Deuteronomy 28:2 & 15 –
<2> You will experience all these blessings if you obey the LORD your God:
<15> But if you refuse to listen to the LORD your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you:
This is a very black and white chapter, the first 14 verses deal with the blessings the nation of Israel and the individuals will received if they follow the Law. The next 54 outline what will happen if they do not. Remember when I was talking about the “C” Attitudes and wondered what a “curse” was in God’s eyes anyway. Well the final 54 verses outlines curses very clearly!
These chapters help form the foundation of the “fire and brimstone” preaching. Granted most can be gleaned from Revelations, the cause and effect stem from OT times and what happens when you move away or reject God. I can honestly say I personally know many people who don’t even know God who do not seem to live under any of these curses, quite the contrary their lives seemed “blessed” by worldly standards. This seems to apply to those of us who already know God and have drifted away. Where the foundation of “fire and brimstone” preaching stems more on the afterlife and an eternity in hell, they do also remind us to follow the path “or else.”
If you go to the kings of Israel and loosely follow their kingdoms and reigns you will see a common thread of the Law and blessings. The starkest example is Josiah when he decided to follow the God of David and found the Law in the temple, his kingdom flourished. Whereas most before and after failed to follow the Law and had many “curses” from this chapter plague them and the society. I will close with words from the song Santa Claus is Coming to Town … “So be GOOD for goodness sakes!”