I could have broken this passage up into several days to have a shorter reading, but I decided that with all the doom and gloom in our present day world, we’d only spend one day focusing on these curses. It would be easy to just skim over this section believing that we are immune. After all, didn’t Jesus come to save us? We’ll look at Paul’s words from Galatians 3, too.
Imagine you were the one hearing Moses declare all of these curses. What would you have been feeling? Would the fear of God be boiling inside you? Would you believe it or think that Moses had lost his mind? God was more than serious and whether or not we feel the message is for us or not, we need to seek understanding.
Anytime we encounter something in Scripture that offends us or causes us to question God’s motives, we need to dig in. We need to spend time seeking an understanding. What we see here is that God wants our obedience, our trust, and our allegiance.
What then was the role of the law? God sets forth a way that leads to blessing. When we stray from that, we face the consequences. The boundaries have been set. Without being given boundaries, you would not know the way of blessing.
Think of how you interacted with your parents growing up. Did they set a curfew, did they have chores for you to do, were there house rules to follow? What happened if you broke a rule? You were still loved, but perhaps there was punishment. I remember being grounded much of my teen years. If you chose to disobey, it was on you. You had made the choice to disobey knowing there would be consequences.
That’s what we see here. God is telling the people what to expect. They would know that if they followed other gods there would be a price to pay. It wasn’t a secret. It’s not like God made it hard. He wants our love, attention, and surrender. There is no doom and gloom when we trust and follow God.
So what about Paul’s words in Galatians 3? There is good discussion there about the law and curses and how Jesus changes things. Verses 24-25 are a good summary. “Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.”
Now that Christ has come, we are no longer under the guardianship of the law. We are free in Christ. Of course, being followers of Christ does not give us the “okay” to sin freely as if we have a “get out of jail free card.” Being saved by grace through faith in Christ, we are now motivated by gratitude and thankfulness, desiring to nurture our relationship with Jesus, grow closer to God each day, and seek forgiveness for our sin.
Let’s pray … Lord, forgive me when I lose sight of your will for me. I want to be obedient to you. Thank you for sending your Son to redeem me and make me right with you. I know without Jesus I will always fall short. I pray you can see my heart and my desire to surrender to your will for me. Thank you for all the gifts you have given me. Help me to share them wisely with others to further your kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
