Blessed or Cursed, Any Questions

As I've written before, if you chose to reject God, it isn't just a let bygones be bygones decision.  It's not a kumbaya, live and let live kind of thing.

Check this out.

Deuteronomy 28:1-8(NKJV)

1“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 

2And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

3“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

4“Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

5“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

8“The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Wow, that sounds pretty good doesn't it?  And how do we get that?  Accept Jesus and live to please God.  Pretty simple, right?

But what is the flip side? 

Deuteronomy 28:15-19(NKJV)

15“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

16“Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.

17“Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

18“Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

19“Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

And the cool thing is that you get to choose.  Which would you rather have, blessings or curses?  But look at this final part.  I had never noticed this before.

Deuteronomy 28:63(NKJV)

63And it shall be, that just as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.

Either way the Lord will rejoice.  Scripture tells us that it is God's desire that all shall be saved but He won't force it on us.  He gave us free will and He continues to honor that free will by allowing us to make the choice. 

I have written in the past about how we need to serve joyfully and give joyfully.  Well here again God sets the example.  He will cheerfully honor the choice that you make.  He will cheerfully bless you or He will cheerfully curse you.  The choice is yours.  What's it going to be, blessings or curses?