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Commentary on Deuteronomy 28 verses 15–44
Having viewed the bright side of the cloud, which is towards the obedient, we have now presented to us the dark side, which is towards the disobedient. If we do not keep God's commandments, we not only come short of the blessing promised, but we lay ourselves under the curse, which is as comprehensive of all misery as the blessing is of all happiness. Observe,
I. The equity of this curse. It is not a curse causeless, nor for some light cause; God seeks not occasion against us, nor is he apt to quarrel with us. That which is here mentioned as bringing the curse is, 1. Despising God, refusing to hearken to his voice (Deu 28:15), which bespeaks the highest contempt imaginable, as if what he said were not worth the heeding, or we were not under any obligation to him. 2. Disobeying him, not doing his commandments, or not observing to do them. None fall under his curse but those that rebel against his command. 3. Deserting him. "It is because of the wickedness of thy doings, not only whereby thou hast slighted me, but whereby thou hast forsaken me," Deu 28:20. God never casts us off till we first cast him off. It intimates that their idolatry, by which they forsook the true God for false gods, would be their destroying sin more than any other.
II. The extent and efficacy of this curse.
1.In general, it is declared, "All these curses shall come upon thee from above, and shall overtake thee; though thou endeavour to escape them, it is to no purpose to attempt it, they shall follow thee whithersoever thou goest, and seize thee, overtake thee, and overcome thee," Deu 28:15. It is said of the sinner, when God's wrath is in pursuit of him, that he would fain flee out of his hand (Job 27:22), but he cannot; if he flee from the iron weapon, yet the bow of steel shall reach him and strike him through. There is no running from God but by running to him, no fleeing from his justice but by fleeing to his mercy. See Psa 21:7, Psa 21:8. (1.) Wherever the sinner goes, the curse of God follows him; wherever he is, it rests upon him. He is cursed in the city and in the field, Deu 28:16. The strength of the city cannot shelter him from it, the pleasant air of the country is no fence against these pestilential steams. He is cursed (Deu 28:19) when he comes in, for the curse is upon the house of the wicked (Pro 3:33), and he is cursed when he goes out, for he cannot leave that curse behind him, nor get rid of it, which has entered into his bowels like water and like oil into his bones. (2.). Whatever he has is under a curse: Cursed is the ground for his sake, and all that is on it, or comes out of it, and so he is cursed from the ground, as Cain, Gen 4:11. The basket and store are cursed, Deu 28:17, Deu 28:18. All his enjoyments being forfeited by him are in a manner forbidden to him, as cursed things, which he has no title to. To those whose mind and conscience are defiled every thing else is so, Tit 1:15. They are all embittered to him; he cannot take any true comfort in them, for the wrath of God mixes itself with them, and he is so far from having any security of the continuance of them that, if his eyes be open, he may see them all condemned and ready to be confiscated, and with them all his joys and all his hopes gone for ever. (3.) Whatever he does is under a curse too. It is a curse in all that he sets his hand to (Deu 28:20), a constant disappointment, which those are subject to that set their hearts upon the world, and expect their happiness in it, and which cannot but be a constant vexation. This curse is just the reverse of the blessing in the former part of the chapter. Thus whatever bliss there is in heaven there is not only the want of it, but the contrary to it, in hell. Isa 65:13, My servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry.
