONAI will scatter you among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other. Through the patriarchs the Jews anticipated living in the Land of Promise, yet now, because of her mutiny against her Creator, she would be evicted from the Land (28:64a).

d. And there you will serve other gods – wood and stone – that you and your fathers have not known. While living in Egypt, the Israelites found fulness of life in serving YHVH, but because of her spiritual adultery she would live the empty life of worshipping false gods (28:64b);

e. Among these nations you will find no rest, and there will be no rest for the sole of your foot. But there ADONAI will give you a trembling heart and failing eyes, and a despairing spirit. The rest from enemies that came with possession of the Land would then become restlessness in a foreign land. The reference to three anatomical and psychological terms – mind, eyes and heart – emphasizes the internal and far-reaching nature of this distress. Their lives will be so consumed by instability that they will have absolutely no confidence in the future.⁶²² In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and at evening you will say, “If only it were morning!” – from the fear of your heart that you will fear and the sight of your eyes that you will see. During the conquest of the Transjordan the Gentile nations feared Isra’el, but after her revolt against her Protector, she will be overwhelmed by fear (28:65 and 67).

f. Your life will hang in the balance before you; you will be afraid night and day, and you will have no assurance of your life. The dread and fear that the goyim would feel at the approach of Isra’el (2:25 and 11:25), would then be on her. Isra’el had been promised long life in the Promised Land, but because of their rebellious heart, they would have no assurance of life (28:66). Their lives would be as if hanging from a thread, which threatens every moment to break.⁶²³

g. As a final step of covenantal reversal, the Israelites will come full circle. YHVH will send His chosen people back to Egypt, where they came into existence as a nation. ADONAI will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way that I said to you, “You will not see it again.” There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves and maids, but there will be no buyer (28:68). The ships may have been Phoenician, engaged in slave traffic (Ezeki’el 27:13; Joel 3:6; Amos 1:9). Forty years ago, Isra’el had been freed from slavery in Egypt, but refusal to be loyal to the covenant would mean that she would return to a state of bondage. But even in Egypt no one would buy such slaves. It is a vivid climax to a continuous picture of unspeakable suffering. Thus, her history will be annulled. Such will be the end of Isra’el if she failed to observe all the words of this Torah, the things written in this scroll, and to fear this glorious and awesome Name, ADONAI your God (28:58).

The Jews were not only a disciplined people, they were also a dispersed people (Second Kings 17:6 and 25:21). After the Babylonian captivity (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule), they were permitted to return to their Land, rebuild Jerusalem and restore the Temple (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah Ag – The First Return). Isra’el had their Temple, their priesthood, and a nation, until the Roman invasion in 70 AD. After that, they were, once again, a scattered people, found in almost every nation on the earth. They had no homeland, no Temple, and no priesthood. Yet, not matter in what nations they settled, then never lost their national identity. It would not be until May 14, 1948, that Isra’el would once again become a nation in the Land.

During those times of severe suffering, more than one Jew asked ADONAI, “Why do Your people suffer when the wicked Gentile nations escape suffering? How can a holy God use godless goyim to discipline His people?” This is one of the themes of the book of Habakkuk, and it is discussed in several psalms (Psalm 37, 73-74, 77, 79-80). But the fact that Isra’el is God’s chosen people and the apple of His eye (32:10) explains why He disciplines her, for the greater the privilege, the greater the responsibility. Only you have I known from among all the families of the earth. Therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities (Amos 3:2). Divine election isn’t an excuse for human rebellion. From everyone given much, much will be required (Luke 12:48b).

There is a sobering message here for the Church (made up of Jews and Gentiles as in Ephesians 2:14) in today’s world. Like Isra’el of old, we are God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for God’s own possession (First Peter 2:9-10). We are here to declare the virtues of the Lord and declare the Good News of the gospel. If we fail to glorify God and obey His Word, He will discipline us just as He disciplined Isra’el (see the commentary on Hebrews Cz – God Disciplines His Children). For the time has come for judgment to begin with the house of God. If judgment begins with us first, what will be the end for those who disobey the Good News of God (First Peter 4:17)? If God disciplines His own people for their sins, what will He do to those who don’t belong to the family and have resisted His will? But judgment will begin in God’s family, and the only way we can avoid it is to turn from our sins and obey His will.

The church that thought it was rich, Yeshua said was poor (see the commentary on Revelation Bf – The Church at Laodicea), and the church that thought it was poor, Messiah said was rich (see the commentary on Revelation Ba – The Church at Smyrna). What will our Lord reveal about our churches when the fire of discipline falls?

Military Siege
28: 45-57

Military siege DIG: Who will carry out this judgment? Why would God use the goyim to discipline His people? What will be the net effect of the enemy laying siege to the cities of Isra’el? What does the eagle symbolize? What new perspective is introduced here? What are tongues (foreign languages) a sign of? Why do you think the Ruach Ha’Kodesh saved the two worst curses until the end? How were the horrors of the military siege carried out by the Arameans, the Babylonians, and the Romans?

REFLECT: Do you have an iron yoke around your neck in the affairs of this world? Are you serving yourself? Who are you serving? Do you need a new perspective on your life? Do you feel like you are under siege? From who? Do you need to repent of something? Where do you begin? With Whom do you begin? How can you turn your life into a blessing?

Moshe then elaborated on the specific conditional curses in verses 28:16-19, which were an elaboration of the specific conditional blessings of 28:3-6. In 28:20-68, Moses pronounced eleven curses that Isra’el would suffer if she did not live wholeheartedly in accordance with God’s mitzvot (to see link click Ez – Statutes, Mitzvot, and Ordinances). Each individual judgment essentially had one goal: to turn Isra’el from disobedience.⁶¹³

9. The reason for the curses (28:45-48): All these curses will come upon you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed. The statement until you are destroyed occurs six times in this chapter (here, verses 24, 45, 48, 51, 61) like repeated hammer blows. This experience of covenantal cursing would bring Isra’el to the brink of extinction, and provides a sad contrast to what God intended for His chosen people. The fact that YHVH did not exterminate Isra’el when He drove them out of the Promised Land (covenantal curse) later in her history (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule) indicates that this verb is somewhat overstated. The strength of the language, however, prevents one from minimizing the full extent of this threat.⁶¹⁴

With these verses it is as though Moshe had reached a plateau in his presentation of covenantal curses. He has made it abundantly clear that the experience will be horrific and agonizing. He provides here a summary in the heart of his long presentation of curses. Moses pauses to provide the theological rationale for these terrible curses once again, namely, to punish Isra’el for her disobedience of the agreed-upon covenantal stipulations to serve as a warning to all future generations. He summarizes the impact of the curses, hunger, thirst, nakedness, and poverty, then he describes the gruesome details of the military siege.

These verses also introduce a new perspective. It no longer seems as though the covenantal curses are a mere possibility – now the fate appears to be a foregone conclusion. Not because YHVH wanted it or willed it, but that the people were determined to rebel against Him and so they had brought the destruction down upon their own heads.

The defeat envisioned by these verses is total. Using language similar to that found earlier in 28:2 and 15, Moshe declares that those curses will pursue Isra’el like a relentless predator. You will be destroyed because you did not listen to the voice of ADONAI your God, to keep His mitzvot and statutes that He commanded you. They will be a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever. In Isra’el’s exodus experience, the ten plagues had served as exciting signs and wonders. What a reversal in Isra’el’s fate this experience of judgment represents. Instead of serving ADONAI your God with joy and goodness of heart, out of the abundance of everything, you will serve your enemies, whom ADONAI will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and lacking everything. That service to pagan nations will be like an iron yoke. And YHVH will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you (28:45-48). Notice the sad progression from Isra’el’s conduct to her fate. Instead of serving ADONAI . . . they will serve their enemies. This fate represents a reversal of the Exodus, in other words, a return to bondage. One wonders why God’s people, then and now, cannot understand that it is only eternal values that have ultimate worth. As the late missionary Jim Elliot said so powerfully, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”⁶¹⁵

Dear Wonderful Heavenly Father, All Your promises are totally trustworthy. They are all “Yes” and “Amen” (Second Corinthians 1:20). It is exciting to think of Your promised blessings; but just as real are Your promised curses. He who trusts in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36). Though many point at Isra’el and her sins, it is so much wiser to look inward.

Praise you dear Father that entrance to Your holy heaven is not based on a person’s looks, family line nor on good deeds, but on the heart that loves You as Lord. But ADONAI said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have already refused him. For He does not see a man as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Adonai looks into the heart” (First Samuel 16:7). Praise You that You see the heart motives behind the actions. You discern if the action is done out of pride for others to see or out of loving humility in service and honor for You. Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord!” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?” Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23)! I love You and desire to lovingly serve You, no matter what it costs me now, for I will spend all eternity with You in complete peace and great joy.  For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

10. The horrors of the military siege (28:49-52): The two worst curses were saved until the conclusion of Moshe’s speech, and then specifically illustrated: the military siege and the scattering of the Jews to the Gentile nations (see Fk – The Diaspora). The central concept throughout this inventory of covenantal curses is the catastrophe of serving one’s enemies rather than serving YHVH. The description of military conquest at the hands of a foreign power represents the total reversal of all that God had done for Isra’el: no land, no cities, no possessions, no crops, no herds or flocks, and no loved ones. Ha’Shem will rise up against His chosen people, a fierce enemy who will epitomize covenantal curse.

