I appreciated my Life Application Bible's remarks on the curses and blessings....
Sometimes looking at a list of curses like this gives us the idea that God has a bad temper and is out to crush anyone who steps out of line. We need to see these restrictions not as threats, but rather as loving warnings about the plain facts of life. Just as we warn children to stay away from hot stoves and busy streets, God warns us to stay away from dangerous actions. The natural law of his universe makes it clear that wrongdoing toward others or God has tragic consequences. God is merciful enough to tell us this truth plainly. Motivated by love and not anger, his strong words help us avoid the serious consequences that result from neglecting God or wronging others. But God does not leave us with only curses (negative consequences). Immediately following these curses, we discover the great blessings (positive consequences) that come from living for God. These give us extra incentive to obey God's laws. While all these blessings may not come in our lifetime on earth, those who obey God will experience the fullness of his blessing when he establishes the new heaven and the new earth.
Another commentary I read made it clear that God's plan was to reveal Himself to the world through Israel....
He would do this either by making them so blessed that the world would know only God could have blessed them so; or by making them so cursed that only God could have cursed them and cause them to still survive. The choice was up to Israel.
We, too, have a choice. We need to see the seriousness of sin, and be determined to eradicate it from our lives immediately, before it takes root (29:18).
I also noticed this verse....
29:5 For forty years I led you through the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out.
That was a provisional miracle all right! Maybe not as dramatic as the parting of the Red Sea, but a miracle nonetheless.
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Deuteronomy 30-31
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