2.Many particular judgments are here enumerated, which would be the fruits of the curse, and with which God would punish the people of the Jews for their apostasy and disobedience. These judgments threatened are of divers kinds, for God has many arrows in his quiver, four sore judgments (Eze 14:21), and many more. They are represented as very terrible, and the descriptions of them are exceedingly lively and affecting, that men, knowing these terrors of the Lord, might, if possible, be persuaded. The threatenings of the same judgment are several times repeated, that they might make the more deep and lasting impressions, and to intimate that, if men persisted in their disobedience, the judgment which they thought was over, and of which they said, "Surely the bitterness of it is past," would return with double force; for when God judges he will overcome. (1.) Bodily diseases are here threatened, that they should be epidemical in their land. These God sometimes makes use of for the chastisement and improvement of his own people. Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. But here they are threatened to be brought upon his enemies as tokens of his wrath, and designed for their ruin. So that according to the temper of our spirits, under sickness, accordingly it is to us a blessing or a curse. But, whatever sickness may be to particular persons, it is certain that epidemical diseases raging among a people are national judgments, and are so to be accounted. He here threatens, [1.] Painful diseases (Deu 28:35), a sore botch, beginning in the legs and knees, but spreading, like Job's boils, from heat to foot. [2.] Shameful diseases (v. 27), the botch of Egypt (such boils and blains as the Egyptians had been plagued with, when God brought Israel from among them), and the emerods and scab, vile diseases, the just punishment of those who by sin had made themselves vile. [3.] Mortal diseases, the pestilence (v. 21), the consumption (put for all chronical diseases), and the fever (for all acute diseases), v. 22. See Lev 26:16. And all incurable, Deu 28:27. (2.) Famine, and scarcity of provisions; and this, [1.] For want of rain (Deu 28:23, Deu 28:24): Thy heaven over thy head, that part that is over thy land, shall be as dry as brass, while the heavens over other countries shall distil their dews; and, when the heaven is as brass, the earth of course will be as iron, so hard and unfruitful. Instead of rain, the dust shall be blown out of the highways into the field, and spoil the little that there is of the fruits of the earth. [2.] By destroying insects. The locust should destroy the corn, so that they should not have so much as their seed again, Deu 28:38, Deu 28:42. And the fruit of the vine, which should make glad their hearts, should all be worm-eaten, Deu 28:39. and the olive, some way or other, should be made to cast its fruit, Deu 28:40. The heathen use many superstitious customs in honour of their idol-gods for preserving the fruits of the earth; but Moses tells Israel that the only way they had to preserve them was to keep God's commandments; for he is a God that will not be sported with, like their idols, but will be served in spirit and truth. This threatening we find fulfilled in Israel, Kg1 17:1; Jer 14:1, etc.; Joe 1:4. (3.) That they should be smitten before their enemies in war, who, it is likely, would be the more cruel to them, when they had them at their mercy, for the severity they had used against the nations of Canaan, which their neighbours in after-ages would be apt to remember against them, Deu 28:25. It would make their flight the more shameful, and the more grievous, that they might have triumphed over their enemies if they had but been faithful to their God. The carcases of those that were slain in war, or died in captivity among strangers, should be meat for the fowls (Deu 28:26); and an Israelite, having forfeited the favour of his God, should have so little humanity shown him as that no man should drive them away, so odious would God's curse make him to all mankind. (4.) That they should be infatuated in all their counsels, so as not to discern their own interest, nor bring any thing to pass for the public good: The Lord shall smite thee with madness and blindness, Deu 28:28, Deu 28:29. Note, God's judgments can reach the minds of men to fill them with darkness and horror, as well as their bodies and estates; and those are the sorest of all judgments which make men a terror to themselves, and their own destroyers. That which they contrived to secure themselves by should still turn to their prejudice. Thus we often find that the allies they confided in distressed them and strengthened them not, Ch2 28:20. Those that will not walk in God's counsels are justly left to be ruined by their own; and those that are wilfully blind to their duty deserve to be made blind to their interest, and, seeing they loved darkness rather than light, let them grope at noon-day as in the dark. (5.) That they should be plundered of all their enjoyments, stripped of all by the proud and