ADONAI will raise up a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, just as the eagle swoops down (28:49a). The comparison of this attacking nation to an eagle’s swooping down signifies the suddenness, speed and power of the attack. In Scripture, the image of the eagle is often used to describe military invasion by different nations, including Babylon (Jeremiah 48:40, 49:22; Ezeki’el 17:3), Egypt (Ezeki’el 28:7); and Assyria (Hosea 8:1). The Assyrians captured the northern kingdom of Isra’el in 722 BC, and the Babylonians invaded the southern kingdom of Judah in 606 BC and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gb – The Destruction of Solomon’s Temple on Tisha B’Av in 586 BC). Many thousands of Jews were taken captive to Babylon and forced to live in the land of idols. That cured them of idol worship once-and-for-all! Perhaps the image here in Deuteronomy was meant to cover all the invasions that brought chastening to the Jewish people, including the Roman invasion of 70 AD. The things described here in verses 49-57 certainly happened during both the Babylonian and the Roman sieges of Jerusalem.⁶¹⁶

A nation whose language you will not understand (28:49b). Centuries later, Isaiah would declare that the hearing of the Assyrian tongue would be a sign of their own unbelief. Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues (Hebrew: uvelashovn, meaning languages) God will speak to this people (Isaiah 28:11). This passage is referred to in the B’rit Chadashah where Paul quotes from Isaiah and says: Tongues (Greek: glossai, meaning languages), then, are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers, specifically unbelieving Jews, the unbelievers of this people (First Corinthians 14:21-22). The purpose of tongues, or languages, in a Messianic congregation or church was not to bring unbelievers to faith. It had the same purpose it had in Isaiah 28. It is a sign of Jewish unbelief. It was not to bring them to Messiah, because Paul, quoting from this verse says that even then they will not listen (First Corinthians 14:21b). Therefore, tongues are a sign of cursing because of Jewish unbelief, a sign of blessing because the Church Age had begun, and a sign of authority (from apostles, prophets, or a nation, authenticating that it was God who was speaking). Peter, for example, had the keys to the Kingdom and would be responsible for ushering in the three major ethnic groups to the faith in the first century, Jews, Samaritans, and the Gentiles (Acts 10:44-46).

This sign would be the same for the Babylonians and the Romans as it was for the Assyrians. As a result, just as Isra’el’s disobedience in Deuteronomy led to the use of tongues as a sign of Jewish unbelief in the Land, so Isra’el’s unbelief in the rejection of Messiah led to the use of tongues as a sign of Jewish unbelief in the first century Church.⁶¹⁷

Moses demonstrates how the nation of Isra’el, which had been offered great glory by YHVH will experience the horrors of destruction by military siege. A brazen-faced nation that will not respect the old or be gracious to the young. They will devour the cattle and the crops, leaving nothing behind for Isra’el to eat. It will devour the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your soil, until you are destroyed. It will not leave behind for you grain, new wine, or oil, the increase of your herds or the young of your flock, until it ruins you. It will besiege you within all your town gates throughout your land, until your high and fortified walls – that you trusted in – come down. It will besiege you within all your gates throughout your land that ADONAI your God has given you (28:50-52).

This last indictment, in fortified walls that you trusted in, was Isra’el’s fundamental problem. YHVH repeatedly demanded that His covenantal nation trust Him, have faith in Him, believe in Him. He demonstrated His stupendous power and willingness to intervene on their behalf numerous times. Nevertheless, on too many occasions the chosen nation turned her back on ADONAI (Numbers 13-14), mistakenly placing her confidence in political alliances or false gods. Their refusal to trust the LORD led to their rebellion, idolatry, and eventually to experiencing these covenantal curses.⁶¹⁸

The horrors of the siege would come to a head in cannibalism. The enemy would devour the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your soil (28:51), but the Israelites would eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters that ADONAI your God has given you, in the siege and stress with which your enemies will distress you (28:53). The two illustrations that follow make the cannibalism seem even more terrible because it is mentioned almost casually.

The most tender and delicate man among you – his eye will become evil against his brother and the wife of his bosom and the rest of his children that he has left. He will not give to a single one of them from his children’s flesh that he will eat, because nothing else is left for him in the siege and stress with which your enemy will distress you within all your town gates (28:54-55).

The tender and delicate woman among you, who never ventured to set the sole of her foot on the ground out of delicateness and tenderness – her eye will become evil against the husband of her bosom and her son and daughter. For in secret, she will eat her afterbirth that issues from between her legs and the children she bears, for lack of anything else in the siege and stress with which your enemy will distress you within all your gates (28:56-57). This curse was literally fulfilled when the Arameans besieged Samaria (Second Kings 6:24-29), when the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem in 586 BC (Lamentations 2:20 and 4:10),⁶¹⁹ and when the Romans besieged Jerusalem in 70 AD (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Mt – The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple on Tisha B’Av in 70 AD: Atrocities in the City).

Deprivation and Dominance
28: 38-44

Deprivation and dominance DIG: What does this curse focus on? Why will the people have little to show for their efforts? Why won’t their children be able to help them with their crops? Why will there be a reversal of fortunes with the resident foreigner?

REFLECT: God’s sheer power, as shown in this chapter, makes reverence for Him the logical conclusion. Are you genuinely awed by YHVH’s power? Where in your life this week does reverence for Ha’Shem need to be seen? How can you help this week to see His power?

Moshe then elaborated on the specific conditional curses in verses 28:16-19, which were an elaboration of the specific conditional blessings of 28:3-6. In 28:20-68, Moses pronounced eleven curses that Isra’el would suffer if she did not live wholeheartedly in accordance with God’s mitzvot (to see link click Ez – Statutes, Mitzvot, and Ordinances). Each individual judgment essentially had one goal: to turn Isra’el from disobedience.⁶¹⁰

8: Crop failure (28:38-42): This curse concentrates on the economy of the country. The three staple crops of Isra’el – grain, wine, and oil – commonly served as clear indicators of God’s blessing on His servant-nation (Leviticus 26:20; Deuteronomy 6:11, 8:8; Isaiah 5:10; Jeremiah 12:13; Micah 6:15). Both in her agriculture and in her commerce, Isra’el would fail. Her people would work hard but would have little to show for it.

Moses declared: You will carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, because locusts will devour it. You will plant vineyards and dress them but neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. The locusts and worms would obey the sovereign LORD even if Isra’el would not. You will have olive trees throughout your territory but not anoint yourself with the oil, because your olives will fall off unripe. Children, normally used for work on the farms, would be ripped away from their parents. You will father sons and daughters, but they won’t belong to you, because they will go into captivity. The bugs will inherit all your trees and the produce of your land (28:38-42 CJB).

The curse of YHVH would affect every area of Isra’el’s life, so the people would enter upon a path of steady decline, sinking even lower than the most underprivileged of their own community.⁶¹¹ Whereas, earlier Moses compared Isra’el to other nations outside the Land of Promise (28:1, 12-13, 36-37), here, he contrasts the Israelites with resident foreigners who lived in their midst. During the plagues of Egypt (see the commentary on Exodus Bj – The Ten Plagues of Egypt), ADONAI made a clear distinction between the Egyptians and Israelites and protected the Israelites from the disasters that fell on Egypt. The reverse would be true in this curse for the resident foreigner, who would normally be the lowest level in Jewish society, would profit at Isra’el’s expense, becoming a creditor, or the head. The foreigner living with you will rise higher and higher while you sink lower and lower and become debtors. Therefore, the crop failure envisioned in 28:38-42 would lead to an economic collapse so significant that the poor foreigners would be among Isra’el’s creditors. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he will be the head and you the tail (28:43-44 CJB).⁶¹²

Dear Heavenly Father, Your love has promised curses/discipline, “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of ADONAI or lose heart when you are corrected by Him, because ADONAI disciplines the one He loves and punishes every son He accepts” (Hebrews 12:5-6) as a way to bring the sinner back into the joy of walking in God’s ways. This world will always have illness and sin, but praise You that Yeshua is preparing a home in heaven (John 14:3) for those who love Him. He is the Victorious King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). These illnesses and trials will soon be over. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18). Heaven’s joy and peace is for all eternity. He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Praise You for Your love that reaches out to bring the sinner back into a loving relationship with You. Praise You for accepting a heart repentance. For the grief that God wills brings a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret (Second Corinthians 7:10a-b). You are so loving! I worship You! In Yeshua’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Defeat and Deportation
28: 25-37

Defeat and deportation DIG: How do these curses affect the blessings mentioned earlier in 28:1-14? What would cause these curses? Did Isra’el have control of the outcome? Why? Why not? What five statements make it clear that YHVH is orchestrating these events? What was ironic about Isra’el’s defeat in battle? Why wouldn’t anyone be able to save her?

REFLECT: What do these verses teach you about the exceptional ways God treats His people? Looking back on your life, when were you disciplined for living in the world and refusing to glorify God? Have you recovered? What caused you to repent, turn around, and go in a different direction? What did you learn from that experience?

If Isra’el refused to serve the living God, she would be cast into a strange land to serve lifeless gods of wood and stone.

