Deuteronomy 28:2, commentary and pictures

All these blessings will come upon the people and overtake them only on condition of diligently listening to the Lord's voice and obeying His commandments, with not one promised good thing failing when the condition is met. The voice to be heeded is not the voice of man but the voice of Christ speaking from the cloud, giving a law that came from God and not from human thought. The overtaking blessings cover every part of life, in city and countryside, in children and family, in crops and livestock, in food and daily work, unto health and strength and preservation from disease and being established as a holy people. Disobedience forfeits favor and brings a curse instead of blessing, removing God's prospering hand and leaving the people to wickedness, disease and decline. The promise remains in force for present good and for immortal life, so obedience still brings heaven's richest blessings to individuals and nations now, proportioned also to faithfulness in honoring God with substance and offerings.

Condition and Voice to Heed

All these blessings come upon the people and overtake them only on condition of diligently hearkening to the voice of the Lord and obeying His commandments, for obedience is the condition of receiving the blessings of this life and the future immortal life. The covenant is an agreement based on conditions, and God verifies His promises only when His part is met by fulfillment on the people's part, so that not one good thing promised will fail if the conditions are met. The blessing was pledged as the reward of heeding His voice, and the blessings stated in the chapter are blessings of obedience.

The voice to be hearkened to is not the voice of man but the voice of Christ from the enfolding pillar of cloud. The precepts to be obeyed came from God and not from human thought or Moses, and were proclaimed by God at Sinai. They are made specific in Deuteronomy 26, 27 and 28, where the principles of the law of the kingdom of God are stated plainly so that minds are not left in ignorance and uncertainty.

Meeting the condition means doing His judgments and keeping His ordinances and statutes and walking in them, which brings life, while disobedience forfeits the promise. As a nation it means submitting to His authority and being governed by His judgments, and as individuals walking in His ordinances and loving, fearing, and obeying Him with a whole heart. It means remaining free from the sins of the surrounding wicked nations with a high standard of purity and holiness, and diligently obeying His law and teaching it in the family, since temporal and spiritual prosperity depend on obedience and obedience to His Word is life and happiness. Obedience to the law is necessary for belonging to the royal family as children of the heavenly King, so the law must be made known and kept in the heart.

The promise was set before assembled Israel by Moses reading from the book he had written containing the events of their past history, together with the curses that would come if they were disobedient. It belongs to a repetition of the law in which obedience to the commandments brings blessings in daily life, in the land's produce, in security, and in the work of the hands, while refusal to obey brings the contrasting curses. In this pattern blessings are promised for obedience and curses are threatened for disobedience, and removal of God's prospering hand allows wickedness, disease, and decline to increase.

The promises do not excuse sin and give no ground for presumption, for even a people once loved and specially promised blessings are held accountable when they turn from faithful obedience. Blessing does not come from the ark itself as if the ark were God, but the living God who created heaven and earth sends prosperity and adversity according to obedience or transgression of His law contained in the sacred chest, and the sacredness of the ark came from the law it contained. Its presence could bring prosperity only as that law was obeyed, so to expect blessing and deliverance from enemies while violating the law is presumption, as when after defeat Israel brought the ark from Shiloh to save them without repentance and obedience.

Blessings Promised to Israel

The overtaking blessings reach into every part of life for those who heed the voice of the Lord, touching the city and the countryside, the family and children, livestock and livelihood, and the daily comings and goings. They include prosperity in work and possessions, abundance in crops and fields, flocks and herds and vineyards, food stores and provisions, rain in its season and the produce of the land, and the work of the hands, unto being established as God's holy people. The God of heaven places His benediction on commandment keepers in their fields and in all they put their hand to, so that those who would serve Him where right and truth are opposed must give their whole business to His service and stand as His peculiar people rather than trampling His law as not binding. The law cannot be set aside, for every specification in it is the character of the infinite God, so that to abolish it would be the same as abolishing God Himself.

Health is set forth as a reward of obedience on the wilderness journey, with strength and preservation from the diseases of other nations accompanying and overtaking Israel when they heed His voice. In His providence God erected barriers in His law to preserve His people in health and holiness and to teach them obedience under the special direction of Christ, who desires to keep under His sheltering wing all who do His will. As the Lord who heals, He cures the evils of body and heart by His power when the way is opened by obedience, while transgression breaks down those barriers and brings disease of every stripe and type, as the waters of Marah illustrated. Read alongside the covenant at Marah, obedience to His commands is joined to His protection and health, while disobedience exposes people to disease. Through obedience Israel would be exalted to represent God's goodness, mercy, and love, with promised protection from sickness, whereas turning from God placed the people under Satan's destructive power.

Through obedience Israel would be exalted to prosperity, distinction, and happiness among the nations, made a terror to the heathen, protected from opposing nations, pardoned and retained as His people, and settled in Canaan as a prosperous, holy, happy people. He would manifest His power for them and work by His angels with their armies to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan because of their wickedness, and would display His mighty power and glory before all nations. Obedience would enable Israel to occupy the land He had specified, with skill and wisdom, vigor of intellect, and preservation from the diseases afflicting other nations, to the display of God's glory.

