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It not only takes us through the whole history of the universe from beginning to end, but it can also speak clearly to us about daily life:
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Is there really a God who has shown up in human history?
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Deuteronomy Episode 8 - Blessings or Curses: The Life-Defining Choice
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The stark reality of life's fundamental choice stands at the heart of Deuteronomy chapters 26-28. As Israel prepared to cross into the Promised Land, they faced a decision that would shape their entire future: follow God's ways and receive blessing, or reject His path and experience curse. Standing between two mountains—one representing blessing, one representing curse—the entire nation participated in a dramatic ceremony that visualized this pivotal choice.
Why was remembrance so crucial for Israel's spiritual vitality? The answer lies in our human tendency toward pride and self-sufficiency. God commanded Israel to recall their slavery in Egypt whenever they harvested their first crops in the new land. This ritual of remembrance prevented them from attributing their abundance to their own strength rather than God's grace. When we forget where we've come from, we easily slip into thinking "this is by my might, by my strength," rather than recognizing divine provision.
Most profoundly, God describes Israel as His "treasured possession"—a phrase that reshapes our understanding of redemption. Drawing from Jesus' parable of hidden treasure, we see that we are the treasure God sought, and Christ is the one who gave everything to acquire us. This transforms obedience from burdensome obligation into loving response toward One who treasures us deeply.
The consequences of our choices reverberate through our lives in ways both visible and invisible. A psychiatrist treating patients with depression often discovers spiritual dimensions to their suffering—like the woman whose secret affair created internal conflict no medication could resolve. Our secular culture says, "Just be happy," without addressing the deeper causes of our distress, while God's wisdom reveals how living contrary to His design naturally produces painful consequences.
The blessings described in Deuteronomy 28 paint a picture of comprehensive wellbeing—prosperity, fruitfulness, security, and abundance. Yet these earthly promises point toward something greater: they give us glimpses of God's ultimate new creation where there will be "no barrenness, no death, no hunger." The promised land's blessings were merely a foretaste of the world God is preparing.
Which path are you choosing today? Two gates, two roads, two crowds, two destinations. Jesus described this same binary choice when He spoke of the narrow way leading to life and the broad way leading to destruction. The invitation remains open—to remember God's redemption, embrace your identity as His treasured possession, and step onto the path that leads to life.
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Welcome to Book by Book
Speaker 1Hello and welcome to Book by Book , the joy of meeting Jesus in all the scriptures . My name's Steve Nicholls . It's great to have you with us for study number eight in the book of Deuteronomy . As the people of Israel prepared to begin their life in the promised land , they were faced with a choice blessings or curses and it's a life choice for each of us today too . With me to talk about these things is Herman Allen , in social care and education , and on the leadership team of Eden Church in Ilford here in London , dr Paul Blackham , church planter , church minister and theologian . And Dr Sunil Raheja , psychiatrist coach and author . Thank you for joining together today .
Speaker 1If you have a Bible at home , please turn to Deuteronomy , chapter 27 , and we're going to read a few verses from verse 9 . Deuteronomy , chapter 27 . Then Moses and the priests , who are Levites , said to all Israel Be silent , o Israel , and listen . You have now become the people of the Lord , your God . Obey the Lord , your God , and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today . On the same day , moses commanded the people when you have crossed the Jordan , these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people , simeon , levi , judah , issachar , joseph and Benjamin , and these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses Reuben , gad , asher , zebulun , dan and Naphtali . Well , we can picture that , I'm sure , in our mind's eye , of those two mountains with those tribes on it . But before we get to that , let's just back up a little bit to chapter 26
Remembering Your Past
Speaker 1. And , sunil , my first question is to you really , why did the ancient church of Israel have special ways of remembering their history , particularly when they gathered in the first harvest of the year ?
Speaker 2Yes , I think it's so important and it's an important principle . They always call to remember their past . Remember they'd been slaves in Egypt , they'd been under the tyrannical rule of the pharaoh , working seven days a week , hard labour , making bricks from straw , no time off A really horrible existence , and that went on for centuries . And now God is bringing to this promised land flowing with milk and honey , where they have abundant fruit and harvest . And God has been so good and when that happens , it's so easy to forget where you've come from . Remember your past , remember what you once were and remember what God has done for you . Otherwise , the danger is you become proud , you become arrogant , you start thinking this is by my might , by my strength , I'm the bee's knees . If you like , I can do this . No , no , it's because of God's graciousness and goodness to you that you are in the land , and I think that's the importance to continue reminding that year in , year out . Otherwise , the dangers are that you'll forget and all the consequences of that . Well , that will happen .