Moshe then elaborated on the specific conditional curses in verses 28:16-19, which were an elaboration of the specific conditional blessings of 28:3-6. In 28:20-68, Moses pronounced eleven curses that would Isra’el would suffer if she did not live wholeheartedly in accordance with God’s mitzvot (to see link click Ez – Statutes, Mitzvot, and Ordinances). Each individual judgment essentially had one goal: to turn Isra’el from disobedience.⁶⁰¹

As with the previous file (see Fg – Disease and Drought), the basic thesis of this section is that God’s rebellious nation will not enjoy covenantal blessings. While the preceding file concerned disasters of a domestic nature, this section gives attention to the calamities caused by invading armies. Five statements in this section make it clear that YHVH is orchestrating these events. He causes Isra’el’s defeat (28:25, 35), strikes her with boils (28:27), afflicts her with madness and blindness (28:28), and drives her to an unknown nation (28:36).⁶⁰²

4. Defeat in battle (28:25-26): Unlike the absolute victory YHVH promised in 28:7 (see Fd – Blessings for Obedience), where the enemy flees in total disarray, Isra’el will approach their enemy as a unified force but flee away, totally shattered, in seven groups. She will become a land filled with corpses, a banquet for various scavengers. ADONAI will bring you to defeat before your enemies. You will go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. You will become a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your carcass will be food for every bird of the heavens and beast of the earth, the ultimate dishonor. Denial of burial in the ancient Near East was a misfortune more fearful even than death (Jeremiah 7:33, 16:4, 36:30; Psalm 141:7; Ecclesiastes 6:3).⁶⁰³ And there will be no one to frighten them away (28:25-26). One cannot escape the irony here: Isra’el, a nation YHVH intended to feed from the Land He had promised them, would become the food supply for a variety of carnivorous beasts if they committed spiritual adultery and worshiped other gods.

5. Physical and mental diseases from Egypt (28:27-29): Depicting a reversal of the Exodus, YHVH promises that Isra’el will experience some of the agony of the “ten-plague-like” curses paralleling those that Egypt faced. In the same way that the Exodus symbolized Ha’Shem’s power and His intention to redeem His chosen people, it will also serve as an example of His overwhelming judgment. ADONAI will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with hemorrhoids, with scabs and with itching, from which you cannot be healed. ADONAI will strike you with madness, with blindness, and with confusion of heart. All three of these terms occur in Zechariah 12:4 to describe horses and their riders struck by panic when in battle. You will grope at noon as the blind person gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways. You will be only oppressed and robbed all the time, and there will be no one to save you (28:27-29). In such a disorganized state, they will be unsuccessful in their own efforts and will be easy prey for robbers. Once again, no one will be able to rescue them.⁶⁰⁴

6: Oppressed and Robbed (28:30-35): There follows a series of curses which would come as a result of defeat in battle. The protections guaranteed by obedience to the Torah would break down and you will become engaged to a woman, but another man will sleep with her. You will build a house, but you will not dwell in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not put it to use. Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be stolen in front of you, and it will not be returned to you. When YHVH is no longer protecting the Israelite army, your sheep will be given to your enemies, and you will have no one to save you. Your sons and daughters will be sold into slavery and given to another people while your eyes look on, longing for them all day long – but your hand will be powerless. A people you do not know will eat up the produce of your soil and all your labor, and you will be only oppressed and crushed all the time.⁶⁰⁵ In the ancient Near East, stealing someone’s ox or donkey was a proverbial example of oppression. If the Israelites would abandon their God, they would know nothing but oppression, and the experience of their traumatic losses would drive many to insanity.⁶⁰⁶ You will be driven mad by the sight that your eyes will see. Then Moses returns to the threat of horrible skin conditions. ADONAI will strike you on the knees and thighs with severe boils, from which you cannot be healed – from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head (28:30-35).

7. Exile (28:36-37): For the first time in the curse section (see Ff – Curses for Disobedience), Moses refers to the threat of conquest by a foreign power and deportation to some unknown land, away from those things and places they knew and loved. Some of the Israelites who were gathered on the plains of Mo’ab could still remember their slavery in Egypt, and now the threat of a similar experience is held before them again. Disobedience to the covenant could lead to the curse of deportation from the Promised Land; the covenant with YHVH would be exchanged for slavery to an earthly power.⁶⁰⁷ Rather than Isra’el’s being a prominent nation, respected by the surrounding goyim (26:18-19 and 28:1-3), ADONAI would bring them and the king set over them to a nation they and their fathers had not known – and there they would serve other lifeless gods of wood and stone. YHVH would cause Isra’el to become a horror (Jeremiah 18:16 and 49:17), a proverb (First Kings 9:7), an object of gossip and ridicule among all the peoples where ADONAI would drive her (28:36-37).⁶⁰⁸ The Babylonian exile is not in view here (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule). Captivity was a regular feature of warfare in the ancient Near East. Isra’el had suffered deportation from the Egyptians, Syrians, and Assyrians long before the Babylonians had ever appeared. In any case, the Hittite treaties of the fourteenth century BC included deportation among the curses.⁶⁰⁹

Dear Heavenly Father, You are both awesome and holy. How it must have broken Your heart to have to send Your first-born Isra’el (Exodus 4:22) into Assyrian captivity (Second Kings 17:6-18) and then to exile the Southern Kingdom of Judah for 70 years in Babylon. They were disciplined because of sin. We must remember that though You are merciful and gracious (Ephesians 2:8-9) and forgive our sins, You do not close Your eye to the sin nor ignore it. It is when we repent from our sin that You forgive.  Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be immersed in the name of Messiah Yeshua for the removal of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Ruach ha-Kodesh (Acts 22:38).

Your gift of forgiveness is very real for all who choose to love and follow You. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves – it is the gift of God.  It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Faith is loving You, following Your way and repenting from wrongs. Also, Your wrath is very real for all who ignore You. He who trusts in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36). You look for a heart of love, not a number of good deeds done. The heart is so much more important than the action. Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord!” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?” Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23)! I praise You for being so perfect and the best Father! In Yeshua’s holy name and in His power of His resurrection. Amen

Disease and Drought
28: 15-24

Disease and drought DIG: What would trigger these curses? Paraphrase the curses in 28:16-19 in modern terms. What areas of life are covered? How do they relate to the blessings in 28:3-6? How is the word confusion significant? What is striking about the contrast? What if God were merely a God of blessing? Is the phrase “until you are destroyed” overstated? Why? Why not?

REFLECT: What would be your response to ADONAI if you faced these curses today? Are the modern-day curses any less horrible? Why do people continue to rebel against God? How do these curses fit with your understanding of YHVH? If not in the form of curses, how do you experience God’s discipline today? To what lengths would you go to escape these curses?

Whereas blessing was pronounced for obedience in every undertaking of your hand (28:8), now there is the prospect of cursing in every undertaking.

Basic statement of the covenantal curses (28:15): Moshe clearly defines the people on whom the curses will fall, namely, those who do not obey the stipulations of the covenant (to see link click Cr – The Specific Stipulations of the Covenant). But if you will not listen to the voice of ADONAI your God, to take care to do all His mitzvot and statutes that I am commanding you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you (28:15). The presence of this curse language, also found in various ancient Near Eastern treaties, emphasizes the seriousness of spiritual adultery in Isra’el’s relationship with YHVH.⁵⁹⁶

Specific conditional curses of ADONAI (28:16-19): The blessings of verses 3-6 and the curses of verses 16-19 are concerned with the same issues but reflect opposite results, depending upon Isra’el’s obedience or disobedience. Disobedient Isra’el will find history inverted. Instead of the Abrahamic blessing of national growth and greatness, it will wither away to insignificance and exile from the Land.⁵⁹⁷

Cursed will you be in the city, and cursed will you be in the field (28:16).

Cursed will be your basket and your kneading bowl (28:17).

Cursed will be the fruit of your womb, the produce of your soil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock (28:18).

Cursed will you be when you come in, and cursed will you be when you go out (28:19).

Moshe then elaborated on the specific conditional curses in verses 28:16-19, which were an elaboration of the specific conditional blessings of 28:3-6. Here, in 28:20-68, Moses pronounced eleven curses that Isra’el would suffer if she did not live wholeheartedly in accordance with God’s mitzvot (see Ez – Statutes, Mitzvot, and Ordinances). Each individual curse essentially had one goal: to turn Isra’el from disobedience.⁵⁹⁸

1. Horrible destruction (28:20): Disobedience to God’s mitzvot would result in a series of calamities. ADONAI will send on you cursing, causing total confusion (Hebrew: from the root mehumah, meaning panic and turmoil). The word confusion is significant, and refers to confusion that can be caused by war (First Samuel 14:20; Isaiah 22:5; Ezeki’el 22:5; Zechariah 14:13). Normally the climax of a Holy War (see Ag – The Problem of Holy War in the TaNaKh) was the panic sent by Ha’Shem into the enemy. Mehumah is something like the term Jeremiah used, magor-missabib, or terror on every side (Jeremiah 20:3) to describe the panic that resulted from the coming invasion of the Babylonians (see the commentary on Jeremiah Da – Jeremiah and Pash’chur). The contrast is striking. In the day of cursing it will be Isra’el that is overtaken by panic, not her enemies. And frustration in every undertaking of your hand that you will do (28:20a). God sent the curses, but Isra’el invited them by her deeds. The cause of all this, and the essence of Isra’el’s rebellion was that she would chase after foreign gods and reject YHWH.⁵⁹⁹

Until you are destroyed and perish quickly, because of the evil of your deeds by which you have abandoned Me (28:20b). The statement until you are destroyed occurs six times in this chapter (here, verses 24, 45, 48, 51, 61) like repeated hammer blows. This experience of covenantal cursing would bring Isra’el to the brink of extinction, and provides a sad contrast to what God intended for His chosen people. The fact that YHVH did not exterminate Isra’el when he drove them out of the Promised Land (covenantal curse) later in her history (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule) indicates that this verb is somewhat overstated. The strength of the language, however, prevents one from minimizing the full extent of this threat.⁶⁰⁰

2. Disease (28:21-22): ADONAI will make the plague cling to you, In other words, the curses would be impossible for the Israelites to escape them. Until He has put an end to you from the Land that you are going in to possess. Moshe then listed seven (the number of completion) afflictions, pointing to the broad nature of the curses: ADONAI will strike you with weakness, fever, inflammation, fiery heat, the sword, blight and mildew. The first three are clearly human diseases (weakness, fever, and inflammation), three others describe climatic or agricultural conditions (fiery heat, blight, and mildew), while the sword obviously refers to invasion and war. They will pursue you until you perish (28:21-22).

