Deuteronomy 28:1-68 - chart comparing blessings and curses

Deuteronomy 28:1-68

The Blessings and Curses

I have tries in this chart to place together the related blessings and curses. While some were clearly opposites of each other, many were not so obviously related, and may not have been intended to be seen as opposites. I hope that seeing the blessings and curses side by side (in this poor attempt of that feat) may be of some help in looking at this chapter in Deuteronomy.

Blessings	Curses: vv15-46	Curses: vv47-57	Curses: vv58-68
[1] It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that Yahweh your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. [2] All these blessings will come upon you, and overtake you, if you listen to Yahweh your God’s voice.	[15] But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, that all these curses will come on you, and overtake you.	[47] Because you didn’t serve Yahweh your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; [48] therefore you will serve your enemies whom Yahweh sends against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in lack of all things. He will put an iron yoke on your neck, until he has destroyed you. [49] Yahweh will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies; a nation whose language you will not understand;	[58] If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, YAHWEH YOUR GOD;
[3] You shall be blessed in the city, and you shall be blessed in the field.	[16] You will be cursed in the city, and you will be cursed in the field.
[4] You shall be blessed in the fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the fruit of your animals, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock.	[18] The fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock will be cursed.	[50] a nation of fierce facial expressions, that doesn’t respect the elderly, nor show favor to the young, [51] and they will eat the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed. They also won’t leave you grain, new wine, or oil, the increase of your livestock, or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.
[5] Your basket and your kneading trough shall be blessed.	[17] Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
[6] You shall be blessed when you come in, and you shall be blessed when you go out.	[19] You will be cursed when you come in, and you will be cursed when you go out.
[7] Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck before you. They will come out against you one way, and will flee before you seven ways.	[25] Yahweh will cause you to be struck before your enemies. You will go out one way against them, and will flee seven ways before them. You will be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth. [26] Your dead body will be food to all birds of the sky, and to the animals of the earth; and there will be no one to frighten them away.	[52] They will besiege you in all your gates, until your high and fortified walls come down, in which you trusted, throughout all your land. They will besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land, which Yahweh your God has given you.
[8] Yahweh will command the blessing on you in your barns, and in all that you put your hand to. He will bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.	[20] Yahweh will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke, in all that you put your hand to do, until you are destroyed, and until you perish quickly; because of the evil of your doings, by which you have forsaken me. [21] Yahweh will make the pestilence cling to you, until he has consumed you from off the land, where you go in to possess it. [22] Yahweh will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with fiery heat, with the sword, with blight, and with mildew. They will pursue you until you perish.
[9] Yahweh will establish you for a holy people to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and walk in his ways. [10] All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by Yahweh’s name, and they will be afraid of you.	[36] Yahweh will bring you, and your king whom you will set over yourselves, to a nation that you have not known, you nor your fathers. There you will serve other gods of wood and stone. [37] You will become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where Yahweh will lead you away.
[11] Yahweh will grant you abundant prosperity, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give you.	[27] Yahweh will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with the tumors, with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed. [28] Yahweh will strike you with madness, with blindness, and with astonishment of heart. [29] You will grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. You will only be oppressed and robbed always, and there will be no one to save you. [30] You will betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her. You will build a house, and you won’t dwell in it. You will plant a vineyard, and not use its fruit. [31] Your ox will be slain before your eyes, and you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be violently taken away from before your face, and will not be restored to you. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and you will have no one to save you. [32] Your sons and your daughters will be given to another people. Your eyes will look, and fail with longing for them all day long. There will be no power in your hand. [33] A nation which you don’t know eat the fruit of your ground and all of your work. You will only be oppressed and crushed always; [34] so that the sights that you see with your eyes will drive you mad. [35] Yahweh will strike you in the knees and in the legs with a sore boil, of which you can not be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. [38] You will carry much seed out into the field, and will gather little in; for the locust will consume it. [39] You will plant vineyards and dress them, but you will neither drink of the wine, nor harvest, because worms will eat them. [40] You will have olive trees throughout all your borders, but you won’t anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives will drop off. [41] You will father sons and daughters, but they will not be yours; for they will go into captivity. [42] Locusts will consume all of your trees and the fruit of your ground.	[53] You will eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, whom Yahweh your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies will distress you. [54] The man who is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye will be evil toward his brother, toward the wife whom he loves, and toward the remnant of his children whom he has remaining; [55] so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left to him, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy will distress you in all your gates. [56] The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye will be evil toward the husband that she loves, toward her son, toward her daughter, [57] toward her young one who comes out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of all things, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy will distress you in your gates.	[59] then Yahweh will make your plagues fearful, and the plagues of your seed, even great plagues, and of long duration, and severe sicknesses, and of long duration. [60] He will bring on you again all the diseases of Egypt, which you were afraid of; and they will cling to you. [61] Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, Yahweh will bring them on you, until you are destroyed.
[12a] Yahweh will open to you his good treasure in the sky, to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand.	[23] Your sky that is over your head will be brass, and the earth that is under you will be iron. [24] Yahweh will make the rain of your land powder and dust. It will come down on you from the sky, until you are destroyed.
[12b] You will lend to many nations, and you will not borrow.	[44a] He will lend to you, and you won’t lend to him.
[13] Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail. You will be above only, and you will not be beneath; if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do, [14] and shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.	[43] The foreigner who is in your midst will mount up above you higher and higher, and you will come down lower and lower. [44] He will lend to you, and you won’t lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail. [45] All these curses will come on you, and will pursue you, and overtake you, until you are destroyed; because you didn’t listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you. [46] They will be for a sign and for a wonder to you and to your seed forever.		[62] You will be left few in number, even though you were as the stars of the sky for multitude; because you didn’t listen to Yahweh your God’s voice. [63] It will happen that as Yahweh rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so Yahweh will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you. You will be plucked from off of the land where you go in to possess it. [64] Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. There you will serve other gods, which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone. [65] Among these nations you will find no ease, and there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; but Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and pining of soul. [66] Your life will hang in doubt before you. You will be afraid night and day, and will have no assurance of your life. [67] In the morning you will say, “I wish it were evening!” and at evening you will say, “I wish it were morning!” for the fear of your heart which you will fear, and for the sights which your eyes will see. [68] Yahweh will bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I told to you that you would never see it again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies for male and female slaves, and nobody will buy you.

