Thinking on Scripture with Dr. Steven R. Cook

Deuteronomy 28:15-68

Dr. Steven R. Cook

Introduction

     Concerning Deuteronomy chapter 28, Thomas Constable states, “This section of Deuteronomy (chapters 27-28) is one of the most important ones in Scripture because it records the two options open to Israel as she entered the Promised Land. Obedience to the revealed Word of God would result in blessing, but disobedience would result in blasting.”[1] Dwight Pentecost adds, “For understanding and explaining Israel’s history as recorded throughout the Old Testament, there are perhaps no more important chapters than Deuteronomy 28–30.”[2]

     Moses, having previously stated God’s wonderful blessings for the obedient-to-the-Word Israelite (Deut 28:1-14), followed with God’s cursings that would come upon the one who was disobedient-to-the-Word (Deut 28:15-68). In Deuteronomy 28:15-68, Moses set forth the curses that God would bring upon Israel if they repeatedly violated His directives as found in the Deuteronomic law code. Moses used the Hebrew verb אָרָר arar six times, which means, “to bind with a curse.”[3] The form of the verb is passive, which meant a curse was received by the nation of Israel if they turned away from God. Victor Hamilton states that אָרָר arar means “to bind, hem in with obstacles, [or] render powerless to resist.”[4] The curses mentioned in Deuteronomy are reflexive of those who violate their covenant relationship with God. That is, they bring the curses on themselves by violating God’s Word.[5] God’s curses are His righteous response to unethical behavior among His people, and they could be avoided by simply walking in obedience with the Lord (Deut 28:15, 20, 45-47, 58-59, 62; 29:25-28; 30:17-18). If the Israelite was aligned with God’s Word in thought, speech, and conduct, it would open the channel for His blessing. However, if the Israelite turned from God’s path, it would open the channel of cursing. Dwight Pentecost states, “These curses were not viewed as punishment for disobedience as much as disciplines to bring a guilty people back to obedience to God.”[6] Jack Deere agrees, saying, “Each individual judgment essentially had one goal: to turn Israel from disobedience.”[7]However, the curses would lead to ultimate destruction if God’s people persisted in their sinful rebellion.

     This lengthy section can be viewed in two parts: 1) a statement of curses that reverse all God’s blessing (Deut 28:15-19), and 2) specific descriptions of the curses that God will send on Israel until they are destroyed (Deut 28:20-22, 24, 45, 48, 51, 61). God’s judgment upon His people was self-inflicted because they would not obey Him (Deut 28:20, 45, 47, 62). God executed these curses at various times when His people were disobedient to the covenant (see Judg 2:20-22; Jer 6:19; 11:9-11; 29:15-20; 34:17-20; Dan 9:4-6; Hos 8:1-3).

     The transmission of God’s law to subsequent generations was primarily the responsibility of the parents (Deut 6:1-9), and priests (Lev 10:8-11; Ezra 7:10; Mal 2:7). Failure to teach God’s law to subsequent generations of Israelites would create a theological vacuum in their souls which Satan would gladly fill. If God’s people operated by unethical standards, His judgments would fall upon them. God held His people accountable for their ethical behavior, even if/when the majority did not know or abide by His laws, as ignorance did not protect them from His judgments (see 2 Ki 22:1-13). However, His judgments did not happen right away, as God would send ample warnings through His prophets, who occasionally functioned as a prosecuting attorney (רִיב rib),[8] pointing out their violation of the law and the impending consequences if they did not turn back to the Lord (i.e., repent). When God’s prophet functioned as a prosecuting attorney for the Lord, he would present God’s case before the people (Hos 4:1-3; 12:2; Mic 6:1-2). The Hebrew verb רִיב rib, when used by the prophet, denotes “God’s lawsuit…against His own people.”[9] According to Earl Radmacher, “The Hebrew word refers to a formal complaint charging Israel with breaking the covenant.”[10] If Israel persisted in sin, God would execute His judgments in ever increasing severity, until they were eventually destroyed and removed from the land. Historically, we know God destroyed the ten northern tribes of Israel in 722 B.C. because His people had broken covenant with the Lord, and this occurred after repeated warnings through His prophets (2 Ki 17:1-23). The same judgment fell upon the two southern tribes of Judah in 586 B.C. when God raised up the Babylonians to defeat His people and take them into captivity (2 Ki 24:8-16), and this happened after repeated warnings by His prophets (Jer 7:25-26; 25:4-11; 29:18-19). Warren Wiersbe states:

• "The fact that Israel is God’s chosen people and a special nation explains why He chastens them, for the greater the privilege, the greater the responsibility. “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore, I will punish you for all your sins” (Amos 3:2). Divine election isn’t an excuse for human rebellion. “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48)."[11]

[1] Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Dt 28:58.

[2] J. Dwight Pentecost, Thy Kingdom Come: Tracing God’s Kingdom Program and Covenant Promises throughout History (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1995), 105.

[3] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 91.

[4] Victor P. Hamilton, “168 אָרַר,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 75.

[5] We observe in Deuteronomy 27 how the verb אָרָר arar came upon the one who practiced idolatry (Deut 27:15), dishonored parents (Deut 27:16), secretly stole from a neighbor (Deut 27:17), injured the disabled (Deut 27:18), distorted justice due to the alien, orphan, or widow (Deut 27:19), practiced sexual perversion (Deut 27:20-23), secretly struck a neighbor (Deut 27:24), accepted a bribe to kill the innocent (Deut 27:25), or disobeyed any of God’s laws (Deut 27:26).

[6] J. Dwight Pentecost, Thy Kingdom Come, 106.

[7] Jack S. Deere, “Deuteronomy,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 312.

[8] The Hebrew verb רִיב rib is used some places in Scripture in a non-legal sense of people who fight with each other (Gen 13:7; Ex 17:7; Jer 15:10), as well as a legal sense in which one person takes up a lawsuit or legal case against another (Deut 17:8; 19:17; 21:5).

[9] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1226.

[10] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999), 1029.

[11] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Equipped, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub., 1999), 170–171.

     According to Scripture, all mankind is fallen, corrupted by sin, and our natural proclivity is to think and act in conformity with Satan’s world-system, which is everywhere and always at odds with God and His plan.

     The book of Genesis reveals that God created Adam perfect and assigned him to serve as His theocratic administrator over His creation. This meant Adam was to exercise responsible dominion over the creation (Gen 1:26-30; 2:7-8, 15-17), and Eve was created to help him, to stand with him to do God’s will (Gen 2:18-25). But Satan, possessing a serpent—a subordinate creature that would have posed little threat to Adam and Eve—tempted them to act contrary to God and His commands. Henry Morris says, “Demonic spirits evidently have the ability, under certain conditions, to indwell or ‘possess’ either human bodies or animal bodies (Luke 8:33); and Satan on this occasion chose the serpent as the one most suitable for his purposes.”[1] The serpent here is identified as “the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Rev 12:9; cf. Rev 20:2).