Speaker 1Paul , anything you'd add to that ?
Speaker 3Yeah , and I think it's just often the way we think about our food and the farming process has so many gospel things in it and the concept of first fruit . And this Jesus himself says look , I'm like a first fruit , doesn't he ? He like says and as a seed , and he's like oh , when a seed goes into the ground and you bury it , make a little grave for it , put it in , and then it dies and is resurrected and Jesus goes that's like me and he's the first fruits from the dead . And so that concept of these first fruits and that gives you a sense of where the future is . Yeah , and then that was written into their daily annual pattern of life .
Speaker 1Yeah , wow , yeah , yeah , that's , that's wonderfully , it's a wonderful picture , isn't it in their life every day ? Paul , can I stay with you , okay , as we uh , as we keep looking chapter 26 , verses 12 to 15 . Um , the church was commanded to be generous with what they had . Why were they also not to waste
The Church as God's Treasure
Speaker 1what they had in pagan practices ?
Speaker 3Because the Lord's so generous in giving them good things and food , resources and things , yes , so what he wants them to do is share that with the whole church , family , the community , everyone's taken care of . But then he imagines like what if they ? What they do , is they start offering it to the dead or pagan gods ? Why would people do that ? Because they might say , well , I'm going to protect myself from death and I'm going to comfort myself and find security in my stuff and I'll hoard it to myself so that I'm going to , I'm going to use it for me .
Speaker 3And that's what that's really about wasting what the lord's given you on things that you're doing for yourself and and foolish reasons . And I always think that what , what's that like for us today where we'll say I'm going to use , uh , you know , food to comfort , eat or retail therapy and just waste what the lord's given me for things that are just not generous , they're not for the good of anyone , they're just selfishly used . Or consumption , just consumption . And I do think that's what he's warning , he's saying don't be wasting the things I give you on dead things , barren things , selfish things , the whole thing belongs to the Lord .
Speaker 1Yeah , homer , can I turn to you ? And still , in chapter 26 , following the God's word with all our heart and soul . It's not a hobby . How can we take up every opportunity to tell the story of redemption to those around ?
Speaker 4us . I think it's so powerful and I think Zuni and Paul has already mentioned it we have to take the opportunity , because contextualised is what we're experiencing . There's a singer I don't know if you know him , bob Marley . He has a song called Redemption Song and he says in it pirates , yes , they robbed us , sold us to a merchant ship , minutes after they took us to the bottomless pit . What that means translating is pirates came to Africa , robbed us of our heritage , put us in ships and took us across the ocean to become slaves . But it goes on to say minutes after they took I to the bottomless pit , but my hands was made strong by the hand of the Almighty , we forward in this revelation triumphantly . So what he meant by that was that , even though they got to the very low point , god's hand rescued him his ancestors .
Speaker 3Yeah , yeah .
Speaker 4And then he says well , help us to sing the redemption song , song of freedom , song of liberty . Yeah , and so you can really only sing redemption song when you understand the context of what you've been redeemed for , from and for yeah , and so we are celebrating the fact that we were lost , abandoned , hopeless , and God came and rescued us .
Speaker 4And that's what God was encouraging the children of Israel to do to remember where you come from , because that will give you not just praise , it will give you the power , the adrenaline , the ability to continue to go forward . It's not done , it's not over . That's why , even in the song , it says emancipate yourself from mental slavery . So what Bob Marley was trying to say is that it's not over . We've still got to have it in our mind that we've got to be free and we've got to maintain that freedom . And I think that's what god was reminding the children to not just about following the law . It's by understanding the freedom and the liberty that we have and that gives us the courage and the grace and the faith to continue yeah , and in due time .
Speaker 1It's a whole life thing , isn't it ? Yeah , it's reflecting that and responding to that , redemption the whole of our life . Yeah , putting to death , smashing those idols , as you're saying . We've been set free , now let's live as free . Smash those idols put those sins to death . Homan , I'm staying with you . In verse 18 of this chapter , chapter 26 , it describes the church as the Lord's treasured possession . Can you unpack that a little bit for us please ?
Speaker 4Yes , I mentioned this once before that we are his treasured possession , because Jesus gave a parable in Matthew 13 , verse 44 , where it says the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in the field , and when a man found it , he hid it again and then , with joy , went and sold all he had and bought that field .
