Recap

So far in Deuteronomy, we’ve read through the beginning of Moses’ sermons to the new generation of Israelites. We noted how the perspective shifts, so now it seems like the narrator is looking back at this time in Israel’s history from their future and from the other side of the river.

We read as Moses recapped how the Israelites got here from Egypt, reminding the people where they've come from and what God has done.

He then moved on to his sermons, challenging the Israelites to avoid idolatry and to follow the Lord's command. He reminded the people that they are a chosen people. Not because of their might or righteousness, but because of his faithfulness and goodness. They were to be obedient if they wanted to experience his blessings.

And so Moses moved on to recap and restating the laws, starting with Israel’s worship. They were to avoid idolatry, dealing harshly with those who suggested otherwise. They were to continue in ritual purity, and in practices like the tithe. Justice was to be a key part of their worship. They were to look after the poor and to judge rightly.

This led us to the instructions guiding Israel's leaders; judges, priests, kings, and prophets. We looked at some of the criteria and guidelines for these leaders.

We then started the final section of Deuteronomy's laws, looking at its civil laws. We read through rules on the cities of refuge and laws concerning warfare. This was followed by a broad collection of different rules, from handling unsolved murders, rules to protect women, dealing with lost animals and disobedient sons, and more ending with with ritual instructions for the tithe.

Then yesterday we moved in to the final section of Deuteronomy, Moses' final sermon to the people. Moses reminded the people that obedience leads to blessings but disobedience leads to curses.

Deuteronomy 28-29

Continuing on from yesterday, Moses unpacks for the people what the blessings and curses looked like.

Deuteronomy 28 is the second time we have had a whole chapter dedicated to the blessings of obedience and curses of disobedience. The first time was Leviticus 26.

Moses starts with six blessings, and then unpacks them in greater detail.

If they are obedience, God promises to the Israelites that they will have good harvests and plenty of foods, they will be fertile and have lots of children, they with be wealthy, they're economy will be strong and growing, and they will have military success.

The only requirements of these blessings is that they do not turn away from God’s teachings or towards other gods.

Turning then to the curses again, Moses starts with six curses and then unpacks them in greater detail. The curses are the exact opposite of each of the blessings.

He promises them droughts and diseases, poor harvest, a collapsed economy and dependency on others, defeat at war, they will be conquered, they will be oppressed, and eventually they will be led into exile.

These are basically conditional prophecies. If you do this, then this will happen. If not, then this will happen.

Unfortunately, we know from reading ahead that Israel ultimately chooses disobedience and all the curses of disobedience come true for them.

Just reading this passage, you could probably guess this based on the length of the blessings and curses. The curses end up being three times as long as the blessings and have very specific details.

You could also probably guess the Israelites would end up disobeying, based on the story so far. Every time it feels like they’re going to turn a corner and things are on the up, they mess things up again.

After this, Moses encourages the people to recommit themselves to their covenant relationship with God. He reminds them of where they've come from and how good God has been to them.

He reminds them of what they have been called to. He points out to them that they aren't just making this decision for themselves, but for their descendants as well.

And then he reminds them what will happen if they do commit to this relationship and then turn their backs on it. He explains to them that all of this will serve as evidence to other nations.

Even when Israel falls, it’s not because their God was weak. It was because they were faithless.

These two chapters are very heavy on all the things that will go wrong if the Israelites turn their back on God again. But the reason for this is that they need to understand how important a decision this is.

They have already committed themselves to a covenant relationship with God once and turned their backs on it. They really need to know that this time they mean it if they're going to commit themselves again. Otherwise it's going to go hopelessly wrong.

Psalm 62

This psalm is attributed to king David. At first glance, it may look like a lament psalm, as the psalmist brings a complaint against the wicked.

But one of the primary focuses of a lament psalm is that it starts with turning to God and bringing him the complaint. In this psalm, the psalmist only turns to God at the end.

Instead, we should read this psalm as a trust or wisdom psalm. While the psalmist reflects on the wickedness of the world, they ultimately are confident that God will have his way.

A) Psalm 62:1-2 - Declaration of trust

B) Psalm 62:3-4 - Complaint against the wicked

A) Psalm 62:5-8 - Declaration of trust

B) Psalm 62:9-10 - Complaint against the wicked

A) Psalm 62:11-12 - Declaration of Trust

The psalmist starts with trust. They will wait patiently on God, because in him is salvation and security.

They then turn to the wickedness around them. The wicked continue to attack and beat others because of their position. They lie and deceive.

And then the psalmist swings back to focusing on God. Again, they will wait patiently on God, because in him is salvation and security.

The psalmist turns to other encourages them to trust in God as well.

Then back to the complaint. Humanity is weak. Doesn’t matter if you are important or not. The reality is compared to all creation, they are no more than a breath.

And there’s no point putting trust in wealth as though that matters at all.

Instead, all power and strength comes from God. God strengthens and blesses people because he is a loving and faithful God.

He will strengthen and bless people based on their obedience and good works towards him.