Deuteronomy 28:24
The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
The Lord Himself makes the rain of a disobedient land become powder and dust coming down from heaven, leaving it barren and blighted until its people are destroyed. Fruitful seasons were promised only on condition of loving and serving Him and doing His judgments, ordinances and statutes, but turning to other gods shuts heaven so the land yields nothing. That statement of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience lays out the principles of His kingdom so plainly that none need remain in ignorance, and its obligation is just as binding and fresh now as His gifts are continual, requiring all to choose between suffering its fearful results and enjoying its blessings. Through transgression the curse has come upon the earth itself and upon man and beast and all flesh, growing as broad and deep as transgression becomes almost universal, with disease and suffering following sin to prove men and lead them to look to Christ as Deliverer, Protector and Healer, while those who obey with a whole heart are blessed under His shield of protection.
Curse of Disobedience
Disobedience to God's commandments would bring drought upon Israel, for the rain of the land would fail and become powder and dust coming down from heaven instead of nourishing rain, leaving the land barren until the people were destroyed. It stands as one of the curses that would follow breaking God's law, a destructive consequence in which the sky gives dust rather than life-giving water. Rain and agricultural abundance in their proper seasons were promised only on condition of loving and serving God, but turning to other gods would cause the heavens to be shut so that the land would yield no fruit.
The Lord's promises to Israel were upon condition of obedience, requiring them to do His judgments and keep His ordinances and statutes in order to live in them. These blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience unto destruction were read by Moses to Israel. Together with the first chapter of Deuteronomy, these conditional promises with their blessings and curses explain why the adults of the army that left Egypt were refused entrance into the promised land.
The curse falls upon the land and its vegetation, and it grows heavier as people persist in disobedience to the commandments. After transgressing God's law, Israel would be left vulnerable to their enemies and face destruction. The living God who created heaven and earth and gave His law on Sinai sends prosperity for obedience to that law kept in the sacred chest and sends adversity for transgression of it. The destructive dust sent instead of rain is therefore God's own act of judgment for breaking the law inside the ark, not the power of the ark itself as a god.
Widening Claim Today
The chapter states plainly the blessings of obedience and sets out the principles of the law of God's kingdom so specifically that minds need not be left in ignorance and uncertainty. It presents a never-ceasing obligation upon all who have been blessed with life and health and with advantages in temporal and spiritual things. Its message has not grown weak with age, and its claims are just as binding now and just as fresh in importance as God's gifts are fresh and continual.
Destruction of this kind comes upon people when they transgress God's law and break down the barriers He erected to preserve them from disease, that they might live in health and holiness and learn obedience. Disease and suffering of every kind come because of sin, and the evils encountered are part of God's plan to prove people and lead them to look to Him for relief. That relief comes under Christ's special direction and sheltering preservation as Deliverer, Protector, and Healer.
Because of transgression of the commandments the curse has come upon the earth itself, upon man, upon cattle and beasts, upon the fish of the sea, and upon all flesh. Human beings suffer the result of their own course in departing from the commandments, and the beasts also suffer under the curse. The curse brings disease in cattle that makes meat-eating dangerous, with diseased flesh sold in marketplaces bringing disease among men as the sure result, and in a short time the milk of cows and anything coming from animal creation will not be safe to use. God would therefore bring His people into a position where they will not touch nor taste the flesh of dead animals. As transgression becomes almost universal the curse will be permitted to become as broad and as deep as the transgression, while those who take God at His word and obey His commandments with a whole heart will be blessed and have Him as a shield of protection, and distrust, disobedience, and alienation from His will and way place the sinner where the Lord cannot give divine favor.
The rain turned to powder and dust stands among the fearful results of transgressing God's commands, set over against the blessings that come from obedience. People must choose whether to suffer those results or to enjoy the blessings.