     Satan was shrewd and intentional in his attack as he approached the woman and questioned her understanding of God’s command, asking, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’” (Gen 3:1). And Eve answered, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” (Gen 3:2-3). According to Allen Ross, “Eve disparaged the privileges, added to the prohibition, and weakened the penalty—all seen by contrasting her words (Gen. 3:3) with God’s original commands (2:16-17).”[2]

     When Satan heard Eve misrepresent God’s instructions (Gen 2:16-17), he boldly advanced his argument, saying, “You surely will not die!” (Gen 3:4), calling God a liar, stating, “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:4-5). Satan’s argument was that God was withholding divinity from Adam and Eve, and if they were willing to eat the fruit, they could be like God, which was the same mental attitude sin committed by Lucifer at his fall (Isa 14:12-14). Here, Eve was confronted with an antithetical claim to what the Lord had told her, but rather than seek the Lord about the matter, she let Satan convince her to abandon faith in God and operate independently of Him. The influence of Satan brought an epistemological shift in Eve’s thinking, and rather than seeing the tree from the divine perspective as harmful, she saw it as attractive, that is “was good for food…a delight to the eyes…[and] desirable to make one wise” (Gen 3:6a). Being deceived by Satan’s argument, “she took from its fruit and ate” (Gen 3:6b; 1 Tim 2:14). Eve then “gave also to her husband with her, and he ate” (Gen 3:6c), and Satan’s strategy to advance his kingdom of darkness and take possession of the world and humanity was complete.

     Adam and Eve became aware of their failure, as “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings” (Gen 3:7). Remembering they were to “multiply and fill the earth” (Gen 1:28), According to Morris, Adam and Eve “realized that the very fountainhead of human life had now become corrupted by their disobedience and they became acutely aware of their nakedness. Their children would all be contaminated with the seed of rebellion, so that their feeling of guilt centered especially on their own procreative organs.”[3]

     Spiritual death (i.e., separation from God) brought an irrational shift in their theology as well as their behavior as they sought to hide from the Lord (Gen 3:8-9), saying, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself” (Gen 3:10; cf. Jer 23:24).

     When confronted about their sin (Gen 3:11), Adam blamed his wife as well as God, saying, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (Gen 3:12), and Eve blamed the creature, saying, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen 3:13). Hiding from God and shifting blame for sin are common characteristics of mankind’s fallenness.

     The serpent was judged by God and physically changed to crawl on its belly as a perpetual reminder to mankind about the fall (Gen 3:14). Here, the curse was actually against Satan, who possessed the serpent, as the Lord declared, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Gen 3:15). Having brought Adam and Eve under his control, it is possible Satan thought he would gain total control over all their children, but the Lord had other plans and made it known to Satan there would be “enmity” between him and the woman, as well as his “seed and her seed; [and] he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” This verse is commonly referred to as the protoevangelium—the first gospel—because God promised there would come a “seed” from the woman’s line who would defeat Satan and disrupt his kingdom.[4]

     God pronounced judgment upon Adam, Eve and the creation. Eve’s judgment was that she would have increased “pain in childbirth” and that her husband would “rule over her” (Gen 3:16), and the ground that Adam was to cultivate would be cursed, and “in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life” (Gen 3:17-19).

     Though atheists and liberal theologians treat the first eleven chapters of Genesis as myth, the NT writers treat Adam and Eve as historical persons and the fall as literal. Luke traces Jesus’ genealogy back to Adam (Luke 3:38), and Jesus based His argument on marriage on the first human couple (Matt 19:4-6). Paul also states, “I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor 11:3). And Paul wrote, “it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Tim 2:14). Paul argued that through Adam “sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12; cf. 1 Cor 15:21). And all humanity is said either to be in Adam or in Christ, and this determines whether we are spiritually alive or dead, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor 15:22). Adam’s sin brought corruption and decay into the whole universe, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom 8:20-22). We now live in a very flawed world with sinful people and all sorts of problems. Henry Morris comments:

• "Things are not 'very good' in the world now! In the physical realm, everything tends to run down and wear out. In the living world, each animal is engaged in a perpetual struggle against other animals and against disease, as well as the universal process of aging and death. Culturally, one civilization after another seems to rise for a time, then decline and die. In the spiritual and moral realm, each individual invariably finds it easier to do wrong than right, easier to drift downward than to struggle upward. The world is full of hatred, crime, war, pollution, selfishness, corruption—evil of all kinds. Something has gone wrong with God’s perfect creation."[5]

The Effects of the Fall

     The historic fall of Adam and Eve fundamentally changed the human race and the world, resulting in disease, decay and death among all living things, and that the tendency of humanity is to behave in a spiritually and morally corrupt manner, suppressing God’s truth and rejecting His solutions to life’s problems. Understanding this helps us make sense of the world in which we live and why people behave the way they do.

     Sin is a dominant theme from Genesis chapter three to the end of the Bible, at which time God will do away with sin and its effects, creating a “new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet 3:13; cf. Rev 21:1). The word sin is found throughout Scripture, and both the Hebrew and Greek share the same basic meaning. The Hebrew word חָטָא chata means “to miss the target, or to lose the way,”[6] and the Greek ἁμαρτάνω hamartano is defined as “miss the mark, err, or do wrong.”[7] Sin is when we transgress God’s law and depart from His intended path.[8] The apostle John states, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Merrill Unger writes, “The underlying idea of sin is that of law and of a lawgiver. The lawgiver is God. Hence sin is everything in the disposition and purpose and conduct of God’s moral creatures that is contrary to the expressed will of God (Rom 3:20; 4:15; 7:7; Jam 4:12, 17).”[9]

     Sin impacts all things including family life, nature, economics, society, law, politics, science, education, etc. All sin and evil exist in connection with the willful creatures who manufacture it, and its effects can be short or long-lasting. Even the creation is cursed because of Adam’s sin, as the Lord told him, “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Gen 3:17), to which Paul added, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom 8:20-22). Sin negatively impacts everyone and everything, and no one was impacted or hurt more by sin than God. On several occasions we read, “The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Gen 6:6), and though God loved Israel, their ongoing sin “grieved His Holy Spirit” (Isa 63:10). As Christians, we are commanded, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30). Sin ultimately cost God His Son, who came into the world and died on a cross in order to atone for it (Mark 10:45; John 3:16; 10:14-18; Rom 8:32; 1 John 4:10), and to set us free from spiritual slavery (Rom 6:6; Gal 5:1; Heb 2:14-15).

     The Bible reveals we are sinners in Adam, sinners by nature, and sinners by choice. To be a sinner in Adam means we sinned when he sinned, that his fallen position is our fallen position, and his guilt is our guilt (Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-24; Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22). This is commonly referred to as original sin. Since the fall of Adam, every person is born with a sin nature (except Jesus),[10] and it is this nature that internally motivates people to rebel against all legitimate forms of authority, both human and divine. More so, the sin nature is not eradicated from the believer during his time on earth, nor is it ever reformed, as though it can be made to love God. To be a sinner by nature means it’s our innate tendency to sin (Jer 17:9; Matt 7:11; Rom 7:18-21; Eph 2:1-3). To be a sinner by choice means we personally choose to act contrary to God and His revealed will (1 Ki 8:46; Prov 20:9; Ecc 7:20; Isa 53:6; Rom 3:10-12; 1 John 1:10). Cumulatively these reveal that we are totally depraved, which means sin permeates and corrupts every aspect of our being, including our mind, will, sensibilities and flesh. Though we may be moral to the best of our ability and others may applaud us for our good deeds, our best efforts are tainted by sin and have no saving merit before God (Isa 64:6; Rom 4:1-5; 5:6-10; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5).

