Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 27-28.

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When I read this passage I was struck by the curses which Moses warned the children of Israel they would suffer if they did not obey the voice of God.  Now part of that was because the curses came after the blessings, so that the words of the curses stuck with me as I finished reading.  Moses told them that God would send curses, confusion, and frustration on them in everything that they attempt to do if they forsake Him and do not obey His voice.  I realized that of course those who do not listen to God’s voice will be confused and frustrated.  They will be confused and frustrated because they are denying reality.  God’s voice gives us instructions which will lead us to act in ways which lead to what is best for us.  When we act as if God’s commands do not describe the correct way to interact with reality, we become confused and frustrated because we do not obtain the results we desire.

This is where I struggle with articulating my understanding of Scripture.  I believe that the blessings which are described in this passage result directly from doing as God commands and the curses described result directly from going against His commands.  Neither requires God to act for the results, blessing or curse.  However, I also believe that God does act.  That those who do as God commands experience blessings which God adds on above and beyond what “just happens” when they take the actions He directs.  And those who disobey His commands may experience curses above and beyond what “just happens” when you take actions contrary to God’s commands.  In both cases, God does this to encourage us to do His will.  He punishes us for turning away from Him so that perhaps we will turn back to Him before we become unable to do so, so that we might turn away from our self-destructive behaviors before we destroy ourselves.  On the plus side, He rewards us above and beyond the “natural” results of doing as He commands so as to make us see how doing His will has positive results.

He does both of these just as a good parent gives rewards and punishments to their children for obeying rules which are in the best interest of their child.  A parent will punish a child for running into the middle of the street without looking before the child gets hit by a car in order to teach the child not to do that without the suffering which comes from getting hit by a car.  A parent will reward a child for studying and acquiring knowledge before the child benefits from what that knowledge will give them so that they learn that acquiring knowledge has benefits.  Both of these examples illustrate how what God does with blessings and curses works.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.