3. Drought (28:23-24): The once fertile land would be without rain. Your sky above your head will be like bronze, and the earth beneath you like iron, unable to support life. ADONAI will make the once blessed land a lifeless desert; instead of rain, sand and dust will come down on you from the heavens. Your strength will be spent in vain, for your land will not yield its increase, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit. If you keep walking contrary to Me and will not listen to Me, then I will multiply the curses on you seven times like your sins, until you are destroyed (Leviticus 26:19-21; Deuteronomy 28:23-24). The dryness of the cursed land stands in marked contrast to the blessed described in 28:12. The obvious point is that the farmer would not be able to break up the earth, which would not be able to receive the farmer’s seed, and the heavens would not provide any rain.

Dear Heavenly Father, You are so kind and merciful and You so desire to bless Your children. Many wonder why a loving God would send disease and death. Your word clearly gives the answer. Though You long to bless all, You cannot bless when there is sin. You use discipline to turn the person away from the sin and back to following you. “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of ADONAI or lose heart when you are corrected by Him, because ADONAI disciplines the one He loves and punishes every son He accepts.” . . .  Now all discipline seems painful at the moment – not joyful (Hebrews 12:5b-6). If they do not listen, then the punishment gets worse, but if they do listen – then peace. But later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11). You long so much to bless Your people, it must break your heart when You see sin and you must punish. Yeshua cried out in anguish because of His love for Isra’el and their stubborn hearts that were unwilling to follow Him as their God. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing (Matthew 23:37)! I want to walk so close to you dear Father, that I hear your whispers and I follow right away. I love You. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Curses for Disobedience
28: 15-68

If God’s children refuse to obey ADONAI’s mitzvot faithfully, He will bring a great number of curses on them for their failure to maintain their part of the covenantal agreement. The suzerain-vassal treaties of the ancient world (to see link click Ah – The Treaty of the Great King) were normally characterized by an imbalance of blessings and curses. The more curses the better; all the more to accent the danger of unfaithfulness. There is a mixing of curses that affect home and family as well as those that affect the nation, thus moving toward a more national perspective. As with the blessings, Moshe begins by giving a brief statement of the curses in 28:15-19, followed by a lengthier description of the dreadful consequences in 28:20-68.⁵⁹⁴

The framework for which the blessing and curse can be seen in the Torah is as follows:

A. The blessings and curses in the present renewal of the covenant (11:26-28).

B. The blessings and curses in the future renewal of the covenant (11:29-32).

C. The Specific Stipulations of the Covenant (12:1 to 26:19).

B. The blessings and curses in the future renewal of the covenant (27:1-26).

A. The blessings and curses in the present renewal of the covenant (28:1-69).

It is important to understand that the blessings were not merely rewards for moral goodness and the curses (Hebrew: arar) were punishment for evil-doing and rebellion. Such a view is too shallow. There is a deeper reason. Notably, Isra’el was God’s covenant people. ADONAI, in His sheer grace, displayed many acts of deliverance on her behalf and took her into a covenant relationship. In gratitude, Isra’el accepted His invitation. It was, therefore, her covenant with YHVH which created, sustained and gave meaning to her nationhood. To disobey God was to disobey and to reject the very source of her life. The only way for Isra’el to live was to remain in fellowship with Him. In that fellowship lay her whole shalom, the totality of her whole being. Being out of fellowship with YHVH meant that she was cut off from life itself. Her choice was basically one between the blessing of life and the curse of death (see Fq – Choose Life).

The primary concern of Chapter 28 is not, therefore, with rewards. In secular treaties, the blessings and curses were mere sanctions. It was quite different, however, with Ha’Shem’s covenant. If Isra’el asked how life may be lived full of hope, in the enjoyment of God’s blessing and with the promise of a wonderful future, the answer was that only in fellowship with ADONAI and in obedience to His mitzvot could such a life be found. There was no other way. If His sovereignty was denied and He was rejected, Isra’el would descend into the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4a). That would be to reject all of YHVH’s love for Isra’el. Then, as painful as it might be for Him, the LORD would bring judgment upon her so she might be purged, refined, and restored.

So, some may ask, “Why so many curses?” The disproportionate number of curses to blessings is quite normal in the Near East treaties. In the case of Deuteronomy, the space allotted to the curses is about four times that given to the blessings. This is probably due to the fact that, human nature being what it is, the threat of a severe judgment on the covenant breaker seems to act as a stronger stimulus to correct behavior than any promise of blessing.⁵⁹⁵

Blessings for Obedience
28: 1-14

Blessings for obedience DIG: What is the foundation for the blessings: God’s grace or our obedience? What is the point behind the often repeated “if” clause? What six ways would Isra’el be blessed? What will ADONAI do to bring these about? How will YHVH be glorified? What status does God promise Isra’el? What does it mean to be holy? How is holiness attached to the promise?

REFLECT: Which of these tangible blessings have you seen in your life? Does this sound like the “health-and-wealth” gospel of some current preachers? What are the similarities? What are the differences? How would you put verses 3-6 in modern terms? How would you apply it to third-world believers? How is God glorified when He blesses you? What is your responsibility with the blessings and their conditions? How is obedience itself a blessing? Where do you find it difficult to obey?

The framework for which the blessing and curse can be seen in the Torah is as follows:

A. The blessing and curse in the present renewal of the covenant (11:26-28).

B. The blessing and curse in the future renewal of the covenant (11:29-32).

C. The Specific Stipulations of the Covenant (12:1 to 26:19).

B. The blessing and curse in the future renewal of the covenant (27:1-26).

A. The blessing and curse in the present renewal of the covenant (28:1-69).

If the people of Isra’el obeyed ADONAI then every aspect of their lives would be blessed; and in turn, all humanity would know the God of Isra’el in their midst.

Blessings conditional on obedience (28:1-2): Here, Moshe communicates the blessings YHVH promises that the Bnei-Yisrael will experience if they faithfully obey His mitzvot and do not worship other gods. Because of the covenantal relationship between Isra’el and the LORD (to see link click Ah – Treaty of the Great King), He expects certain kinds of conduct from His chosen people, and promises to bless them abundantly before the entire world for their obedience. Now if you listen obediently to the voice of ADONAI your God, taking care to do all His mitzvot that I am commanding you today, ADONAI your God will set you on high – above all the nations of the earth. Then all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you listen to the voice of ADONAI your God (28:1-2):

Specific conditional blessings of ADONAI (28:3-6): In six brief and rhythmic statements, Moses declares that the one who faithfully observes the LORD’s mitzvot will be blessed in every area of life. The blessings of verses 3-6 and the curses of verses 16-19 are concerned with the same issues but reflect opposite results, depending upon Isra’el’s obedience or disobedience.

We don’t read that the people were to say “Amen” to these blessings as they said “Amen” to the curses. The curses were not prophetic while this list of blessings is God’s prophetic promise of what He would do for His people if they kept their commitment to Him. YHVH’s blessings would lift Isra’el far above all the other nations (26:19) and make Isra’el a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:6). This would give the Jews opportunities to tell the pagan nations about the true and living God (28:10).

We must keep in mind why the LORD promised these marvelous blessings. For one thing, the nation of Isra’el was still in her spiritual infancy (Galatians 4:1-7), and one way to teach children is by means of rewards and punishments. Obedience brings blessing, but disobedience brings discipline. Gradually God taught His people that their obedience was a witness to the pagan nations around them, and brought glory to His name. Obedience also built godly character in the people so that they were indeed a holy people and a kingdom of priests.⁵⁸⁶

These “beatitudes,” with their recall of domestic life, and cover the fundamental conditions of life. Verses 3 and 6 correspond to each other, polar opposites, conveying fullness in every aspect of life, in typical Hebrew style (Psalm 121:8). The intervening blessings relate to the fruitfulness of the people, land, and animals.⁵⁸⁷

Blessed will you be in the city, and blessed will you be in the field (28:3). As a predominantly agricultural society, the Israelites depended on fertility for their survival.

Blessed will be the fruit of your womb, the produce of your soil, and the offspring of your livestock – the increase of your herds and the young of your flock (28:4). YHVH promised to provide them with large families, abundant crops, and growing flocks and herds.

Blessed will be your basket and your kneading bowl (28:5). The vessels used to collect and work with the produce from the fields would all be filled.

Blessed will you be when you come in, and blessed will you be when you go out (28:6). The expression come in . . . go out is often used in the TaNaKh to symbolize mankind’s ability to come and go in the affairs of life (Deuteronomy 31:2; Joshua 14:11; First Kings 3:7; Psalm 121:8; Isaiah 37:28). The blessings of YHVH would touch every aspect of their lives.⁵⁸⁸

The divine, unconditional promises of ADONAI (28:7-14): In a more elaborate fashion, as part of his teaching of these covenantal blessings, Moshe describes the way in which YHVH will bless the apple of His eye (32:10) by giving them military victories, material abundance, an impressive reputation, and international prominence if they will only obey His mitzvot.