     One of the major areas where sin impacts us is in the mind, which theologians refer to as the noetic effects of sin. This means sin impacts our ability to think rationally, especially about God, who has made Himself known through general revelation (Psa 19:1-2; Rom 1:18-20) and special revelation (1 Cor 14:37; 1 Tim 5:18; 1 Th 2:13; 2 Tim 3:16-17). The majority of people throughout history think evil thoughts and are consumed with themselves and their own agendas rather than God’s will. Of Noah’s generation it is said, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). Later, Solomon declared, “the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives” (Eccl 9:3). And Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9). And Jesus Himself spoke of the human condition, saying, “for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, [and] slanders” (Matt 15:19). One would think that when Jesus came into the world that mankind would rejoice in His light; however, Scripture provides a different picture, telling us, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19; cf. 1:4-5). When talking to religious Pharisees, Jesus declared, “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word” (John 8:43). This is true of all unbelievers, for “the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor 2:14). Even something as simple as the Gospel message is “foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor 1:18), in whose case “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:3-4). The tendency of fallen people who operate on negative volition is to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18), and to operate by a worldly wisdom that is not “from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic” (Jam 3:15).

     At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit indwells us and gives us a new nature that, for the first time in our lives, has the desire and capacity to obey God; however, the sin nature is not removed, and so we experience ongoing internal conflict between these opposing natures (Gal 5:17; Rom 7:14-23). As Christians, we are directed to “lay aside the old self…and put on the new self which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:22, 24). Since we have been “born again” and given new life (1 Pet 1:3, 23), the sin nature no longer has domineering power over us, and we can choose a life of righteousness (Rom 6:5-13). As we grow spiritually, we will be transformed from the inside out and gradually become more and more righteous as we walk with God. Sinless perfection will not be attained until we leave this world, by death or by Rapture, and are “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29), who will “transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phi 3:21). Until then, we are commanded to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Rom 13:14). We do this by choosing to live according to the Spirit’s guiding, and starving the monster that is our sin nature. To “make no provision for the flesh” means we stop exposing ourselves to the things of the world that excite the flesh and lead to sinful behavior. The positive action is to grow spiritually with biblical teaching (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), Christian fellowship (Heb 10:23-25), selfless living (Phil 2:3-4), prayer (1 Th 5:17), worship (Heb 13:15), and doing good (Gal 6:10; Heb 13:16). It is only by spiritual growth and drawing closer to God that we learn to glorify the Lord and live in righteousness.

[1] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1976), 108.

[2] Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 32.

[3] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, 115.

[4] Of course, we know this to be Jesus, the Messiah (Luke 1:26-33), and His victory occurred at the cross, where “the ruler of this world has been judged” and defeated (John 16:11; cf. Col 2:15; Heb 2:14; 1 John 3:8). Satan and his angels will eventually be cast into the Lake of Fire (Matt 25:41; Rev 20:10).

[5] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, 105.

[6] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 305.

[7] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 49.

[8] In Judges 20:16 the Hebrew word is used of skilled soldiers who do not miss their target, and in Proverbs 19:2 of a man who hurries and misses his way.

[9] Merrill F. Unger and E. McChesney, “Sin,” ed. R.K. Harrison, The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988), 1198.

[10] According to Scripture, Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), was “without sin” (Heb 4:15), and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). His sinless life qualified Him as a perfect sacrifice to go to the cross and die as a substitute for others (Rom 5:6-10; Heb 10:1-14; 1 Pet 3:18).

     According to Scripture, all mankind is fallen, corrupted by sin, and our natural proclivity is to think and act in conformity with Satan’s world-system, which is everywhere and always at odds with God and His plan.

     The book of Genesis reveals that God created Adam perfect and assigned him to serve as His theocratic administrator over His creation. This meant Adam was to exercise responsible dominion over the creation (Gen 1:26-30; 2:7-8, 15-17), and Eve was created to help him, to stand with him to do God’s will (Gen 2:18-25). But Satan, possessing a serpent—a subordinate creature that would have posed little threat to Adam and Eve—tempted them to act contrary to God and His commands. Henry Morris says, “Demonic spirits evidently have the ability, under certain conditions, to indwell or ‘possess’ either human bodies or animal bodies (Luke 8:33); and Satan on this occasion chose the serpent as the one most suitable for his purposes.”[1] The serpent here is identified as “the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Rev 12:9; cf. Rev 20:2). Allen Ross states:

• "Satan was shrewd and intentional in his attack as he approached the woman and questioned her understanding of God’s command, asking, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’” (Gen 3:1). And Eve answered, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” (Gen 3:2-3). In her reply, “Eve disparaged the privileges, added to the prohibition, and weakened the penalty—all seen by contrasting her words (Gen. 3:3) with God’s original commands (2:16-17).”[2]

     When Satan heard Eve misrepresent God’s instructions (Gen 2:16-17), he boldly advanced his argument, saying, “You surely will not die!” (Gen 3:4), calling God a liar, stating, “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:4-5). Satan’s argument was that God was withholding divinity from Adam and Eve, and if they were willing to eat the fruit, they could be like God, which was the same mental attitude sin committed by Lucifer at his fall (Isa 14:12-14). Here, Eve was confronted with an antithetical claim to what the Lord had told her, but rather than seek the Lord about the matter, she let Satan convince her to abandon faith in God and operate independently of Him. The influence of Satan brought an epistemological shift in Eve’s thinking, and rather than seeing the tree from the divine perspective as harmful, she saw it as attractive, that is “was good for food…a delight to the eyes…[and] desirable to make one wise” (Gen 3:6a). Being deceived by Satan’s argument, “she took from its fruit and ate” (Gen 3:6b; 1 Tim 2:14). Eve then “gave also to her husband with her, and he ate” (Gen 3:6c), and Satan’s strategy to advance his kingdom of darkness and take possession of the world and humanity was complete. Henry Morris adds:

• "Adam and Eve became aware of their failure, as “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings” (Gen 3:7). Remembering they were to “multiply and fill the earth” (Gen 1:28), Adam and Eve “realized that the very fountainhead of human life had now become corrupted by their disobedience and they became acutely aware of their nakedness. Their children would all be contaminated with the seed of rebellion, so that their feeling of guilt centered especially on their own procreative organs.”[3]

     Spiritual death (i.e., separation from God) brought an irrational shift in their theology as well as their behavior as they sought to hide from the Lord (Gen 3:8-9), saying, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself” (Gen 3:10; cf. Jer 23:24).

     When confronted about their sin (Gen 3:11), Adam blamed his wife as well as God, saying, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (Gen 3:12), and Eve blamed the creature, saying, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen 3:13). Hiding from God and shifting blame for sin are common characteristics of mankind’s fallenness.

     The serpent was judged by God and physically changed to crawl on its belly as a perpetual reminder to mankind about the fall (Gen 3:14). Here, the curse was actually against Satan, who possessed the serpent, as the Lord declared, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Gen 3:15). Having brought Adam and Eve under his control, it is possible Satan thought he would gain total control over all their children, but the Lord had other plans and made it known to Satan there would be “enmity” between him and the woman, as well as his “seed and her seed; [and] he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” This verse is commonly referred to as the protoevangelium—the first gospel—because God promised there would come a “seed” from the woman’s line who would defeat Satan and disrupt his kingdom.[4]

     God pronounced judgment upon Adam, Eve and the creation. Eve’s judgment was that she would have increased “pain in childbirth” and that her husband would “rule over her” (Gen 3:16), and the ground that Adam was to cultivate would be cursed, and “in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life” (Gen 3:17-19).

