14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. 15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. (Deuteronomy 28:14-15)
Buying six bug bombs to rid a small apartment of bugs when 1 bug bomb would have been more than enough to get the job done… or purchasing a .50 caliber rifle to hunt gophers… or having enough nuclear weapons to destroy everything three times over… each of those could be described as overkill, where someone goes to the excess of what is required or suitable to accomplish a task. Others would say that they are just making sure the job gets done.
Reading Chapter 28 in Deuteronomy, one might think that God’s curses there are a bit overkill. After all, the list of curses is two or three times as long as his list of blessings.
But I think it shows us something about God. It tells us how serious he is about obedience to his commands. It tells us how serious he is about what the consequences are when his people would disobey his commands. It shows us that God isn’t going to take any chances that we are not going to see the seriousness of sin.
I think it also tells us something about his people then, and us today. It reminds us how easy it is downplay the deadly consequences of sin (disobeying God’s commands). We seem to get it in our minds that if the sin doesn’t hurt anybody, it’s not that dangerous. Or if we don’t see the consequences of our actions, it must not be that bad of a sin. The Israelites struggled with it. We can struggle with seeing the seriousness of sin in our life.
God hasn’t changed. He is just as serious about the commands he has given to us as he was about those commands he gave to his people then. He is just as serious about our disobedience and sin today as he was about then. Make no mistake about it – “God cannot be mocked.” He will punish sin.
But, you might say, I have a Savior. This is true. But God did not send his Son as the Savior of the world in order to give you an excuse for sinning. God also tells us that if we continue to willingly sin, finally no payment for sin is left. Sin that is done willfully on our part betrays an attitude that rejects God’s grace and forgiveness.
God did send his Son to save you from your sin. He has washed you clean in the waters of baptism and purified you through Christ’s blood. In adopting you as his child, he has also showed you how a child of God is to live. Will you do that perfectly? No. But when you disobey, you repent, you confess your failings, your sins, and God assures you that your sins are forgiven.
The long list of curses here wasn’t overkill on God’s part. He knew perfectly well that spiritual danger that stood before his people. He lovingly encouraged them to live as his people, promising to bless them as they kept his commands. He set up a system of worship for them that gave them opportunity to confess their sins, and in the sacrifices, see a picture of the Savior who would come to take their sins away. And he warned them of the dire consequences of disobeying the almighty God.
When God’s law confronts you with your sin, acknowledge your sinfulness to him plead for his mercy. See his love for you in his Son, through whom you have the forgiveness of all your sins. Thankful for God’s grace, then strive to live for him by living as his child.
Prayer: O God, I love you with my whole heart and above all things, and am sorry that I have disobeyed and offended you. May I never disobey or offend you anymore. O, may I love you without ceasing, and make my delight to do in all things your most holy will. Amen.
Today’s Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 28
Click here to read it online.
