RPG Adults
PESTILENCES SHALL BE PART OF THE CURSES
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2
Deuteronomy 28:21-28
Jeremiah 4:5-9
“…the priests shall be astonished,
and the prophets shall wonder.”
PESTILENCES SHALL BE PART OF THE CURSES
Moses continued to give the details of the consequences of the curses. Death due to pestilences would be very saddening. Everyone would be affected and there would be no one to take care of the welfare of another. These would be epidemic diseases (comparable to Covid -19, the latest in a series of pestilences of this generation). Such can easily wipe out entire populations.
Moses foresaw all these that were to befall Israel and mentioned them at length in his message to emphasise the importance of obedience. When these words are read today and the passing of many generations since then, there is almost a similar pattern. This is so because it is God, the Creator of the universe, who uses these calamities to punish sin. Here is part of the description, “The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish” (Deut 28:21-22). The mention of brass and iron describes the heat that would be experienced, the heat of a furnace that is required to smelt these metals.
Not only would diseases infect people and animals, even the weather would bring death, rain would become dust to destroy life. In addition, the nation would be made helpless before its enemies who would kill or scatter the people all over the earth. The corpses would be left in the fields to rot away and become meat for the fowls of the air. Other calamities are thus described, “The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed” (Deut 28:27). In addition, there would be madness, blindness and astonishment of the heart. All these would bring misery and death.
THOUGHT: Untold misery is the consequence of disobedience.
PRAYER: Father, may I escape the curse of disobedience by obeying Thee.