People Free to be Cursed

Scripture: 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 on you and overtake you ... Deuteronomy 28:15

Observation: What follows this sentence is ... horrific. It starts with the simple reversal of blessings. God's favor will be removed, and life will be hard. However, then the land will be barren, families will struggle, diseases and plagues will come, manual work will not be productive, cattle and resources will be stolen, spouses and children will die, and enemies will successfully attack. The final images - which can be summarized as desperate cannibalism - are truly hard to even read. These are the curses God called upon Israel if they were to abandon him as Lord.

It all comes to pass.

This of course means these are not contingent curses, but the judgment against the future actions that God already knows.

Application: It is passages like this that I struggle with understanding free will. Israel had free will, but God knew what they as a nation would eventually do. Therefore, his curses are a future judgment. Likewise, God knows the judgment of hell, and has provided us with a means for eternal salvation through faith in Jesus as the alternative to hell. But even now, he knows what every person will choose.

Israel had free will, and chose their path. Within the context of Israel, every individual also had free will, and many chose not to follow the path of Israel but rather to remain faithful to God. This may or may not have improved their situation in the short term, but I believe and trust that it improved their long-term outcome when it comes to living a life with God.

As many in our time follow their own free will, I too will follow my free will ... that of following Jesus, obeying his commands, improving in that obedience daily, and pursuing a new, tender, loving heart that reflects God's love. I doubt that will improve my situation in the short term, but I believe and trust that it will dramatically improve my long-term outcome when it comes to eternal life with God.

Prayer: Abba, my dad in heaven, you name is precious to me. May your kingdom abide on earth as your ways are lived out and obeyed by your believers here on earth. Please provide for me today, and help me to live a life of love and grace as I walk in the shadow of your amazing blessing and love. Take my hand and help me to avoid sin. You are great and awesome, and I do seek justice and mercy this day. Amen.