Faith Daily Lectio Monday, October 26, 2026 Old Testament
Monday, October 26, 2026 · Monday in the week of the Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 25); Philipp Nicolai, Johann Heermann, and Paul Gerhardt, Hymnwriters
Old Testament
Oratio (prayer)
Lord God, You set before Your people blessing and curse. Send Your Holy Spirit as I read Deuteronomy 28, that I may hear Your Law honestly and receive every blessing in Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Meditatio (meditation)
Deuteronomy 28:1-22
1And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
3Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
4Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
6Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
8The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
9The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.
10And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
11And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
12The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
13And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:
14And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
16Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
17Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
18Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
19Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
20The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
21The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.
22The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
Consider even rereading in another translation.
You could also consider listening to this chapter, narrated:
KJV (Max McLean) · ESV (Max McLean) · NIV (dramatized)
You might read the whole reading slowly, aloud, more than once.
Consider this verse, for example:
“all these blessings shall come on thee” (Deuteronomy 28:2)
What other lines speak to you?
Moses sets before Israel the blessings that will come if they hearken to the voice of the LORD and keep His commandments: blessing in the city and the field, in children and harvest, at their coming in and going out. They will be a holy people, the head and not the tail. Then he sets out the curses that will come if they will not hearken: the same places and the same gifts, now cursed, with vexation, sickness and ruin, until they perish.
The Law Every blessing here hangs on a condition: "if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments" (v. 1). The curses fall on the same city, field, basket and body, "because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me" (v. 20). We have not hearkened diligently, and by our own doing we could not stand in the blessing.
The Gospel God's purpose was always to bless. He longs to make His people "an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee" (v. 9). In Christ that oath is kept. Jesus hearkened perfectly to the Father's voice and took the curse of our forsaking on Himself at the cross. Now in Him the blessing is yours: "Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out" (v. 6).
Prayer Lord God, I have not hearkened to Your voice as I should, and I deserve the curse. Forgive me for Jesus' sake, who bore it for me. Make me Your holy people, and bless my coming in and my going out. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Tentatio (trial)
When trouble comes, we may wonder whether God has turned His blessing into a curse. Under trial it may help to look to the cross, where Christ bore the curse in our place, and to hear that in Him you are "called by the name of the LORD" (v. 10), blessed and not forsaken.
Prayer Lord, when trouble makes me doubt Your goodness, turn my eyes to Jesus, who bore my curse. Keep me in Your blessing. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.
My church home: Peace Lutheran Church, McMurray, PA. Looking for a church? See About Daily Lectio.
