Last week I was back east helping my mom get situated in to a new assisted living place; given she had decided the time had come to make such a move. I stayed at my brother’s house and had been battling some nasal/congestion/hacking-up issues for a few days while there. I guess my brother’s wife got tired of hearing me every morning hacking up stuff so she offered me a ‘horse pill’ (was just big) thinking it might help break up some of that nasal stuff. 

 It seemed to help some that first day so I tried it again the following day, and then one more time on the last day I was there. When I boarded my plane to return home, I had a connecting flight and when I got to that airport, I was desperately searching for a bathroom. I’ll spare you the details but it was bad enough to have me ‘Googling’ side effects for that particular med. And sure enough, while rare, I was experiencing one of many...that were listed. A day or two after returning home, I tried one more time...same results. I won’t be taking that particular pill anymore...thanks...but no thanks. I learned my lesson. 

 So how many of you make a sport of reading or looking up side effects for the abundance of meds we have out there in this country? There is no shortage of them and they can be rather comical to read. By law, pharmaceutical companies are required to print or make known all possible side effects to the drug they are marketing. Because the bottles can be small, and the list rather lengthy, they end up using very small font to get it all on there. Even folks with good vision might need magnifiers to read them. 

 If you have ever seen a TV ad or listened to a radio spot, the announcer has to inject somewhere in that ad all the possible side effects as well. It sounds like they have to ‘dub’ or speed up the audio reel where they sound like an auctioneer in speed-talk mode trying to get all the possible dangers in there before their 15 or 30 second clip is done. 

 Some of these side effects seem so severe and extreme...you have to wonder why anyone would risk taking the med. I mean, there is everything from loss of vision, death, manic outburst, heart attacks...and of course there is that ‘four hour’ one we always hear about as well. But it would be my guess that most folks may skim over or ask the doctor, but rarely spend time studying out all the possible dangers listed. Just give me the pill so I will feel better. 

 Where am I going with this one, you might be asking? By nature, we are more interested in hearing or experiencing the benefits to something than we are about learning the risk involved. 

 Which leads me to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 28. It is a lengthy one with 68 verses. The subtitle at the beginning of this chapter in several of my bibles reads ‘Blessings on Obedience’. We might call those the ‘benefits’. 

 Allow me to set the stage and give you context here as to what we are reading. The next generation of Israelites, several million of them, are camped out near the banks of the Jordan River. It won’t be long before Joshua will be leading them in to possess this land that God has for them. It’s actually the piece of real estate He promised to Abraham and his descendants when He established a covenant with Him some 400+ years earlier. You should be familiar with the story by now, but Exodus would be good to read if you need a refresher. It’s the account of how God raised up Moses to lead His people out of captivity and bondage in Egypt where they were slaves to Pharaoh. The plan was for them to travel through a wilderness area and go through a bit of refining and testing (Deut. 8:2) before crossing over into this new land where God wanted to establish them, and bless them...having called them out of darkness and oppression and giving them a good land to settle in. Problem was, they did not do well in the time of testing. 

 So after trying God’s patience with unbelief and disobedience (Heb. 3:18-19) God let them wander in the wilderness for forty years as that first generation died out, and as Paul reminded us, “their bodies were scattered in the wilderness”. (1 Cor. 10:5). I might also add here that Paul gives quite the refresher lesson in that chapter there while emphasizing that these things happened to them as an example and warning and admonition for us today. (6,11) 

 So the whole book of Deuteronomy is quite insightful and even relevant to us today for many reasons. Moses is giving this nation of people quite a lecture and drilling in to them, over...and over, and over...the importance of listening to and obeying God. I think reading the first eleven chapters of this book should be required reading for all believers on a regular basis. Moses cannot underscore enough...stressing the goodness and awesomeness of God our Deliverer and Creator and the benefits that come from serving Him with our whole heart. And this ‘whole heart’ thing is a key sticking point for sure. 

 As his lengthy lecture begins to wind down, we come to chapter 28. God is in a sense, renewing His covenant with His people, the descendants of Abraham whom God promised to look out for. You might describe this chapter as the ‘terms and conditions’ of this covenant relationship. We should all be familiar with such language if you have ever signed a rental agreement or lease or auto-loan, etc. 

