Obedience to the Lord Secures Blessings for Our Descendants
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 28:58-68 (NASB)
58 “If you are not careful to follow all the words of this Law that are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God, 59 then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses. 60 And He will bring back on you every disease of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you. 61 Also every sickness and every plague, which are not written in the book of this Law, the Lord will bring on you until you are destroyed. 62 Then you will be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the Lord your God. 63 And it will come about that, just as the Lord rejoiced over you to be good to you, and make you numerous, so will the Lord rejoice over you to wipe you out and destroy you; and you will be torn away from the land which you are entering to possess. 64 Furthermore, the Lord will scatter you among all the peoples, from one end of the earth to he other; and there you will serve other gods, made of wood and stone, which you and your fathers have not known. 65 Among those nations you will find no peace, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. 66 So your lives will be hanging in doubt before you; and you will be terrified night and day, and have no assurance of your life. 67 In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ And at evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the terror of your heart which you fear, and the sight of your eyes which you will see. 68 And the Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I said to you, ‘You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”
SUMMARY
Moses warns the Israelites to be careful to observe all the laws of God and to fear his name. If not, he describes the curses that will not only affect them but their descendants. Severe, lasting plagues will cling to them. They will be left few in number. Just as the Lord delighted in blessing them, He shall delight over making them suffer for their disobedience. Dread, doubt, and separation will follow them all the days of their lives.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
Moses makes it very clear that disobedience leads to curses. These curses are not ones that come and go, but these curses CLING to us and follow us wherever we go. Disobedience brings about separation, fear, lack of guidance, doubt, and barrenness. As a single woman, most of my decisions and actions have been for my own well-being. It takes effort to remember that my actions can affect my future children and grandchildren. My obedience and disobedience can bring me blessings or curses that I pass down to them. It made me see that my decisions are not my own. My disobedience can take away my blessings as well. Just as God was able to take the Israelites out of Egypt, He can easily bring them back into slavery and oppression. I must be careful to obey so that I will not fall back into sin and become a slave to the world.
APPLICATION
My grandmother passed away recently and as we said our goodbyes at her funeral, I realized that my entire family is here today because of her and the sacrifices she made. My family's blessings are from her years of obedience and hard work. Without her, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have the great life I have now without her decisions and efforts. It really made me appreciate her and inspired me to carry on that legacy. I want to live in a way that will bless my future children and grandchildren. I want to pass down a legacy of blessings and love for God. That starts with complete obedience.
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for being a God of justice and mercy. You give and take away. Guide me and align my heart with yours. Make my paths straight Lord and help me walk in obedience with you. I pray that I will pass good things onto my future children and that I will make the right choices so that they may prosper. Lord I pray that you will guard me from falling back into old patterns of disobedience. May my eyes be fixed upon you. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
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