YOUTH STS LESSON 147 BLESSINGS AND CURSES

TEXT: Deuteronomy 27:1-26; 28:1-68; 29:1-29; 30:1-20.

 

MEMORY VERSE: “And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God” (Deuteronomy 28:2).

 

The land of Canaan which God promised the children of Israel was “a land that floweth with milk and honey” (Leviticus 20:24). God had promised them this land in fulfilment of His promise to Abraham. Curses ought not to be mentioned there. Yet, God gave warning concerning disobedience to His word. Enjoying divine promises is always conditional. Therefore, the principles of obedience and disobedience come to play. For these reasons, God commanded Moses to set up great stones where His words could be written plainly (Deuteronomy 27:2,3). He was also commanded by the Lord to make a covenant with them. This covenant was different from the one at Horeb. All the children of Israel were parties to this covenant. The covenant was backed up by divine power.

 

Question 1: What is a covenant?

 

A covenant is a mutual agreement between two or more persons to do (or refrain from doing) certain acts. Examples include the covenant between God and man – which brings life and favour on the condition of obedience (Genesis 2:16,17); the covenant between God and Noah that there should not be another flood to destroy the earth (Genesis 9:12-15); the covenant between God, Abraham and his descendants, that the whole earth shall be blessed through them (Genesis 15:18; Galatians 3:14); the covenant between God and the children of Israel at Sinai – to make them a peculiar people (Exodus 19:5,6); the Messianic covenant that eternal life promised by God will come through Jesus Christ, the Messiah (Hebrews 7:22; 8:6-13). Today, God still makes covenants with His people. “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice” (Psalm 50:5). In the New covenant, boys and girls enter into relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

 

GOD’S PRECEPTS AND PUNISHMENT FOR THE DISOBEDIENT (Deuteronomy 27:1-26; 28:15-68; 1 Chronicles 28:9; Isaiah 1:19; 1 Samuel 15:22; Luke 13:1-5)

 

“And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day” (Deuteronomy 27:1). It is quite interesting that the charge to obey God’s commandments came directly from Moses and the elders at this time. These are men who had walked with the Lord over the years. They had seen His marvellous blessings on Israel when they obeyed Him. They saw Him conquer Egypt, the five Amorites kings, brought forth water out of the rock and made bitter water sweet. On the other hand, they saw the wrath of God on the disobedient: Korah, Dathan, Abiram and the other 250 people that took side with them who perished untimely. They saw God’s destruction on Israel for unbelief and murmuring. These experiences made Moses and the elders called the younger generation of Israel and gave them a charge to obey

God.

 

Question 2: What should be the attitudes of Christian youths to the scriptural charges coming from church leadership, today?

 

We are in the days in which some youths no longer submit themselves to church leadership. They feel that the teaching of the Scriptures exposed to them by these leaders are hard and difficult to obey. Many youths want to have a world of their own while disregarding divine instructions. For the youths to enjoy abundant life, success, peace and progress, they must walk in the way of obedience to the Lord and the leadership in the church.

 

Question 3: Why did Moses counsel Israel to engrave the laws of God on tones?

 

Moses and the elders in Israel were to set great stones, plaster them and write the words of the law on them. This is called monument. It was to remind Israel of the law as they read them from the conspicuous places. This was relevant in no technological the early days, because there were innovations like the printing press. Today, we have the printed and electronic copies of the Bible and every youth is expected to have a copy, read and meditate on it daily. This will enable him to remember God’s words and thereby cleanse his ways (Psalm 119:9). We also have Christian literatures in our church such as: The Youth Search the Scriptures, Youth Life Magazine, Higher Everyday, Daily Manna, Youth Home Success Fellowship Outline, Life Magazine, and School Fellowship Booklet. Every youth should take advantage of them for their spiritual development and growth. The act of disobedience against His word will bring curses.

 

Question 4: What is a curse and which wrong acts bring it upon the trespasser?

 

A curse is an utterance or pronouncement that brings evil, misfortune upon an individual for disobedience or wrong doing. Such curse leads to plague, sickness, affliction, etc. The first of the acts that bring a curse is, making a graven image. It is an abomination (verse 15). The second is making light of one’s father or mother – dishonour or disrespect to parents (verse 16). The third is the removal of the neighbour’s landmark-boundary (verse 17). The fourth, making the blind to wander out of the way – to lead the blind astray on the road (verse 18). The fifth is the perversion of judgment of the stranger, the fatherless and the widow – injustice (verse 19). The sixth is having immoral acts with one’s father’s wife (verse 20). The seventh is committing immorality with animals (verse 21). “he eighth is lying with one’s sister, the daughter of one’s’ parents (incest). The ninth is smiting ones’ neighbour secretly – murder (verse 24). The tenth is taking reward to slay an innocent person – assassination (verse 25). The eleventh is not conforming to do all the words of the law of God-disobeying the words of God (verse 26).

