Deuteronomy 28:1-68

The paths that we choose to follow in our own lives and the paths that we choose as a nation have consequences.  The path of obedience is rarely an easy one to choose and is often very difficult to travel.  It is a narrow path that goes against our natural bent.  It does not look inviting and seems to be restricting.  However it is a path that brings all who walk in it peace and joy that escape our ability to describe or even understand.  The path of disobedience is often very easy to find and it is one that we just naturally choose.  Our hearts are drawn to the pleasures of sin and the promises of fame and fortune that come from this path.  It seems like everyone is choosing it and we often feel that there is safety in numbers.  We must be very aware of the consequences of following this path for they are rarely readily apparent.  However, these consequences are very real.  God would have us trust and obey Him so that He can reward us in ways that bring us true joy; but if we choose to rebel against Him and His Word He is very capable of bringing us to the point of misery.

THE PLEASURE OF PURITY: God promises the nation of Israel that if they will obey the law of the Lord, listen to His commands and keep themselves pure from the idols and immoralities of the people who came before them; that He will bless them in amazing ways.  They will experience true pleasure like they have never even been able to imagine.  They will have prosperity with an abundance of food, comfortable homes in which to live and ability to rest in the Lord.  Obedience will bring them peace in the land in that they will be more powerful than their enemies.  They will have God’s protection and any who would unite against Israel would flee in fear and confusion.  The will have posterity in that the nations of the world will admire them and all of their blessings they will be remembered and respected as a nation that is greatly blessed.  God promises health and wealth along with peace and prosperity as the blessed pleasures of purity.  The world tries to tell us that the pure path is one that prevents pleasure; this is a lie from Satan.  True and lasting pleasure is only found on the path to purity.  God’s restrictions are for our protection and are meant as a means of preserving us from the dreadful consequences of sin.  Without a doubt; sin promises many pleasures to us, the problem is that these pleasures are always very short lived and then they lead us to unbearable pain.

THE PAINFULNESS OF PERVERSION: God promises the nation of Israel that if they refuse to obey the Law and ignore His commands and choose to follow the path of perversion like the nations around them; that He will punish them in astounding and awful ways.  Their lives will be more painful than they could ever imagine.  The curses of this chapter ought to be enough to dissuade anyone from choosing the path of sin.  The Lord promises that their rebellion will bring them into abject poverty where they will be removed from the homes that they have built and the food they have planted will be eaten by others.  They will live in excruciating pain because of the sores and boils that will plague their flesh.  They will be powerless against their enemies that will come in and ravish their land, their families, homes and strip them of all that they possess including their freedom.  The people will become a proverb in that they will be a laughing stock for all the other nations.  The pain and hunger will be so great that parents will be brought to the point of eating their own children and refusing to share with even their own wife.  The painfulness of perversion is described in such graphic terms in this chapter that is sends shivers down my spine.  However, as horrendous as all of these consequences are, they are light in comparison to the eternal torment that all who turn from Christ will experience.  The consequences of sin and rebellion are grave both in this life and for eternity.  Our only hope is to trust Christ that we can be spared from the painfulness of perversion and experience the eternal pleasure of a purity that can only come through Him.