The language and message could not be made any more clear as you read through this. Moses makes no attempt to hide, dilute, or shy away from the whole counsel of God. The chapter begins listing all the blessings or ‘benefits’ that the people can count on ...provided...they hold up to their end of their agreement. In a nutshell, their ‘end of the agreement’ is to obey God and do what He says. Do you remember what Jesus asked those folks there in Luke 6:46? Let me remind you: “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, and not do the things which I tell you?” 

 When did God change? (might scribble down Malachi 3:6) 

 Moses begins reading the ‘terms and conditions’ here in chapter 28- “Now it shall come to pass, IF...you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully ALL His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because...you obey the voice of the Lord your God.” (1-2) 

 Does anyone here have a problem with ‘overtaken with God’s blessings’? He begins to list those blessings or benefits here in the next eleven verses. I also feel compelled to mention here that with a lot of new jobs that people begin, there are certain ‘benefits’ that you just know are ‘a given’. It’s those ‘extra perks’ that you are curious to hear about. Which makes me want to point out one of those ‘givens’ that comes with this covenant relationship with God can be found in Exodus 15:26; 23:25-26; & Deut. 7:15. We might call that the ‘health coverage’ that we have all come to expect when taking on a new job with a company. (Just putting that out there) 

 So you notice the first two verses there in Chapter 28 drive home the point of how important obedience to God was for the people. You might even underline those words ‘diligently’ and ‘carefully’ and ‘all’. He then ‘bookends’ the list of blessings with the same reminder in vs.13-14. 

 This would be a good place to pause a moment and ask yourself this question: How serious do you think God was then about stressing the need for the people to do what He instructed them to do? I’m going to assume here that you rightly concluded that God was indeed quite serious. So let me ask this question once more: “When did God change?” Why...did that first generation of people not get to enter in to this land of peace and rest...according to Hebrews 3:18-19? And who are the recipients of this ‘salvation’ that Jesus came to provide...according to Hebrews 5:9? And in that story about two houses that were built and were tested with a violent storm and flood...the one that withstood the onslaught was likened to those who ‘hear the word’ and _______? (Matt. 7:24)

 Back ‘in the day’ when I was being pumped full with the ‘gospel of health, wealth, and prosperity’ and enraptured with this God who could not do enough good for anyone and everyone, I often was directed to these first 14 verses found in Deut. 28. These were there for us to ‘claim and expect’ without question or reservation. It was almost presented in a way that God ‘owed’ me this since I was ‘descendant of Abraham by virtue of my profession of faith in Christ’. 

 Oddly enough, I don’t ever recall anyone spending much time on the ‘rest of the chapter’, which included the remaining 54 verses.  (If they did, it was probably like those radio announcers do when trying to cram in three dozen possible side effect in .9 seconds.) That is quite the ratio 14:54. The smaller number being the ‘benefits’ and the 54 listing all the ‘curses’ (which is what the bible calls them). We might even use the term ‘consequences’ or even ‘adverse side effects’ if ‘not used properly’. 

 And there is a bunch of them. Here’s the ‘kicker’, as I draw a comparison to my opening illustration regarding pharmaceutical warning labels. The drug companies list their side effects as ‘possible’...not necessarily a ‘given’. 

 God...speaking through Moses here, gives no indication that these are ‘possible’ consequences. He states quite emphatically that they could count on encountering these things if they chose not to obey. He leaves no room for doubt. I’m not sure if you are familiar with Hebrews 6:18 but it tells us that it is ‘impossible for God to lie’. 

 I don’t know when the last time was that you picked up a random bottle of meds in your cabinet and spent time pouring over all the possible adverse side effects a person might experience if they took that product. If you enjoy that hobby, more power to you. But I would like to encourage you to grab a notepad and pen and spend some time with me looking over some of these ‘adverse side effects’ that will follow those who think God is not serious about what He has made clear will happen if we disregard His laws.

 Many people in the faith and church community today tend to shrug and quickly dismiss this chapter; well, at least the majority of it, believing all those ‘curses’ and such were done away with after Jesus came. Yes, Christ truly has redeemed us from the 'curse of the law', but who exactly does 'us' include?

 Years ago, I heard of a pastor who asked this rather profound and insightful question: “IF...all those curses listed in that chapter were done away with, then why do so many people in my congregation seem to be inflicted with them?” 

 Join me tomorrow?