1-2 Now if you faithfully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all his commands I am giving you today, the Lord your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the Lord your God.

3-9 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. Your offspring will be blessed, and your land’s produce, and the offspring of your livestock, including the young of your herds and the new born of your flocks. Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The Lord will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you from one direction but flee from you in seven directions. The Lord will grant you a blessing on your barns and on everything you do; he will bless you in the land the  Lord your God is giving you. The  Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he swore to you, if you obey the commands of the Lord  your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you bear the Lord’s name, and they will stand in awe of you.

11-14 The Lord will make you prosper abundantly with offspring, the offspring of your livestock, and your land’s produce in the land the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you. The Lord will open for you his abundant storehouse, the sky, to give your land rain in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. The Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward if you listen to the Lord  your God’s commands I am giving you today and are careful to follow them. Do not turn aside to the right or the left from all the things I am commanding you today, and do not follow other gods to worship them. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 Christian Standard Bible

God had great things in store for the Israelites whom He had rescued from the bondage of slavery in Egypt! But what do vs 1-2 tell us was required on their part? What did He expect of them?

He called for faithful and careful obedience to the good laws He was giving them through Moses. Laws that were intended for their welfare, not to 'restrict their freedom'! Verses 3-9 show just how widespread HIs blessing would be, touching on everything from farms and food to victory over enemy armies. What would the result have been of their obedience and God's overflowing blessings? (vs 10)

It would have told the world something of God's glory and of how good it is to belong to Him. Their lives would have been a living testimony to how gracious God is. Notice too from vs 11-14 that God's supply for His people's needs is not limited. It says: “The Lord  will open for you His abundant storehouse!”  Just how important such blessing would have been can be seen from the words which promised “You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. The Lord will make you the head and not the tail.” We are currently living in times when that promise appears to have been stolen by China and it's the ungodly people of the world who are wanting to be head of all things.

Living over 3,000 years since God gave those promises to Israel we know from their own prophets that they fell miserably short of the faithful and careful obedience God longed for. Their faith often faltered and it wasn’t long before their hearts turned back to the things the nations chased after. As a result, their testimony is a tragic case of ‘what could have been’. But that can be true of our lives as well. Are we where we could have been today if we had been more faithful and careful in following God's word? Do family, friends and neighbours see the evidence that we bear the Lord’s name?

My thoughts are not intended to discourage you if, like myself, you feel you've fallen woefully short of what could have been. The Israelites had seen amazing miracles before their eyes over the 40 years God led them on their journey, yet they still fell short. So though our failures to be what we could've been ought to humble us, they should also cause us to draw nearer to the Lord. His mercy is as abundant as His love and He can still bless and use an obedient heart.