     Though atheists and liberal theologians treat the first eleven chapters of Genesis as myth, the NT writers treat Adam and Eve as historical persons and the fall as literal. Luke traces Jesus’ genealogy back to Adam (Luke 3:38), and Jesus based His argument on marriage on the first human couple (Matt 19:4-6). Paul also states, “I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor 11:3). And Paul wrote, “it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Tim 2:14). Paul argued that through Adam “sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12; cf. 1 Cor 15:21). And all humanity is said either to be in Adam or in Christ, and this determines whether we are spiritually alive or dead, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor 15:22). Adam’s sin brought corruption and decay into the whole universe, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom 8:20-22). We now live in a very flawed world with sinful people and all sorts of problems. Henry Morris comments:

• "Things are not “very good” in the world now! In the physical realm, everything tends to run down and wear out. In the living world, each animal is engaged in a perpetual struggle against other animals and against disease, as well as the universal process of aging and death. Culturally, one civilization after another seems to rise for a time, then decline and die. In the spiritual and moral realm, each individual invariably finds it easier to do wrong than right, easier to drift downward than to struggle upward. The world is full of hatred, crime, war, pollution, selfishness, corruption—evil of all kinds. Something has gone wrong with God’s perfect creation."[5]

The Effects of the Fall

     The historic fall of Adam and Eve fundamentally changed the human race and the world, resulting in disease, decay and death among all living things, and that the tendency of humanity is to behave in a spiritually and morally corrupt manner, suppressing God’s truth and rejecting His solutions to life’s problems. Understanding this helps us make sense of the world in which we live and why people behave the way they do.

     Sin is a dominant theme from Genesis chapter three to the end of the Bible, at which time God will do away with sin and its effects, creating a “new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet 3:13; cf. Rev 21:1). The word sin is found throughout Scripture, and both the Hebrew and Greek share the same basic meaning. The Hebrew word חָטָא chata means “to miss the target, or to lose the way,”[6] and the Greek ἁμαρτάνω hamartano is defined as “miss the mark, err, or do wrong.”[7] Sin is when we transgress God’s law and depart from His intended path.[8] The apostle John states, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Merrill Unger writes, “The underlying idea of sin is that of law and of a lawgiver. The lawgiver is God. Hence sin is everything in the disposition and purpose and conduct of God’s moral creatures that is contrary to the expressed will of God (Rom 3:20; 4:15; 7:7; Jam 4:12, 17).”[9]

     Sin impacts all things including family life, nature, economics, society, law, politics, science, education, etc. All sin and evil exist in connection with the willful creatures who manufacture it, and its effects can be short or long-lasting. Even the creation is cursed because of Adam’s sin, as the Lord told him, “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Gen 3:17), to which Paul added, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom 8:20-22). Sin negatively impacts everyone and everything, and no one was impacted or hurt more by sin than God. On several occasions we read, “The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Gen 6:6), and though God loved Israel, their ongoing sin “grieved His Holy Spirit” (Isa 63:10). As Christians, we are commanded, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30). Sin ultimately cost God His Son, who came into the world and died on a cross in order to atone for it (Mark 10:45; John 3:16; 10:14-18; Rom 8:32; 1 John 4:10), and to set us free from spiritual slavery (Rom 6:6; Gal 5:1; Heb 2:14-15).

     The Bible reveals we are sinners in Adam, sinners by nature, and sinners by choice. To be a sinner in Adam means we sinned when he sinned, that his fallen position is our fallen position, and his guilt is our guilt (Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-24; Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22). This is commonly referred to as original sin. Since the fall of Adam, every person is born with a sin nature (except Jesus),[10] and it is this nature that internally motivates people to rebel against all legitimate forms of authority, both human and divine. More so, the sin nature is not eradicated from the believer during his time on earth, nor is it ever reformed, as though it can be made to love God. To be a sinner by nature means it’s our innate tendency to sin (Jer 17:9; Matt 7:11; Rom 7:18-21; Eph 2:1-3). To be a sinner by choice means we personally choose to act contrary to God and His revealed will (1 Ki 8:46; Prov 20:9; Ecc 7:20; Isa 53:6; Rom 3:10-12; 1 John 1:10). Cumulatively these reveal that we are totally depraved, which means sin permeates and corrupts every aspect of our being, including our mind, will, sensibilities and flesh. Though we may be moral to the best of our ability and others may applaud us for our good deeds, our best efforts are tainted by sin and have no saving merit before God (Isa 64:6; Rom 4:1-5; 5:6-10; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5).

     One of the major areas where sin impacts us is in the mind, which theologians refer to as the noetic effects of sin. This means sin impacts our ability to think rationally, especially about God, who has made Himself known through general revelation (Psa 19:1-2; Rom 1:18-20) and special revelation (1 Cor 14:37; 1 Tim 5:18; 1 Th 2:13; 2 Tim 3:16-17). The majority of people throughout history think evil thoughts and are consumed with themselves and their own agendas rather than God’s will. Of Noah’s generation it is said, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). Later, Solomon declared, “the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives” (Eccl 9:3). And Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9). And Jesus Himself spoke of the human condition, saying, “for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, [and] slanders” (Matt 15:19). One would think that when Jesus came into the world that mankind would rejoice in His light; however, Scripture provides a different picture, telling us, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19; cf. 1:4-5). When talking to religious Pharisees, Jesus declared, “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word” (John 8:43). This is true of all unbelievers, for “the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor 2:14). Even something as simple as the Gospel message is “foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor 1:18), in whose case “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:3-4). The tendency of fallen people who operate on negative volition is to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18), and to operate by a worldly wisdom that is not “from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic” (Jam 3:15).

     At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit indwells us and gives us a new nature that, for the first time in our lives, has the desire and capacity to obey God; however, the sin nature is not removed, and so we experience ongoing internal conflict between these opposing natures (Gal 5:17; Rom 7:14-23). As Christians, we are directed to “lay aside the old self…and put on the new self which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:22, 24). Since we have been “born again” and given new life (1 Pet 1:3, 23), the sin nature no longer has domineering power over us, and we can choose a life of righteousness (Rom 6:5-13). As we grow spiritually, we will be transformed from the inside out and gradually become more and more righteous as we walk with God. Sinless perfection will not be attained until we leave this world, by death or by Rapture, and are “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29), who will “transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phi 3:21). Until then, we are commanded to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Rom 13:14). We do this by choosing to live according to the Spirit’s guiding, and starving the monster that is our sin nature. To “make no provision for the flesh” means we stop exposing ourselves to the things of the world that excite the flesh and lead to sinful behavior. The positive action is to grow spiritually with biblical teaching (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), Christian fellowship (Heb 10:23-25), selfless living (Phil 2:3-4), prayer (1 Th 5:17), worship (Heb 13:15), and doing good (Gal 6:10; Heb 13:16). It is only by spiritual growth and drawing closer to God that we learn to glorify the Lord and live in righteousness.

