Deuteronômio 28
David Guzik · Citado em PreceptAustin
Deuteronômio 28
Guzik - The word “IF” looms large. In this chapter, Moses exhorted the nation with choice. The covenant God made with Israel contained three major features: The law, the sacrifice, and the choice. The idea behind the choice is that God was determined to reveal Himself to the world through Israel. He would do this either by making them so blessed that the world would know only God could have blessed them so; or by making them so cursed that only God could have cursed them and cause them to still survive. The choice was up to Israel.. As a literary form, this chapter is similar to ancient treaties between a king and his people; this is God the King, making a covenant with His people, Israel. “In the ancient Near East it was customary for legal treaties to conclude with passages containing blessings upon those who observed the enactments, and curses upon those who did not.” (Harrison) James Coakley makes an interesting observation that "Blessing and cursing go all the way back to the opening chapters of the Pentateuch (Ge 1:22; Ge 3:17), and the mentions there and here of those topics serve as bookends for the entire book of Moses (from Genesis to Deuteronomy) (Moody Bible Commentary) Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God - Note the conditional nature of the blessing is emphasized by the repetitive use of IF - Dt 28:1, 2, 9, 13. In the same way IF in Dt 28:15+ introduces the conditional nature of the curses (IF repeated one last time in Dt 28:58). The blessings and cursings are grounded in the Mosaic Covenant made at Mount Sinai and renewed with the second generation. Be sure to distinguish this from the Abrahamic Covenant (See Abrahamic versus Mosaic) which is an unconditional covenant and which granted Israel entrance into the Promised Land (Note: God’s unconditional covenant with Israel has not been cancelled and includes a future restoration of the literal nation of Israel composed of believing Jews). Obedience to the Mosaic Covenant then was necessary to assure Israel would remain in the Promised Land (cf the promise of Dt 28:63 if they disobeyed the Mosaic Covenant). Diligently obey is shama shama, repeated for emphasis (intensification) and thus is translated "diligently obey," "careful to observe" (NET), "carefully keep" (NLT), "faithfully obey the voice of the LORD." (ESV) The ESV is more accurate because it translates the Hebrew word qol which means voice. Recall that the phrase the LORD your God is found 279 times in Deuteronomy (out of a total of 447 times in the entire OT). Yes Yahweh is their God, but their persistence in the Land was dependent on their faithfulness to obey Him. Wiersbe = “Observe to do” (Dt 28:1KJV) is translated “carefully follow” in the NIV and is found also in Dt 16:12; 17:19; 19:9; 24:8; 28:1, 13, 15, 58; 29:9; 31:12. (Wiersbe Bible Commentary - OT) Kline - Although Israel’s inheritance and continued enjoyment of the promises was not a matter of legal merit (ED: I.E. THEY DID NOT EARN THE BLESSINGS BY THEY "GOOD WORKS" OR THEIR OBEDIENCE - IT WAS STILL ALL OF GRACE), there was a connection between the nation’s corporate piety and her prosperity. (See Wycliffe Bible Commentary - Page 119 for all notes on Deut 28-34) J
Deuteronômio 28
Guzik - God’s purpose in blessing Israel was greater than just enriching the nation for its own sake. He intended to glorify Himself through blessing them.. When Israel walked after the LORD, these blessings were real; one example of this is when the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon and saw a nation so blessed, she knew it had to be of God (1 Kings 10:1–13).