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

[12] Now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God require of you, but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, [13] to keep the commandments of Yahweh, and his statutes, which I command you this day for your good? [14] Behold, to Yahweh your God belongs heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that is therein. [15] Only Yahweh had a delight in your fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all peoples, as at this day. [16] Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked. [17] For Yahweh your God, he is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the awesome, who doesn’t respect persons, nor takes reward. [18] He does execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the foreigner, in giving him food and clothing. [19] Therefore love the foreigner; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. [20] You shall fear Yahweh your God; you shall serve him; and you shall cling to him, and you shall swear by his name. [21] He is your praise, and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things, which your eyes have seen. [22] Your fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons; and now Yahweh your God has made you as the stars of the sky for multitude.

10:12 – What does the Lord your God require of you

Is it not a light thing that the Lord requires of us? Yes and no. We must take up our cross daily. In that it is a cross, it is not a light thing. And yet, in that it is a yoke, it is easy and light. What God requires of us gives rest to our souls.

When compared with the world, is it heavy or light? If we look only at the empty promises of the world, then the world wins every time. But, as we consider not only how empty the promises of the world are, but also the temporal and ultimate end of its path, we must admit that the world lays a heavy yoke upon those who serve it.

Is God asking us to trade our soul for a bowl of soup? Is he requiring us to give up our eternal soul for fleeting, passing pleasures? No. The end result of his requirements is the gaining of our eternal soul. Along the way it is peace and rest to our soul. It is health to our being and our existence.

Micah 6:6-8 [6] How shall I come before Yahweh, and bow myself before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? [7] Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams? With tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my disobedience? The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? [8] He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Jeremiah 7:22-23 [22] For I didn’t speak to your fathers, nor command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: [23] but this thing I commanded them, saying, ‘Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

10:12,20 – Fear the Lord your God

Jeremiah 32:39-40 [39] and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good, and of their children after them: [40] and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me.

Psalm 128:1; 1 Peter 1:13-17

10:12 – Walk in all his ways

Psalm 81:10-13 [10] I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. [11] But my people didn’t listen to my voice. Israel desired none of me. [12] So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts, that they might walk in their own counsels. [13] Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!

Titus 2:11-14

10:12 – Love him

Psalm 145:20; Romans 8:28; 1 John 5:2

10:12,20 – Serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul

Hebrews 12:28-29

10:13 – Keep his commandments and his statutes

10:14-15 – All things and people belong to God, but he chose your fathers and you after them.

Verse 16 has a “therefore.” These verses (14-15) are the first reason given, or first motivation given, to circumcise the hearts and to cease stiffening the necks. God's love for the fathers and his choice of their descendants after them should cause them to humble themselves, no longer being stubborn and rebellious.

It is the same for God's people today. As we consider God's love for us, it should motivate us to humble ourselves before God, to cease our stubborn and rebellious ways in holding onto sin against the will of the one who loves us so.

10:16 – Circumcise your heart

Leviticus 26:40-42 [40] “‘If they confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me, and also that, because they walked contrary to me, [41] I also walked contrary to them, and brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled, and they then accept the punishment of their iniquity; [42] then I will remember my covenant with Jacob; and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham; and I will remember the land.

Deuteronomy 30:1-10 [1] It shall happen, when all these things have come on you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, where Yahweh your God has driven you, [2] and return to Yahweh your God, and obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul; [3] that then Yahweh your God will release you from captivity, have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the peoples where Yahweh your God has scattered you. [4] If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of the heavens, from there Yahweh your God will gather you, and from there he will bring you back. [5] Yahweh your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you will possess it. He will do you good, and increase your numbers more than your fathers. [6] Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live. [7] Yahweh your God will put all these curses on your enemies, and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. [8] You shall return and obey the voice of Yahweh, and do all his commandments which I command you this day. [9] Yahweh your God will make you plenteous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, for good; for Yahweh will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers; [10] if you will obey Yahweh your God’s voice, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law; if you turn to Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul.

Jeremiah 6:10-11 [10] To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they can’t listen. Behold, Yahweh’s word has become a reproach to them. They have no delight in it. [11] Therefore I am full of the wrath of Yahweh. I am weary with holding in. “Pour it out on the children in the street, and on the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him who is full of days.

Jeremiah 9:25-26 [25] Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will punish all those who are circumcised in uncircumcision: [26] Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, who dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.

Ezekiel 11:16-21 [16] Therefore say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Whereas I have removed them far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries where they have come. [17] Therefore say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. [18] They shall come there, and they shall take away all the detestable things of it and all its abominations from there. [19] I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh; [20] that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. [21] But as for them whose heart walks after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their way on their own heads, says the Lord Yahweh.

In verses 16-20 it appears there is no condition for God's work in verse 19 being done. However, verses 21 seems to show that there is in fact a condition. If those whose heart walks after the heart of their detestable things will not receive a heart of flesh, then it seems reasonable to understand that it is those whose heart has turned from their detestable things who will receive a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26

Ezekiel 44:6-9 [6] You shall tell the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: you house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, [7] in that you have brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant, to add to all your abominations. [8] You have not performed the duty of my holy things; but you have set performers of my duty in my sanctuary for yourselves. [9] Thus says the Lord Yahweh, No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners who are among the children of Israel.

Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you do.

Romans 2:25-29 [25] For circumcision indeed profits, if you are a doer of the law, but if you are a transgressor of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. [26] If therefore the uncircumcised keep the ordinances of the law, won’t his uncircumcision be accounted as circumcision? [27] Won’t the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfills the law, judge you, who with the letter and circumcision are a transgressor of the law? [28] For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; [29] but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.