[1] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1976), 108.

[2] Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 32.

[3] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, 115.

[4] Of course, we know this to be Jesus, the Messiah (Luke 1:26-33), and His victory occurred at the cross, where “the ruler of this world has been judged” and defeated (John 16:11; cf. Col 2:15; Heb 2:14; 1 John 3:8). Satan and his angels will eventually be cast into the Lake of Fire (Matt 25:41; Rev 20:10).

[5] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, 105.

[6] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 305.

[7] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 49.

[8] In Judges 20:16 the Hebrew word is used of skilled soldiers who do not miss their target, and in Proverbs 19:2 of a man who hurries and misses his way.

[9] Merrill F. Unger and E. McChesney, “Sin,” ed. R.K. Harrison, The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988), 1198.

[10] According to Scripture, Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), was “without sin” (Heb 4:15), and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). His sinless life qualified Him as a perfect sacrifice to go to the cross and die as a substitute for others (Rom 5:6-10; Heb 10:1-14; 1 Pet 3:18).

Jeremiah 49:28-39

Steven R. Cook

     God, who is “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25), had called Jeremiah to be His prophet, both to the Gentile nations (Jer 1:5, 10) and Judah (Jer 1:15-18; 2:1-2). Because Judah was in a special covenant relationship with God, Jeremiah was commissioned to speak to them first and to pronounce God’s “judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands” (Jer 1:16). The first part of the book of Jeremiah was written primarily to Judah (Jeremiah chapters 2-45). But after God judged His people, He fixed His canons against the surrounding Gentile nations (Jeremiah chapters 46-52). God, having already judged Egypt (Jer 46:1-26), Philistia (Jer 47:1-7), Moab (Jer 48:1-47), Ammon (Jer 49:1-6), Edom (Jer 49:7-22), and Damascus (Jer 49:23-27), now renders His judgments against Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor (Jer 49:28-33), and Elam (Jer 49:34-39).

Judgment Against Kedar, Hazor, and the Men of the East

     Jeremiah opens this pericope with a prophecy “Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated. Thus says the LORD, ‘Arise, go up to Kedar and devastate the men of the east’” (Jer 49:28). The Kedarites were a nomadic people descended from Ishmael (Gen 25:13), who later became known for their archery skills (Isa 21:16-17). They were also shepherds (Isa 60:7), lovers of war (Psa 120:5-7), and lived in unprotected villages (Jer 49:31). According to Radmacher, “The phrase men of the East is associated with the Arameans, Midianites, Amalekites, and other nomadic desert tribes (Gen 29:1; Judg 7:12).”[1] Though this passage refers to Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, it’s message is to Nebuchadnezzar, as the Lord instructs him to attack and destroy the men of this region. The word devastate translates the Hebrew verb שָׁדָד shadad, which means “to devastate, despoil, deal violently with.”[2] Keeping God’s sovereignty in primary view, the Babylonians never functioned as an independent power to do as they pleased, but were under God’s sovereign control to serve as His agent of judgment against others. Interestingly, the same verb is used later to described God’s judgments against the Babylonians (Jer 51:48, 53, 55-56).

     When God called the Babylonians to come against the Kedarites, we are told, “They will take away their tents and their flocks; they will carry off for themselves their tent curtains, all their goods and their camels, and they will call out to one another, ‘Terror on every side!’” (Jer 49:29). And the advice God gave to the Kedarites was, ‘“Run away, flee! Dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor,’ declares the LORD; ‘For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has formed a plan against you and devised a scheme against you’” (Jer 49:30). Though the men of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor would run for their lives, they could escape God’s judgment upon them. Nebuchadnezzar, whom God had raised up as His instrument of judgment, was unaware of God’s invisible hand that would guide him to victory.

     The Lord guided Nebuchadnezzar, saying, ‘“Arise, go up against a nation which is at ease, which lives securely,’ declares the LORD. ‘It has no gates or bars; they dwell alone. 32 Their camels will become plunder, and their many cattle for booty, and I will scatter to all the winds those who cut the corners of their hair; and I will bring their disaster from every side,’ declares the LORD” (Jer 49:31-32). The picture portrays the Kedarites and their neighbors as overly self-confident, at ease, living securely, not needing gates or bars for protection, and dwelling alone. Nebuchadnezzar would exploit this weakness and take their possessions as plunder.

     Most importantly in these verses is the revelation that the Lord Himself is the primary causal agent who brings judgment, saying, “I will scatter to all the winds” and “I will bring their disaster from every side” (Jer 49:32). God controls history according to His sovereign purposes. The end result of God’s judgment would be that “Hazor will become a haunt of jackals, a desolation forever; no one will live there, nor will a son of man reside in it” (Jer 49:33).

Judgment Against Elam

     Next, we are told about God’s judgment against Elam, as Jeremiah wrote, “That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying: 35 Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to break the bow of Elam, the finest of their might’” (Jer 49:34-35). Elam was located about two hundred miles to the east of Babylon, in what today would be part of Iran. According to Huey, “It was conquered by the Assyrians under Ashurbanipal, ca. 640 B.C., but regained its independence with Assyria’s collapse. It joined forces with Nabopolassar to destroy Nineveh in 612 B.C. The Babylonian Chronicle seems to indicate there was a conflict between Nebuchadnezzar and Elam, 596–594. In 539 the Elamites helped overthrow the Babylonian Empire.”[3]

     Just as God had declared judgment against Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, so He sovereignly declared, “I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four ends of heaven, and will scatter them to all these winds; and there will be no nation to which the outcasts of Elam will not go” (Jer 49:36). Here is another reminder that God is the One who sets up kings and kingdoms and determines their duration of existence (see Dan 2:21; 4:25). And the Lord continued, saying, “So I will shatter Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their lives; and I will bring calamity upon them, even My fierce anger,’ declares the LORD, ‘And I will send out the sword after them until I have consumed them. 38 Then I will set My throne in Elam and destroy out of it king and princes,’ declares the LORD” (Jer 49:37-38). However, the God who promised to destroy Edom, also gave a promise of a future hope by restoring the nation. The Lord declared, ‘“But it will come about in the last days that I will restore the fortunes of Elam,’ Declares the LORD” (Jer 49:39). Here is a message of hope, as the God who chose to bring a nation down, also chose to elevate it again. The truth is all nations are subject to God’s sovereign rule, and their moral or immoral behavior will be met with His blessings or cursings.

Present Application

     The Bible reveals “God is the King of all the earth…He reigns over the nations; He sits on His holy throne” (Psa 47:7-8). It is God “who changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings” (Dan 2:21; cf., Dan 4:17, 35). Furthermore, “The LORD is King forever and ever” (Psa 10:16a), for the “LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all” (Psa 103:19), and He “works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph 1:11b), and “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps” (Psa 135:6). As sovereign God, He judges His world in righteousness.

     When individuals, groups, cities, and nations turn away from God, He will judge them according to His righteous character and moral laws. We know from Scripture that “the LORD is righteous, [and] He loves righteousness” (Psa 11:7), and “Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments” (Psa 119:137). For God, righteousness is an attribute, an inherent quality, not the adherence to laws beyond Himself (of which there are none). The righteousness of God may be defined as the intrinsic, immutable, moral perfection of God, from which He commands all things, in heaven and earth, and declares as good that which conforms to His righteousness and as evil that which deviates. Righteousness and justice are related words. The former speaks of God’s moral character, whereas the latter speaks of the actions that flow out of His character. Whatever God’s righteousness requires, His justice executes; either to approve or reject, to bless or condemn. God is “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25), and He “is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day” (Psa 7:11).