A. ADONAI will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck down before you. They will come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways (28:7). The enemies of Isra’el, whose attack would threaten their shalom, would be defeated. God would make sure of that. This was a promise Isra’el could trust, for they had already experienced the victory Ha’Shem had provided against the military power of Egypt, and the kings of the Transjordan (see At – Isra’el’s Conquest of the Transjordan).⁵⁸⁹

B. ADONAI will command the blessing on you in your barns and in every undertaking of your hand, and He will bless you in the Land ADONAI your God is giving you (28:8). YHVH would bless all that Isra’el had and all that they did. Their storage facilities would be full, and their efforts would prove to be productive. The expression in the Land ADONAI your God is giving you serves as a reminder to the Israelites that it was YHVH who was giving them all these blessings. All these potential blessings came from being faithful to their covenantal relationship with the LORD.⁵⁹⁰

C. ADONAI will establish you as a holy people for Himself, just as He swore to you – if you keep the mitzvot of ADONAI your God and walk in His ways. Echoes of the Abrahamic covenant (see The commentary on Genesis Eg – I am the LORD, Who Brought You Out of Ur of the Chaldeans to Give You This Land) are also heard in the universal thrust of this verse. Obedience would not only ensure the enjoyment of God’s promised blessing, but also spread the knowledge of God’s name. Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of ADONAI and they will stand in awe of you (28:9-10). Ultimately, all humanity would know the name of God through the obedience of the people of Isra’el.⁵⁹¹

B. ADONAI will make you overflow in prosperity – in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil – on the Land ADONAI swore to your fathers to give you. ADONAI will open for you His good storehouse – the heavens – to give rain for your Land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow (28:11-12). YHVH promised to bless His people with abundant prosperity in the fundamental areas of their lives: family, livestock, and once again, crops, in the Land that He had promised them. Not only that, God would bless their labors. The far-reaching result of this divine blessing would be economic supremacy. God’s chosen nation would lend to other nations rather than borrow from them. Obedience to the covenant did not mean that Isra’el deserved her blessings, ADONAI would bestow His blessings on Isra’el out of grace and mercy.⁵⁹²

A. ADONAI will make you the head and not the tail of the Gentile nations, and you will be above and not below them. Through her obedience, Isra’el would be a prince among the goyim, rich in produce and harvest, strong against her enemies, glorious in the presence of ADONAI in her midst – always providing that His mitzvot were obeyed. If you listen to the mitzvot of ADONAI your God that I am commanding you today, careful to do them, and do not turn aside from any of the words (Hebrew: ha-d’varim, meaning matters, things, commandments, events or reasons) I am commanding you today, to the right or the left, to go after other gods in order to serve them (28:13-14). The promise of blessing is concluded by a further warning to obey YHVH, never deviating from the path marked out for the people of God, and steadfastly refusing to be drawn into the web of the worship of foreign gods.⁵⁹³

May the leaders and people of all nations turn their eyes back to You and bend their knees in worship and honor for You (Psalms 2:2-4, 10-12). Only then can any nation expect to be blessed by You. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Blessings and Curses
27: 11-26

Blessings and curses DIG: Why, where, when, and how was this ceremony to be conducted? Why not stay in the valley? Who were the participants? Bystanders? Who said the “curses?” Who responded? What did the “Amen” represent? What does it mean to be cursed? Why do the curses come before the blessings? Why so many more curses? What corresponding blessings do these tribes receive later from Moses in Chapter 33?

REFLECT: What kind of oaths does your employer, coach, spouse, or parent implicitly force you to take? Anything like this ceremony? To what divine sanctions do you tend to say, “Amen”? Why? Were there any items on this list for which your “Amen” was weakly offered, if at all? Has Yeshua ended the “curses” when He hung on the tree (see Galatians 3:13)? What is the Good News in this which you can share with someone this week?

When the people answered “Amen!” their response wasn’t merely their agreement with the words spoken; it was their acceptance of the terms of the covenant.

Once Joshua had led the people into the Promised Land, they were to interrupt their conquest and engage in a ceremony of reaffirming the covenant (Joshua 8:30-35). It would take place near Shechem, with Mount Ebal to the north and Mount Gerizim to the south. The valley between the two mountains formed a natural amphitheater where the priests and Levites (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah, to see link click An – Priests, Levites and Temple Servants) could assemble and declare God’s Word.

There are at least four potential reasons for the choice of Mounts Ebal and Gerizim as the site for this covenant-renewal ceremony: the valley between the two mountains provides a natural amphitheater (the acoustical factor); Shechem was an important site throughout biblical history (Genesis 12:6-7; Joshua 24:32; the historical factor); Shechem was centrally located among the tribal allotments (the geographical factor); and mountains and hills were often appealed to as witnesses in covenantal contexts (the covenantal factor).⁵⁷⁵

These were curses that would be given to the Israelites if they did not obey the commandments that had just been given to them. And the way these curses were pronounced was in a very dramatic way. ADONAI had six tribes stand on Mount Ebal (1,400 feet above the valley), and six tribes stand on Mount Gerizim (750 feet above the valley), with the Levites standing between the two mountains in the valley (near the city of Shechem) loudly chanting the blessings and curses. And the people would respond, Amen!

Blessings: Moses commanded the people on that day saying: When you have crossed over the Jordan, these are to stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin (27:11-12). The tribes who echoed the blessings had their tribal allotments in the heart of the Land and descended from Rachel and Leah.

Curses: As the Levites read the curses, they weren’t predicting what would happen if the people disobeyed God. They were calling upon Ha’Shem to send those curses on His people if they turned away from Him. For the curse these are to stand on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali (27:13). Those echoing the curses had their tribal allotments at the fringe of the Land; four of these tribes descended from Jacob’s handmaidens, Bilhah and Zilpah, while the other two were Leah’s oldest and youngest sons, Reuben, who lost his birthright for sleeping with Bilhah, and Zebulun).⁵⁷⁶

Then the Levites, probably those who usually cared for the Ark of the Covenant, are to answer and say with a loud voice to every man of Isra’el (27:14). At first glance, it appears that this section is redundant when compared with the curses found in Chapter 28. However, there are some clear differences. The present section affirms that the violation of specific covenantal stipulations will trigger covenantal curses. Unlike the upcoming section (Ff – Curses for Disobedience), Chapter 27 does not specify what the curses are for any of the violations. It describes certain representative covenantal violations of God’s Torah, and God’s children affirm their recognition of those possible curses by shouting out, Amen! Chapter 28, by contrast, carefully describes the nature of the curses that the nation will experience for covenantal violations.

The curses below follow a set formula: (1) passive participle (Cursed is the one); (2) individual address (the one); (3) objective statement of the offense (who does . . .); (4) national recognition (Amen).⁵⁷⁷

The first curse: Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molten image – an abomination to ADONAI, the work of a craftsman’s hands – and sets it up in secret (27:15a). The first curse condemned idolatry and violated the first and second mitzvot of the Ten Words (see Bk – The Ten Words). To carve or cast an idol and worship it was to deny that YHVH was the one true and living God, and it was this sin that finally brought the wrath of God on Isra’el (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eu – Idolatry in the Temple). Even if a Jew worshipped an idol in secret and didn’t try to persuade anybody to join him or her, it was still a great sin and had to be punished (see the commentary Jeremiah Gb – The Destruction of Solomon’s Temple on Tisha B’Av in 586 BC).⁵⁷⁸

Then all the people are to answer and say: Amen (27:15b). Meaning that they were willing to be disciplined if they disobeyed God. Their “Amen” wasn’t merely their agreement with the words spoken; it was their acceptance of the terms of the covenant. These curses were closely related to the specific stipulations of the covenant (see Cr – The Specific Stipulations of the Covenant), especially the Ten Words.

While the scene here envisioned a single, nonrecurring event, nevertheless the single historical event contributed to the ongoing liturgy of Isra’el’s worship. The litany of curses and their responsive “Amens” may have functioned as part of the entrance liturgy, rather like Psalms 15 and 24, to remind the worshippers of the moral seriousness of any approach to ADONAI in worship.⁵⁷⁹

The second curse: Cursed is the one who dishonors his father or mother, which violates the fifth mitzvah, and reinforces the centrality of the family within the national covenant relationship (see Bp – Honor Your Parents). God gave the parents the role of teaching their children, so parents are to be honored as ADONAI’s covenantal representatives. To dishonor one’s parents is to disrespect the authority of YHVH. A precise mitzvah on this subject required the parents to prosecute their stubborn and rebellious son (see Ds – The Tale of Two Sons: The rebellious son). But in practice this would have been a very difficult mitzvah to carry out. If the child was found guilty, the punishment was death. Therefore, the stern requirements of the mitzvah would be at odds with the continuing love of the child. The curse pictured here, however, would cover this scenario in a less direct fashion. Whether or not the rebellious child was brought before the elders for judgment, the act of dishonoring parents automatically incurred the curse of God.⁵⁸⁰ Then all the people are to say: Amen (27:16).

The next three curses related specifically to the poor and the needy among Isra’el.

The third curse: Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s boundary marker (see Dn – Moving a Boundary Stone), which violates the eighth mitzvah (see Bs – Do Not Steal). Since the economic viability of the family depended upon inheriting its own share of the land, the next curse is directed at those whose greed attacked the original land division and who changed boundaries to their own advantage.⁵⁸¹ The nature of the crime was such that it would not normally be attempted, except in the circumstances that might lead the offender to think he could get away with it without anybody knowing about it. However, if the boundary marker was moved, the disadvantaged in Isra’el were especially susceptible to this abuse because they lacked the means to defend themselves in court. So, once again, the curse emphasized that the action was condemned within the covenant community, whether or not the offender was brought to trial. Then all the people are to say: Amen (27:17).