Colossians 2:9-13 [9] For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, [10] and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power; [11] in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; [12] having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. [13] You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

10:17 – God is almighty God and is an impartial judge.

This seems to be another reason or motivation to circumcise our hearts and no longer stiffen our necks. Before this exhortation, God's love is spoken of as a reason or motivation. After this exhortation, the coming judgment before the impartial judge is spoken of as a reason or motivation.

In this case, the fear of God and the coming judgment should motivate us to circumcise our hearts and humble ourselves.

Both motivations are given, and both are important. Each has a place in the Christian's life. May the Lord grant that we understand both his love for us and the awfulness of the coming judgment. Both should cause us to flee unrighteousness, and pursue God. Both should teach us of the goodness of God.

As both motivations are given time and again, we should learn to value both, and to lay hold of both. For those who know the fear of God, meditate on his love. For those who know the love of God, consider the fear of the Lord. Both are an important part of the Christian's spiritual armor.

2 Chronicles 19:7 Now therefore let the fear of Yahweh be on you. Take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with Yahweh our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes.”

2 Corinthians 5:9-11 [9] Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him. [10] For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. [11] Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are revealed to God; and I hope that we are revealed also in your consciences.

Galatians 6:3-5 [3] For if a man thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. [4] But let each man test his own work, and then he will take pride in himself and not in his neighbor. [5] For each man will bear his own burden.

10:18 – Widow and orphan

Isaiah 1:16-17 [16] Wash yourselves, make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. [17] Learn to do well. Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow.”

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

10:19 – Love the foreigner

10:20 – Cling to him

Joshua 23:6-8 [6] “Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left; [7] that you not come among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow down yourselves to them; [8] but hold fast to Yahweh your God, as you have done to this day.

Acts 11:22-23 [22] The report concerning them came to the ears of the assembly which was in Jerusalem. They sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch, [23] who, when he had come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad. He exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they should remain near to the Lord.

Acts 11:22-23 [KJV] [22] Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. [23] Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.

10:20 – Swear by his name

As God's people swear by his name, and prove trustworthy, faithful and true, then God's name will be honored among all men as they hear of those who swear by God's name. This will serve ultimately to the salvation of all men.

[*MHCC*] - (Matthew Henry Concise Commentary) Deuteronomy 10:12-22

12-22 We are here taught our duty to God in our principles and our practices. We must fear the Lord our God. We must love him, and delight in communion with him. We must walk in the ways in which he has appointed us to walk. We must serve him with all our heart and soul. What we do in his service we must do cheerfully, and with good will. We must keep his commandments. There is true honour and pleasure in obedience. We must give honour to God; and to him we must cleave, as one we love and delight in, trust in, and from whom we have great expectations. We are here taught our duty to our neighbour. God's common gifts to mankind oblige us to honour all men. And those who have themselves been in distress, and have found mercy with God, should be ready to show kindness to those who are in the like distress. We are here taught our duty to ourselves. Circumcise your hearts. Cast away all corrupt affections and inclinations, which hinder you from fearing and loving God. By nature we do not love God. This is original sin, the source whence our wickedness proceeds; and the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be; so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God, #Ro 8:5-9|. Let us, without delay or reserve, come and cleave to our reconciled God in Jesus Christ, that we may love, serve, and obey him acceptably, and be daily changed into his image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord. Consider the greatness and glory of God; and his goodness and grace; these persuade us to our duty. Blessed Spirit! Oh for thy purifying, persevering, and renewing influences, that being called out of the state of strangers, such as our fathers were, we may be found among the number of the children of God, and that our lot may be among the saints.

#433 - Napoleon's Opinion of Christ.

Napoleon's Opinion of Christ.

  When Napoleon was at Saint Helena, in the enforced retirement that followed his boisterous campaigns, he faced, with all the powers of his mighty intellect, the problem of the Unaccountable Man. Not a few of his devoted friends had been carried away on the flood-tide of infidelity which, at that time, was sweeping everything before it. On one occasion, when General Bertrand had been speaking of Jesus as a man of commanding genius, Napoleon interrupted him and said:
  “I know men; and I tell you Jesus Christ was more than a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between him and the founders of empires; but there is the distance of infinity between them. As for me I recognize those great men as beings like myself; they have performed their lofty parts, but there was nothing to prove them divine. They have had foibles which ally them with me. It is not so with Christ. Everything in Him astonishes me. His spirit overawes me; His will confounds me; He stands a being by Himself. His thoughts and principles are not to be explained by human organization or the nature of things. His birth and the history of His life, the profundity of His doctrine which grapples with the mightiest difficulties and solves them; His gospel, His kingdom, His march across the ages; these are too deep a mystery for me! They plunge me into reveries from which I find no escape. The nearer I approach Him, the more I perceive that everything is above me.
  “Who will presume to lift his voice against an intrepid voyager who recounts the marvels of lands which he alone has had the boldness to visit? Christ is that voyager. I search in vain through history to find his peer. He died an object of contempt, and left a Gospel which has been called 'the foolishness of the cross.' What a mysterious symbol! And what a tempest it provoked! On the one side all the furies; on the other gentleness and infinite resignation. And with what result? You speak of Caesar and Alexander, of their conquests and the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests with an army devoted to his memory? Can you conceive of Caesar from the depth of his mausoleum watching over the destinies of Rome? Yet such is the history of the Christian invasion and the conquest of the world. Such is the power of the Christian's Gods!
  “We have founded empires, Caesar and Alexander and Charlemagne and I; we have founded empires upon force; but Christ has founded an empire on love. And at this hour, millions would die for him. What a proof of his divinity! Now that I am at Saint Helena, chained upon this rock, where are my friends? My life once shone with a royal brilliance; but disaster overtook me and the gold became dim. Behold the destiny of him whom the world calls Napoleon the Great! What an abyss between my misery and the eternal reign of Christ!”
  For a moment the exiled Emperor was silent and then, with a broken voice, he added, “My friends, if you do not perceive that Jesus Christ is God, I did wrong to place you in command of my army.”--David James Burrell, D.D.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #433 (Page 232).