Deuteronômio 28
Guzik - The covenant’s aspect of the choice was a sword with two edges. Obedience would carry great blessing, but disobedience would carry terrible curses. Like the blessings for an obedient Israel, the curses for a disobedient Israel would be inevitable. The rest of the chapter is almost overwhelming. “Actually, a logical analysis of the chapter is almost impossible, since the final aim was not to be logical but to build up a vivid impression by presenting picture after picture until the hearer could see and feel the import of the preacher’s words.” (Thompson) Raymond Brown sums up this next section - They cannot deliberately flout the agreement made at Sinai and renewed in the plains of Moab, and then imagine that they can get away with it. Rebels will experience plague (20–22), drought (23), invasion (25–35), exile (36–52), famine (53–57), sickness (58–61) and desolation (62–68). Therefore, should the people wilfully choose to disobey God’s word, these judgments will surely not take them by surprise. They had been warned. On days when the ripening sun was replaced by the burning sirocco (24), the scorching desert wind which almost ignited their crops, then they would know that God was speaking to them. Their pain would be like the shrill, sharp blasts of a warning trumpet. The word they had ignored in their prosperity would become eloquent in their grief. A sovereign cannot be silenced. If we will not hear him in plenty, then poverty must be his messenger. (See The Message of Deuteronomy) Prosperous times are invariably our most dangerous times for forgetting God's goodness 🙏 THOUGHT - Beloved, this lesson is also for us in the New Covenant. If we are genuine believers and persistently willfully disobey in good times, we can be absolutely certain that God will send "bad" times, times of loving discipline and chastisement as described in Hebrew 12:5-11+, because ultimately He desires us to experience the "peaceful fruit of righteousness" (v11+). Prosperous times are invariably our most dangerous times for forgetting God's goodness and promises and seeking after the lusts of our fallen flesh. It shall come about, if you do not obey (shama - Lit = "listen to the voice of") the LORD your God, to observe (shamar) to do (asah) all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you - NET = "then all these curses will come upon you in full force." Note that except for the addition of NOT, this is almost the mirror image of the phrase which introduced the blessings in Dt 28:1+ = " if you diligently obey (shama) the LORD your God, being careful (shamar) to do (asah) all His commandments." This IF (Dt 28:1, 2, 9, 13, 15, 58) introduces the conditional promise which will result in reception of the curses of Yahweh. It reminds one of the inviolable law of reaping and sowing (cf Gal 6:7-8+, Hos 8:7). Moses had spoken a similar warning to the first generation of Israelites regarding the curses for disobedience. Curses (qelalah) in the Septuagint is katara Richardson - 'Curse' is the contrary of 'blessing'. As a word of blessing spoken in Jehovah's Name expresses (and also conveys) that which proceeds from his gracious favour—health, strength, wisdom, prosperity, success, and all that is comprehended under the word shalom (peace, q.v.), so a curse expresses (and also conveys) that which proceeds from his wrath—disease, ill-success, ruin, desolation, death. (Theological Wordbook of the Bible) The verb overtake presents a striking metaphorical picture (and a striking contrast with the same verb nasaq used in Dt 28:2). The verb nasaq describes someone pursuing someone (as Laban when he "caught Jacob" - Ge 31:25). The Septuagint translates nasaq with katalambano meaning to seize, grab with force, overpower which speaks of the intensity of the coming curses! In the present context the word curses is personified as a hunter as if they were in hot (successful) pursuit of the disobedient Israelites! There will be no escape from the curses if Israel disobeys and forsakes Yahweh! This same truth is repeated in Dt 28:45+ where Moses "ups the ante" declaring "all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake (nasaq) you until you are destroyed!" TSK - The same variety of expression is used in these terrible curses, as in the preceding blessings, to intimate every kind of prosperity or adversity, personal, relative, and public. Consulting the marginal references will generally lead to the best exposition of the terms employed; and will frequently point out the fulfilment of the promises and threatenings. Raymond Brown - The judgment is predicted - God’s wrath will be manifested in the life of these potential offenders not primarily because of their offensive moral or social misdemeanours. Their cardinal sin is a spiritual one. It is not simply that they have disobeyed God’s word; they have abandoned the