Study Desk

The Lord will make you be like the head, not the tail. You will be on top, not on the bottom. This will happen if you listen to the commands of the Lord your God that I tell you today. You must carefully obey these commands.

"But if you don't listen to what the Lord your God tells you—if you don't obey all his commands and laws that I tell you today—then all these bad things will happen to you:

"Other people will be allowed to take your sons and your daughters. Day after day you will look for your children. You will look for them until your eyes become weak and blind—but you will not find them. And God will not help you.

"All these curses will come on you. They will keep chasing you and catching you, until you are destroyed, because you did not listen to what the Lord your God told you. You did not obey the commands and laws that he gave you.

These curses will show people that God judged you and your descendants forever. People will be amazed at the terrible things that happen to you.

"The Lord your God gave you many blessings. But you did not serve him with joy and a glad heart.

"That nation will surround and attack your cities. You think that the tall, strong walls around your cities will protect you. But those walls will fall down. The enemy will surround all your cities everywhere in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

You will suffer very much. The enemy will surround your cities. They will not let you have any food. You will get very hungry. You will be so hungry that you will eat your own sons and daughters—you will eat the bodies of the children the Lord your God gave you.

"You must obey all the commands and teachings that are written in this book. And you must respect the wonderful and awesome name of the Lord your God. If you don't obey,

You might have as many people as the stars in the sky. But only a few of you will be left, because you did not listen to the Lord your God.

You did not have any food with you. You did not have any wine or anything else to drink. But he took care of you so that you would understand that he is the Lord your God.

"Today all of you are standing here before the Lord your God. Your leaders, your officials, your elders, and all the other men are here.

You are all here to enter into an agreement with the Lord your God. The Lord your God is making this agreement with you today.

With this agreement he is making you his own special people, and he himself will become your God. He told you this. He promised this to your ancestors—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Yes, he is making this agreement with all of you who stand here with us today before the Lord our God. But this agreement is also for our descendants who are not here with us today.

Be sure that there is no man, woman, family or tribe here today who turns away from the Lord our God. No one should go and serve the gods of the other nations. People who do that are like a plant that grows bitter and poisonous fruit.

The answer will be, ‘This happened because the Israelites left the agreement of the Lord , the God of their ancestors. They stopped following the agreement he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt.

"There are some things that the Lord our God has kept secret. Only he knows these things. But he told us about some things. And these teachings are for us and our descendants forever. And we must obey all the commands in that law.

"Everything that I have mentioned will happen to you—both the blessings and the curses. And you will remember these words when the Lord your God sends you away to other nations.

Then you and your descendants will turn back to the Lord your God. You will follow him with all your heart and completely obey all his commands that I have given you today.