Deuteronomy 28:1-15
The Blessings of Obedience
281 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to take heed to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that Jehovah thy God will set thee supreme 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 Jehovah 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 womb, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the offspring of thy kine, and the increase of thy sheep. 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough. 6 Blessed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and blessed shalt thou be in thy going out. 7 Jehovah will give up, smitten before thee, thine enemies that rise up against thee; they shall come out against thee one way, and by seven ways shall they flee before thee. 8 Jehovah will command blessing on thee in thy granaries, and in all the business of thy hand; and he will bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. 9 Jehovah will establish thee unto himself a holy people as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, and walk in his ways. 10 And all peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of Jehovah, and they shall be afraid of thee. 11 And Jehovah will give thee abundance of good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land that Jehovah swore unto thy fathers to give thee. 12 Jehovah will open to thee his good treasure, the heavens, to give rain unto thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow. 13 And Jehovah will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah thy God, which I command thee this day, to keep and to do them, 14 and if thou turn not aside from any of the words that I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
The Consequences of Disobedience
15 But it shall come to pass if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to take heed to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 28:1-15
Commentary on Deuteronomy 28:1-14
(Read Deuteronomy 28:1-14)
This chapter is a very large exposition of two words, the blessing and the curse. They are real things and have real effects. The blessings are here put before the curses. God is slow to anger, but swift to show mercy. It is his delight to bless. It is better that we should be drawn to what is good by a child-like hope of God's favour, than that we be frightened to it by a slavish fear of his wrath. The blessing is promised, upon condition that they diligently hearken to the voice of God. Let them keep up religion, the form and power of it, in their families and nation, then the providence of God would prosper all their outward concerns.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 28:15-44
(Read Deuteronomy 28:15-44)
If we do not keep God's commandments, we not only come short of the blessing promised, but we lay ourselves under the curse, which includes all misery, as the blessing all happiness. Observe the justice of this curse. It is not a curse causeless, or for some light cause. The extent and power of this curse. Wherever the sinner goes, the curse of God follows; wherever he is, it rests upon him. Whatever he has is under a curse. All his enjoyments are made bitter; he cannot take any true comfort in them, for the wrath of God mixes itself with them. Many judgments are here stated, which would be the fruits of the curse, and with which God would punish the people of the Jews, for their apostacy and disobedience. We may observe the fulfilling of these threatenings in their present state. To complete their misery, it is threatened that by these troubles they should be bereaved of all comfort and hope, and left to utter despair. Those who walk by sight, and not by faith, are in danger of losing reason itself, when every thing about them looks frightful.