covenant God. Grief will inevitably overtake them, because of the evil you have done in forsaking him (Dt 28:20 = "because you have forsaken Me"). The very fact that they have been warned in this way, however, is a token of God’s generous mercy. He warns them because he loves them and does not want them to suffer. The land they are about to enter is populated with Baal-worshippers. (See The Message of Deuteronomy) Warren Wiersbe gives a "summary of the judgments listed in these verses...It’s quite depressing to read this long list of calamities, especially when you realize that Israel experienced all of them at one time or another and that innocent people suffered because of the sins of the guilty. Not only Deuteronomy 28, but also Jeremiah’s Book of Lamentations is a solemn reminder that it doesn’t pay to rebel against God and try to have your own way (Wiersbe Bible Commentary - OT) children cursed (Dt 27:18); low birth rate (Dt 27:62–63) crops ruined and animals killed (Dt 27:18, 22, 31–32, 38–40, 42, 51) confusion of mind, madness, and fear (Dt 27:20, 28–29, 34, 65–68) sickness (Dt 27:21–22, 27–28, 35, 59–61) drought, hunger, and thirst (Dt 27:22–24, 48) defeat in war (Dt 27:25, 49–50, 52) wives ravished (Dt 27:30) oppression and slavery (Dt 27:29, 33, 48, 68) cannibalism (Dt 27:53–57) captivity (Dt 27:36, 63–64) corpses not buried (Dt 27:26) plans shattered (Dt 27:30) poverty, debt, and nakedness (Dt 27:44, 48) robbery (Dt 27:29, 31, 33) children kidnapped (Dt 27:32, 41) aliens take over the land (Dt 27:43) shame and scorn (Dt 27:37) Curses (07045)(qelalah from verb qalal) קְלָלָה means curse, a cursing, execration, imprecation, the action and formula of cursing, the invoking of divine harm under certain conditions, with a focus on the content of the oath, and describes the general speaking of ill-will against another (2Sa 16:12; Ps. 109:17, 18); as well as the official pronouncement on a person, as Jacob feared he would receive from Isaac (Ge 27:12, 13); or on a nation, as Balaam gave to Moab (Dt. 23:5; Neh. 13:2). God’s curse is on the disobedient (Dt. 11:28; Dt 28:15; Jer. 44:8); while His blessing, berāḵāh, is on the righteous (Dt. 11:26; 30:19). The primary emphasis is the absence (or reversal) of a blessed or rightful state and lowering to a lesser state. qĕ lālâ also stresses the formula whereby this is expressed. Bob
Deuteronômio 28
Guzik - Even as with the blessings, God’s purpose in cursing Israel would be greater than just immediately punishing them for their sin. It was to be a witness to the nations. TSK - The name of Jew has long been a proverbial mark of detestation and contempt among all the nations wherever they have been dispersed, and is so to this day. Deuteronomy 28:38 "You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it. shall bring: Isa 5:10 Mic 6:15 Hag 1:6 the locust: Ex 10:14-15 Joe 1:4 2:3,25 Am 4:9 7:1,2 Deuteronomy 28 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Acridium peregrinum PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS Dt 28:38-40 describe Israel's devastated economy where their fervent efforts would only yield frustration and futility! As Currid says "These are curses of frustration and failure: much labour will result in little reward." (EPSC-Dt) You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it - This recalls the eighth plague of locusts over Egypt "The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very numerous. There had never been so many locusts, nor would there be so many again. 15 For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Thus nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field through all the land of Egypt. (Ex 10:14-15+) All attempts at prosperity, would be thwarted by Yahweh. A locust can consume its own weight in food each day and can cover as many as 400 square miles. Even one square mile can teem with over 100 million insects. Locusts (swarming locusts)(0697) arbeh rom rabah = to be or become much, many, great) is a masculine noun translated in NAS as locust (8), locusts (11), swarming locust (5) and is the most commonly used Hebrew word for locusts. See the discussions below for more specific details about locusts. Solomon asked God that if there was a plague (including locusts) and Israel supplicated to Him, that He would forgive their sin (1 Ki 8:37, 35-40, cf 2 Chr. 6:28) A locust is a large, grasshopper-like insect belonging to the order Orthoptera that is especially known for forming immense migratory swarms capable of devastating vegetation and crops. The Bible uses numerous Hebrew terms for locusts—likely reflecting either different species or stages in their development—but they all refer to insects that multiply rapidly and travel in vast numbers. Locusts resemble large grasshoppers with powerful hind legs that allow them to leap great distances and wings that enable them to migrate long