The fourth curse: Cursed is the one who misleads a blind person on the road. This revealed God’s special concern for people with disabilities. The word blind may be taken literally, or may have a more metaphorical sense; that is, it may indicate some kind of treatment of a blind man, which would result in personal gain. For example, if money were stolen from a blind man, he would not be able to identify the thief. In contrast, the spirit of the covenant ordered just and humane treatment for all fellow Israelites. Once again, the thief would be cursed, whether or not he was brought to trial. Then all the people are to say: Amen (27:18).

The fifth curse: Cursed is the one who twists justice for the outsider, orphan and widow. Then all the people are to say: Amen (27:19). The fifth curse focuses on treating the helpless and unfortunate in the Land with kindness and justice. Widows, orphans, and resident aliens were often abused and exploited in Isra’el, and YHVH called on His people to champion their cause and see that they received justice (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ih – The Parable of the Persistent Widow). The Jews had been aliens in Egypt for many years and ADONAI cared for them and judged the Egyptians who abused them. If Isra’el didn’t care for the poor and the needy, Ha’Shem would also judge her. Among other things, this meant bringing their special tithe every third year so that the poor and the needy would have food to eat (see Ey – The Year of the Tithe).⁵⁸²

The next three curses have to do with sexual purity. These sins were prevalent among the nations in Canaan, and Isra’el wasn’t to imitate her neighbors. The nature of these acts would be done in secret or in private, and therefore, they would not always be brought to the attention of the courts of law. They all violate the seventh mitzvah in spirit (see Br – Do Not Commit Adultery). The nonmention of adultery does not lessen the detestable nature of that offense; but these curses focus on less easily detected sexual offenses.

The sixth curse: Cursed is the one who sleeps with his father’s wife (presumably his step-mother), because he has uncovered his father’s nakedness (First Corinthians 5:1). Fellow Israelites would think nothing of a man’s keeping regular company with his step-mother, sister, mother-in-law, or animals (whereas his spending a lot of time with another man’s wife would be easily noticed). And a family member aware of this deviant sexual behavior might be tempted to hide it to spare the entire family from great shame.⁵⁸³ Incest was especially condemned in Isra’el (Deuteronomy 22:30; Leviticus 18:8-9 and 17, 20:11). Reuben lost his right as the firstborn because he violated this mitzvah (see the commentary on Genesis Le – Reuben, You are My Firstborn, Turbulent as the Waters, You Will No Longer Excel). Then all the people are to say: Amen (27:20).

The seventh curse: Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal, which once again, was normally committed in private, or in the open countryside away from witnesses (Leviticus 18:23). Bestiality was practiced in some pagan religions and “sacred animals” were used in the worship of their false gods. Because God created humans as distinct from the animal world (see the commentary on Genesis Ao – Let Us Make Man in Our Image, In Our Likeness), and having sex with an animal would seem to equate animals with humans, a curse is pronounced. The perversion of sex is not only the abuse of a gift of God, but it threatens marriage and the family, which are foundational to the success of any nation. Then all the people are to say: Amen (27:21).

The eighth curse: Cursed is the one who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother, even if the brother and sister had only one parent in common. Incest brought the curse of God. Then all the people are to say: Amen (27:22).

The ninth curse: Cursed is the one who sleeps with his mother-in-law. Then all the people are to say: Amen (27:23). Proper conduct between family members who would be living in close proximity to each other was essential to stability within the covenantal nation.

The next two curses return to the Ten Words , and the sanctity of human life based on the sixth mitzvah (see Bq – Do Not Murder).

The tenth curse: Cursed is the one who strikes down his neighbor in secret. Then all the people are to say: Amen (27:24). Murder is the ultimate crime because its consequences cannot be reversed, but to murder one’s neighbor makes the crime even worse. The only thing more wicked would be to be paid to murder somebody!

The eleventh curse: Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to strike down an innocent life. Then all the people are to say: Amen (27:25). The Torah of Moses condemned those who accepted bribes to break the law, for making money is not more important than maintaining justice (Deuteronomy 16:19; Exodus 23:8). The mitzvot taught the people of Isra’el to love their neighbor and do them good (Deuteronomy 22:1-4; Leviticus 19:18). But whether a neighbor, or a total stranger is the victim, murder is wrong and murderers must be punished.

The twelfth curse: Cursed is the one who does not uphold the words of this Torah by doing them. Then all the people are to say: Amen (27:26). This final curse concerns the Torah as a whole, rather than focusing on a single issue. Although one could imagine a person’s avoiding the eleven offenses cited in the previous verses, no one can be perfect. Paul quoted this verse (see the commentary on Galatians Bi – All Who Rely on the Deeds of the Law are Under a Curse) to prove that there could be no salvation by obeying all the 613 mitzvot of Moshe, since no one could obey everything YHVH commanded. The purpose of this Torah was not salvation, but an impossible standard that would beg for a Savior, for the righteous shall live by faith (Galatians 3:11). There can be no true conversion without conviction, and conviction comes when we see the holiness of ADONAI in His Torah, and the sinfulness of our own hearts.⁵⁸⁴ To say we’ve kept some of God’s mitzvot doesn’t excuse us, for to break one is to break them all: For whoever keeps the whole Torah but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all (James 2:10). If you were hanging over an abyss holding on to a chain of 613 links, how many links would have to break for you to fall?

The list of curses clearly focuses most on the social life of Isra’el. But the whole list is suspended from the fundamental question of loyalty to YHVH or committing spiritual adultery and going after idols. Again and again the message of the TaNaKh is that if you choose the wrong gods you will end up in social decay. Biblical monotheism, far from an abstract creed, affirms that only when ADONAI is properly honored will society be just and compassionate. Modern western society, reaping the fruit of two centuries of systematically excluding the living God from all practical public reverence, is not plagued with loss of family, stability, respect for property, social compassion, sexual integrity, and the sanctity of life. Those who will not love ADONAI, will soon find it annoying to love their neighbors.⁵⁸⁵

Dear Heavenly Father, You are such a wonderful and loving God, and You are also pure and 100% holy. Everyone loves to hear about Your love.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Your holiness is also very real and it demands wrath at pride and sin. He who trusts in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36).

It is popular to take only the parts of Your Word that people like, such as the first part of Second Peter 3:9 which reads: The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some consider slowness. Rather, He is being patient toward you – not wanting anyone to perish (Second Peter 3:9a-b). It is like watching the first part of a play that makes a person smile and then ignoring the second part that has problems and ugly situations that develop in the rest of the story. The full idea of what you say comes in the end of the verse, but for all to come to repentance (Second Peter 3:9c). Your offer is to all – all who come to repentance!

Your blessings are wonderful! Your curses are so real and wisdom does everything to avoid being cursed by God. Someone might say, “God would never curse anyone. God is so loving!

God gave us his own righteousness so all is good.” He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Peter 5:21). True love also demands a hatred of sin. Let love be without hypocrisy – detesting what is evil, holding fast to the good (Romans 12:9).

You show both mercy and grace to the repentant sinner (Ephesians 1:6, 2:8), and anger at the unrepentant sinner. But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Like 13:3b and 5 NIV). Oh Father, how vast Your love is (Ephesians 3:17-18) to forgive as far as the East is from the West, the sins of those who have a holy and righteous fear of You. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy for those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so ADONAI has compassion on those who fear Him (Psalms 103:11-13).

Though You offer salvation to all, our Word clearly says that only those who respond back to You with love and trust will enter Your heavenly Kingdom. For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart it is believed for righteousness, and with the mouth it is confessed for salvation (Romans 10:9-10). You see the heart and it is not even those who claim to work for You, but those whose heart loves You. Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord!” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?” Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23)! These shall go off to everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life (Matthew 25:46). You are so wise, powerful, and loving. I look forward to spending eternity with You, giving you great love and worship forever. In Yeshua’s holy name and His power of resurrection. Amen

Be Silent and Listen, O Isra’el
27: 1-10

Be silent and listen, O Isra’el DIG: Where were the large stones set up? What significance did that have? What did the large stones represent? What function would they serve? When were these things to be set up (see Joshua 8:33-35)? What was the intended attitude?

REFLECT: How does building an altar serve as a living reminder for you to obey ADONAI? To what would you build an altar? Do you have living reminders in your place of worship today? What attitudes and principles might still apply? Why?

Moses gave directions for a ceremony for the renewal of the covenant that were to be followed when the Israelites entered the Land of Promise.

Notice that Moses joined with the elders (verse 1) and the priests (verse 9) in announcing the covenant to the people. Moshe would soon leave the scene (to see link click Gj – The Death of Moses), but the nation would continue, and the authority of ADONAI would operate through their civil and religious leaders. The people weren’t committing themselves to Moses; they were committing themselves to YHVH to keep all His mitzvot (26:18).

A new address is signaled by the mention of Moses in the third person (27:1). Moshe had not been mentioned in the third person since 5:1, at the beginning of the stipulations of the covenant (see Bi – The Stipulations of the Covenant). Moshe had explained the general stipulations of the covenant (see Bj – The First Address: The General Stipulations of the Covenant), and the specific details of the covenant (see Cr – The Second Address: The Specific Stipulations of the Covenant). Throughout Isra’el’s history it would be necessary to call the nation to renewals of the covenant commitment and obedience. These renewals would take place at significant points in her history, such as in preparation for entering the Promised Land here in Deuteronomy 27, at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple in First Kings 8, and during the change of leadership in Joshua 24 and First Samuel 12.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for being willing to make a covenant with people. Praise You for making us Your children, those who love You and rejoice in following Your covenant. But whoever did receive Him, those trusting in His name, to these He gave the right to become children of God  (John 1:12). Help us to remember that being in covenant with You, our great God, is both a wonderful privilege and a responsibility to listen and to obey what You say. Praise You for Your great love that guides the path of Your children so that when we choose to follow You, we will have the greatest of joys forever. We love You and delight in our relationship with You.

