Last week The IN SEASON Lifestyle’s COME AS A CHILD BIBLE STUDY; covered the curses of disobedience found in Deuteronomy Chapter 28. Today we will begin to explore the prophetic meaning of these curses and how they play into the events leading up to end-times.
Looking at the first curse for disobedience:
YOU WILL BE CURSED IN THE CITY AND CURSED IN THE COUNTRY
Being in the city or in the country usually implies ownership of the land. The cities would indicate places to sell goods, or services and the country would indicate places to raise crops, farm the land and herd cattle and sheep.
Either place would provide the freedom needed to provide a living for yourself and your family, and a way to fellowship in community.
The land of Israel became the inheritance of God’s people because of God’s Covenant with Abraham. Each family had inherited and owned a portion of the land. They loved their cities and their country-sides. God abundantly blessed them in those places. They were prosperous and they grew and flourished there.
WHEN NATIONS FORGET THEIR SOURCE
For awhile Israel remembered God and His Covenant with Abraham; then they became content and apathetic and they forgot the TRUE source of their blessings.
Forgetting and forsaking the lessons they learned in slavery in Egypt; they soon turned in sin to other gods.
When the land that God promised Abraham’s descendants became temporarily lost because of curses from their disobedience; the people lost their cities to foreigners.
Farmers and shepherds tending to herds and the land in the country also lost their land and livelihoods to foreign nations.
They were hauled off to live in strange lands.
HOW CAN WE SING THE LORD’S SONG IN A STRANGE LAND?
We saw this happen with ancient Israel during two times of captivity; first when the people were dispersed to Assyria, then again, when they were dispersed to Babylon.
These were terrifying times in the history of God’s chosen nation.
A people who once belonged to God and who had all been Israelites began to lose their national identity.
Ironically; they lost their identity because they forgot to celebrate their identity.
If they had remembered that they were God’s chosen people and the model to all other nations of God’s ways; they would not have lived in disobedience.
But they forgot.
They chose the ways of strange nations over the ways of their own nation; and that was the beginning of their downfall.
THE CORRUPTION OF OTHER NATION’S IDOLS
They worshipped other nation’s idols and lost their way.
God doesn’t break his covenants though; so He provided a solution that would not affect the promises to the descendants of Abraham. He allowed portions of Israel to be dispersed; which only removed them temporarily from their heritage.
This temporary time was enough to help them to wake up and remember who they really were.
THE TIME OF AWAKENING WAS TOO LATE
There are some old song lyrics taken from scriptures found in Psalm 137 (most people think written by The Prophet Jeremiah) which describe this event:
The song lyrics are very haunting;
“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yeah, we wept when we remembered Zion. There the wicked carried us away in captivity and required from us a song. Now how shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”
There is an old saying; “You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”
Israel mourned being removed from their homeland for 70 years. Many died before they could return again. They lost their heritage; they lost all the abundant life that God had so generously given to them, and for what?
Stupid wooden and metal idols. Strange ways of foreigners, ways that opposed the good life that God had granted to them.
Why?
Many attribute this to the very human trait of apathy and complacency. No one is ever satisfied with their blessings; they always have to be looking over the fence, wondering if what their neighbor has is better than what God has granted to them.
Curiosity killed the cat.
The people KNEW what God wanted of them and they simply chose not to obey; now they had to suffer the consequences (and the curses) that come with disobedience.
WHO IS BETTER?
It is very easy to point our finger and shake our head at ancient Israel’s past.
However; will we soon be like those disobedient ancient Israelites?
Will we be singing our Lord’s songs in a strange land?
I have to wonder.
Can it be possible that yet another country could be cursed for disobedience to God because of complacency, apathy, idolatry and a multitude of other sins?
What other country do we know of that was originally founded on godly principals (despite what cancel culture wants to believe?)
Are we too not in danger of losing our cities and our farms?
WHO WILL RETURN TO THE WAYS OF GOD AGAIN?
Those curses of disobedience were just as unnecessary for ancient Israel as they are for us today.
Like them; we only bring punishment upon ourselves.
How long can God show such mercy?
All anyone had to do was to turn from pagan ways and return to the ways of God.
Why would anyone reject such abundant blessings and trade them off for the cruel life of a foreign nation who knows no God?
That is a good question for our current world leaders to answer. It is a good thought for all God-fearing citizens to take to heart.
Who wants to turn first?
It took Israel 70 years of captiviy.
How long will it take for America?