Robert Hawker speaking on Deuteronomy 28:20-44
The picture of misery is drawn more horrible in these verses, from describing the particular features of the curses, the Lord threatens to send after the sinner. If the Reader will attend to them minutely, he will find, that they extend to almost every possible state to which our poor nature can be exposed. To sickness, to famine, to the destruction of the sword, to captivity in the enemies country, to the loss of children; in short, to every personal evil. In the book of Ezekiel, the Lord speaks of his four sore judgments, but here they are four-fold. Ezek. 14:21. But Reader! if we read them spiritually, how do those distresses rise in magnitude to our view. If our miseries are ever so great, yet if they are bounded within the limits of the life of man on earth, in the grave the weary are at rest. But if souls are cursed with an everlasting curse, and when they lie down in the grave, sin is their grave-fellow, and follows them to eternity, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Oh! the wretched, wretched state of the ungodly! when that wrath of God shall light on the sinner, which is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Romans 1:18.
Foreigners who live in your land will gain more and more power, while you gradually lose yours. They will have money to lend you, but you will have none to lend them. In the end they will be your rulers.” (Deuteronomy 28:43–44, GNT)
If you do evil and reject the Lord, he will bring on you disaster, confusion, and trouble in everything you do, until you are quickly and completely destroyed. He will send disease after disease on you until there is not one of you left in the land that you are about to occupy. The Lord will strike you with infectious diseases, with swelling and fever; he will send drought and scorching winds to destroy your crops. These disasters will be with you until you die. No rain will fall, and your ground will become as hard as iron. Instead of rain, the Lord will send down duststorms and sandstorms until you are destroyed. “The Lord will give your enemies victory over you. You will attack them from one direction, but you will run from them in all directions, and all the people on earth will be terrified when they see what happens to you. When you die, birds and wild animals will come and eat your bodies, and there will be no one to scare them off. The Lord will send boils on you, as he did on the Egyptians. He will make your bodies break out with sores. You will be covered with scabs, and you will itch, but there will be no cure. The Lord will make you lose your mind; he will strike you with blindness and confusion. You will grope about in broad daylight like someone blind, and you will not be able to find your way. You will not prosper in anything you do. You will be constantly oppressed and robbed, and there will be no one to help you. “You will be engaged to a young woman—but someone else will marry her. You will build a house—but never live in it. You will plant a vineyard—but never eat its grapes. Your cattle will be butchered before your very eyes, but you will not eat any of the meat. Your donkeys will be dragged away while you look on, and they will not be given back to you. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and there will be no one to help you. Your sons and daughters will be given as slaves to foreigners while you look on. Every day you will strain your eyes, looking in vain for your children to return. A foreign nation will take all the crops that you have worked so hard to grow, while you receive nothing but constant oppression and harsh treatment. Your sufferings will make you lose your mind. The Lord will cover your legs with incurable, painful sores; boils will cover you from head to foot. “The Lord will take you and your king away to a foreign land, where neither you nor your ancestors ever lived before; there you will serve gods made of wood and stone. In the countries to which the Lord will scatter you, the people will be shocked at what has happened to you; they will make fun of you and ridicule you. “You will plant plenty of seed, but reap only a small harvest, because the locusts will eat your crops. You will plant vineyards and take care of them, but you will not gather their grapes or drink wine from them, because worms will eat the vines. Olive trees will grow everywhere in your land, but you will not have any olive oil, because the olives will drop off. You will have sons and daughters, but you will lose them, because they will be taken away as prisoners of war. All your trees and crops will be devoured by insects. “Foreigners who live in your land will gain more and more power, while you gradually lose yours. They will have money to lend you, but you will have none to lend them. In the end they will be your rulers.” (Deuteronomy 28:20–44, GNT)
Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Deuteronomy–2 Samuel (Vol. 2, p. 137). Logos Bible Software. (Public Domain)
I forgot to add in first comment that for those who aren't using Logos, Hawker's commentaries are available to read online at this link: Books Available - Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Bible Commentaries - StudyLight.org
I used this article for a morning devotional and included a review of Deut 28, and all of the blessings for obeying and cursings for disobeying God's law that were promised Israel under the Old Testament. He promised the nation of Israel. It can make one really appreciate living in the age of grace. At the same time, I wonder if we tend to take too lightly that while we are no longer "under" the law, and fail to consider that, as Hawker states, "But if souls are cursed with an everlasting curse, and when they lie down in the grave, sin is their grave-fellow, and follows them to eternity, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not…