#423 - A Worthy Confessor

A Worthy Confessor

  It was a fine reply which Basil, of Caesarea, made when the Emperor Valens sent by his prefect, endeavoring by threats to compel him to receive acknowledged Arians into the fellowship of the Church. The prefect demanded whether he alone when all others obeyed the Emperor, dared to wish to have any other religion than that of his master. Basil replied that he had nothing to be afraid of; possessions, of which men might deprive him, he had none, except his few books and his cloak. An exile was no exile for him, since he knew the whole earth was the Lord's. If torture was threatened, his feeble body would yield to the first blows; and as for death, that would only bring him nearer to God after whom he longed. The prefect gave up the case. It was vain to threaten such a man.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #423 (Page 231).

#431 - Pull Out the Nail Hole

Pull Out the Nail Hole

  John B. DeMotte, A.M., gives this little story of father's teaching.

  “My boyhood home was not far south of the great chain of North American Lakes. Our fuel was poles cut from a neighboring tamarack swamp. It was my business, after they had been brought to our yard, to saw them to proper length for the stoves. They were long and slick and hard to hold. One morning, when I was in a hurry to be off fishing, they seemed to be especially aggravating. Getting the saw fast, I jerked about until finally I plunged the teeth some distance into one of my feet, making an ugly gash. My father saw the exhibition of my tempter, but said nothing until I had finished my work and my passion had subsided. Then he called me to him.

  “John,” said he, very kindly, “I wish you would get the hammer.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Now a nail and a piece of pine board.”

  “Here they are.”

  “Will you drive the nail into the board?”

  It was done.

  “Please pull it out again.”

  “That's easy.”

  “Now, John”--and my father's voice dropped to a lower, sadder key--“pull out the nail hole.”

  Ah! Boys and girls, every wrong act leaves a scar. Even if the board were a living tree, yea, a living soul, the scars remain. 

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #431 (Page 231).

#1165 - What is a Weight?

What is a Weight?

  A weight is anything which, without being essentially wrong or hurtful to others, is yet a hindrance to ourselves. We may always know a weight by three signs: first, we are uneasy about it; second, we argue for it against our conscience; third, we go about asking people's advice, whether we may not keep it without harm. All these things must be laid aside in the strength which Jesus waits to give.--selected.


Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #1165 (Page 565).

#411 - "I Don't Know!"

“I Don't Know!”

  It was one of those delightful autumn days and the Westchester Presbytery was enjoying its noon recess. Several candidates had been examined for ordination, among them young Stanley Phraner, son of one of our best-known and best-loved ministers. In answer to several questions about future affairs I noticed that he answered firmly, “I do not know.” We took a little stroll along the country road that passed the church, and I asked him why he had made that answer, “I do not know.” He said:
  “That is a lesson I learned at sea. I will tell you the whole story.
  “One summer when a college student at Princeton, I thought I would vary my vacation by taking a trip as a sailor. The invitation of a sea captain, known to our family, offered the opportunity. I started from New York on a three-masted schooner bound for the island of Porto Rico. Being good at figures, the captain asked me to do his navigation for him. He gave me a chart, an almanac, a book of logarithms, and a quadrant. He showed me how to use these things, and this was the formula by which I was always to work:
  “'Secant your latitude, co-secant your polar distance, take the co-sine of one-half the sum and the sine of the remainder.'
  “So day after day, under the watchful eye of the captain, I calculated the ship's position. The captain was always careful to note that the rule had been followed exactly. So one day I asked him:
  “Captain, why do you secant your latitude?”
  “I don't know!” said the captain bluntly.
  “Well, can you tell my why you co-secant your polar distance?”
  “I don't know! Except—except—well, that's the rule. Young man, you want to know too much. Do as I tell you, follow the rule, all sailors use it. Trust your book of logarithms and you will make port all right.”
  “So day by day I put down the position on the chart. On the fourteenth day out I went to the captain and ventured my first forecast.
  “'To-night if the wind holds fair,' I said, 'we ought to make the Saul Rock passage into the Caribbean Sea.' That night I watched eagerly, and sure enough about eleven o'clock we sighted the great white rock looming up in the ocean, and the next day we entered the harbor of Mayaguez. Along the shore giant palms waved their lofty plumes in the soft breeze. Beyond, we could see the groves of orange and banana trees and all the tropical verdure of the island, while from bluff to bluff of the headlands on either shore of the harbor arose a mighty rainbow arch, which, reflected on the sea beneath, formed a circle of wondrous light into which we slowly drifted that Sabbath evening as we came to anchor in the harbor of our destination. The rule was right, and by it we made port. When I got back to Princeton I was able to study out some of the reasons why of the rule that could not be explained at sea, but had to be followed in simple trust.”
  In the school of the sea this Princeton student had learned to say “I don't know!” It is a lesson in the faith-life worth learning. How many queries rise in our Christian thinking and living when we ought just to set to our seal that God is true and that His promises are sure.
  Why did the holy angels fall from heaven?
  “I don't know!”
  How was it sin entered Eden?
  “I don't know!”
  Why is it some wicked people seem to prosper while some very good people suffer?
  “I don't know!”
  How can one reconcile man's free will and God's sovereignty?
  “I don't know!”
  For the present I can get along without knowing some of these things, for I walk by faith and not by sight. We seek a better country, we are still at sea. We have not yet reached the home port—God's haven of eternal rest. Our book is the Bible, God's own word. The Gospel rule is, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” When at last we enter the City of Light we may learn many a reason why that cannot be given now. “For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”--John S. Allen, D. D.


Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #411 (Pages 220-221).

#400 - The Mystery of God's Love.

The Mystery of God's Love.

  A gentleman, who thought Christianity was merely a heap of puzzling problems, said to an old minister, “That is a very strange verse in the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, 'Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.'”
  “Very strange,” replied the minister; “but what is it, sir, that you see most strange about it?”
  “Oh, that part of course,” said the gentleman, patronizingly, and with an air of surprise, “'Esau have I hated' is certainly very strange.”
  “Well, sir,” said the old minister, “how wonderfully are we made, and how differently constituted. The strangest part of all to me is that He could have loved Jacob.”
  There is no mystery so glorious as the mystery of God's love.--Selected.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #400 (Page 214).