Speaker 4The previous interpretation of that was that actually that's us looking for the treasure , maybe the kingdom , but actually the the more I don't know .
Speaker 4Pertinent interpretation is actually that the treasure is us and that Jesus is the one searching for us and he's the one that's given up everything to redeem us , for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son . And so I think God is reminding the children of Israel that not only are they to keep the law for some reasons of keeping them safe , but that they're keeping the law because of his love for them , because they are treasured to him , and this is a way of enabling him to push through and to bless and to prosper them and to do the things that he wants to do for them freely . But they can only achieve that by doing what he needs them to do . But the ultimate aim is to love them , to treasure them , and that's what we need to appreciate . And so it doesn't become so laboursome , it doesn't become so burdensome to keep what God commands us to keep because we're actually doing it because of his love for us and us returning that love to him .
Speaker 1That's a wonderful reminder .
Speaker 3It is lovely the idea that you know , because people may be watching and thinking I feel completely lost , I can't find God , but you're saying , no , he will come and find you , exactly like , say , can I ask a good question ? It's like if , say , someone is feeling like that now , what would you say to them if they're feeling completely lost ? All right , god , how would they respond to this idea that you've just said , that the idea that someone the lord's will come and find ?
Speaker 4them . Yeah , I think we've got to understand or anybody watching needs to appreciate that the Lord is close at hand . He's always there . All they need to do is to really just ask . He never enforces , he never imposes , he always waits for our invitation . He presents himself and we've just got to ask and he will be all that . We need him to be for us .
Speaker 3It's as simple as that really Just call out to him . Just call out to him For help , he'll respond Help , help .
Speaker 1Yeah , Omer . Thank you , Sunil . Can I turn to you and also now to Chapter 27 ? So we're moving on a little bit . Sunil , in your work as a coach and psychiatrist , you must see how basic choices people make in life lead to cursing or blessing . What wisdom is found in verses 14 to 26 , we're looking at particularly when the ancient people spoke , the divine curses
The Choice of Blessing or Cursing
Speaker 1on these different forms of foolishness .
Speaker 2Yes , you're right , I work as a psychiatrist and coach and I've done that for many years and I do hear some really tragic stories about people's lives and the bad decisions that they make and then the consequences that then result from that . Yeah , and I think a lot of it is . You know , if you think about again the culture and environment that we live in , we're very much , you know . We live in a world that's very cynical , complex , confusing , chaotic . It's getting more and more so like that and those , if I choose to live a certain way , there will be consequences . Um , I'm sort of thinking of a particular case of of patient .
Speaker 2When I recently just started psychiatry and there's a woman who came to see me in the clinic and she had very severe depression and as a junior doctor , I was like the fourth or fifth psychiatrist seeing her and when you're a junior doctor , you check what your colleagues have done beforehand . You know they change every six months and I've seen that she had this intact depression that just wasn't getting better in spite of all the medication that they were giving . They were giving top dose of medication , they were trying various other forms of treatment and nothing was working . And she came in and I went through the history again with her and she was just as bad . And what they teach you at medical school is , if you don't know what to do because I didn't know what to do , because it was just as bad and everything I could see had been tried they say to you just review the diagnosis . I remember I said to her well , is there something you haven't told us that might be useful for us in helping you ? I always remember her answer . It was sort of mind-blowing really . She said well , yes , there is . She says I've been having an affair with a man across the road for the last I think it was two or three years . His wife doesn't know about it . In fact , his wife is my best friend and she's sitting outside in the clinic right now , in the waiting room right now . And I thought , my goodness , wow .
Speaker 2And what our world teaches us is that I've got a pain , I've got depression . You just need to take it away . I want to be happy and our secular world says don't think about context , just be , be happy . But there's a reason why you're feeling the way that you are . Yes , there's clinical depression , that's . You know that if you feel thyroid slow , or you know , or there's , there's some , there's there's an electrolyte imbalance , or you know , there's illnesses and diseases that cause depression . But also we bring curses on ourselves when we live out of sync with the way that we were created to live . And I mean , that's just one story . But you know , you hear so many examples of of anxiety , depression , burnout , stress , relationship problems that come because we're not living in the way that we're intended to live .