     Though God judges, He is not One to judge quickly. It is written, “You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth” (Psa 86:15), and “the LORD is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness” (Psa 145:8). Peter reveals that God “is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). In this way, God is quick to warn and slow to judge. But God is not patient forever, and there are multiple accounts of judgment throughout Scripture. God judged the antediluvian world (Gen 6:1-7, 11-13; 7:21-24), the rebels at the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9), the wicked citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24-25), the Egyptians (Deut 26:6-8; cf. Gen 15:13-14), the Canaanites (Lev 18:25; Deut 9:5), and the Babylonians (Jer 25:11-12). The book of Obadiah was written against the Edomites (Oba 1:1), and Nahum against the Ninevites (Nah 1:1). When Jesus was on the earth at the time of His first coming, He judged the religious leaders of his day (Matt 23:1-36), and pronounced judgment upon the nation of Israel for having rejected Him as their Messiah (Matt 23:37-39). In the future, God will judge Gentiles based on how they treat persecuted Jewish believers during the Tribulation (Matt 25:31-46). And God will judge all unbelievers at the Great White Throne judgment and will cast them into the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:11-15). God has also judged Satan (John 16:11), and will punish him in the future (Matt 25:41; Rev 20:10).

On What Basis Does God Judge Israel and Gentile Nations?

     As a nation, Israel was and is unique in human history, for it’s the only nation that was created by God as a theocracy. Speaking to Israel, God said, “I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King” (Isa 43:15; cf. Isa 43:1). Israel was a theocracy, and God was their Judge, Lawgiver, and King (Isa 33:22). As such, God gave Israel specific laws to direct their lives (Lev 27:34). The Mosaic Law was the standard by which Israel lived rightly before the Lord and was the basis for blessing or cursing, depending on their obedience or disobedience to His directives (Deut 11:26-28). Reading through Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, First and Second Kings, and all the OT prophets, one can see a consistent pattern of God blessing or cursing His people depending on whether they obeyed or disobeyed His written directives. God was extremely patient with His people when they disobeyed, repeatedly warning them about His coming judgments, but the historical trend was that of rebellion (Jer 25:4-7). Because of rampant idolatry, human sacrifice, and other egregious sins, God eventually destroyed the ten northern tribes of Israel in 722 B.C. (2 Ki 17:7-23), and the two southern tribes of Judah in 586 B.C. (Jer 25:8-11). The fear of the Lord and obedience to Him would have prevented their destruction, but the nation chose otherwise.

     The Gentile nations did not possess the Mosaic Law as Israel did; however, a Gentile nation could be blessed or cursed, and this depended on at least two factors. First, God would bless or curse a Gentile nation depending on how it treated Israel. God told Abraham, the progenitor of Israel, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse” (Gen 12:3). According to Allen Ross, “Those who blessed Abram would receive blessing from God; that is, those who supported and endorsed him in his faith would actually find enrichment. Conversely, if anyone treated Abram lightly, he must be cursed.”[4] God’s promise to bless or curse was based on the covenant that started with Abraham and extended to his descendants forever (Gen 17:7).[5] Concerning the curse, Arnold Fruchtenbaum states:

• "The first word for curse is kalal, which means “to treat lightly,” “to hold in contempt,” or “to curse.” To merely treat Abram and the Jews lightly is to incur the curse of God. The second word for curse used in this phrase (him that curses you will I curse) is aor, from the Hebrew root arah, which means “to impose a barrier,” “to ban.” This is a much stronger word for curse than the first one in the phrase…Therefore, even a light curse against Abram or against the Jews will bring a heavier curse from God."[6]

     Second, a Gentile nation could be blessed or cursed depending on whether they pursued godly virtues or wickedness. Scripture reveals, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Prov 14:34). Biblically, there is a sense in which God’s laws are written on the hearts of all people. Paul wrote, “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them” (Rom 2:14-15).[7] God has placed within each person a moral sense of right and wrong. Everyone knows it’s right to be honest, kind, courteous, patient, helpful to the weak, honoring to parents, faithful to one’s spouse, etc. On the other hand, everyone knows it’s wrong to murder, steal, lie, commit adultery, etc.[8] And how people behave collectively has results upon their city or nation. The Lord told Jeremiah, “At one moment I might speak concerning a nation [גּוֹי goy] or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it” (Jer 18:7-8). This is what happened when Jonah preached God’s message of pending judgment to the Ninevites (Jonah 1:1-2; 3:1-4), and when they believed and repented (Jonah 3:5-9), He relented (Jonah 3:10). There is hope for any nation that has turned away from God, but only if the leadership and people turn to God and pursue righteousness in conformity with His character.

     What influence do we, as Christians, have on our country? As God’s people living in the dispensation of the church age, He directs us to learn and live His Word (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17), live by faith (Heb 10:38; 11:6), advance to spiritual maturity (Eph 4:11-16; 1 Pet 2:2), share the gospel (Mark 16:15; 1 Cor 15:3-4), make disciples (Matt 28:19-20), live holy lives (1 Pet 1:15-16), and do good (Gal 6:10; Tit 2:11-14). In this way, God may use us to help shape our nation in godly ways, which will influence its educational, political, economic, and social views for the better. We are, after all, to be a light to the world (Matt 5:14; Eph 5:8).

[1] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999), 942.

[2] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 1419.

[3] F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations, vol. 16, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993), 406.

[4] Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), 263.

[5] To love Israel is not a blanket endorsement of all their beliefs and behaviors. God, who loves Israel and chose them to be His people (Deut 7:6-8), also called them to be holy (Ex 19:5-6; Lev 11:45), and promised blessing or cursing, based on their obedience or disobedience to Him (Deut 28:1-68). Israel can and does fail, often rejecting God’s love for them and walking in the ways of the world (see 2 Ch 36:15-16; Jer 7:25-26; 25:4-7; Ezek 16; Matt 23:1-39; Acts 7:51-53; 1 Th 2:14-16). The national rejection and crucifixion of Jesus (Matt 27:22-23; Acts 2:22-23; 4:27-28), Israel’s promised Messiah (Deut 18:15; Isa 7:14; 9:6-7;53; 61:1; Matt 1:1, 17; Luke 1:31-33), was their greatest failure. Did Israel act alone in crucifying Jesus, their Messiah? No! God foretold Israel’s Messiah would suffer and die (Psa 22:11-18; Isa 53); and, according to His sovereignty, He used wicked men, both Jews and Gentiles, to accomplish His will (Acts 2:22-23; 4:27-28).

[6] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel’s Bible Commentary: The Book of Genesis, 1st ed. (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2008), 242.

[7] The human conscience, when working properly, serves as a moral compass. But because of willful and persistent sin, the conscience can become weak (1 Cor 8:7), callous (1 Tim 4:2), defiled (Tit 1:15), or evil (Heb 10:22). Persistent sin can damage the conscience so that it fails to operate properly.

