“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today,” Deuteronomy 28:1a
In Today’s Reading, we have the Blessings and Curses “Address”. Moses directs the People of God to take “large stones, coat them with lime, and write on them all the words of this Law”. They were then to carry them across the Jordan and set them up “on Mount Ebal” where the people would gather to “sacrifice peace offerings and eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God”. All the Tribes would then divide into 2 groups, half on Mount Ebal and the other half on Mount Gerizim, and recite the prescribed Blessings and Curses. This is the context in which we find Today’s Verse.
Moses then begins his Address with Verse 1 and continues throughout the entire Chapter. And let me forewarn you, Deuteronomy 28 is a Long Chapter! In it, Moses lists the Blessings of the People of God and they are Absolutely Amazing. It is to know God’s Favor here on earth in the fullest way possible! He also lists the Curses. They are Overwhelming and Catastrophic. It is hard to imagine ever experiencing them. Both of these are associated with Obedience or Disobedience. Not Faith, not Feeling, not Belief, or Conviction. They are based solely on Performance. That is not to say that Faith and Conviction are not involved, they are! But it is the Fruit of this Faith, The Obedience, or lack thereof, that the People of God are being judged.
In essence, for confessing Christians today, this is a Portrait of Heaven and Hell, and of Judgement Day. As you read through the New Testament with this in mind, you are struck by “an absence” of Faith, Belief, or Confession. All you see is Works and whether or not we Obey or Disobey. Again, not that we “earn” one or the other by “how” we live; We Don’t. But we do reveal what is truly in our hearts by “how” we live. The Lesson is a Simple One! Are you a Christian? Then you “Will” Obey God, because you have had a Radical change of Heart! If you are not, then you won’t. Your Heart has not been changed, and you “Will Not” Obey God. Simple, yet Profound! May God use this to open our eyes to His Truth!