In this message, Pastor Ben explains three consequences of rebelling against God. 1. Fruitlessness 2. Death 3. Exile
Introduction: A Difficult Text & The Unchanging Character of God
Good morning. Welcome to a difficult text.
It has been four weeks we’ve spent together. I’ve had the privilege of delivering the word of God to you, and I think Pastor Matt intentionally left me with all these things, perhaps to test his junior pastor! But more importantly, I am thankful to be able to point us to Christ in a text where we can sometimes forget that there’s a New as well as an Old Testament.
As the old hymn says:
“Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same. All may change, but Jesus never—glory to His name!”
Even as we come across a text full of curses—one that may make us a little uncomfortable, that may seem severe, that may seem a little harsh—we must remember that the character of God is entirely consistent through all of this book. As we jump into Deuteronomy 28 and the curses of this covenant, it becomes clear very quickly that sin is not a laughing matter. Our righteous and holy God treats sin seriously—much more seriously than we are often tempted to do.
Especially to a nation of people that should very well know better—who have received so much truth and revelation, seen so many mighty works of God, seen so many miracles, and witnessed the unbelievable patience and endurance of their God—these warnings are quite clear: sin has real and tangible consequences.
Three Consequences of Rebelling Against God
If you have your bulletin, there’s a handy insert in there with the three points. The three consequences of rebelling against God are as follows:
- A Fruitless Life
- Death
- Exile
As we unpack these three consequences—fruitlessness, death, and exile—we need a reminder of how we should be reading this part of Deuteronomy.
If you and I are believers in Jesus Christ, we are not under the law. That means these lengthy curses will not come upon us as a direct result of our sin. If you do not treat your neighbor well, God is not going to strike you with a wasting disease. If you steal your neighbor’s donkey or car, God is not going to send a foreign nation to make war upon you.
However, rebellion and disobedience always bring these consequences into our lives. Nothing good comes from rebelling against God. Nothing good comes from disobedience. If every good and perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights, then going our own way means we won’t receive what is good and perfect—only the nasty fruit of our own rebellion.
Recall the blessings promised to Israel last week if they obeyed: wonderful blessings, a vibrant picture of living in the land of milk and honey, reaping all the benefits of God’s love and mercy. Who in their right mind would turn away from that? Who wouldn’t want their land, herds, and lives to be blessed? Yet, the people who disobey God are those who choose to turn away.
Point 1: A Fruitless Life
Our first consequence of rebelling against God is a fruitless life, both literally and figuratively.
When we looked at the blessings last week, we saw that the Lord blesses tangibly. The fields, vineyards, olive groves, herds, and flocks multiply and abound. Deuteronomy 28:6 says:
“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.”
When you head off to work, you are blessed. When you come home, you are blessed. Why? Because your work has meaning and purpose. You go out to the field because there is actually something to harvest; you go to the pasture because there are cows ready to calve. There is purpose in the work.
What is the opposite of that blessing? Fruitlessness. Listen to verses 15–19:
“But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all His commandments and His statutes that I command you, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flocks. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.”
Notice the direct parallel. The blessings of being fruitful in the field, city, and livestock are completely flipped. Wherever you go and whatever you set your hand to, you are no longer blessed—you are cursed.
This reveals that our sovereign God is the one who sustains His people and rules over creation. He decides which fig tree bears fruit and which one doesn’t. Israel, no matter how hard they try, cannot make the rain fall or make their cattle conceive. If God does not bless, they will not survive, and all their labor is in vain.
Look at verses 38–39:
“You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for the locust shall consume it. You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them.”
Grasshoppers and locusts do not care how hard you worked or how many late nights you spent tending your field—they just devour it mercilessly. Worms do not care how beautifully pruned your vineyards are—they eat until nothing is left. That is the fruitlessness in this text. God alone causes His people to reap a blessing. When He withdraws His hand because His people have forsaken Him, the harvest stops.
This exposes the state of their hearts. The law reveals what is inside us. When Israel disobeys—and to spoil the rest of Scripture for you, they will disobey, break their covenant, and reap disaster—it shows what they truly believe. They either believe God won’t fulfill His warnings, or that they can do whatever they want and still expect His blessing.
That is why the curse section of Deuteronomy 28 is three times longer than the blessing section! Disobedience by nature yields no good fruit. As Paul writes in Ephesians 5:
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
The very first unfruitful work of darkness was in Eden. Eve ate the fruit and passed it to Adam, who stood by rather than protecting his wife and saying, “God said no.” Through that one act of disobedience, the ground, the man, and the woman were cursed. Thorns and thistles arose, and man began to eat bread by the sweat of his brow.