imperious conqueror, such as Benhadad was to Ahab, Kg1 20:5, Kg1 20:6. Not only their houses and vineyards should be taken from them, but their wives and children, Deu 28:30, Deu 28:32. Their dearest comforts, which they took most pleasure in, and promised themselves most from, should be the entertainment and triumph of their enemies. As they had dwelt in houses which they built not, and eaten of vineyards which they planted not (Deu 6:10, Deu 6:11), so others should do by them. Their oxen, asses, and sheep, like Job's, should be taken away before their eyes, and they should not be able to recover them, v. 31. And all the fruit of their land and labours should be devoured and eaten up by the enemy; so that they and theirs would want necessaries, while their enemies were revelling with that which they had laboured for. (6.) That they should be carried captives into a far country; nay, into all the kingdoms of the earth, v. 25. Their sons and daughters, whom they promised themselves comfort in, should go into captivity (v. 41), and they themselves at length, and their king in whom they promised themselves safety and settlement, v. 36. This was fully accomplished when the ten tribes first were carried captive into Assyria (Kg2 17:6), and not long after the two tribes into Babylon, and two of their kings, Kg2 24:14, Kg2 24:15; Kg2 25:7, Kg2 25:21. That which is mentioned as an aggravation of their captivity is that they should go into an unknown country, the language and customs of which would be very uncouth, and their treatment among them barbarous, and there they should serve other gods, that is, be compelled to do so by their enemies, as they were in Babylon, Dan 3:6. Note, God often makes men's sin their punishment, and chooses their delusions. You shall serve other gods, that is, "You shall serve those that do serve them;" a nation is often in scripture called by the name of its gods, as Jer 48:7. They had made idolaters their associates, and now god made idolaters their oppressors. (7.) That those who remained should be insulted and tyrannized over by strangers, Deu 28:43, Deu 28:44. So the ten tribes were by the colonies which the king of Assyria sent to take possession of their land, Kg2 17:24. Or this may be meant of the gradual encroachments which the strangers within their gates should make upon them, so as insensibly to worm them out of their estates. We read of the fulfilling of this, Hos 7:9, Strangers have devoured his strength. Foreigners ate the bread out of the mouths of trueborn Israelites, by which they were justly chastised for introducing strange gods. (8.) That their reputation among their neighbours should be quite sunk, and those that had been a name, and a praise, should be an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word, Deu 28:37. Some have observed the fulfilling of this threatening in their present state; for, when we would express the most perfidious and barbarous treatment, we say, None but a Jew would have done so. Thus is sin a reproach to any people. (9.) To complete their misery, it is threatened that they should be put quite out of the possession of their minds by all these troubles (Deu 28:34): Thou shalt be mad for the sight of thy eyes, that is, quite bereaved of all comfort and hope, and abandoned to utter despair. Those that walk by sight, and not by faith, are in danger of losing reason itself, when every thing about them looks frightful; and their condition is woeful indeed that are mad for the sight of their eyes.
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SUMMARY
Deuteronomy 28:44 stands as a profound and sobering warning within the covenant curses, vividly illustrating the severe economic and national subjugation Israel would endure for disobedience. This verse dramatically reverses the promised blessings of leadership and prosperity, foretelling a future where foreign powers would exert dominance, reducing Israel to a state of perpetual dependence and inferiority. It serves as a stark and tangible reminder of the devastating consequences that arise from covenant unfaithfulness, demonstrating how a nation's spiritual fidelity directly impacts its earthly standing.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Deuteronomy 28:44 is masterfully crafted, employing striking Metaphor, potent Antithesis, and reinforcing Parallelism to convey its dire warning. The terms "head" and "tail" serve as vivid Metaphors for dominance and subservience, immediately creating a clear and visceral image of hierarchical power and the abject humiliation of being at the bottom. This metaphorical language is intensified by the use of Antithesis, which directly contrasts the "he" (the foreign oppressor) with the "thou" (Israel) in both their economic standing (lending versus borrowing) and their social/political status (head versus tail). This sharp juxtaposition dramatically highlights the catastrophic nature of the reversal. Furthermore, the Parallelism within the verse, repeating the structural pattern of "he shall X, and thou shalt not X" followed by "he shall be Y, and thou shalt be Z," powerfully reinforces the complete inversion of Israel's position and emphasizes the totality of their anticipated subjugation.