What is the meaning of Deuteronomy 28:28? madness “The LORD will afflict you with madness…” (Deuteronomy 28:28) • God warns that covenant-breaking Israel would experience irrational, uncontrollable behavior—panic, terror, rage, despair. Similar scenes unfold when Saul is tormented by an evil spirit and raves in his house (1 Samuel 18:10-11) and when Judah’s soldiers turn their swords against each other in panic (Zechariah 12:4). • The affliction is not random; it is divine discipline. As the people had ignored God’s clear commands, He would allow their minds to unravel, showing that true mental stability flows from trusting obedience (Deuteronomy 28:65; Romans 1:28). • Application: Sin promises freedom but delivers bondage. When we choose rebellion, we forfeit the sound mind God desires for His people (2 Timothy 1:7). blindness “…blindness…” • Physical sight may be lost, yet the deeper issue is spiritual sight—an inability to perceive truth. Isaiah described ears that hear dimly and eyes that are shut (Isaiah 6:9-10), a blindness Jesus later applied to those who rejected Him (John 9:39-41). • God sometimes used literal blindness to protect or to judge (2 Kings 6:18), but here it illustrates a nation groping at noonday, helpless though light surrounds them (Deuteronomy 28:29). • Application: Refusing the light we have invites darker blindness. Continual obedience keeps our eyes clear (Matthew 6:22-23; Revelation 3:18). confusion of mind “…and confusion of mind.” • The word pictures dizziness, disorientation, utter bewilderment—people unable to think straight, make decisions, or discern right from wrong. Later Jeremiah speaks of Judah becoming “an object of horror, a proverb, and a byword” among the nations (Jeremiah 24:9). • God is “not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). When order is abandoned in worship or in national life, confusion rushes in. Paul warned of a future delusion that would seize those who refused the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:11). • Application: Clarity of mind is preserved by submitting every thought to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Resisting His lordship invites chaos. summary Deuteronomy 28:28 stands as a sober covenant warning. Persisting in disobedience would bring mental collapse, moral and spiritual blindness, and crippling confusion—judgments that vividly display how life unmoored from God disintegrates. Conversely, walking in loving obedience keeps the mind sound, the eyes open, and the heart at peace. |
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