Deuteronomy 28:29
And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
The verse belongs to Deuteronomy 26-28, which plainly set forth the blessings of obedience, and to the threatened curses for disobedience that Moses read to Israel. Its words are the voice of Christ from the enfolding pillar of cloud, not the voice of a human. They set out the principles of the law of God's kingdom in specific form so that minds are not left in ignorance and uncertainty.
The distress it threatens would come in exile and distress. It warns that the disobedient would feel their way at midday as a blind person feels in darkness and would not prosper in their ways. Disobedience would bring oppression and ruin, leaving the people continually oppressed and plundered with no one to rescue them.
The chapter teaches that God's promises are upon condition of obedience, so that obedience brings prosperity and blessing while disobedience and transgression of His law bring a curse and adversity. Keeping His statutes and judgments brings life and blessing, while turning away from following Him fully forfeits the promised inheritance. Together with Deuteronomy 1, the chapter explains why the adults of the army that left Egypt were refused entrance into the promised land.
Israel's prosperity or adversity depended on obeying or transgressing God's law kept in the ark, and the presence of the ark itself did not guarantee success. The pattern applies broadly, so that persistent disobedience and forsaking His commandments bring the curse upon people and the land and remove His prospering hand. The words lay a never-ceasing obligation on all whom God has blessed with life and health and temporal and spiritual advantages, and that obligation is just as binding now and just as fresh in importance as His gifts are fresh and continual.