Deuteronomy 11:18,26-28, 32

Beyond Blessing and Curse

What does God promise you? How have those promises impacted your life?

Moses told the people:

18 Therefore you shall lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul; and you shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for symbols between your eyes.

26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you shall listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, which I command you this day; 28 and the curse, if you shall not listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which you have not known.

32 You shall observe to do all the statutes and the ordinances which I set before you this day.

World English Bible

These verses represent a summary of Deuteronomy 10-11. YHWH demanded a response to the Law he gave his people. Upholding and cherishing the Law brought blessing; ignoring the Law brought a curse. The blessing brought security and a healthy harvest, while the curse brought no rain for crops and occupation by foreign peoples. Even in the text above, notice the critical choice was one of loyalty. Keeping the Law eschewed other gods, while the Lawless were, by definition, idolaters. So, the faithful placed God first in their lives. In this context, the Law defined and decided the place of the Israelite before the Lord.

Obviously, we Christians do not follow the Law; as St. Paul stated, we are free from the Law. However, we still must take the spirit of the Law seriously. Like those in the Exodus, we, too, must put God first in our lives. Any other choice is idolatry.

How can you put God first in your life right now?