ranges, often carried by the wind. When they swarm, their numbers can be so great that they darken the sky and blanket the ground, consuming nearly every green plant in their path and leaving the land stripped bare (Exodus 10:12–15; Joel 1:4–7; 2:2–10). Because ancient Near Eastern societies depended heavily on agriculture, such infestations were considered one of the most destructive natural disasters, capable of causing famine and national hardship (Deuteronomy 28:38; 1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chronicles 7:13). Despite their destructive reputation, locusts were classified as “clean” insects under the Mosaic Law and could be eaten (Leviticus 11:21–22). They were commonly prepared by roasting, drying, or grinding them into meal and were sometimes mixed with flour to make cakes. This explains why John the Baptist’s diet included locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6), a practice that would not have been unusual in the ancient world. In Scripture locusts also function symbolically. Their vast numbers and relentless advance made them a fitting image for invading armies or instruments of divine judgment (Joel 2:4–11; Jeremiah 51:14, 27; Nahum 3:15–17). In prophetic imagery, such as Revelation 9:3–10, locusts represent terrifying forces unleashed in judgment. Thus, throughout the Bible locusts illustrate both a literal agricultural scourge and a powerful metaphor for overwhelming destruction and divine discipline. Why did God use a locust swarm to punish Israel (Joel 1:4)? | GotQuestions.org Edwin Yamauchi has an excellent of locusts - (ʾarbeh) Locust. The word is probably derived from the root rābâ “to become numerous.” It occurs in Akkadian as erebu, arbû, etc. In the Ugaritic KRT text (103, 192), the king’s army is described as covering the field like locusts (irby). Of the many words for locust, ʾarbeh is the general word, and is used most frequently, twenty-four times. The KJV translates it “locust” twenty times and “grasshopper” four times. The ʾarbeh plague (Deut 28:38) is listed as one of the divine curses which would befall the Israelites if they disobeyed God’s commands. The ʾarbeh is one of the plagues which Moses called down upon Egypt (Ex 10:4ff.; Ps 78:46; 105:34). Locusts are used in similes of vast numbers in Jdg 6:5+; Jdg 7:12+; Jer 46:23; Nah 3:15. Locusts belong to the order of the Orthoptera, “straight-winged.” With the grasshoppers they belong to the subfamily Saltatoria, “leapers,” which were considered edible (Lev 11:21–22). The biblical locust is not the cicada called “locust” in some areas of the United States. Locusts belong to the family Acridiidae, “short-horned grasshoppers.” Of the ninety-one species found in Palestine only the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria or Acridium peregrinum - see picture) has served to plague the near east from time immemorial. At maturity these locusts are two and one-half inches long. They have two sets of wings and an enlarged pair of legs for jumping. In appearance they are compared to horses (Joel 2:4; Job 39:20; Rev 9:7-see Tony Garland's interesting note on interpretation of the "locusts"; cf. German Heupferd, Italian caiallette). Desert locusts are phenomenal travelers. They are able to fly for seventeen hours at a time and have been known to travel fifteen hundred miles. The sound of their wings is compared to the sound of chariots (Joel 2:5-note; Rev 9:9). Their route of travel is determined by the prevailing winds (Ex 10:13, 19). In the plague of 1915 (click for original article), locusts came to Jerusalem from the northeast (cf. Joel 2:20+). The Bible does not exaggerate when it speaks of swarms of locusts covering the ground (Ex 10:5). A swarm has been known to cover a hundred square miles and to be so dense as to blot out the sun. A truly large swarm may contain ten billion locusts. Unlike the Babylonians who resorted to magical incantations to avert locust plagues, the Israelites asked God in fasting, repentance, and prayer to remove locust plagues (1 Ki 8:37; 2 Chr 6:28). In Lev 11:22 the ʾarbeh and three other types of locusts (solʾām, ḥargōl, ḥāgāb) are listed as edible insects. Bas reliefs from Nineveh show servants bringing skewered locusts for Sennacherib’s table. John the Baptist subsisted on honey and locusts (Mt 3:4; Mk 1:6). Many Africans and Arabs after removing the wings, legs, and heads eat locusts either cooked or ground up as flour. There are nine Hebrew words which designate locusts: ʾarbeh, gāzām, gēbâ, only as plural gēbîm, gōbay, ḥāgāb, ḥasîl, yeleq, solʿām, ṣĕlāṣal. Akkadian recognizes eighteen names for locusts, and the Talmud twenty names. (TWOT) Ancient Locusts. THE Locust, or grasshopper, is one of the most formidable insects mentioned in the sacred writings. It is used as the symbol of desolation, so great and terrible were its ravages. It is still