#375 - The Doxology in Empty Flour Barrel

The Doxology in Empty Flour Barrel.

  It is one thing to trust God when the flour-barrel is full, when there is money in the bank to fall back on and when the wages are coming in regularly.
  It is quite another thing to trust God when the barrel is empty, the money in the bank gone, and no wages coming in. Under these conditions one is apt to find that what was supposed to be faith in God was simply faith in a full flour-barrel.
  I heart the Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, on the China Inland Mission, say, “When I came to a place of testing where my faith was most needed, I found it gradually going; then I learned to look less to my faith, and to depend more on God's faithfulness.”
  Only as we come to God's Word and plant our feet upon the promises shall we find faith abiding in times of testing.
  The flour may be gone; the money may be gone, the salary gone; but God is there.
  I know this to be true. I had often said in public talks, “It takes real faith in God to be able to put your head into an empty flour-barrel and sing the doxology.” My wife had heard me say this and not long since she called me to the kitchen. I said, “What do you want me for?”
  She replied, “I want you to come out here and sing.” I thought this queer, so I went out to see what it all meant.
  In the center of the floor there was an empty flour-barrel she had just dusted out.
  “Now, my dear,” said she, “I have often heard you say one could put his head into an empty flour-barrel and sing, 'Praise God from whom all blessings flow,' if he believed what God said. Now here is your chance' practive what you preach.”
  There was the empty flour-barrel staring at me with open mouth; my pocket-book was empty as the barrel; I was not on a salary, and knew of no money that was coming in. I do not know that my wife enjoyed my preaching, but she was evidently bent on enjoying my practicing. I looked for my faith and could not find it; I looked for a way of escape, but could not find that, my wife blocking the door of the exit with the dust-brush covered with flour.
  I said, “I will put my head in and sing, on one conditon.”
  “What's that?” said my wife.
  “The condition that you will put your head in with me. You know how you promised to share my joys and sorrows.”
  She consented; so we put our heads in and sang the long-metre doxology. I will not say what else we did, but we had a good time; and when we got our heads out we were a good bit powdered up, which we took as a token that there was more flour to follow.
  Sure enough, though no person knew of our need or the empty barrel, the next day a grocery man called with a barrel of flour for the Gibbuds! Who sent it, or where it came from, we do not know to this day, save that we know that our heavenly Father knew that we had “need of these things.”
  I have joined with a thousand voices in singing the grand old doxology; I have sung it in many a fine church building, also in the open air under the blue canopy of heaven; but there is something very peculiar about the sound of the song when sung in an empty flour-barrel under the foregoing conditions. I have repeated the experience once or twice since with the same result though now I never spend any time in looking for my faith; I simply apply for flour at Phil. 4:19, and then sing. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.” Bread, butter, beef, beans, and all our needs we find can be supplied from the same place.
  In days gone by we have trusted in a good salary, but that sometimes failed to materialize; we have trusted in a good committee, but they did not always know when rent was due. But the Lord knows when the first day of the month comes around, and He has never failed to send us our rent money before it was due. “Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily (in 'truth,' the margin says) thou shalt be fed,” the Douay version reading, “Though shalt be fed with riches.”
  There is board and lodging for anybody who will “trust in the Lord and do good.”--H.B. Gibbud.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #375 (Page 200-201).

#328 - A Dazzling Argument

A Dazzling Argument

  “You teach,” said the Emperor Tajan to Rabbi Joshua, “that your God is everywhere, and boast that He resides among your nation. I should like to see Him.” “God's presence is, indeed, everywhere,” replied Joshua; “suppose we try first to look at his ambassadors.” The Emperor consented. The Rabbi took him in the open air at noonday and bade him look at the sun in the meridian splendor. “I cannot,” said Trajan; “the light dazzles me.” “Thou art unable,” said Joshua, “to endure the light of one of His creatures, and canst thou expect to behold the resplendent glory of the Creator? Would not such a sight annihilate thee?”--Hebrew Tales.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #328 (Page 179).

#306 - The Infidel Prayed

The Infidel Prayed

  I remember, says the bishop of Saskatchewan, many years ago listening with great delight to a story I heard from a missionary in North Canada. He said that some years before then a humble missionary was travelling through the Canadian backwoods. He lost his way, but presently was rejoiced at the sight of a glimmering light. Soon reaching it, to his surprise he found a large congregation of settlers gathered around a fire listening to an able discourse. To the horror of the missionary he found the man was trying to prove that there was no God, no heaven, no hell, no eternity. A murmur of applause went through the audience as the orator ceased.
  The missionary stood up and said: “My friends, I am not going to make a long speech to you, for I am tired and weary, but I will tell you a little story. A few weeks ago I was walking on the banks of the river not far from here. I heard a cry of distress, and to my horror I saw a canoe drifting down the stream and nearing the rapids. There was a single man in the boat.
  “In a short time he would near the waterfall and be gone. He saw his danger and I heard him scream, 'O God, if I must lose my life, have mercy on my soul!' I plunged into the water and reached the canoe. I dragged it to land and saved him. The man whom I heard when he thought no one was near, praying to God to have mercy on his soul, is the man who has just addressed you, and has told you he believes there is neither God, nor heaven, nor hell.”--Selected.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #306 (Page 166).

#218 - Are You Watching

Are You Watching.

  A young lady whose parents had died while she was an infant had been kindly cared for by a dear friend of the family. Before she was old enough to know him, his business took him to Europe. Regularly he wrote to her through all the years of his absence, and never failed to send her money for all her wants. Finally a word came that during a certain week he would return and visit her. He did not fix the day nor hour. She received several invitations to take pleasure trips with her friends during that week. One of those was of so pleasant a nature that she could not resist accepting it. During her trip he came, inquired as to her absence, and left. Returning, she found this note:
  “My life has been a struggle for you, might you not have waited one week for me?” More she never heard, and her life of plenty became a life of want.
  Jesus has not fixed the day or hour of His return, but He has said, “Watch!” and should He come today would He find us absorbed in thoughtless dissipation?--British Evangelist.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #218 (Page 112).