 

PROMISED BLESSINGS FOR THE OBEDIENT (Deuteronomy 28:1-14; 5:29; Exodus 19:5; 23:25; Psalm 81:13-16; Matthew 6:33)

 

“And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God” (verses 1, 2).

 

Question 5: What is the condition for enjoying God’s promised blessing?

 

“And it shall come to pass” is a clause that portrays the certainty of the blessings that God wants to give. But then, there is the condition for the certainty: “if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD…” The word “hearken” is an old English word which means more than just hearing or merely listening. It means to listen and pay attention. The word itself demands a lot of responsibility but much more when it says “hearken diligently”. There is one major way you can show that you diligently hearken to God’s word: when you obey all that is being preached or read. It is then that the blessings will come; that will make you different in the world (Exodus 19:5).

 

Question 6: What are the promised blessings for the obedient?

 

God’s promised blessings for the children of Israel were categorised. God promised them that they would be blessed on the field and in the city (verse 3). He promised to bless the fruit of their body, the fruit of their ground, the fruit of their cattle and the fruit of their sheep (verse 4). God also promised to bless their storage facilities-baskets and storehouses (verse 5). As they came in and went out, He promised to bless them (verse 6). God promised to bless their military power, that their enemies that rose up against them should be smitten before them (verse 7); command His blessing on whatever they laid their hands on to do (verse 8); establish them a holy people (verse 9). He also promised them increase in goods and in the fruits of their labour (verse 11), to open the treasures of heaven to them so that they would lend to many and not borrow (verse 12). Finally, is the blessing of pre- eminence, to make them the head and not the tail (verse 13).

 

GOD’S PROMISED COVENANT WITH ISRAEL (Deuteronomy 29:1-29; 30:1-20; 5:1-5; Exodus 19:3-8; Deuteronomy 8:3,4; 4:5-10; Hebrews 8:6-13)

 

“These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb” (verse 1). In some covenants, one person is superior to the other. The superior has power and ability to fulfil all the promises in the covenant if the other obeys the terms and conditions of the covenant. In our text, God is the Superior One. He commanded Moses to make covenant between Him and the children of Israel in the land of Moab. This is beside the one made at Horeb. “And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land” (verse 2). From our text, there are several proofs that this covenant was supported by divine power. One, the signs, wonders and miracles in Egypt (verses 2,3). Two, the clothes and shoes of the children of Israel did not wax old for forty years in the wilderness (verse 5). This was a miracle of preservation. Three, for forty years, they ate no bread but manna (angels food) (verse 6). Four, God conquered and granted them victory over powerful enemies (verses 7,8). All these blessings were possible as a result of God’s faithfulness to His covenant. “Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:” (verses 10,11). From the verses above, Moses called on all Israel to enter into this covenant. This means, God expects everyone including youths to enter into a covenant through Jesus Christ, the Mediator of the New covenant (Hebrews 12:24).

 

Question 7: How can a sinner enter into a covenant with God?

 

For a sinner to enter into a covenant with God, he must repent from his sins, accept Jesus by faith, and confess all his sins to God for forgiveness. After this great decision, he must continue in the word of God by reading and obeying its instructions. He also needs the fellowship of other children of God. As a prophet, Moses warned the children of Israel against backsliding. Backsliding is turning away from the Lord. It is being filled with self instead of the grace of God. “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself” (Proverbs 14:14). It is leaving the way and the word of the Lord to walk in the way and will of the world. “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (verse 29). All that the Lord revealed in His words are for our benefits. As part of His covenant with Israel, He promised to circumcise their hearts. “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). “For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.” (Deuteronomy 30:11). Moses, here, explained to Israel the proximity of God’s word to them. He explained that God had given the law expressly and made it plain for all to read and understand. Moses had a passion for excellence and righteous living. Today, the Bible is written in clear language and God has also provided several teachers to explain the word to all. No one should, therefore, fail to abide in God’s word. As Moses concludes his closing advice, he said: “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil” (Deuteronomy 30:15). God does not force life or death on anyone, but we all make choices which affect our destinies. Moses told Israel to make the right decision. “…I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it” (Deuteronomy 30:16).

 

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