It is such a calming thought to meditate on You, our great and wonderful Father. Even in times of difficulty, we choose to focus on the future that You have for those who love and that quiets us. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). This world will soon be gone, but eternity is forever. How important it is to make wise choices now of our time and money; choices that will last for all eternity and merit an eternal reward. For no one can lay any other foundation than what is already laid – which is Yeshua the Messiah.  Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear. For the Day will show it, because it is to be revealed by fire; and the fire itself will test each one’s work – what sort it is.  If anyone’s work built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward (First Corinthians 3:11-14). Praise You for judging the action not on how big the gift is, but on our heart attitude when we give. Thank You for giving us the choice to follow You or to follow our own ways. I choose You! You are always the best choice! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of resurrection. Amen

A. Keep the whole mitzvah that I am commanding you today: Moses and the elders of Isra’el commanded the people, saying: Keep the whole mitzvah that I am commanding you today (27:1). This was not for salvation, but for the blessings of the Covenant. For the first time in Deuteronomy, the elders of Isra’el are associated with Moshe as God’s spokesmen to the chosen nation. We are reminded of the importance of great leaders’ surrounding themselves with good men. The elders surrounded and supported Moses at the close of his days leading Bnei-Yisrael. They had also accompanied him to face Pharaoh and ask for the release of the captive Israelites (Exodus 3:16-18). On many occasions between the beginning and the close of Moshe’s career as a leader, others came around him to enhance his leadership and to help carry the heavy responsibility that had been given to him. Is it not true that few people are successful unless a lot of other people want them to be? Great works of God are built by the relay race principle, not by a single runner. Here Moses, the leader, is passing the baton of leadership onto the elders before the entire congregation of Isra’el. The leaders will change, but not the covenant.⁵⁷²

B. Write on them the words of this Torah: Now on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the Land that ADONAI your God is giving you, you are to set up large stones for yourself and coat them with plaster (a common practice in Egypt). The stones were to be erected and prepared for writing by whitewashing; when the mitzvot was written on the stones, the white background would make it clearly visible and easy to read. The stones would not only display the written words of the Torah, but they would also function as a silent witness to the renewal of the covenant. Then you are to write on them all the words of this Torah when you cross over. In general terms, the phrase all the words of this Torah describe the specific stipulations of the covenant (see Cr – The Specific Stipulations of the Covenant), but whether it should be interpreted literally as referring to a transcription of those chapters is uncertain.⁵⁷³ So that you may enter the Land that ADONAI your God is giving you, a Land flowing with milk and honey just as ADONAI, the God of your fathers, promised you (27:2-3).

B. Write on the stones all the words of this Torah: Now when you cross over the Jordan, you are to set up these stones about which I am commanding you today on Mount Ebal, and coat them with plaster. It seems striking that the stones were to be set up on Mount Ebal (and not Mount Gerizim), and the sacrifices detailed below are to be offered there, for Mount Ebal was the mountain of cursing (27:13), while Mount Gerizim was the mountain of blessing (27:12). This location probably emphasized the need for Isra’el to recognize that failure to keep the covenant meant that she would have to accept the resulting curses. If the Isrealites sought to obey the mitzvot without a faith relationship with YHVH, then they were doomed to fail.⁵⁷⁴ The ceremony was bathed in worship. There also you will build an altar to ADONAI your God, an altar of stones – you are not to use an iron tool on them. Human effort was unacceptable as a means of approaching God. You are to build the altar of ADONAI your God of whole stones, and you are to offer up burnt offerings (see the commentary on Exodus Fe – The Burnt Offering) on it to ADONAI your God. You are to sacrifice peace offerings (see the commentary on Exodus Fg – The Peace Offering) and eat there, and you will rejoice before ADONAI your God. This often happened with important occasions (Exodus 32:6; Joshua 22:27; Judges 20:26; First Samuel 10:8; Second Samuel 6:17-18, 24:25; First Kings 3:17). You are to write on the stones covered with plaster, all the words of this Torah very clearly (27:4-8). This emphasized the supreme importance that God’s Word would play in the New Land.

A. Do the Mitzvot that I am commanding you today: Then Moses and the Levitical kohanim spoke to all Isra’el, saying: Be silent and listen, O Isra’el – this day you have become a people for ADONAI your God. This did not imply that Isra’el was not the people of God before that time. It meant that there, on the plains of Mo’ab, at that significant turning point in her history, that Isra’el had freshly committed herself once again to her covenant relationship with YHVH. Again, she was told to listen to the voice of ADONAI your God, and do His mitzvot and statutes that Moses commanded them that historic day (27:9-10).

The Ratification of the Covenant
27: 1-26

Moses exhorts the children of Isra’el to ratify their covenant with ADONAI, commands that they provide for the preservation of the covenantal stipulations, and charges that they symbolically place themselves under the suzerainty (to see link click Ah – The Treaty of the King) of the stipulations of the covenant with the LORD (see Bi – The Stipulations of the Covenant) by means of a ceremony on Mounts Gerizim and Ebal. The nation was to “act out” this covenant-renewal ceremony shortly after they entered the Land that YHVH had promised them.

The framework for which the blessing and curse can be seen in the Torah is as follows:

A. The blessing and curse in the present renewal of the covenant (11:26-28).

B. The blessing and curse in the future renewal of the covenant (11:29-32).

C. The Specific Stipulations of the Covenant (12:1 to 26:19).

B. The blessing and curse in the future renewal of the covenant (27:1-26).

A. The blessing and curse in the present renewal of the covenant (28:1-69).

The Warnings of the Covenant
27:1 to 30:20

The Israelites were encamped on the edge of the Promised Land for about three months. It had probably been over seven months since they began their final approach to the Land. The events that occurred during that seven month time may have proceeded as follows: the peaceful passing through Edom, Moab, and Ammon; the conquest of Sihon and Og; the beginning of settling into the inheritance by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-tribe of Manassah, while the rest of the tribes set up camp across the Jordan River from Jericho; Moses’ completion of the book of Deuteronomy and presentation of it to the people; Moshe’s death; the mourning of God’s people for him; and the preparation of God’s people for entrance into Canaan.⁵⁷¹

After Moshe gave the specific stipulations of the Covenant (to see link click Cr – The Second Address: The Specific Stipulations of the Covenant), he begins a new section of the book:

A. The Ratification of the Covenant in the Land of Canaan – 27:1-26 (Fb)

B. Blessings for Obedience – 28:1-14 (Fe)

C. Curses for Disobedience – 28:15-68 (Ff), and

D. Summary of the Covenantal Demand – 29:1 to 30:20 (Fl)

Statutes, Mitzvot, and Ordinances
26: 16-19

Statutes, mitzvot, and ordinances DIG: What is the significance of the “heart” and the “soul” when it comes to obedience? In the mutual declarations, which comes first? God’s? Or the people’s? Why is one based on the other? What is different about this confession, and the first two we have seen?

REFLECT: What is the significance of, “This day,” “Today,” and “Now today,” for you? What sense of urgency do you have about God’s Word? Do you have God’s Word in your heart? Do you know that God has great things planned for you, and that your salvation is secure?

God guaranteed the blessings of His covenant to Isra’el; the blessing was promised to the nation as a whole, even though certain people may suffer on particular occasions.

These four verses conclude Moses’ explanation of the stipulation of the Covenant (to see link click Bi – The Stipulations of the Covenant) by calling for a total commitment to the LORD and His mitzvot, and also by affirming God’s commitment to Isra’el. This section may also be viewed as a formal ratification of the covenant between ADONAI and Isra’el even though the word “covenant” does not appear in these four verses (see Ah – The Treaty of the Great King). Isra’el accepted and affirmed her covenantal responsibilities and YHVH affirmed His promise to exalt an obedient Isra’el over all the nations of the earth.

The first two confessions (see Ex – When You Come into the Land) and (Ey – The Year of the Tithe), looked forward to the time when Isra’el would be settled in their Land and reaping the harvests. This confession, however, brings us back to the plains of Mo’ab where Moshe was equipping the younger generation to enter the Land of Promise.

A. This day: Every member of God’s covenantal nation needed to live wholeheartedly in accordance with His mitzvot. This day ADONAI your God is commanding you to do these statutes and ordinances – so you are to take care and do them with all your heart and with all your soul (26:16). This day, and today, were the words Moses used frequently as he addressed the people (2:25, 4:26 and 29, 6:6, 7:11, 8:1 and 18, 10:13, etc). It was indeed a solemn time when Moshe reiterated the mitzvot and reviewed the nation’s history. The future generation depended on the people receiving, understanding, and obeying the Word of God that Moses was sharing with them.

