GOD’S JUDGMENT ON A NATION
THE DISCIPLINE OF ISRAEL: Biblical Exposition

Israel had a great privilege of being God’s chosen people—yet, with great privilege comes great responsibility. They failed to be faithful to their covenant with a God who was so faithful to Him.

In Deuteronomy 11:26-28, we hear this challenge from God,

26 “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse:
27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today;
28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.

But, despite the warnings from God, Israel turned from Him.

The SINS THAT CAUSED DISCIPLINE were those God had forbidden them to practice in Deuteronomy 27:14-26.

14 “And the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel:
15 ‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ “And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen!’
16 ‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
17 ‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
18 ‘Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
20 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s bed.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
21 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
22 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
23 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with his mother-in-law.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
24 ‘Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
25 ‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
26 ‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ ”

When the Jews entered the Promised Land, the tribes were divided—part to stand on Mt. Gerizim and proclaim blessing and part on Mt. Ebal and pronounce cursing. What sins would bring a curse on the nation?

o Idolatry (v.15)
o Disrespect for Parents (v.16)
o Failure to Honor Property Rights (v.17)
o Abusing the Handicapped (v.18)
o Injustice to Aliens, Orphans and Widows (v.19)
o Sexual Sins (v.20-23)
o Violence (v.24-25)

Do we not see a proliferation of these sins in America today?

The SIGNS THAT CONFIRMED DISCIPLINE are listed in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. When a nation is visited with the judgment of God there is:

o Disease

21 The Lord will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess.
22 The Lord will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.
35 The Lord will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
(v.21-22, 27, 35)

o Drought

23 And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.
24 The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed. (v.23-24)

o Defeat

25 “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth.
26 Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away. (v.25-26)

o Depression: Both emotional & economic.

28 The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of
heart.
29 And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you.
42 Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land. (v.28-29, 42)

o Destruction

30 “You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes.
31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them.
32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand.
33 A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually.
34 So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see. (v.30-34)

o Decline

36 The Lord will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods—wood and stone.
37 And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you.
38 “You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it.
39 You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off.
41 You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity. (v.36-41)

o Debt

43 “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.
44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
45 “Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.
46 And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants
forever. (v.43-46)

After reading this, one must wonder if we are not already experiencing the judgment of God in America!