[8] The unbeliever can live morally according to the dictates of a healthy conscience, and though not saved, can receive some blessings in this life. Conversely, a Christian can turn away from the faith and pursue wickedness, and this results in divine discipline and the forfeiture of eternal rewards.

Introduction

     Deuteronomy 28:1-68 presents the blessings and cursings of the bilateral Mosaic Covenant (בְּרִית berith) which God promised to bring upon Israel depending on their obedience or disobedience to His commands. God’s written directives assume the integrity of language in which His meaning was infused in the words and phrases He selected, and that language itself served as a reliable vehicle concerning His expectations. The Israelites were responsible to know what was communicated and would be blessed or cursed based on whether they responded to it positively or negatively. God’s directives meant there were fixed categories of blessing and cursing, which allowed the Israelites to know with certainty what to expect from Him depending on how they treated their relationship with Him. This did not mean the Israelites could manipulate God to do their bidding; rather, it simply meant He was predictable and would do what He promised. A healthy relationship relies on clear and honest communication as well as predictable behavior.

     For the sake of emphasis, Moses repeated the conditional aspects of God’s blessings (Deut 28:1-2, 9, 13-14), and cursings (Deut 28:15, 20, 45-47, 58, 62; cf., Deut 29:24-28; 30:17-20). The word blessing translates the Hebrew noun בְּרָכָה berakah, which appears twelve times in Deuteronomy and sixty-seven times in the OT (TWOT). In Deuteronomy 28, the word refers to the tangible goodness that makes life enjoyable and rich, which God promised to His covenant people, Israel, if they would simply obey His commands. Areas of blessing would include: 1) healthy offspring, crops, and livestock (Deut 28:4-5, 8, 11), 2) military success (Deut 28:7), 3) fruitful labor (Deut 28:8, 12a), 4) international recognition and respect (Deut 28:9-10), 5) financial prosperity (Deut 28:12b), and 6) serving as an international leader to other nations (Deut. 28:13). God also promised to bring curses, which would undo all the blessings and bring Israel down, if they disobeyed (Deut 28:15-68). In Deuteronomy 28:16-19, Moses used the Hebrew verb אָרָר arar six times, which means, “to bind with a curse.”[1] The form of the verb is passive, which means a curse is received by the nation of Israel if they turn away from God. These blessings and cursings were predictable, depending on Israel’s knowledge of God’s directives and their adherence or insubordination to them (Deut 11:26-28; 29:29; 30:15-20).

     When considering the Mosaic Covenant, it is important to realize God’s blessings and cursings for Israel were tied to their moral behavior (see Lev 26:3-4; Deut 11:13-17; Jer 5:23-25; Amos 4:7; Mal 3:10).[2] When Israel abided by God’s Word, advancing on the moral high ground of His ethical standards, the Lord would bless His people in the everyday affairs of their lives. God’s blessings came directly in the form of rain, crop production, national health, etc. However, His blessings also came indirectly through His people who learned and lived His Word as it spoke to their marriages, families, education, labor, economic decisions, social activities, and welfare for the less fortunate in society. For example, God’s blessings of protection and provision for Ruth and Naomi came through Boaz, who modeled godliness and compassion in his words and actions (Ruth 2:1-23). Boaz’ choice to be a godly man meant he would serve as a conduit of God’s grace to others.

     Additionally, God’s blessings should not be thought of as producing equal outcomes to all, as social and economic stratification would continue within Israelite society. It also did not mean everyone would have perfect health, as the general effects of sin in humanity continued. It did mean, however, that even those at the lowest place in society would have their basic needs met; needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. The poor in Israel would be wealthier and better off than those of other nations.[3]

     But if God’s people turned from the Lord and His Word and adopted an alternate ethical standard, then they would forfeit His blessings and bring judgment upon themselves (Deut 11:16-17; 2 Ch 6:24-27). However, God’s judgments on Israel did not always happen in an instantaneous manner, as the Lord is patient, longsuffering, and slow to anger (Ex 34:6; Psa 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jon 4:2). And God often sent warnings to His people (Jer 7:25-26; 25:3-7; 29:18-19), which at times went on for centuries, and discipline came in stages. And even when God’s judgment fell, it sometimes took the form of lesser punishment (Psa 103:10-12; Ezra 9:13). And if His people humbled themselves, He would offer forgiveness and restore their blessings (2 Ch 7:13-14). God is always quick to forgive, and He prefers to bless rather than punish. Any loving parent understands this.

     A conundrum appears in the Old Testament as the righteous struggle from day to day while some evil people grow rich and seem to enjoy all the blessings this world can give. Asaph, a godly man, felt this struggle deeply (Psa 73:1-16). However, when considered from the divine perspective, worldly wealth does not always come with God’s blessing, and the life and final days of the evil person will be less than desirable (Psa 73:17-20). The godly desire the Lord more than the things of this world (Psa 73:21-28), and they have joy and peace with whatever He provides. For whatever God gives to His obedient children will include joy and peace that they might appreciate it, “For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him? For to a person who is good in His sight He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy” (Eccl 2:25-26a). According to Solomon, “It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it” (Prov 10:22), and “Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and turmoil with it” (Prov 15:16). The godly are content with the Lord’s daily provisions (Phil 4:11-13; 1 Tim 6:8; Heb 13:5).[4]

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 - The Lord’s Blessings

     Moses opens the blessing section by saying, “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth” (Deut 28:1). This opening introduces a conditional clause (Deut 28:1), which is repeated several times in this section (cf., Deut 28:2, 9, 13). As Israel’s Judge, Lawgiver, and King (Isa 33:22), the Lord had provided His people with clear directives concerning how they were to live, and if they chose righteousness, blessing would follow (Deut 11:26-28). God’s blessings (בְּרָכָה berakah) pertained to agricultural, national, social, and material prosperity. God promised to set His people “high above all the nations.” According to Eugene Merrill, “What it means to be set high above all the nations is answered in part by the string of blessings that follow in Deuteronomy 3:3-8. Inasmuch as Israel’s economy rested on an agrarian base, most of the blessing is associated with abundance in field and flock, but other aspects of safe and wholesome life are not ignored.”[5]

     Moses continued, saying, “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God” (Deut 28:2). The hiphil form of the Hebrew word overtake (נָשַׂג nasag) meant God would cause His blessings to come upon obedient-to-the-Word believers. That is, God’s blessings would chase them wherever they were in order to overtake them. The obedient believer would not be able to escape the Lord’s blessings. This is confirmed by the next clause, which reads, “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country” (Deut 28:3). God’s blessing would hunt them down, and their location was incidental. The word blessed (בָּרָךְ barak) means “to endue with power for success, prosperity, productiveness, longevity, etc.”[6] God wants to bless His people and He does not have to be cajoled or manipulated to do it.

     God’s blessings would not only be personal but would also spill over onto one’s children and the production of one’s labor, which included the ground as well as the animals. Moses said, “Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock” (Deut 28:4). Here is the concept of blessing by association. The adult Israelite who learned God’s Word and walked with Him would be blessed, and so would all who were in contact with him. Boaz was a good example of God’s blessings overflowing into the lives of others.

     God would also provide an abundance of food for His people to eat, as Moses said, “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl” (Deut 28:5). Eugene Merrill states, “Abundant produce would, of course, result in abundant food supplies. Harvest baskets would overflow, and bakers would have more than enough wheat with which to bake their bread (v. 5).”[7] There would be no food insecurity among God’s people.

