What is the meaning of Deuteronomy 28:35? The LORD – The covenant name signals personal involvement; the same God who redeemed Israel now enforces His covenant (Deuteronomy 7:9–10). – Sovereignty is underscored: “See now that I, I am He… I wound and I heal” (Deuteronomy 32:39). – No secondary causes are credited; as Amos 3:6 asks, “Does disaster come to a city unless the LORD has done it?” will afflict you – The verb is covenant-discipline, not random cruelty (Leviticus 26:14-16). – Disobedience reverses earlier promises of health: “I will put none of the diseases on you” (Exodus 15:26). – Actions reap consequences; Galatians 6:7 echoes the same moral equation. with painful, incurable boils – Literal disease, mirroring the sixth plague on Egypt (Exodus 9:9-11). – Job felt similar sores: “Satan struck Job with loathsome sores” (Job 2:7). – “Incurable” stresses hopelessness apart from repentance; Jeremiah 30:12 calls Judah’s wound “incurable” until God relents. on your knees and thighs – These joints are essential for movement and worship; crippling them pictures helplessness before enemies and before God (Psalm 109:24). – Psalm 38:7: “My loins are full of burning pain; there is no soundness in my body,” a vivid parallel. from the soles of your feet – The curse covers the very part that should tread the promised land (Joshua 1:3). – Isaiah 1:6: “From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness,” showing comprehensive judgment. to the top of your head – Total coverage removes any illusion of partial obedience; every faculty is affected (Deuteronomy 28:27). – Job 2:7 again testifies, “sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head,” reinforcing the completeness of suffering. summary Deuteronomy 28:35 warns that persistent covenant rebellion invites the LORD Himself to send an all-encompassing, debilitating plague. The boils are literal, severe, and humanly incurable, spanning every inch of the body to symbolize total divine ownership and total judgment. The verse calls hearers to wholehearted obedience, reminding us that the God who heals can also afflict, yet even His judgments are meant to drive His people back to faithfulness. |
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