Speaker 2You know , worry is another . Okay , I'm a , I'm a born warrior . You know , I don't have much hair on my head because in my early years I used to worry a lot and that had its consequences . But the point I'm getting at is that worry , even though I'm a disciple of Christ , worry is a form of functional atheism . When I worry , I'm basically saying to God and to the universe the world has to go my way and until it goes my way , I'm going to keep on fretting about it and thinking about it . And he's just going around spinning my wheels . And what if this happens ? What if that happens ? What will I do if that happens ? And that's what worry is . And worry leads to anxiety . Yeah , in a sense we bring those curses onto ourselves . God doesn't have to do anything , because we're creating the mess ourselves .
Speaker 1There are consequences to the choices that we're making .
Speaker 2There are consequences and unfortunately , our world , which has forgotten God and says oh no , there's no God . And I think probably one of the biggest lies is that I'm born and I die and I stop existing and that's it , finito the end . I just become worm manure , that's all I become . Well , no , Well , if that's the case , then just live this life , eat , drink and be merry , because we die and unfortunately , that's the narrative that we live in .
Speaker 1Thank you . Well , let's stay with this theme of blessing and cursing Paul in chapter 27, . The ceremony at the beginning of the chapter with tribes on one mountain or another mountain , just unpack that for us .
Speaker 3Well , I know , and it's like the whole of that the people had to get involved in enacting very visually and powerfully , there is there's like a simple choice in life you're either gonna go , there's blessing , there's cursing , and they all had to be part of it .
Speaker 3And it's because often it's just that way that the book of deuteronomy keeps saying you know , there's a foolish way , yeah , there's a wise way , there's a life or there's death . And the really the Lord , who does keep saying choose life . But they all had to be involved in just saying is actually , in the end , a stark choice . And that Jesus puts it is there's a narrow way that leads to life , a broad way that leads to destruction . And I just , it's just powerful that because we often think , oh no , there's loads of options and it was like , in the end , it's actually this or this and there's many ways that it dressed it up . But underneath it all , there's a wise way and there's a foolish way . There's the narrow way , there's the broad way , and they all were involved in enacting it by standing on these two mountains to show it .
Speaker 1And part of the ceremony was the construction of an altar
Living Between Two Mountains
Speaker 1with uncut stones Herman , tell us a little bit about that , if you would .
Speaker 4I think the beauty of that is that these stones weren't pre-prepared , they were ready to be used . Jesus himself was compared to an uncut stone in that he was hewn from the mountains , says Adania . But also he was the stone that the builders rejected . Why did they reject him ? They rejected him because he didn't come in the form and in the fashion that they thought he would come . But also for us , in us coming to the Lord , we can't pre-prepare , we can't have our act together . We need to come as we are , just like broken stones , just like uncut stones , and it's God's job . It's the fire on the altar , the sacrifice on the altar that purifies us and makes us who we are .
Speaker 4The second thing about that is we come in our diversity . We don't come in this uniform religious formulaic thing . We come as we are and we express the life of Christ as we are . He says we are lively stones building up the spiritual house . We are not dead stones . So lively stones , living stones , can move and change It's's dynamic . It certainly is , but in terms of diversity .
Speaker 4I mean , early missionaries sometimes went to places far-flung and would try to convert people , but it wouldn't be just converting them to Christianity , it would be trying to culturally convert them and we have a cultural bias . We've got to get rid of that . We've got to look what our cultural biases are and put that aside and realise that the main thing is to present the gospel pure and simple , and realise that God wants all of us to be a part of making this tapestry . Being like I don't know , being like a jigsaw puzzle . I once built a fireplace with uncut stones . It's interesting that when you're building something like that , you're looking for different stones to fit so you can build a structure that is maintainable , that will stand the test of time . So I think that's what the Lord is pointing to here that we come as we are , we come in our diversity , we come with our creativity and he builds us into this thing called the church . People from every nation , culture , creed , all come in as one , not uniform , but united yeah , wonderful , wonderful picture . Thank you , united yeah .
Speaker 1Wonderful , wonderful picture . Thank you , herman . Yeah , paul , chapter 28, . These blessings in chapter 28 are tied right into the commands of the Lord himself . How does this speak to the way we live today ?
Speaker 3Yeah , because this power and it's almost like a vision of a new creation kind of , because it's like , oh , you'll be blessed in the city , the country , your homes , your family , everything .