dreaded in the East. M. Olivier thus describes its attacks : "With the burning south winds (of Syria) there come from the interior of Arabia and the most southern parts of Persia, clouds of locusts, whose ravages to these countries are as grievous, and nearly as sudden, as those of the heaviest hail in Europe. We witnessed them twice. It is difficult to express the effect produced on us by the sight of the whole atmosphere filled on all sides, and to a great height, by an innumerable quantity of these insects, whose flight was slow and uniform, and whose noise resembled that of rain ; the sky was darkened, and the light of the sun was considerably weakened. In a moment the terraces of the houses, the streets, and all the fields were covered by these insects, and in two days they had devoured all the leaves of the plants." The effects of the locusts in Egypt (Ex 10:12-15) were terrible beyond description. No plague could have been more dreadful or impressive in the East, where the ravages of locusts are so dreadful that they are chosen as the fit symbol of a destroying conqueror. The very threat had urged Pharaoh's courtiers to remonstrance, but he had refused to yield and had driven Moses and Aaron from his presence. Now he recalled them in haste, and asked them to forgive his sin "only this once," and to entreat God to take away "this death only." A strong west wind removed the locusts as an east wind had brought them ; but their removal left the king's heart harder and more rebellious than ever. Locusts were used as food, and are still in some parts of the East. Sometimes they are ground and pounded, and mixed with flower and water, and made into cakes, or they are salted, and then eaten; sometimes smoked, boiled or roasted, stewed or fried in butter, and are considered a luxury. It was the locust that constituted the food of St. John the Baptist. (Animals, Birds, Insects, And Reptiles Of The Bible) Deuteronomy 28:39 "You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them. worms: Joe 1:4-7 2:2-4 Jon 4:7 Deuteronomy 28 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries GRAPES DEVOURED You shall plant and cultivate (abad) vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them - Worm is the Hebrew word tola which is the same word that describes a deep red material as in Israel's sins "Though they are red like crimson (tola)." Deere quips that "Locusts and worms would obey the sovereign Lord even if Israel would not." (See Bible Knowledge Commentary for all of Deere's comments on Deuteronomy). Deuteronomy 28:40 "You shall have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off. anoint: Ps 23:5 Ps 104:15 Mic 6:15 Deuteronomy 28 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passage: Micah 6:15+ “You will sow but you will not reap. You will tread the olive but will not anoint yourself with oil; And the grapes, but you will not drink wine. OLIVES DROP LIKE ROCKS You shall have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off - The point is that the olives will drop off before they ripen and will be useless for producing olive oil. In the hot, dry, arid climate of Israel oil was used to soothe and soften the skin (cf Ps 104:15), and give the person a more pleasant aroma (there were no deodorants in that day) but it would not be available because of this divine curse on the olives! Notice how this curse affects the basic elements of life -- interpersonal relations (body odor) and cooking (olive oil for cooking). Bob
Deuteronômio 28
Guzik has a lengthy discussion - In the end, Israel would be dispersed. We find that because of their disobedience, these curses became the history of the nation of Israel. i. Of course, many of these horrible curses upon a disobedient Israel were fulfilled in the years of history recorded in the Old Testament; but their fulfillment did not end with the end of Bible history, Old or New Testament. ii. For example, around 68 A.D. the Romans finally had enough of the rebellious Jews in their province of Judea, so they laid siege to Jerusalem. At the time, the Jews fervently expected the coming of the Messiah to save them and conquer the Romans, based on God’s promise to destroy the armies laying siege to Jerusalem in Zechariah 12:1–9. Sadly, the Jews of that time refused to fulfill Zechariah 12:10+ which described their humble, repentant embrace of a pierced Messiah. ii. Nevertheless the Jews of that day were so confident of Messiah’s coming that their factions actually fought each other and burned each other’s food, trying to be the most powerful group when the Messiah came. According to Josephus, it was “as though they were purposely serving the Romans by destroying what the city had provided against a siege and severing the sinews of their own strength” (Wars 5.24). “Through famine certainly the city fell, a fate which would have been practically impossible, had