#194 - The First Offer

The First Offer

  A clergyman was visiting a man of business and the following conversation substantially occurred:
  “It is true,” said the merchant, “I am not satisfied with my present condition. I am not 'of a settled mind in religion,' as you express it. Still I am not utterly hopeless. I may yet enter the vineyard, even at the eleventh hour.”
  “Ah! your allusion is to the Saviour's parable of the loitering laborers who wrought one hour at the end of the day. But you have overlooked the fact that these men accepted the first offer.”
  “Is that so?”
  “Certainly; they said to the lord of the vineyard, “No man hath hired us.' They welcomed the first offer immediately.”
  “True; I had not thought of that before. But then the thief on the cross, even while dying, was saved.”
  “Yes, but it is likely that even he had never rejected the offer of salvation as preached by Christ and His apostles. Like Barabbas, he had been a robber by profession. In the resorts to which he had been accustomed the Gospel had never been preached. Is there not some reason to believe that he, too, accepted the first offer?”
  “Why, you seem desirous to quench my last spark of hope.”
  “Why should I not? Such hope is illusion. You had really no promise of acceptance at some future time. Now is the accepted time! Begin now.”
  “How shall I begin?”
  “Just as the poor leper did when he met Jesus by the way and committed his body to the great Physician in order to be healed. So commit your soul to Him as a present Saviour. Then serve Him from love. The next – even the most common – duty of life that you have to perform, do it as a service to Him. Will you accept the first offer? Your eyes are open to see your peril. Beware of delay!”
  “You are right; may God help me. I fear I have been living in a kind of dreamy delusion on this subject.” Ex.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #194 (Pages 101-102).

#193 - Submission

Submission

  “For me, I feel that nothing can be easier than to fulfill the duty which lies before me in life,” said P-, a young Christian, in a college prayer meeting. “I have given up my plans for entering into business. I shall devote my life to preaching the gospel. I have divided the day into periods. So many hours for prayer, so many for biblical study, so many for work and necessary recreation. I shall make it an absolute rule to speak with kind entreaties to evil-doers, never to allow my temper to be disturbed, and to occupy myself wholly in works of kindness and charity. I have begun this carefully-ordered life, and find it easy and full of sweetness.”
  The next day P- received a telegram that his father was dying. He hastened home, to find him dead and insolvent. He left the care of his helpless brothers and sisters on P-. He was forced to go to work as a bookkeeper, and to postpone his preparation for the ministry. His life for two years was a hard one; seventeen hours of labor, and an unhappy, quarrelsome family at home. At the end of that time an accident disabled him for months. He was confined to bed, suffering great pain at intervals, and surrounded by the direst poverty, which he could do nothing to relieve. He grew bitter and skeptical.
  “Can there be a just God?” he said to a friend, “My purposes were good. He has thwarted them all. I might have been a pillar in God's house. He has left me a useless lump of clay by the wayside.”
  “He gave the opportunity to preach submission and patience as you could have done in no pulpit,” was the answer. “You are a lump of clay and he the potter. It does not matter whether you are made into a rare porcelain vessel or an earthen one, provided you hold his purity and love and give it to the world.”
  The rebuke had its effect. Years afterwards P- gained his wish and became a Christian minister. He declared that at no time of his life was he brought so near to Go din humility and love as during the years when he was debarred from openly proclaiming his name.
  There are few of us who do not at some time in our lives complain that God has retrained and thrust us into the background when we would have rendered him service. The roots of the tree, could they reason, would doubtless rebel when they are buried in the dark, damp earth, but out if it they gather the life and sweetness for the flower and fruit. Obedience is true religious service, and experience is often the best scholarship of life.--Youths Companion.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #193 (Page 101).

#138 - Taught by His Hand

Taught By His Hand

  Rev. E. P. Dunlap, D. D., for many years a missionary in Siam, at a meeting held some years ago, related the following remarkable incident:

  In one of the Southern provinces was found an old man, the Lieut. Governor of the province, who was already a Christian. In his early life he was a maker and worshiper of idols. One day he was looking at his own hands, and said to his wife, “These hands of ours are very wonderful. There must be some power above us to make such hands. Gods that we make cannot do it. Why should we worship them?” So they decided not to worship them any more, but to worship this unknown power, under a name meaning the “Supreme of the Universe.”

  This they did for many years. One day in Bangkok the old man saw a man selling books, and said to him, “What books are those you are selling?” The man replied:

  “The best of books, which tells us about God who made all things.[”] “That is what I want,” the old man said, and bought several, one being a Bible, which he opened at the first chapter of Genesis, and read with delight. He and his wife read it and studied it carefully for months. They then said, “We will worship the Supreme under the name of Jesus,[”] which they did for years.

  Dr. Dunlap baptized them, and the old man built a house for him and the missionaries who came that way and entertained them. One day he went to a silver casket and took out some papers. He told Dr. Dunlap that his friends said to him, “What do you believe, what must we believe if we do not worship idols?” So without any help from any one, lead by the Spirit of God he had formulated a creed from the Word of God. It began:

  “I believe in God the father, I believe in God the Son; I believe is God the Holy Spirit,” and so on, containing all the essential points of our evangelical faith. The one point of difference was his refusal to eat things strangled, in obedience to the first council of the church at Jerusalem.

  What a commentary upon the power of God's word and the necessity of giving it free circulation, without note or comment. How true the promise, “My word shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”--Rev. Henry M. Tyndall.

(Page 66)

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #138 (Page 66).

#107 - A Submissive WIfe

A Submissive Wife

  A good woman's husband was spending an evening at a tavern. The conversation turned on their wives. The husband said his wife was excellent, only she was religious. "But," said he, "such is the command she has of her temper that were I to take you home at midnight and order her to get a supper, she would be all submission and cheerfulness." The company regarded this as a boast, and dared him to try it. The bargain was made.

