Moses warned the people: 38-44 “You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.  Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land. The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower.  They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, but you will be the tail.”

45-47 “All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. 48 He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.”

49-50 “The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or olive oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. 51-52 They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 28:38-52 New International Version (English Standard Version link)

We’re still in the sad chapter where Moses warned Israel of terrible consequences that would follow if they turned their back on God, disobeyed His good laws, and worshipped false gods. God would give them into the hand of other nations and they would be like an animal’s tail rather than the head. (vs 38-44) In vs 45-47 he says that when all these terrible things took place (implying that God knew Israel was going to be unfaithful) they would be like evidence of the truth of what Moses had warned, and that there is only one true God. But what do vs 45-47 point out as a further reason for God having to do these things?

It wasn't only their disobedience, Moses says it was because “you did not serve  the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity.” In other words, when things were going well and they were enjoying the many things God blessed them with, it was in such times that they did not give God joyful praise and thanks. They forgot who it was that was blessing them so much. They were biting the hand that fed them. 

Moses tells them how eventually they would be plundered by fierce nations whose language they didn’t speak or understand. (vs 49-50). Once again he points out a reason why God would allow such a thing to happen? What was that? (vs 51-52)

They had begun to trust in the high walls of their fortified cities instead of God. When they became prosperous and strong they forgot God and thought they could look after themselves. They were trusting in something false. Is there not a lesson for us in these things? How easily we can forget God when life is going well, even prosperously. And how easily we can base our confidence on our possessions, medicines, pension policies, and even in comfortable religious observances.

Christians were given a simple ceremony by the Lord, called 'the Lord's Super' by some, and 'Communion' by others. The purpose of it was to keep Jesus Christ in remembrance! We must never forget where our salvation and confidence should rest.