they not prepared the way for it themselves.” (Wars 5.26) iii. When the Roman general Vespasian came to Jerusalem, the Jewish factions were busy fighting each other. His staff urged him to attack immediately, but he knew that an attack would instantly unite the Jews. So he held back and let them destroy each other for as long as possible. He said that God was a better general than he, and that He was delivering the Jews into the hands of the Romans. Before Jerusalem was attacked, Vespasian became emperor, and he put his son Titus in charge of the attack. iv. In contrast, Christians in Jerusalem heeded the words of Jesus in Luke 21:20–24, in which He told people to flee Jerusalem when it was surrounded by armies, because the days of vengeance were at hand. v. In this siege of Jerusalem hunger became so great that many tried to escape the walls and forage for food. Five hundred or more were captured and crucified daily. “The soldiers out of rage and hatred amused themselves by nailing their prisoners in different postures; and so great was their numbers, that space could not be found for the crosses nor crosses for the bodies.” (War 5.451) More than 600,000 died from starvation, and their dead bodies were dumped over the walls of the city. In total more that a million died and 97,000 were captured, with most of the captives being shipped as slaves to Egypt. The promise of Deuteronomy 28:68 was tragically fulfilled: you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you. This happened as too many Jewish slaves glutted the Egyptian slave market, and no one could buy all the available slaves. vi. After the conquest the Jews still living in Judea were continually subjugated and humiliated by the Romans. The Romans continued to collect the temple tax from the Jews, even though their temple had been completely destroyed. So the Romans took the temple tax and used it to support their pagan temples. vii. After some years of this, the Jews of Judea rebelled against the Romans again in 132 A.D. with a man named bar-Kochoba leading the fight. He was proclaimed messiah by the rabbis who supported the revolt. But after the bar-Kochoba rebellion, Rome finally and utterly crushed the Jewish population of Judea. Josephus said that as a result of the many battles, the once beautiful land was destroyed, and that it could not even be recognized. viii. But the curse for Israel had not ended. Now, tragically, the church and Christians turned on the Jews. It was as if the branches of the tree attacked their own root. As the church gained in political power and became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the decided to attack the Jews. ix. They did this in part as retribution for the distant early years of Jewish persecution of the Christians. It was also because the current Jewish rejection of Jesus as Messiah was thought so offensive. But the greatest motivation was a bizarre evangelistic strategy. Christians thought, “The Jews are cursed because they have killed their Messiah. The curses are meant to turn the heart of the nation back to God. We will help God by being His instrument to curse the Jewish people.” x. For centuries, the worst enemies Jews ever had were the Christians who thought they could help God by cursing the Jewish people. At one time in Medieval Rome, the Pope commanded a procession of the Jews through the city, where they presented a scroll of the Old Testament to the Pope. He received the scroll and said, “Beautiful law; wretched people.” The shameful history of the Church against the Jews is recorded in the story of the Crusades, the slaughters, and the ghettos. xi. This helps to explain the great corruption and lack of spiritual power in the church through the Dark Ages. God promised to Abraham and his covenant descendants, the Jewish people, I will bless those who bless you, and curse him who curses you (Genesis 12:3). Satan’s clever, and powerful strategy to curse the church was effective: Curse the church by inspiring them to curse the Jewish people. Just as God judged Assyria, Babylon, Rome, and Germany for their mistreatment of the Jewish people, so the church was cursed as long as it persecuted the Jews. The church ignorantly disregarded the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:7: For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! If the Jewish people were to be cursed, it was God’s business, not the Church’s business! xii. “They have, it is true, grievously sinned; but, O ye Christians, have they not grievously suffered for it? Is not the stroke of God heavy enough upon them? Do not then, by any unkind treatment or cruel oppression, increase their miseries. They are, above all others, the men who have seen affliction by the stroke of his rod.” (Adam Clarke, 1811) xiii. Gloriously, the curse was not and is not the end of God’s plan for the Jewish people. As