Speaker 3And on one hand , it's giving us that sense that if we walk with the Lord and trust in him , as Jesus said , like , don't worry about all these things , like what you're going to wear , what you're going to eat . The heavenly Father knows about that , and there's a way that let him worry about the things that we worry about . So that's that . But also there's a way in which his vision is actually for a world in which because here it's like all that , all the rain and the seasons , are all working together to bring about total um , health and life and everything . So he's like , yeah , leave this with me , don't you worry about the future . I've got it , even for this life . But even can you see ahead ? He's like can you imagine a world in which there's no barrenness , there's no death , there's no hunger , there's nothing ? I'm going to bring that about . Trust me with it . That's the blessing I've got for you , more than you can ask or imagine .
Speaker 1So the blessings in the promised land were just a picture , weren't they a foretaste of a much greater blessing ?
Speaker 2Yeah , thank you .
Speaker 1And so now the cursings , the curses . So in verses 15 to 68 of chapter 28 , it's a long section there are a lot of them . What stands out for you as a psychiatrist , then , about being alienated from the Lord God ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean , it's interesting , isn't it ? There are lots of curses . I think it's quite striking , probably because God knows that , unfortunately , they're not going to obey and they're going to be alienated from him . I think for me , because we have so much of society and culture turned away from God , there is this deep sense of uneasiness that something bad is going to happen .
Speaker 2There's a secular writer called Ernest Becker and I've got the quote to you . He says I think that taking life seriously means something like this , that whatever man does on this planet has to be done in the lived truth . And this is the words of the terror of creation , of the rumble of panic underneath everything . Wow , this sense that I'm not secure . And you can feel that in the news , and part of it is because bad news always sells . Well , good news doesn't sell Bad news and it gets focused .
Speaker 2But you know wars , rumors of wars and terrible things . You know Jesus talked about and he says when you hear of wars and rumors of wars and I think it's Mark 14 , do not be alarmed . These are the signs
The Life-Defining Invitation
Speaker 2of the end of the age . And I think , as disciples of Christ , you know we live in a fallen , broken world and I see that as a psychiatrist and a coach , and I see that around us . But God continues to remind , and he continues to keep reminding us in Deuteronomy don't panic , okay , don't panic , because these are birth pains of a new age that is coming . So a mother who's going to give birth goes through her labor pains , but once she's given birth , those labor pains are forgotten in in the new life that is coming . And I think that's such a reminder to us as we look ahead to our promised land to be with the Lord , that that that is what is ahead and these are just signs that God's at work .
Speaker 1Yeah , so thank you . Thank you , paul , if I can just end with you Chapter 28 . What is the underlying reason for the cursed existence ? What makes humanity cursed ? And this whole chapter ? What does it say to the world that we live in today ?
Speaker 3I know that sense of like verse 66 , living constant suspense , filled with dread , day and night , never sure of your life . And it's because . What is our life ? If we realise the Lord Jesus is our life , then nothing can touch him . He's like rules . The universe holds everything together . If my life is me , well I know my life's like slipping through my fingers . I can't hold on to it . But when I know my life is like slipping through my fingers , I can't hold on to it . But when I know , no , my life is hidden with christ , then nothing can touch it .
Speaker 1And now I can be secure it comes down , as you say , in the end to two choices , doesn't it ? Life or death , blessing or cursing . And the lord is saying choose life , herman paul , so no , thank you so much for your time today . It's been great to share in this study together . What's our key truth from these chapters today ? I think it's this the abundant blessings of the living God flow from the Father through the Son , by the Holy Spirit , onto all who are devoted to him . Blessings or curses , life or death , heaven or hell . The choice faces us , you and me , even today .
Speaker 1Jesus spoke about it too in Matthew , chapter 7 . Enter through the narrow gate , he said , for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction , and many enter through it . But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life , and only a few find it . Two gates , two roads , two crowds , two destinations . In the end , for every man , woman and child who's ever lived , there are just two options . Which one are you heading to ? Which crowd do you belong to ?
Speaker 1You can enter through that narrow gate today , if you've never done it before the narrow gate that leads to life and forgiveness . Don't delay , do it right now . Let me lead us in a
Final Prayer and Farewell
Speaker 1little prayer . Almighty God , all my life so far I've lived without you , but I want you Please forgive me through your son , jesus Christ , who died for me Today and forevermore . I choose your way , your life , your will , and I ask this in Jesus' name , amen . If you've prayed that prayer , we'd love to hear from you at Book by Book , so we can help you , perhaps linking you up with a local church . The TBN contact details are on the screen for you now . But until next time , god bless you and goodbye .
