Bible in 365 Days

Deuteronomy 28-29                

Deuteronomy 28

We now come to the commencement of the third discourse of Moses. It was pre­eminently the uttering of solemn warnings in which he laid before the people the results of disobedience and rebellion. He spoke first, however, of the blessings which would follow obedience. They were to have national pre­eminence. Temporal blessings of all kinds would abound. They were to have victory over their enemies in time of war. The purpose of their King, Jehovah, it was plainly declared, was to fill them with joy and make their path prosperous. They could, however, enter into His purpose only by obeying His law.

The effect of disobedience was then described as it would obtain among themselves. Adversity of every kind would overtake them. They would be smitten before their enemies, and persistent disobedience would result in their being driven out of the land into which God had brought them. The description of this expulsion proved eventually to have been a prophecy of what actually happened when they were carried away to Babylon. Continuing to speak prophetically, Moses uttered words which the centuries proved to be a detailed description of the Roman mastery of the land and the ultimate destruction of the city.

In view of so solemn a discourse as this delivered at the close of his period of leadership, it is indeed an appalling thing to think of how these people disobeyed the commandments, rebelled against God, and fulfilled to the letter all Moses had said. There can be but one explanation, and that the one to which the writer of the letter to the Hebrews referred­unbelief. The story is a warning for us, revealing as it does the capacity of man for evil, and how, in spite of the clearest warnings, he is capable of disastrous disobedience. More is needed than the law which indicates the way and more than the prophet who urges obedience.

Deuteronomy 29

The fourth discourse of Moses urged the people to be true to the Covenant, the terms of which had been given and are recorded in the previous chapter. It is to be carefully remembered that the first verse of chapter twenty­nine in our arrangement is the last of chapter twenty­eight in the Hebrew Bible. The statement, "These are the words of the covenant," refers to what had already been uttered.

In thus especially appealing to them, Moses first referred to the Lord's deliverances for them, wrought in the past (verses 2­9)­from Egypt, during the wilderness experiences, and in the day of battle on the eve of their coming into possession.

His appeal was to all classes of the community­to the rulers, the people, men, women, children, and also to the servants There was to be no escape and no excuse.

Then in graphic and burning words he described what must be the result of breaking the Covenant. Recognizing the imperfection of the people and their Inability at all times to appreciate the methods of the divine government, he enunciated a principle of far­reaching importance and perpetual application as he declared that the secret or mysterious or hidden things belong to God, while the things revealed were for them and their children.