The Bible Column - Not Obeying the Voice of God (Part 2)

“…if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statues…that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.” Deuteronomy 28:15
These stern words of warning express the opposite message from that of God’s blessing in last week’s article. There are those who curse and damn each other in this life…but when Almighty God curses an individual or nation, judgment is clearly the result.
In this passage, the direction is given to hearken unto the voice of the Lord. In the exact verse above, the negative of hearkening is given. That is... “if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord”… “that all these curses shall come upon thee”…The word “curses” speaks of a vilification. The two parts of this word, “vile” and “fy”, speak of a defaming or degrading. Imagine the judgment named here of cursing for not hearkening unto the voice of the Lord. How many people there are that do not listen to the Lord. The Bible is the primary source of the voice for God today. The penalty for not hearkening is great, dear friend.
Then, the Bible says that the cursing will overtake the one who does not hearken to the voice of the Lord. The word “overtake”, speaks of taking hold in a negative sense. Clearly, to be overtaken by God’s cursing is judgment indeed.
When life is lived apart from God
A life of sorrow is this sod,
Cursing, overtaking, and judgment so
When life without God is the way we go,
Oh how needless, it truly is
To reject the One who among us lives!
Dear reading friend, are you listening to the Lord’s voice? The Scripture cannot be broken. God’s word will come to pass. We need to exercise ourselves unto godliness. I trust that you are hearkening today!