(implying grace)
(2)
Scripture Reading: Deut. 28
In this message we will continue to consider the warning (implying grace) in chapters twenty-seven and twenty-eight.
If the children of Israel listened diligently to the voice of Jehovah their God and were certain to do all His commandments, Jehovah their God would set them high above all the nations, and all the blessings would come upon them and overtake them (28:1-2).
The children of Israel would be blessed in the city and in the field (v. 3). Whether they were at home or at work, they would be blessed.
In speaking of the blessing coming upon the people, Moses was very detailed. In verses 4 and 5 he said that blessed would be the fruit of their womb, the fruit of their ground, and the fruit of their cattle and also the offspring of their cattle and the young of their flock. Moses said that even their basket and kneading bowl would be blessed.
According to verse 6, the people would be blessed in their coming in and in their going out.
The children of Israel would be blessed also in their storehouses, in all their undertakings, and in the God-given land (v. 8).
In verse 7 Jehovah said that He would strike down their enemies. The enemies would come out against them on one road, but the enemies would flee before them on seven roads.
If the children of Israel would keep the commandments of Jehovah their God and walk in His ways, He would establish them as a holy people to Himself (v. 9). Furthermore, all the peoples of the earth would see that they were called by Jehovah's name and would be afraid of them (v. 10).
Jehovah would give rain to His people for their land in its season (v. 12a). Because of their wealth, they would lend to many nations, but they would not borrow (v. 12b).
Jehovah would make His people the head and not the tail, and they would tend only upward and not downward, if they would listen to the commandments of Jehovah their God (v. 13). They were not to turn aside from His words to go after other gods to serve them (v. 14). Moses was very concerned that they might turn aside to other gods, to idols, and, in Deuteronomy, he repeatedly warned them not to do this.
If the children of Israel did not listen to the voice of Jehovah their God and were not certain to do all His commandments and His statutes, all the curses would come upon them and overtake them (v. 15).
Verses 16 through 19 indicate that curses would come to every place, on everything, and in every way. They would be cursed in the city and in the field, and cursed in their coming in and in their going out. The curse would come on their basket and kneading bowl, on the fruit of their womb and of their ground, and on the offspring of their cattle and the young of their flock.
Verses 20 through 22 speak of curses in discomfiture in all undertakings, in a plague, in consuming diseases, in burning heat and drought, and in blight and mildew. The diseases here would not come and go but would cling to the people until they were consumed from off the land.
Other curses would be the heaven above their head becoming brass and the land under them becoming iron (v. 23). Moreover, Jehovah would make the rain of their land powder and dust (v. 24). How terrible!
The children of Israel would also be cursed in being struck down before their enemies and in all the diseases, robbings, and sufferings incurred at their hands (vv. 25-35).
God's people would be cursed in being brought to a nation as a source of horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples to which Jehovah would drive them (vv. 36-37). The peoples would talk about the children of Israel in a despising, joking way. Because they had been taken into captivity, they would also be cursed in the fields and vineyards being left to the locusts, worms, and sojourners (vv. 38-44). These curses would thus become a sign and a wonder forever with the children of Israel (v. 46).
According to verses 47 through 57, the people would be cursed in their enemies, a nation from far away, coming to eat the produce of their cattle and the fruit of their ground and to besiege all the towns, causing the children of Israel to eat the flesh of their children. Begrudging their brother, their wife, and the remnant of their children, they would not give to one of them any of the flesh of their children whom they would eat. This actually took place.
Because the children of Israel did not do all the words of God's commandment and did not fear "this glorious and awesome name" — Jehovah their God — curses would come in great and persistent plagues, in malignant and persistent sicknesses, and in all the illnesses of Egypt to reduce the people in number (vv. 58-63a).
Finally, they would be cursed in being scattered among all the peoples, in living a life in captivity, full of terrors (vv. 63b-67). They would be brought back to Egypt, and there they would offer themselves for sale to their enemies, but no one would buy them (v. 68).
These curses reveal that in His judgment God is severe. In Romans 11:22 Paul refers to the severity of God. Because God is severe toward those who are rebellious, we need to fear Him.
