Western civilization in the 21st century is known for large national debts, abortion, and the casting aside of elderly people when they are no longer productive. The passage we will read today does not issue commands against any of these things, but it does reveal Yahweh’s attitude towards these practices. He does not refer to them positively.
When we stopped reading yesterday, Moses was warning Israel what would happen to them if they failed to listen to Yahweh and obey His commandments. They would be afflicted with sickness, heat, and drought. Their enemies would triumph over them. Other men would violate their wives and slaughter their cattle.
Deut. 28:33 A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed all your days.
Ponder the words “A people whom you do not know”. When Israel settled in the Promised Land, there would have been countries beside them which they would have known. There also would have been countries far away which Israel would not even have known about. This verse warned Israel that, if they did not obey Yahweh, then a people from far away, whom they perhaps did not even know existed, would come and eat their produce.
Deut. 28:34 And you shall be driven mad by the sight of what your eyes see.
Deut. 28:35 Yahweh will strike you on the knees and legs with sore boils, from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
Deut. 28:36 Yahweh will lead you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone.
Here we see a reference to a nation which they and their fathers did not know. That would be a nation far away from the land of Canaan. If Israel did not obey Yahweh, they would be taken to a distant land.
The books of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles tell us about the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests. Between 800 BC and 500 BC, Israel was conquered and taken hundreds of miles away from the Promised Land because they did not obey Yahweh.
Deut. 28:37 You shall become an object of horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the people where Yahweh drives you.
Deut. 28:38 ¶ “You shall bring out much seed to the field, but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it.
When a farmer plants grain, each kernel of grain becomes a stalk, and each stalk grows a head of grain. Each head has dozens of kernels. Thus, one kernel multiplies into dozens of kernels. However, if locusts come and eat the stalks and kernels, then there is nothing left for the farmer to harvest, and the seed he planted does not multiply.
Deut. 28:39 You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them.
Deut. 28:40 You shall have olive trees throughout your territory, but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off.
Deut. 28:41 You shall become the father of sons and daughters, but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity.
Deut. 28:42 The cricket shall possess all your trees and the produce of your ground.
Deut. 28:43 The sojourner who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower.
A sojourner is a traveler or foreigner. Israel sojourned in Egypt for 400 years (see Genesis 15:13). Abraham considered himself a sojourner in Hebron (see Genesis 23:4). Moses called himself a sojourner in Midian, even after his wife bore him a son (see Exodus 2:22).
Verse 43 warned Israel that if they failed to obey Yahweh, then non-Israelites would rise up and rule over them.
Deut. 28:44 He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you will be the tail.
Take note of the word “lend”. Lending money was considered good. Needing to borrow money was considered bad. Being able to lend money is an indicator of having wealth while needing to borrow money is an indicator of lack of wealth.
The United States is considered to be a very wealthy nation. Nevertheless, the United States federal government is heavily in debt. That is somewhat of a contradiction.
Deut. 28:45 ¶ “So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.
Deut. 28:46 And they shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your seed forever.
Deut. 28:47 ¶ “Because you did not serve Yahweh your God with gladness and a merry heart—because of the abundance of all things,
Notice the word “gladness”. Yahweh did not want Israel to serve Him reluctantly or begrudgingly. Instead, He wanted Israel to be glad to serve Him.
Deut. 28:48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom Yahweh will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
Take note of the phrase “you shall serve your enemies”. Israel had a choice. They could serve Yahweh and rule over their enemies, or they could disobey Yahweh and serve their enemies. In other words, they would serve someone. They would either serve Yahweh or they would serve their enemies.
Deut. 28:49 ¶ “Yahweh will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose tongue you shall not understand,
Don’t miss the words “afar, from the end of the earth”. This repeats the warning we saw earlier in this passage. If Israel did not obey, they would be conquered by a distant nation.
Look also at the word “tongue”. Israel would not understand the language of this distant nation.
Deut. 28:50 a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young.
The word “old” refers to elderly people. This far-away nation would not respect the elderly. That would be a bad thing.
The word “young” refers to infants and children. This far-away nation would not spare children. That would also be a bad thing.
Many nations today do not respect the elderly. There is pressure to euthanize those who are too old to be productive. Some governments deny medical care to those who are no longer able to work and make a positive economic contribution to society.
Likewise, abortion is very common. Infants do not receive favor. They are considered expendable.
Deut. 28:51 Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also will not allow grain, new wine, or oil, and the increase of your herd or the young of your flock to remain for you until they have caused you to perish.
Deut. 28:52 And it shall besiege you in all your gates until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it shall besiege you in all your gates throughout your land which Yahweh your God has given you.
Take note of the word “besiege”. This distant nation would besiege the cities of Israel and conquer them. Assyria and Babylon did that between 800 BC and 500 BC.
Western civilization in the 21st century is known for large national debts, abortion, and the casting aside of elderly people when they are no longer productive. Yahweh warned Israel that if they did not obey Him, they would be conquered by a nation that had the same mentality. This reveals God’s values. He values the young and the old. He thinks it is better to lend than to borrow. If we want to think how God thinks and to value what God values, we need to protect the young and the old, and strive to lend, not borrow.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”