Disobedience forfeits His favor, breaks the solemn pledge, and brings a curse instead of blessing, for the removal of God's prospering hand allows wickedness, disease, and decline to increase. Turning from God places the people under Satan's destructive power, withdraws blessing from the land amid human wickedness, brings misfortunes for which God is not chargeable, dishonors God and detracts from His glory before surrounding nations, and delays possession of the promised land. Distrust, disobedience, and alienation from God's will and way place the sinner where the Lord cannot give His divine favor, and because of transgression His curse comes upon the earth itself, upon man, upon cattle and beasts, upon fish in the sea, and upon all flesh, growing as broad and deep as transgression becomes almost universal. That guilt is much greater than that of idolatrous nations because privileges were greater, while He still extends mercy and stays judgment because of the righteous who love and fear Him.

History shows this forfeiture, for the promises are upon condition of obedience in doing His judgments and keeping His ordinances and statutes and walking therein, which brings life. When His people did not wholly follow Him but discouraged faith and turned away, He altered His purpose toward them and withheld what He promised, refusing to bring the adult army that left Egypt into the promised land and causing them to fall in the wilderness. After leaving Egypt, continued disobedience and idolatry caused God to depart and leave them weak and a prey overcome by other nations to humble and punish them, until in affliction they cried and He raised up a ruler to deliver them. Later, after defeat, bringing the ark from Shiloh without repentance and obedience brought no prosperity, for the sacredness of the ark came from the law it contained and its presence could bring prosperity only as that law was obeyed, so to expect blessing and deliverance while violating the law is presumption. Likewise, acceptance of teachings and practices God had not given separated the people from Him and prevented Him from bestowing the blessings He longed to give.

Obedience Required Today

The covenant promise is still in force for present and future good and for immortal life, and obedience still brings heaven's richest blessings to individuals and to nations now just as it would have brought them to the Hebrews. Israel received these blessings during the forty years of wilderness wandering. All the promised blessings come and overtake the people only if they hearken to the voice of the Lord, doing His judgments and keeping His ordinances and statutes. When His people do not wholly follow Him but discourage faith and turn away, He alters His purpose toward them and withholds what He promised, as He refused to bring the adult generation that left Egypt into the promised land and made them fall in the wilderness. The same condition governs His work now, where disobedience hinders advance and delays blessing.

Blessing is proportioned to benevolence and obedience, for God promised ancient Israel to prosper them when they obeyed His requirements and to straiten them when they disobeyed. Honoring the Lord with substance and with the firstfruits of all increase brings barns filled with plenty, while robbing God in tithes and in offerings robs the giver. God gave the promise to impress that those who receive His lavished bounties must make liberal returns to Him. The voice to be hearkened to is not the voice of man but the voice of Christ from the enfolding pillar of cloud, and the directions made specific in Deuteronomy 26, 27 and 28 express the principles of the law of the kingdom of God so that minds are not left in ignorance and uncertainty. The faithful tithe brought to the treasury to sustain faithful messengers who carry light to those in darkness lays a never-ceasing obligation on all whom God has blessed with life and health and temporal and spiritual advantages, and the claim is just as binding now and just as fresh as His gifts are fresh and continual, repeated as a call to consecration and self-denial and self-sacrifice.

Success depends on making God supreme and heeding His voice, for the success of the work depends on God's blessing and not on the ideas of those who oppose His law. When others see God bless the work they are led to consider its truths. When God specially favors His people they should acknowledge His goodness publicly, giving glory to His name and testifying that His words are faithful and true. Obedience to the law is necessary for belonging to the royal family as children of the heavenly King, so the law with its positive promises must be made known and kept in the heart. Temporal and spiritual prosperity depend on obedience, obedience to God's Word is life and happiness, the law must be taught in families, and God extends mercy and stays judgment because of the righteous who love and fear Him while His blessing on the land is withdrawn amid human wickedness.

All who take God at His Word and obey His commandments with a whole heart will be blessed and will have God as their shield of protection. Distrust, disobedience and alienation from God's will and way place the sinner where the Lord cannot give His divine favor, and because of transgression His curse comes upon the earth itself, upon man, upon cattle and beasts, upon the fish of the sea and upon all flesh, growing as broad and deep as transgression becomes almost universal. For God's commandment-keeping people the blessing of obedience includes leaving alone the flesh of dead animals and in a short time milk and everything that comes from animal creation, because disease in cattle makes meat eating dangerous and disease among men is the sure result of using diseased flesh sold in the marketplaces. God's blessing stands as His pledge to those who obey His words, answered by the people's pledge to obey, as seen when Ezra searched the written record of these obligations and promises in preparing to serve God.