  "Where is your mistress?" said the husband to the servant who sat up for him.

  "Gone to bed, sir."

  "Call her up. I have brought some friends home and desire supper." She came down and received the company, told them she had some chickens ready, and that supper should be got. It was served with much cheerfulness.

  One of them said to this lady: "Your civility fills us all with surprise. Our visit is in consequence of a wager, which we have lost. As you cannot approve our conduct, why so much kindness to us?"

  "Sir, when I married, my husband and myself were unconverted. It pleased God to call me out of that danger. My husband continues in it. Were he to die he must be miserable forever. I think it my duty to render his present existence as comfortable as possible."

  This affected the whole company, and left a deep impression on the husband's mind.

  "Do you, my dear," he said, "really think I will be eternally miserable? I thank you for the warning. By the grace of God I will change my conduct." He became a Christian and a good husband.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #107 (Page 49).

#37 - Build Higher

Build Higher

A young lady was dying of consumption. As she sat at the open window, she saw a couple of little birds come and build their nest on a branch not high from the ground. Day by day she watched them, and observed first the nest, then the eggs, and then the nestlings. As she watched them day by day, she used to shake her head, and say, "Silly birds, why not build higher?" And then when the little nestlings came and began to show their heads above the nest, the burden of her exclamation was still, why not higher?

One morning when she took her accustomed seat at the window lattice, she saw the nest all torn to pieces, and the ground strewn with the feathers of the poor little nestlings, and marks of violence all around; and then she said, "Ah, did I not tell you to build higher! Had you built higher you would have been secure from harm, and this dire mishap would not have befallen you." And you, my friends, when you come to cross the river of death, if ever you fail to get to the better land, when you look back it will be with the bitterest remorse that you will cry out, Why did I not build higher? Why did I not lay up my treasure in heaven, instead of spending my time and my money on the meat which perisheth, and on pleasures which pass away in a moment!--Henry Drummond.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #37 (Pages 17-18).

#34 - How the Pigs Were Led

How the Pigs Were Led

Many years ago I met a drover of pigs in one of the narrow streets of a large town; and, to my surprise, they were not driven, but quietly followed their leader. The singular fact excited my curiosity; and I pursued the swine until they all quietly entered the butchery. I then asked the man how he succeeded in getting the poor, stupid, stubborn pigs so willingly to follow him; when he told me the secret. He had a basket of beans under his arm; and kept dropping them as he proceeded, and so gained his object. Ah, my dear hearers, the devil has got his basket of beans; and he knows how to suit his temptations to every sinner. He drops them by the way; the poor sinner is thus led captive by the devil at his will; and if grace prevent not, he will get him at last into his butchery, and there he will keep him forever. Oh, it is because we are not ignorant of his devices that we are anxious this evening to guard you against them.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #34 (Page 16).

#17 - Scottish Honesty

Scottish Honesty

At one time in the highlands of Scotland, to ask for a receipt or promissory note, was considered an insult, and such a thing as a breach of contract was rarely heard of so strictly did the people regard their honor. There is a story of a farmer who had been to the lowlands, and had there acquired worldly wisdom.

[“]After returning to his native place he needed some money, and requested a loan from a gentleman in the neighborhood. The latter, Mr. Stewart, complied and counted out the gold, when the farmer immediately wrote a receipt. “And what is this man?” cried Mr. Stewart, on receiving the slip of paper. “That is a receipt, sir, binding me to give ye back your gold at the right time,[”] replied Donald. “Binding ye, indeed! Well, an, if ye canna trust yoursel', I'm sure I'll na trust ye! Such as ye canna hae my gold;” and, gathering it up, he returned it to his desk and locked it up.

“But, sir, I might die,” replied the needy Scot unwilling to surrender his hope of the loan, [“]and perhaps my sons might refuse it to ye, but the bit of paper would compel them.[”] [“]Compel them to sustain their dead father's honor![”] cried the enraged Celt, “They'll need compelling to do right if this is the road ye're leading them. Ye can gang elsewhere for money, I tell ye; but ye'll find nane about here that'll put more faith in a bit of paper than a neighbor's word of honor and his love of the right.[”]--Selected.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #17 (Page 8).

Deuteronomy 8:1-10,11-20

Deuteronomy 8:1-10

[1] You shall observe to do all the commandments which I command you this day, that you may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers. [2] You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or not. [3] He humbled you, and allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know; that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth. [4] Your clothing didn’t grow old on you, neither did your foot swell, these forty years. [5] You shall consider in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so Yahweh your God disciplines you. [6] You shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. [7] For Yahweh your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of springs, and underground water flowing into valleys and hills; [8] a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey; [9] a land in which you shall eat bread without scarceness, you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper. [10] You shall eat and be full, and you shall bless Yahweh your God for the good land which he has given you.

Testing / Proving / He humbled you

1 Peter 1:6-7 [6] Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials, [7] that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ—

James 1:2-4 [2] Count it all joy, my brothers, [] when you fall into various temptations, [3] knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. [4] Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

He humbled you

Three times in this chapter (8:2,3,16), Moses reminds God's people that he humbled them. God humbled them to prove them or test them (v2), to teach them something (v3), and to do them good at their latter end (v16). For the children of Israel, this humbling meant following God through the wilderness, being hungry, feeding on unknown foods, and being trained / disciplined by God. Who would bring this humbling upon themselves. And yet, for God's people who have been humbled, many have found that such times are a great treasure. Much is learned in character, and God is near. James, having experienced such from God's hand, encouraged us in his epistle: "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4).

The Good land & keeping the commandments of the Lord

John 15:9-11 [9] Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. [10] If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love. [11] I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.

Gaining and Retaining the Good Land

Observing and doing all the commandments of God is both the means or path of entering the good land (Deuteronomy 8:1), and the means or path of remaining in the good land (Deuteronomy 8:19-20). This is true for both God's people in the Old Testament, and for God's people in the New Testament.

