How does Jeremiah 11:8 connect with Deuteronomy 28 regarding blessings and curses? \Setting the Context\ • Both passages deal with Israel’s covenant with the LORD at Sinai. • Deuteronomy 28 lays out the covenant blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. • Jeremiah, centuries later, confronts Judah for breaking that same covenant. \Key Texts\ “Yet they would not obey or incline their ear, but each one walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not do.” “Now if you will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments… the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God.” “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God… then all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.” \The Covenantal Link\ • Deuteronomy 28 = covenant terms. – vv. 1-14: Blessings promised for obedience. – vv. 15-68: Curses promised for disobedience. • Jeremiah 11:8 = divine audit. God declares Judah failed to obey, therefore the curses are now enacted. • Phrase “all the words of this covenant” in Jeremiah 11:8 directly points back to the lengthy list of consequences in Deuteronomy 28. \Echoes of Deuteronomy in Jeremiah 11:8\ 1. “Would not obey” ↔ Deuteronomy 28 repeated call to “obey the voice of the LORD.” 2. “Walked in the stubbornness of [their] evil heart” ↔ Deuteronomy 29:19 warning against a heart that “persists in going its own way.” 3. “I brought upon them all the words” ↔ Deuteronomy 28:15 “all these curses will come upon you.” 4. Historical fulfillment: siege, famine, exile (Jeremiah 39; 52) mirror Deuteronomy 28:49-57 predictions. \The Heart Issue\ • External law was clear, but Jeremiah exposes an internal problem—“stubbornness of… heart.” • Deuteronomy anticipated this need for heart transformation (Deuteronomy 30:6). • Later promise: Jeremiah 31:33 points to the new covenant where the law is written on the heart. \Personal Application\ • God’s word is unchanging; obedience still brings blessing (John 13:17; James 1:25). • Disregard invites discipline (Hebrews 12:6-11) and natural consequences (Galatians 6:7-8). • Examine whether any “stubbornness of heart” resists clear commands (Psalm 139:23-24). \Supporting Passages\ • Leviticus 26 – a parallel list of blessings/curses. • 2 Kings 17:13-18 – northern Israel’s fall for the same covenant breach. • Nehemiah 9:26-30 – post-exile confession that Deuteronomy 28 curses came true. |
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