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Deuteronomy 28:44 profoundly illustrates the Old Covenant principle of immediate and tangible consequences for both obedience and disobedience. It underscores that God's covenant with Israel was not merely a spiritual agreement but had direct and significant implications for their national well-being, economic prosperity, and political standing among the nations. The verse serves as a stark reminder that straying from God's commands leads to a withdrawal of divine favor, resulting in subjugation, humiliation, and economic hardship, rather than the promised blessings of leadership and abundance. While specific to the Mosaic covenant's conditional nature, this principle reflects a broader biblical truth about the intrinsic relationship between righteousness and flourishing, and the inevitable decline that follows rebellion against divine order and wisdom.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
While the specific covenant context of Deuteronomy 28:44 applies directly to ancient Israel, its underlying principles resonate deeply with believers today, offering timeless spiritual insights. This verse serves as a powerful reminder that our choices, both as individuals and as a collective body of believers, carry profound consequences. Just as Israel's national well-being and standing were inextricably tied to their faithfulness to God's covenant, our spiritual vitality, freedom, and effectiveness are directly linked to our obedience to God's Word and His Spirit. When we humbly align ourselves with God's will and walk in His ways, we experience His blessing, which often manifests as spiritual freedom, flourishing, and the capacity to be a blessing and influence for good in the world. Conversely, when we deviate from His path, we risk spiritual "indebtedness" and "subjugation" to worldly systems, ungodly values, or the pervasive influence of sin itself. Such a state diminishes our spiritual influence, compromises our freedom, and hinders our ability to fulfill the unique purpose God has given us. This verse powerfully calls us to a life of vigilant and joyful obedience, recognizing that true liberty, spiritual leadership, and lasting fruitfulness flow from humble and unwavering submission to the Lordship of Christ in every facet of our lives.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does this verse mean that all debt is a curse from God for individuals today?
Answer: Not necessarily. While Deuteronomy 28:44 vividly highlights borrowing as a sign of national subjugation and diminished blessing within the very specific and conditional context of the Mosaic covenant, it does not universally condemn all forms of debt for individuals in the New Covenant era. The Bible certainly offers wisdom regarding debt, often cautioning against it (e.g., Proverbs 22:7), as it can indeed lead to financial bondage, stress, and a loss of freedom. However, some forms of debt, such as a prudently managed mortgage for a home or a strategic business loan, can be legitimate and wise tools for investment, growth, or asset acquisition when handled responsibly. The critical distinction in Deuteronomy 28:44 is the inability to lend and the compelling necessity to borrow from foreign nations, which signifies a profound loss of national sovereignty and prosperity directly resulting from covenant disobedience, rather than a blanket prohibition on all borrowing for all time.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Deuteronomy 28:44 powerfully speaks to the conditional nature of the Old Covenant and Israel's tragic failure to maintain their position as "head" due to their repeated disobedience, it ultimately points forward to the perfect obedience and ultimate headship of Jesus Christ. Israel's consistent failures to uphold the covenant stipulations and their subsequent subjugation symbolized humanity's universal inability to achieve true righteousness, freedom, and preeminence through law-keeping. Christ, however, perfectly fulfilled the Law in every respect, becoming the true and eternal "head" not merely of a nation, but of His church, the new spiritual Israel (Ephesians 1:22). Through His atoning sacrifice on the cross, Jesus paid the immense debt of sin that humanity could never repay, thereby liberating us from spiritual "indebtedness" to sin, the Law, and death (Colossians 2:13-14). In Christ, believers are no longer "the tail" in spiritual terms, consigned to inferiority or bondage, but are, by grace, made "head" with Him, sharing in His glorious victory, authority, and divine inheritance (Ephesians 2:6). He is the ultimate and inexhaustible lender of grace, life, and every spiritual blessing, from whom all true and lasting prosperity flows, ensuring that those who are united to Him are never in spiritual debt but are eternally rich in His unsearchable riches (2 Corinthians 8:9).