B. Today: By embracing their covenantal relationship with YHVH, the Israelites affirmed that Ha’Shem was their God, and that they were His people. Their promises to walk, keep and obey, would be the means by which they would demonstrate their identity as the people of God to the surrounding nations.⁵⁶⁸ Today you have affirmed ADONAI as your God, that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes, mitzvot and ordinances, and listen to His voice (26:17). God’s statues (Hebrew: hachukkim, meaning to write into law permanently), mitzvot, and ordinances (Hebrew: hammishpatim, meaning a judgment of the court) needed to be observed for the nation to prosper. This triad: mitzvot, statues, and ordinances appear in three other passages (5:31, 6:1, and 7:11), and embody everything that God commanded as a unit. The constant danger was that the people not receive God’s Word into their hearts, but only hear it with their ears . . . and then forget it. Like the Israelites of Yeshua’s day, they had ears but could not hear.

Messiah said: This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. Otherwise, they might turn and be forgiven (Matthew 13:13; Mark 4:12). Jesus’ audiences were not denied the opportunity to believe in Him. But after persistently closing their minds to His message, they were excluded from further understanding it by His use of parables. Yet even the parables, which veiled the truth, were meant to provoke thought, enlighten and potentially reveal it. The parables uniquely preserved people’s freedom to believe, while demonstrating that if such a decision is made, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).⁵⁶⁹ But because the people looked to the Sanhedrin to make a decision about the validity of Christ’s messiahship and the Jewish Supreme Court having rejected Him, the majority of the people started to turn against the Son of God.

Isaiah perfectly described the faithless Jews of Yeshua’s day. The parables fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them (Mattityahu 13:14-15). Isaiah wrote during a time of devastating judgment against the southern kingdom of Judah. While Isaiah was preaching his message of doom, King Uzziah died and the nation was plunged into some of the darkest days it had ever seen (see my commentary on Isaiah Bo – In the Year King Uzziah Died).

A mere casual acquaintance with the Word isn’t sufficient. If God’s Word is to nurture us and change us so that God can bless us (Psalm 1:1-3), we must devote our lives to it, heart and soul. God had claimed Isra’el for His own people and promised to bless them if they obeyed Him (16:18), and Isra’el had declared that YHVH was their God and that they would obey Him, “Today you have affirmed ADONAI as your God, that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes, mitzvot and ordinances, and listen to His voice” (26:17). There was no doubt that ADONAI would keep His promises . . . would Isra’el keep theirs?

A. Now today: In accordance with His earlier declaration (7:6), the LORD affirms that Isra’el is His specially chosen nation and that He will one day set them in a grand position over all the nations of the world.⁵⁷⁰ Now today ADONAI has affirmed you as His treasured people, as He promised you; that you are to keep all His mitzvot; that He will set you high above all the nations He has made, for praise, fame and honor; and that you are to be a holy people to ADONAI your God, as He has promised (26:18-19).

God had great things planned for Isra’el, just as He has great things planned for each of His children (Ephesians 2:10; First Corinthians 2:6-10). If the people kept their covenant promises to the LORD, He would bless them and make them a blessing, but if they disobeyed Him, He would have to discipline them. But My people would not listen to Me; Isra’el would not submit to Me. So, I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. If My people would follow My ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their foes . . . He would have fed them with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy them (Psalm 81:11-14 and 16 NIV).

Yes, our salvation is secure (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer), but if we disobey His Word, we not only miss out on the many blessings in this life, but also crowns in the next life (see the commentary on Revelation Cc – For We Must All Appear Before the Judgment Seat of Christ).

Dear Heavenly Father, You are so wonderful! You plan the lives of Your children so they will have the greatest joy for all eternity, but just as it was important for Isra’el to keep the covenant promises to receive blessings, so it is important for those who follow You now to keep the covenant promises. A mere casual acquaintance knowledge of You and Your Word isn’t sufficient. Your Word says: They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household” (Acts 16:31 NIV). Real believing is not a mere head nod of approval, but it is a heart love that bows the knee to you by making you their Lord. For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart it is believed for righteousness, and with the mouth it is confessed for salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever trusts in Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all – richly generous to all who call on Him (Romans 10:9-12). Praise You that those who choose to love and worship You as their Lord and Savior, You call your own children. But whoever did receive Him, those trusting in His name, to these He gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12). You are so indescribably awesome in love, in holiness, in patience, in mercy, in grace and in everything that is good. Words are not superlative enough to express how worthy You are of all our love and obedience! I love You and want to honor You in all I do, think and feel. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The Year of the Tithe
26: 12-15

The year of the Tithe DIG: How are these verses related to worship? How alike or dissimilar is this confession to the one made two years earlier? Why are these actions so important (see 10:18-19)? What was the temptation? The blessing? What attitudes do these practices foster toward God? Other? Income? Does your obedient giving produce rejoicing in your household and beyond?

REFLECT: How do you decide how much to give, to whom and why? From this passage, what are God’s priorities? What confession would you like to make to accompany your giving? What do you like about your present giving patterns? What would you like to change about your giving pattern to more closely “walk in His ways” (26:17)? What first step can you take this week? Why do you suppose sharing what we have with those in need is a great way to learn contentment? How are you doing with loving those in your community who are in need?

Every three years a tithe was taken up for those who, for various reasons, had little ability to provide for their own material needs.

Deuteronomy 19:1 to 26:15 (to see link click Dl – The Social and Family Mitzvot) deals with individual mitzvot, and to today’s readers they might appear irrelevant at first, but the very principles behind these commandments were the ones that have brought dignity to mankind. We need to examine these mitzvot in depth to discover the spirit in which they were given, so that we can still live in obedience to God’s Word today. For example, in Numbers 18, the Israelites were to bring their tithes to the Tabernacle because the priests and Levites had no inheritance. But today we have no Temple and no priesthood; however, we bring our tithes to our place of worship. That is the spirit of the mitzvah.

Two years after bringing the firstfruits of the harvest after settling in the Land (see Ex – When You Come into the Land), the Israelites were to bring an extra tithe. The previous ceremony occurred only once, but this ceremony was repeated every third year. The seventh year would be the Year of Release (see Cy – The Year of Release), and then the cycle started again. This confession was tantamount to a summary renewal of the covenant that Isra’el made at Sinai, their promise to obey God and His promise to bless their obedience.⁵⁶⁴

The tithe: When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied (26:12 NIV). Rather than the tithe’s being sent to the central sanctuary, it was to be given to the needy people in the region where they lived, within their gates (14:28b). The Levites, unlike the other tribes, lacked a land allotment. Consequently, their ability to generate food for themselves was limited (see Cx – Do Not Neglect the Levite). Foreigners, or resident aliens, orphans, and widows were socially powerless people who often faced severe economic hardship and for whom the people of God were to show abundant compassion. The mention of the tithe being a tenth begs for a response for the B’rit Chadashah believer. We are to give freely out of what the LORD has given freely. The cycle applies not only to material giving but also to every form of giving that is done sincerely to honor YHVH and to meet a need (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Do – When You Give to the Needy, Do Not Do It to be Honored by Others: seven principles of scriptural giving).

The confession: As with the offering of the firstfruits, the setting aside of the tithe was to be accompanied by a confession from the worshipper who first testified to his own obedience, and then asked YHVH to continue to bless him.⁵⁶⁵ Then the worshipper was to say to ADONAI his God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion belonging to You, and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them. I have not eaten any of the sacred portions while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor have I offered any of it to the dead, like the Canaanites do for Ba’al. I have obeyed ADONAI my God; I have done everything you commanded me (26:13-14 NIV). This shows once again the essential thrust of Deuteronomy – that love for neighbors is the practical proof of any claimed love for God. It also shows how actually doing something out of love for the poor and the needy is the practical proof of genuine, God-honoring love for the neighbor. The Torah itself thus agrees with the way the prophets would later pinpoint and prioritize care for the poor and the needy as somehow definitive of Isra’el’s response to YHVH as a whole. They argue passionately that callous neglect of the weak in society utterly invalidates all the claims of their enthusiastic religious observance. Sacred rites are no atonement for social wrongs.⁵⁶⁷

The prayer: The worshiper ended his confession with a prayer, which emphasized Isra’el’s dependence on ADONAI and His grace: Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Isra’el and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a Land flowing with milk and honey” (26:15 NIV). God’s blessings upon Isra’el were not something that she deserved in the light of her obedience; ADONAI had simply determined to bless her. The worshiper was asking YHVH to continue blessing him. Those blessings, being the Promised Land and enjoying the abundance of agriculture and livestock, were the fulfillment of the oath the LORD had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When we pray to God that He fulfill a divine promise, we can rest assured that God is able and willing to answer that prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, You are such a joy to have as a Father! It is a pleasure to give back to You! Praise You for being so perfect! You are a mighty warrior, the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). You also are kind and merciful. A tender warrior. It is Your love and mercy that makes us alive with Messiah Yeshua. But God was rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.  Even when we were dead in our trespasses, He made us alive together with Messiah. By grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5)!

It is Your great grace that saves us. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves – it is the gift of God.  It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Your kindness and mercy forgives the sins of those who fear You. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy for those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalms 103:11-12).

God, You excel in giving. For you know the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah – that even though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty you might become rich (Second Corinthians 8:9). You left heaven’s glory to take on the form of man (Philippians 2:6-11) and by Your death and resurrection you offered Your righteousness (Second Corinthians 5:21) to all who choose to love and to follow You as their Lord and Savior. But whoever did receive Him, those trusting in His name, to these He gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12).

Your children desire to give back to You a big gift from our heart of love for You. Praise You that You look not just at the gift size, but You also look at the heart of the giver and how much they have. For if the eagerness is present, the gift is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he doesn’t have (Second Corinthians 8:12). You are wonderful and are worthy of a gift bigger than the whole universe! I look forward to worshiping You and praising Your holy name forever! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen