Dreadful Consequences

Author: Joseph

Date: September 29, 2019

At Mount Gerizim, Israel was given a choice between being blessed and being cursed. The blessings that were given were dependent on Israel’s faithfulness to God and their act of obeying Him. If they were careful to do as God commanded, if they heeded His voice and lived their lives according to His will, then they would be blessed. If, however, they chose to be disobedient and deny His voice, living their lives according to whatever they themselves willed, then they would be cursed.

"...the better choice is to remain faithful to God..."

The blessing given cover 14 verses in this chapter, but the curses are expounded along 54 verses. The subtle message given here is that the blessings are satisfyingly all-encompassing and it does not take a long explanation for the reader to understand that. The curses, however, carry a heavy burden and great detail is given to deter the reader from dismissing the dreadful consequences. Disobedience to God reaps death.

God gives Israel a detailed and lengthy warning about what will happen to them if they turn away from what is good and righteous in Him and instead seek their own sinful way. As anyone reads over the words of the curse that comes with disobedience, it is clearer that the better choice is to remain faithful to God and what is good in His eyes.

Many circumstances and situations can pressure us into turning away from God and may even seem like the better option by our own reasoning. When we choose to turn away from God and follow after these misleading paths, we are cursing our life and walking in a manner that leads only to dreadful consequences (and in the end, death). Do not wander and go astray from obedience to God and His ways. The consequences are always far worse than we can imagine and more than we can bear.

Are you straying from God and His good will for your life? Do you justify your behavior thinking that you will not face the bad consequences of your actions? Rethink where you are going in life and what choices you are making before you descend further away from His blessing and find your life filled with self-inflicted curses.

Deuteronomy 28:1 – 68