Reading: Deuteronomy 28-29, Psalm 62
Well, we’ve reached the climactic moment of the books of Moses. God has delivered his last commands to the people of Israel before they cross the Jordan river into the land he promised to Abraham. A big part of the promise that began this whole journey way back in Genesis 12 is about to be fulfilled. Remember that? God told Abram to leave his father’s house and go to a land he would give to him and his descendants. God is finally, after more than four hundred years, going to make good on his promise.
Yesterday we read about a contract signing. God has told the people of Israel what they must do as his people. They have been chosen as a kingdom of priests to bear witness to the world that God is king. That the human problem has a solution. That humans are not who they think they are. That God will made all things new. It is quite the privilege, and quite the responsibility. God ensures they will take it seriously by having them pronounce curses over themselves for violating God’s rules for their life and accepting the consequences. So they’ve signed on the dotted line and understand what God wants them to do, why isn’t this the end of it? Let’s get over the Jordan river already.
Not so fast. God still has some things to say to Israel. Now that they have accepted, God has some predictions to make. He has Moses tell the people what will happen when they obey and when they disobey. Note that these aren’t really warnings at this point, but predictions. God is telling them that these things will happen.
The first part is really good. Following the laws of God will result in prosperity and a rich full life for all the people in Israel. They will be wealthy, healthy, and in charge. The other nations will be jealous of them. Their children will have even better lives than them, generation after generation. Their nation would become a shining example of how a people in submission to God are in all ways better than those not in submission to God. And all they have to do is follow through on what they already said they would do.
But really, is there any chance Israel really acts like this? Think about the story so far for just a minute. The entire story of Israel so far is a continuous story of grumbling, rebellion, and bad choices. Moses has had to stand in the way of their destruction a whole bunch of times. Anyone paying attention to the story would look at this happy prediction and say, “Not happening.” Well, God is also paying attention, and gives them the alternative story.
The disobedient Israel will still stand as an example of how a people should be in submission to God, but it won’t be such a shining one. God is going to use Israel to carry a message to the nations one way or another. The disobedience nation will receive as much attention from God as the obedient one, and the results will be just as much fame. Instead of other nations being jealous of Israel, they will be horrified by what happens to them. They will become a proverb and a byword among the nations of what happens when people live in opposition to their God. This is in some ways a redux of the fall narrative in Genesis 3-11 written in the history of Israel. A declaration of independence from their God will lead to judgment. Persistent disobedience will meet persistent destruction. All the blessings of Israel will be revoked and turned to curses. Except one. Their identity as God’s people will never depart from them.
The reading today closes with a statement by Moses that should make us stop and consider the privileged position we are in. Having just expounded terrible judgment to Israel, Moses tells them where their responsibility lies: the secret things belong to God, the revealed things to us. We are only responsible for what has been given to us. Israel was not responsible for understanding the whole plan, only obeying what they were told to do. God does not reveal to them the entire plan, but as we will see tomorrow, he will give them hints and hope for something better. In spite of how the story has gone so far, and how we expect Israel to behave, God never stops making Israel his chosen broken instrument of making all things new.