     And God’s blessing would touch His people wherever they were, whether in the home or out in the community. Moses said, “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out” (Deut 28:6). To come in and go out is a merism—a figure of speech—that refers to all of one’s life and activities. According to Earl Kalland, “Going out and coming in is a common descriptive phrase of going out to one’s daily tasks and returning home after the day’s work is done, whatever that activity entails.”[8]

     Having God’s blessing did not mean Israel would not have enemies. God’s people always have enemies, as we live in a fallen world that is temporarily governed by Satan and those who align with him (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 1 John 3:13; 5:19). However, though opposition would arise against God’s people, He would secure their victory, as Moses said, “The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways” (Deut 28:7). When the text says, “they will come against you one way,” it’s speaking of an intelligent coordinated attack against God’s people. However, though the attack represents man’s best military strategies and actions, God will neutralize their efforts and cause them to be defeated. That the enemy “will flee before you seven ways” meant their enemies could not flee the battle fast enough. This promise of military victory could be trusted because God had already displayed His power over the Egyptians when He brought Israel out of captivity. Having defeated the greatest superpower of the day, lesser powers would be of no concern.

     The Israelite farmers would be blessed both in their efforts and the production of the land itself. Moses said, “The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you” (Deut 28:8). Eugene Merrill states, “Verse 8 forms a conclusion to this first set of blessings by summarizing the blessings according to the categories of what Israel would have and what Israel would do (the “barns” and “hand” respectively).”[9] Again, God’s promised blessings were tangible in nature.

     God’s intention of blessing His people was that they might be an example to the rest of the world of what it means to be set apart to the Lord, to walk with Him in holiness. Moses said, “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways” (Deut 28:9). The word holy (קָדוֹשׁ qadosh) means “commanding respect, awesome, treated with respect.”[10] It denotes being singled out for special use, to be consecrated for a unique purpose. But God’s people were not mere objects one could set apart, but rather, volitional creatures that were called into a special relationship with the Lord. For this reason, we see the conditional clause, “if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.”

     If Israel, as God’s people, would learn and live His Word, then “all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will be afraid of you” (Deut 28:10). God was concerned about His image among the Gentiles. Being called by the name of the Lord meant being His representative in the world for others to see. God’s values were to be reflected in the words and actions of His people. If His people would represent Him well, then Gentiles would be afraid of them. The word afraid (יָרֵא yare) most often means “to fear, [or] to be afraid.”[11] However, at times, the word connotes reverence, respect, or awe. This latter meaning might be preferred, as other translations suggest, saying, “they will stand in awe of you” (Deut 28:10 CSB), and “they will respect you” (Deut 28:10 NET). For those possessed with negative volition, they would fear God and His people. However, for those possessed with positive volition, they would be awed by God and His goodness and would respect His people. Earl Kalland states, “By being God’s obedient and holy people (cf. 26:19), the Israelites would enjoy such an intimacy with God that they would become a testimony to all the peoples on earth who would fear or stand in awe of Israel (cf. 2:25; 11:25).”[12]

     God’s blessing would be obvious to His people as well as the Gentiles nations around them. Moses said, “The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you” (Deut 28:11). To abound (יָתַר yathar) with prosperity meant to “be left over, remain over.”[13] The idea is that God would give His people more than enough prosperity that they would consider themselves blessed, and others would as well.

     Part of God’s blessing meant predictable weather patterns in which the Lord would send rain on the land and cause their crops to be productive. Moses said, “The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow” (Deut 28:12). God created the universe and the world, and He controlled all His creation, including the earth’s climate. God promised He would cause the rain to fall on the soil at optimal times so as to maximize the soil’s production. Peter Craigie states:

• "One of the roles of God in the promised land would be the provision of fertility; fertility depended primarily on the rains. Without the rains, the crops could not grow, and without the crops and the other produce of the field, neither man nor his domestic animals could survive. Thus in v. 12, there is a very rich expression of the blessing of God, for in providing the rains, God was providing what would be the mainspring of life in Israel’s land."[14]

     God’s blessings meant Israel would know economic stability in such a way that they would not have to borrow from others to engage in business ventures. In fact, Israel would be so prosperous, they would serve as bankers to others, in that they would lend to many nations and never have to borrow.

     In Deuteronomy 28:13-14, Moses provided a summary statement of all God’s goodness to His people as well as a final conditional clause. Moses said, “The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14 and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them” (Deut 28:13-14). If Israel would listen (שָׁמַע shama) to God’s directives and observe them carefully, staying faithful in their walk with Him and not pursuing other gods, then His blessings would overtake them. Earl Kalland notes:

     Israel would move upward from her current status to that of the head among the nations, rather than become (or continue to be) the tail (v.13). She would “always be at the top, never at the bottom.” But all this would be determined by the adherence of the people to the stipulations of the covenant-treaty that they had accepted from the Lord. They must “carefully follow them” and “not turn aside … to the right or to the left” (v.14) from any of the commands Moses was rehearsing to them that day.[15]

     In closing, the specific body of laws that Israel would need to follow had been provided by Moses in Deuteronomy chapters 5 through 26. There was no guessing about God’s expectations for His people, and His blessings or cursings would follow, depending on whether Israel would obey or disobey the Lord (Deut 11:26-28). To be clear, the Mosaic Law was never intended to be a means of salvation, but a rule for life that could be obeyed by Israel who were in a covenant relationship with Him and who walked humbly with their Lord (see Deut 5:33; 8:6; 10:12-13; 29:29; 30:15-16; 31:11; Psa 1:2-3; 119:9-11).

[1] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 91.

[2] In the larger picture, God gives common grace to everyone (Matt 5:44-45; Acts 14:16-17), and this in order to win their hearts to Him, as He “is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). However, God’s common grace does not last forever, and if people turn away from Him and pursue wickedness (Rom 1:18-23), He will let them go their sinful way (Rom 1:24-32; cf., Psa 81:12-13), and they will eventually perish in their sin. For the rebel-believer, it means being least in the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:19; cf. 1 Cor 3:15), but for the unbeliever, it means suffering eternally in the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:11-15).

[3] Blessing is a relative term even in our own societies. According to The World Bank, as of 2018, half the world’s population lives on less than $5.50 a day (https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/10/17/nearly-half-the-world-lives-on-less-than-550-a-day). According to Pew research data in 2015, the poor in the US are much better off than the poor in other countries (https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/09/how-americans-compare-with-the-global-middle-class/).

[4] Remember that Israelites, in the wilderness, were not content with the God’s provision of manna and complained to the Lord to give them meat (Num 11:4-6). God gave them what they asked for, but they did not enjoy it (Num 11:18-20, 31-34), as “He gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease among them” (Psa 106:15).

[5] Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 353.

[6] John N. Oswalt, “285 בָּרַך,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 132.

[7] Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, 354.

[8] Earl S. Kalland, “Deuteronomy,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 167.

[9] Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, 354.

[10] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1066.

[11] Ibid., 433.

[12] Jack S. Deere, “Deuteronomy,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 311–312.

[13] Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 451.

[14] Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), 337.

[15] Earl S. Kalland, “Deuteronomy,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 168.