God's commandments to us and the good land in its spiritual reality are not two separate things. God does not ask us to keep certain commands or laws, and then if we do, he rewards us with some totally unrelated good land. Whatever a man sows, that he will reap. Do we flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness? Do we clothe ourselves with humility? Do we pursue peace with all men? Do we love God and love our neighbor as God defines love? When we live such lives (working our our salvation in both the fear and power of God), this seed is blessed with an abundant crop both in this life and eternal life in the next.

God uses means. He does not create peace in the church out of thin air. As a church, we are called to pursue peace with all men (Hebrews 12:14), to clothe ourselves with humility toward one another (1 Peter 5:5), to count the other better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). Is not this the means God created to gain the great blessing of heavenly blessed peace and joy in the church?

Psalm 128 speaks of the blessedness of the man who fears the Lord and walks in his ways. He will find happiness and well-being in his home, with his wife and with his children. Behold, thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord. Again, this blessedness does not just happen on its own. The means God has given as the path to such blessing is the fear of the Lord and walking in his ways. His ways include living a holy and godly life that is pleasing to the Lord and an example to your family. His ways also include the purposeful teaching of your own children the fear of God and the ways of God. His ways include loving your wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Would not the seeds of such a life grow into the blessings spoken of by the Psalmist in Psalm 128?

While the fear of God and a life that walks in his ways is the path to gaining promised blessings, it is also the means of retaining these blessings (Deuteronomy 8:19-20). King Saul was little in his own sight (1 Samuel 15:17) when he was made king. As time went by, Saul laid aside him humility for the garment of pride (1 Samuel 15:12). Through his latter disobedience, he was rejected from being king (1 Samuel 15:23). He lost the blessing he had gained. Rather, it might be said, even the kingdom that he thought he had was taken away from him (Luke 8:18).

Luke 8:17-18 [17] For nothing is hidden, that will not be revealed; nor anything secret, that will not be known and come to light. [18] Be careful therefore how you hear. For whoever has, to him will be given; and whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he thinks he has.”

Deuteronomy 8:11-20

[11] Beware lest you forget Yahweh your God, in not keeping his commandments, and his ordinances, and his statutes, which I command you this day; [12] lest, when you have eaten and are full, and have built fine houses, and lived in them; [13] and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; [14] then your heart might be lifted up, and you forget Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; [15] who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where there was no water; who poured water for you out of the rock of flint; [16] who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers didn’t know; that he might humble you, and that he might prove you, to do you good at your latter end: [17] and lest you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.” [18] But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth; that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as at this day. [19] It shall be, if you shall forget Yahweh your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. [20] As the nations that Yahweh makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you wouldn’t listen to Yahweh your God’s voice.

Deuteronomy 7

Deuteronomy 7

[1] When Yahweh your God brings you into the land where you go to possess it, and casts out many nations before you, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than you; [2] and when Yahweh your God delivers them up before you, and you strike them; then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them; [3] neither shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to his son, nor shall you take his daughter for your son. [4] For he will turn away your son from following me, that they may serve other gods. So Yahweh’s anger would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. [5] But you shall deal with them like this. You shall break down their altars, dash their pillars in pieces, and cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their engraved images with fire. [6] For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God. Yahweh your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the earth.

"For you are a holy people..." (v6). Being a holy people (a chosen people, etc.) has two sides: "Because" and "So that." Verses 5 and 6 show us these two sides. In verse 5 God commands his people to do certain things that would separate them from the nations - SO THAT they can be holy. In verse 6 we read that they should carry out the commands of verse 5 BECAUSE they are a holy people. On the one hand, we are a holy people. We should live accordingly. On the other hand, we are called to be holy as God is holy. It is something we must pursue.

[7] Yahweh didn’t set his love on you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all peoples: [8] but because Yahweh loves you, and because he desires to keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, Yahweh has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. [9] Know therefore that Yahweh your God himself is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with them who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations, [10] and repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack to him who hates him. He will repay him to his face. [11] You shall therefore keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances, which I command you this day, to do them.

Why did God choose (v7) the children of Israel? God mentions this briefly here (Chapter 9 considers this further). He leaves them nothing to boast of in themselves. God says that he chose them because he loves them, and desired to keep his oath to their fathers. He loves them. They must remain in his love (John 15:9-10). Humility is of great service in this remaining or abiding.

Today, we ought to heed the admonition of the apostle Peter, who exhorts us to clothe ourselves with humility. God gives grace to the humble. We need his grace if we are to remain or abide in his love.

[12] It shall happen, because you listen to these ordinances, and keep and do them, that Yahweh your God will keep with you the covenant and the loving kindness which he swore to your fathers. [13] He will love you, bless you, multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your livestock and the young of your flock, in the land which he swore to your fathers to give you. [14] You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your livestock. [15] Yahweh will take away from you all sickness; and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you know, will he put on you, but will lay them on all those who hate you. 

[16] You shall consume all the peoples whom Yahweh your God shall deliver to you. Your eye shall not pity them: neither shall you serve their gods; for that would be a snare to you. [17] If you shall say in your heart, “These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?” [18] you shall not be afraid of them. You shall remember well what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh, and to all Egypt; [19] the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which Yahweh your God brought you out. So shall Yahweh your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. [20] Moreover Yahweh your God will send the hornet among them, until those who are left, and hide themselves, perish from before you. [21] You shall not be scared of them; for Yahweh your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. [22] Yahweh your God will cast out those nations before you little by little. You may not consume them at once, lest the animals of the field increase on you. [23] But Yahweh your God will deliver them up before you, and will confuse them with a great confusion, until they are destroyed. [24] He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you shall make their name perish from under the sky. No one will be able to stand before you, until you have destroyed them. [25] You shall burn the engraved images of their gods with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourself, lest you be snared in it; for it is an abomination to Yahweh your God. [26] You shall not bring an abomination into your house, and become a devoted thing like it. You shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.