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
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