Because you didn’t serve the LORD your God with joy and a cheerful heart, even though you had an abundance of everything, you will serve your enemies that the LORD will send against you, in famine, thirst, nakedness, and a lack of everything. He will place an iron yoke on...

‘The one who leads a blind person astray on the road is cursed.’ And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ (Deuteronomy 27:18 CSB) The Levites pronounce twelve curses in this chapter, reflecting the number of the tribes of Israel. These curses flow from the laws that have been set forth...

The LORD your God is commanding you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. Follow them carefully with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 26:16 CSB). It’s very easy to fall into the routine of waking up with the attitude that the day revolves around us...

Do not have differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light. Do not have differing measures in your house, a larger and a smaller. (Deuteronomy 25:13-14 CSB) The passage is about being honest in our interactions with others. The day is often filled with people functioning and measuring...

When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect what he offers as security. Stand outside while the man you are making the loan to brings the security out to you. If he is a poor man, do not sleep with...

For the LORD your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you; so your encampments must be holy. He must not see anything indecent among you or he will turn away from you (Deuteronomy 23:14 CSB). The Israelites were not only called to keep...

If you see your brother Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it; make sure you return it to your brother (Deuteronomy 22:1 CSB). During one of our family’s Black Friday shopping trips, we found an envelope that contained $300. That $300 would have been nice to have, but...

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father or mother and doesn’t listen to them even after they discipline him, his father and mother are to take hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of...

When you are about to engage in battle, the priest is to come forward and address the army. He is to say to them, “Listen, Israel: Today you are about to engage in battle with your enemies. Do not be cowardly. Do not be afraid, alarmed, or terrified because of...

Do not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, established at the start in the inheritance you will receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess (Deuteronomy 19:14 CSB). Human nature is to think of ourselves before others. Sometimes we are willing to cheat our neighbors or...