Deuteronomy 29:24-28

24 all the nations ¹will say, ²‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger? ’

25 Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt,

26 and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them.

27 Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, ³bringing upon it all the curses written in this book,

28 and the Lord ⁴uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath, and ⁵cast them into another land, as they are this day. ’

Deuteronomy 29:24-28 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 29

This chapter begins with an intimation of another covenant the Lord was about to make with the people of Israel, De 29:1; and, to prepare their minds to an attention to it, various things which the Lord had done for them are recited, De 29:2-9; the persons are particularly mentioned with whom the covenant would now be made, the substance of which is, that they should be his people, and he their God, De 29:10-15; and since they had seen the idols in Egypt and other countries, with which they might have been ensnared, they are cautioned against idolatry and idolaters, as being most provoking to the Lord, De 29:16-21; which would bring destruction not only on particular persons, but upon their whole land, to the amazement of posterity; who, inquiring the reason of it, will be told, it was because they forsook the covenant of God, and particularly were guilty of idolatry, which, whether privately or openly committed, would be always punished, De 29:22-29.

Cross References

• 1. 29:24 ver. 22
• 2. 29:24 1 Kgs. 9:8, 9; Jer. 22:8, 9
• 3. 29:27 See ch. 28:15-68; Lev. 26:14-39; Dan. 9:11-14
• 4. 29:28 1 Kgs. 14:15; 2 Chr. 7:20; Jer. 12:14
• 5. 29:28 Jer. 22:26