Ezekiel 37 describes, God will—and has begun to—revive the Jewish people as back from the dead, and prepare them to be used in these last days. God is not done with Israel, and the curse will not be their final legacy. Deuteronomy 28:65 "Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. shall find no rest Ge 8:9 Isa 57:21 Eze 5:12-17 Ezek 20:32-35 Am 9:4,9,10 the LORD Lev 26:36 Isa 51:17 Eze 12:18,19 Ho 11:10,11 Hab 3:16 Lu 21:26 failing of eyes: Lev 26:16 Isa 65:14 La 3:65 Mt 24:8 Ro 11:10 Deuteronomy 28 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passage: Leviticus 26:36+ ‘As for those of you who may be left, I will also bring weakness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a driven leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee as though from the sword, and they will fall. Leviticus 26:16+ I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up. DISPERSED, RESTLESS, TREMBLING AND DESPAIR Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul - Once again we see that instead of remaining in to the resting place God was giving them (Dt 12:9), they would be driven out of the resting place and would be unable to find a resting place. Among those nations you shall find no rest Because of disobedience, Israel would be scattered among foreign nations. Instead of peace and stability in the Promised Land, the people would live as exiles and refugees, never feeling secure or settled. They would constantly face uncertainty, hostility, and instability. And there will be no resting place (manowach) for the sole of your foot - This expression emphasizes perpetual wandering and insecurity. The phrase recalls language used of a traveler or refugee who cannot find a place to settle. Israel would be unsettled and displaced, without a homeland where they could live in safety. It echoes the experience of Cain, who became a restless wanderer as punishment for his sin (Ge 4:12). What a stark contrast, for instead of the Promised Land of milk and honey being their place of rest, they would live in a condition of continual displacement. but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart - Note the that Giver is Yahweh. He will give them constant fear and anxiety and their heart would be filled with dread. The phrase suggests nervous fear, inner agitation and continual expectation of danger. The peace promised to obedient Israel would be replaced by persistent terror. Trembling (raggaz) is used only here in the OT but the root verb ragaz is used to speak of the dread that would come on Israel's enemies Moses declaring that "when they (ISRAEL'S ENEMIES) hear the report of you, (THEY) will tremble" (Dt 2:25+) Sadly because of their disobedience Moses prophesies that they not their enemies would be the ones who would be trembling! Failing of eyes - The meaning of this description is not easy to discern. While one could not rule out literal (e.g., blindness), this descripton is more likely figurative. One conseration is that this phrase refers to the exhaustion and despair that come from constantly looking for relief or deliverance that never arrives. It paints the picture of someone whose eyes grow weary from watching and waiting in vain for help, peace, or restoration. In the ancient Hebrew idiom, the eyes “fail” when hope fades. Lamentations 4:17 uses similar language: “Our eyes failed, ever watching vainly for help; in our watching we watched for a nation which could not save.” The idea is not physical blindness but emotional and spiritual weariness, a loss of hope because of unrelenting suffering and disappointment. And despair of soul - Despair means a complete loss of hope, the feeling that nothing will improve and that there is no possibility of rescue or relief, emotions which the exiles would experience. The Hebrew word despair (deabon; LXX - athumeo = become disheartened to the extent of losing motivation, be discouraged, lose heart, become dispirited) is used only here in Scripture and describes deep inner anguish with one's soul (the inner life) overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness. It is not merely sadness or discouragement but a profound hopelessness that touches the deepest part of a person’s life. The prophet Jeremiah later described this same condition when he lamented the destruction of Jerusalem: “My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is” (Lamentations 3:17). This verse captures the essence of despair of soul, a state in which the heart can no longer remember joy or rest because it has turned away from the source of both. For more discussion see What does the Bible say about despair? | GotQuestions.org Jack Deere - Once she (ISRAEL) lived in security, but now she would live in anxiety, despair, and in constant suspense and fear for her life (vv. 65–66) (See Bible Knowledge Commentary for all of Deere's comments on Deuteronomy). Bob