34: The Covenantal blessings and curses (Deut 28:1 – 24)

“If you indeed obey the Lord your God.” This is the condition of the Lord’s blessings.

πŸ‘‰ Read Deuteronomy 28:1 - 24

Find four verses that say, ‘if you obey his commandments.”

 

Find the verses for the following blessings.

- You will be blessed wherever you are (       )

- Everything of yours will be blessed (       )

- You will be blessed every moment (      )

- Your enemy will be cursed (       )

- God will bless you whatever you do (        )

- You will be respected (      )

- You will have many children and wealth (        )

- You will become a leader (        )


“If you (         ) the Lord your God and are not (           ) to keep (      ) his commandments and statues I am giving you today, then (       ) these curses will come upon you in full force.”


When you ignore the Lord's commands, the curses opposite to the blessings of obedience will come. Find the verses of blessings opposite to the following curses.

Curses

blessings

Cursed when you come in and go out (verse 19)

Verse (            )

The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust (verse 24)

Verse (           )

 

Answers

Verses 1, 2, 9, 13

 

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 13

 

Ignore, careful, all, all

If you have failed to keep His commandments, you were not careful to keep them. If you were not careful about the commandments, you ignored the Lord.

 

Verse 6

Verse 12

Just repent and return to the Lord. It is the quickest way to recover from your trouble. 


The passage of verses 1 - 14 can be separated into two parts. 

Verses 1 - 8: "All these blessings will come to you in abundance if..." It simply tells how much you will be blessed when you obey the Lord. The author lists a long list of blessings. 

Verses 9 - 14: "The Lord will designate you as his holy people if...." It explains the purpose of the blessing. Do not think you earn blessings through obedience. If a blessing is your purpose, you will not obey when rich. The purpose of God's blessing is to reveal who God is through you. Note that our obedience is to confirm your covenantal relationship with the Lord.

These are twofold blessings. First, we experience God's blessing and help in our troubles. However, as our faith and knowledge of God grow, we will consider 'being God's chosen people and servants' a greater blessing.

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