The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Desolation and Reclamation of the Land of Israel: A Cursed Land

[Note: This series takes the reader through chapters 4 and 8 of Dr. David Reagan’s newest book titled Israel in Bible Prophecy. Order your copy today!]

Israel in Bible Prophecy

Before the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, God spoke a series of stern warnings to them through Moses, their leader and prophet. The warnings are recorded in Deuteronomy 28 and 29.

These chapters constitute God’s Land Covenant with the Jewish people. In this covenant, God made it clear that although He had given the Jewish people an everlasting title to the land, their enjoyment of it would depend on their obedience to the laws He had given them in the Mosaic Covenant.

The Hope of Blessings

The Land Covenant begins with promises of blessings if they are obedient (Deuteronomy 28:1-2):

1) “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

2) “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God…”

Moses then proceeded to enumerate the blessings in detail. They included such things as agricultural abundance, defeat of enemies, financial prosperity and abundant rain (Deuteronomy 28:3-13).

The Warning of Curses

But then, Moses started issuing warnings about curses that would come upon them if they were disobedient to the Lord (Deuteronomy 28:15ff). The variety of these curses was breathtaking — cities in chaos, youth in rebellion, an epidemic of divorce, confusing governmental policies, defeats by their enemies, rampant disease, drought leading to crop failures, foreign domination and even exile to a foreign land.

Moses concluded the list with a detailed explanation of what would be the ultimate judgment of God should they become entrenched in rebellion and refuse to repent (Deuteronomy 28:64-67):

64) “Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known.

65) “Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul.

66) “So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life.

67) “In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see.”

In summary, the ultimate punishment the Jewish people would receive for willful and unrepentant rebellion against God’s Word would be ejection from their land, their scattering worldwide, and their persecution wherever they went.

The Curse on the Land

Nor would that be all. Moses further stated that God would put a curse on their land, and as a result of that curse, the land would become filled with diseases and plagues (Deuteronomy 29:22). The land itself would become “a burning waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass [growing] in it…” (Deuteronomy 29:23).

The curse would be so terrible that when foreigners came to visit the land, they would cry out, “Why has the LORD done this to the land? Why this great outburst of anger?” (Deuteronomy 29:24).

And the answer will be: “Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers… [and] they went and served other gods and worshiped them… Therefore, the anger of the LORD burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; and the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath…” (Deuteronomy 29:25-28).

In the second segment of this series on the prophecies concerning the land of Israel, Moses will also speak some words of hope.

References

References are available in the References section at the end of the book.

Order New Book

If you enjoyed reading this Chapter 4 sample of Dr. David Reagan’s newest book on Israel in Bible Prophecy, consider ordering your copy today! The books runs 256 pages in length.

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Dr. David Reagan

Dr. David Reagan is the Founder and Evangelist Emeritus of Lamb & Lion Ministries. He is a life-long Bible student, teacher, and preacher and he led over 45 pilgrimages to Israel. Dr. Reagan was the host of the radio then television program Christ in Prophecy for nearly 40 years.

10 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • I’m really enjoying Dr. Reagans broadcasts. Have you considered improving the picture quality on them? Thanks.

    • James is recognized as the name of Jesus’ brother who took over the Jewish Messianic Movement after Jesus’ crucifixion on Friday April 7, 30 AD and his fleeing Jerusalem and Galilee. James is an English name. Like Jesus being known as Y’shua through Hebrew/Aramaic transliteration 2,000 years ago, James was known as Yakov. This was the Hebrew name of Jacob son of Issac who GOD renamed “Israel”.

  • I have a problem seeing God as a Father figure. Does anybody else? What Father gets so severely angry with his children that he withholds good from his children? What Father scatters his children?

    “Our Father who art in heaven”? or, “Our severe disiplinarian and dictator who art in heaven”.

    • A good father warns first (Deut. 28-29) and then when sees evil behavior corrects (Law/Prophets) and disciplines over time (900 years worth) for the purpose of the child coming to repentance and restoration. In that the Bible shows that God is the most patient, loving, ultimate Heavenly Father.

    • This is not the fault of the Father, but the rebellion of the children. Going directly against the will of the Father.

    • God’s true nature was actually revealed in Christ! That’s why while he was on Earth he *rebuked* his disciples when they referred him to act like Elijah/Elias, who brought down fire to consume men, that is God’s nature is not in such a way, if he has come to reconcile men to him, that even he died for sinners to show his love, how much more believers, God’s true nature is love, and the confusion was in the Old Testament, which we could see that they were under ministry of Angels, that’s why the Epistles speaks highly of Jesus over the Angels, God’s love is shown in forgiveness of Sins, God’s true nature is explained better in the Epistles, they had revelation Knowledge, Jesus opener their understanding, that is he explained to them who he really is from the scriptures, which was actually summarized to us in the synoptics, but explained better in the Epistles,, so Read your Epistles, contextually – no verse has a meaning of it’s own, because it wasn’t originally that way, it was actually written as a letter originally, but out into verses and chapters for simplicity, so you read from beginning to end to know what exactly a particular chapter is addressing, there are still a lot to know,,, so God is not angry at you, is not angry at believers, irrespective of what you do he still sees you as that same fautless, perfect, righteous person, so God is your father,,, I could continue on and on but, you can send a message if you have any questions

  • Its amazing how many people don’t fear the Lord. Romans 11:22 says “Know the Goodness and Severity of God.” He’s a loving God, but also a God of discipline and wrath. People should understand obedience to God and his word because it affects all people when some are disobedient and breaking laws, as Israel and other nations found out over and over throughout history.

  • Proverbs 10:6-7 gives us the truth. Blessings are in the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked. The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.

  • The special importance of the Land Covenant is that it reaffirmed Israel’s title deed to the Land. Although she would prove unfaithful and disobedient, the right to the Land would never be taken from her. While her enjoyment of the Land is conditioned on obedience, ownership of the Land is unconditional. Furthermore, it shows that the conditional Mosaic Covenant did not lay aside the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant. It might be taken by some that the Mosaic Covenant displaced the Abrahamic Covenant, but the Land Covenant shows that this is not true. The Land Covenant is an enlargement of the original Abrahamic Covenant. It amplifies the Land aspect and emphasizes the promise of the Land to God’s people in spite of unbelief.

    Its Reconfirmation

    The Land Covenant received its confirmation centuries later in Ezekiel 16:1‑63. In this very important passage concerning God’s relationship to Israel, God recounts His love of Israel in her infancy (vv. 1‑7). Israel was chosen by God and became related to Jehovah by marriage and hence became known as the Wife of Jehovah (vv. 8‑14). Israel, however, played the harlot (vv. 15‑34); therefore, it was necessary to punish Israel by means of dispersion (vv. 35‑52). Yet this dispersion is not final, for there will be a future restoration on the basis of the Land Covenant (vv. 53‑63).

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