For the Christian, the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—does not come through disobedience, but through obedience. As Paul concludes in Galatians: “Against such things there is no law.” Fruitfulness comes through law-keeping, not law-breaking. Turn away from God, and the result is fruitlessness and spiritual poverty.
Point 2: Death
If fruitlessness weren’t bad enough, the second consequence of rebellion is even worse: death.
Scripture consistently links sin with death, and Deuteronomy is no exception. Verse 20 warns:
“The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me.”
Notice the close connection between disobeying God and forsaking God. Disobedience directly damages our relationship with the Lord and reveals our heart. In His righteousness, God says: “If you turn your back on Me, you will be destroyed.”
Why would God destroy His own people? Deuteronomy 26:16–18 explains:
“This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You’ve declared today that the Lord is your God… and the Lord has declared today that you are a people for His treasured possession.”
To be God’s treasured possession means your life is characterized by obedience. If Israel claims to be His people, they must actually trust, love, serve, and obey Him. Otherwise, they are choosing the path of death over life, believing they can find provision somewhere outside the presence of Almighty God.
Moses makes this explicit in Deuteronomy 30:15:
“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.”
God lays out the covenant in black and white, calling them to live. Yet, time and again, the people choose death. As Romans 6:23 reminds us:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Sin only pays one wage: death. The Old Testament bears this out repeatedly. What happened at the golden calf? Plague and death. What happened when the spies wanted to return to Egypt? Death. What happened during Korah’s rebellion? Death. Turning away from the Giver of Life leads nowhere else.
Point 3: Exile & The Hope of the Gospel
The third consequence of rebelling against God is exile.
What does exile have to do with rebellion? Everything—because surprisingly, within exile lies a measure of gospel hope.
Deuteronomy 28:36 says:
“The Lord will bring you and your king, whom you have set over you, to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone.”
Exile meant being plucked out of the land of milk and honey and thrust into a foreign country—a place without a temple, surrounded by enemies, subjected to bondage and idolatry. Verses 47–48 paint the grim reality:
“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies… in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and lacking everything.”
Hard labor under a cruel nation—all because Israel failed to serve God with joy. They moaned, groaned, and dragged their feet while serving the God who rescued them from Egypt.
Yet, even when Babylon eventually breached Jerusalem’s walls and dragged the people away, God did not completely wipe them out. A remnant survived. Just as Noah’s ark preserved eight souls through the flood, exile served as a kind of ark to preserve a remnant until the promise of Deuteronomy 30:1–3, 6 could be fulfilled:
“And when all these things have come upon you… and you return to the Lord your God… then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you… And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart… so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.”
God sent His people into exile so that, by His mercy, they would return with renewed, circumcised hearts—essentially born again.
Paul picks up this theme of salvation in Romans 10:5–13, showing that this gospel hope extends to all:
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call upon Him.”
Every one of us is born far from God, carrying a heart prone to rebellion. Only the mighty power of God can draw us near, circumcise our hearts, and grant us faith in Christ. Even within God’s righteous judgment, the promise of the gospel shines through.
Practical Application: Examining Our Hearts & Walking in Obedience
How do we apply this text today?
1. Address Hidden Sin & Hopelessness
Are you experiencing the consequences of rebellion in your own life? You might not face Old Testament curses, but you may feel a total absence of spiritual fruit.
This often manifests as deep hopelessness—an “Ecclesiastes feeling” that everything is meaningless. You might ask: “Why am I doing anything? Why not just pull the covers over my head?” We see a plague of young people lacking direction and drifting through life without motivation. Often, this stems from a refusal to submit to Christ.
Only when we stop going our own way and submit to God’s Word do we find true purpose. You cannot hide sin from God forever. Skeletons in the closet drain your spiritual life, leaving you feeling empty during worship or Bible study. If your spiritual fruit is fading, go to God and ask: “Lord, are You testing me to build endurance, or is there sin I need to repent of so godliness can flourish again?”
2. Remember That Obedience Is Possible Through Christ
Through Jesus, you have been given a new heart and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Obedience is not an impossible standard meant to crush you. 1 John 5:3 reminds us:
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”
His commands are not burdensome when our hearts overflow with love for Him. As we dig our spiritual wells deeper, the Holy Spirit produces pure, fresh water in our lives. We gain boldness to speak of God’s truth—whether in everyday conversations with our barber or in quiet acts of obedience—not because we are great, but because our God is great.
Conclusion & Communion
As we prepare for communion, remember that God is greater than our hearts.
Partaking in communion is an act of obedience for every believer. It is a declaration that says: “I forsake my own righteousness. My sin is great, but Christ’s mercy and grace are far greater.”
Let us rejoice in the gospel hope that rescues us from the curse of the law and brings us into the eternal love of God.