Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Deuteronomy 28:1-14

[1] And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken  unto the voice  of the LORD  thy God,  to observe  and to do  all his commandments  which I command  thee this day,  that the LORD  thy God  will set  thee on high  above all nations  of the earth:  [2] And all these blessings  shall come  on thee, and overtake  thee, if thou shalt hearken  unto the voice  of the LORD  thy God.  [3] Blessed  shalt thou be in the city,  and blessed  shalt thou be in the field.  [4] Blessed  shall be the fruit  of thy body,  and the fruit  of thy ground,  and the fruit  of thy cattle,  the increase  of thy kine,  and the flocks  of thy sheep.  [5] Blessed  shall be thy basket  and thy store.  [6] Blessed  shalt thou be when thou comest in,  and blessed  shalt thou be when thou goest out.  [7] The LORD  shall cause  thine enemies  that rise up  against thee to be smitten  before thy face:  they shall come out  against thee one  way,  and flee  before  thee seven  ways.  [8] The LORD  shall command  the blessing  upon thee in thy storehouses,  and in all that thou settest  thine hand  unto; and he shall bless  thee in the land  which the LORD  thy God  giveth  thee. [9] The LORD  shall establish  thee an holy  people  unto himself, as he hath sworn  unto thee, if thou shalt keep  the commandments  of the LORD  thy God,  and walk  in his ways.  [10] And all people  of the earth  shall see  that thou art called  by the name  of the LORD;  and they shall be afraid  [11] And the LORD  shall make thee plenteous  in goods,  in the fruit  of thy body,  and in the fruit  of thy cattle,  and in the fruit  of thy ground,  which the LORD  sware  unto thy fathers  to give  thee. [12] The LORD  shall open  unto thee his good  treasure,  the heaven  to give  the rain  unto thy land  in his season,  and to bless  all the work  of thine hand:  and thou shalt lend  unto many  nations,  and thou shalt not borrow.  [13] And the LORD  shall make  thee the head,  and not the tail;  and thou shalt be above only,  and thou shalt not be beneath;  if that thou hearken  unto the commandments  of the LORD  thy God,  which I command  thee this day,  to observe  and to do  [14] And thou shalt not go aside  from any of the words  which I command  thee this day,  to the right hand,  or to the left,  after  other  gods  to serve  them.

What does Deuteronomy 28:1-14 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

"For the purpose of impressing upon the hearts of all the people in the most emphatic manner both the blessing which Israel was to proclaim upon Gerizim, and the curse which it was to proclaim upon Ebal, Moses now unfolds the blessing of fidelity to the law and the curse of transgression in a longer address, in which he once more resumes, sums up, and expands still further the promises and threats of the law in Ex. xxiii20-23 , and Lev. xxvi." [1]
Moses began positively by holding out blessings as inducements to obedience (cf. Genesis 1:28-30). He stated the greatest blessing, and the one that comprehends all those that follow, first: Israel could become the most exalted of all nations on the earth. The condition for this blessing was obedience to the Word of Yahweh. So important was this condition that Moses stated it three times in this section-at the beginning ( Deuteronomy 28:1), middle ( Deuteronomy 28:9), and end ( Deuteronomy 28:13-14; cf. Deuteronomy 28:15; Deuteronomy 28:45; Deuteronomy 28:58; Deuteronomy 28:62)-in both positive and negative terms. Specifically, he enumerated six benefits using four merisms in each of which representative extremes describe the whole. God would give His people blessing everywhere, economically, with safety, and in all their activities ( Deuteronomy 28:3-6). Then, in the typical hortatory (exhorting) fashion characteristic of Moses in Deuteronomy , he elaborated on these blessings ( Deuteronomy 28:7-14).
"The Canaanites believed that Baal had a house in the heavens with an opening in the roof from which the rains were sent. Whether this constitutes the background for the figure underlying the storehouse in the heavens here [2], Moses did insist that it was the Lord who would either bless Israel with abundant rain or withhold rain because of her disobedience." [3]
"It was only in feeble commencement that this blessing was fulfilled upon Israel under the Old Testament; and it is not till the restoration of Israel, which is to take place in the future according to Rom. xi25 sqq, that its complete fulfillment will be attained." [4]