What happens when we walk in obedience? “The Lord will open to you His good treasure” (Deut 28:12).
What a momentous gathering it was going to be! When the Israelites, by God’s help, had cleared the way to the center of the country, then “Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph [standing in for Ephraim and Manasseh], and Benjamin” (Deut 27:12) would ascend Mount Gerizim. “Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali” (v 13) would climb Mount Ebal. The Levites would shout out from the valley floor each individual curse on those who disobeyed. And those on Ebal, perhaps a million strong, would say each time in response, “Amen!” In our vernacular, we would say, “That’s for sure! That’s how it should be!” Do you see what the people were doing? They were going on the record, declaring that the curses pronounced against the misbehavior described was exactly what was deserved. So they could hardly complain later on that these judgments were unfair or too severe. The terms of this covenant weren’t in fine print. They were written “very plainly” (v 8) on “large stones” (v 2). And just in case you couldn’t read? Then “the Levites shall speak with a loud voice” (v 14), repeating every detail so everyone could hear it as well. And who would ever forget the sound of a million “Amens”? Now what if they obeyed the Lord? It wasn’t just that there would be no curses. Instead, “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks…Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out” (28:3-6). Blessed in city or country. Blessed with families and farming. Blessed whether coming or going. Yes, blessed in every way!