All the curses that have befallen the children of Israel have carried out God's governmental dealings with them, so that eventually God would be able to accomplish His economy with them to prove that He is the very God who would not change in His will forever. We should not think that God's severe chastisement of the children of Israel means that He has given them up. On the contrary, God's chastisement indicates that He will not give them up. The principle is the same with us today. God's chastisement of the believers indicates not that He has forsaken them but that He will not let them go.
In keeping with prophecy, the children of Israel have returned to their fatherland in their iniquity. The nation of Israel today is filled with sinfulness and iniquity. The people trust in education, in technology, and in their army, all of which are idols in the sight of God. The day is coming when God will chastise them further and even more severely.
This chastisement will take place during the great tribulation, which is the second half of the last week of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27. Each week denotes seven years. The first seven weeks, a period of forty-nine years, were for the rebuilding of ancient Jerusalem. The next sixty-two weeks, a period of four hundred thirty-four years, covered the span of time from the rebuilding of Jerusalem to the day of Christ's crucifixion. Between the end of the sixty-ninth week and the beginning of the seventieth week, there is a long period of time — the age of grace, which is also the age of the church. This is the age in which we are living, and the end of this age may be very near. One sign of the end was the restoration of Israel in 1948, and a second sign was the recovery of the city of Jerusalem by the nation of Israel. As far as Israel is concerned, the only remaining sign is the rebuilding of the temple. Matthew 24:15 indicates that the temple will be rebuilt. (See the notes on this verse in the Recovery Version.) The time is coming when the temple will be rebuilt, and at that time the Jews will practice the things related to worship recorded in the Pentateuch.
Recent events in Germany and in eastern Europe may also be indications that the end of the age is near. Certain countries in eastern Europe are turning away from Russia and communism toward democracy. This is a fulfillment of the prophecy related to the great image in Daniel 2 with its feet and toes of iron mixed with clay. Iron signifies autocracy, and clay signifies democracy.
God has not given up Israel. On the one hand, God is disciplining Israel, dealing with her in a sovereign way. On the other hand, God is protecting Israel. Because of God's protection, the Arab nations surrounding Israel have not been able to destroy this tiny nation. According to prophecy, Israel will not be destroyed but will remain until the Lord Jesus appears as lightning coming forth from the east and shining to the west (Matt. 24:27). At that time, the whole house of Israel will turn to the Lord.
At the beginning of the seventieth week, Antichrist will confirm a covenant with Israel to maintain the peace and to allow Israel to worship God according to their ways. However, in the middle of this week, the last seven years of this age, Antichrist will change his mind, and during the last three and a half years he will oppose any kind of god. In this regard, the first thing Antichrist might do is destroy Catholicism. He will also seek to destroy Judaism and persecute the Jews, besieging the city of Jerusalem. But the Lord Jesus will come back, and Israel will repent to God and be saved. In this we see how faithful God is in keeping His word and in fulfilling it.
Concerning our own situation as believers today, we need to be reverent before the Lord. Not only is Israel under God's chastisement, but we also are under His dealing. We need to ask ourselves if we are ready for the rapture of the overcomers, an extraordinary rapture that will take place before the great tribulation. The overcomers will be raptured to the third heaven before the tribulation, whereas the other believers will be left on earth to pass through the time of the great tribulation. Like the woman in Revelation 12, these believers will be preserved, cared for, and nourished by God. Nevertheless, the situation on earth will be very threatening. The devil will be cast down to earth to damage the human race, Antichrist will come up from the abyss, and the false prophet will join Antichrist to destroy the earth, making it no longer fit to be inhabited by human beings. Those three and a half years, therefore, will be a terrible time.
We have considered the portions of Deuteronomy which declare the blessings and the curses. We have also seen that instead of giving up Israel, God is chastising her for her perfecting. Thus God's chastisement is a kind of perfecting.
God has two peoples on earth — Israel and the church — and He is perfecting both. While He is perfecting Israel, He is also perfecting us. Today God is dealing with Israel, and He is also dealing with the church.
