Blessings, Curses, and the Modern State of Israel

John Valade

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Apr 30

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5–7 minutes

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Reading Deuteronomy 28–30 in a Prophecy-Obsessed Age

When Christians talk about the modern State of Israel, the conversation often jumps straight to end-time timelines and headlines. Deuteronomy 28–30 gives us a better starting point: the covenant.

In these chapters, Moses explains how God’s covenant with Israel works—through blessings, curses, and a promised restoration. If we ignore that pattern, we will misunderstand both ancient Israel and modern Israel.

1. A Covenant of Blessings and Curses

Deuteronomy 28 opens with stunning promises:

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands… all these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.” (Deut 28:1–2)

The blessings are national and concrete:

Location: Blessed in the city and in the country
Family: Blessing on the womb
Economy: Crops, livestock, barns, kneading bowls
Security: Victory over enemies
Identity: Established as God’s holy people before the nations

These are not vague spiritual platitudes. They are covenant blessings for Israel as a nation, under a clear condition: “if you obey.”

Then the chapter pivots. After 14 verses of blessing, there are more than 50 verses of curses (Deut 28:15–68)—essentially the blessings turned upside down:

Cursed in the city and in the country
Cursed womb, land, and livestock
Defeat instead of victory
Disease, drought, famine
Siege, cannibalism, exile, scattering

The same covenant that brings blessing on obedience brings judgment on persistent disobedience.

That leads to a crucial point:

Deuteronomy 28 is not a universal template for every nation.
It is a specific covenant treaty between God and Israel.

We are on shaky ground if we simply plug in “America” or “Canada” as if they were biblical Israel.

2. A Progressive, Multi-Generational Covenant

Deuteronomy also shows how this covenant works in history.

The Covenant Grows With Israel’s Situation

Deuteronomy 29:1 says:

“These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.”

The core principles are the same, but God expands and applies them as Israel’s circumstances change:

In the wilderness, there are no barns, vineyards, or walled cities.
As they prepare to enter the land, they need laws for agriculture, property, and settled life.

God’s law is consistent in principle, but contextual in application. It is a living covenant with a real nation in real history.

The Covenant Is Multi-Generational

Moses says it is:

“…not only with you who are standing here… but also with those who are not here today.” (Deut 29:14–15)

It binds:

The current generation,
Their children and grandchildren,
Future descendants not yet born.

This explains why the blessings and curses shape Israel’s entire story—from Joshua, through the kings, through exile and return.

3. When Sin Poisons the People of God

Deuteronomy 29 warns about a “root that produces such bitter poison” (29:18). This is not just a grumpy person; it is someone inside the covenant community whose known, unrepentant rebellion endangers everyone.

The chilling phrase is:

“I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way…” (Deut 29:19)

That is covenant presumption—claiming the privileges of being God’s people while rejecting His ways.

The result?

Devastated land,
Names threatened with being blotted out,
Later generations and foreigners asking, “Why has the Lord done this to this land?” (29:24)

The New Testament makes the same point: tolerated, public, unrepentant sin in the church eventually poisons the whole body (Hebrews 12:15). Deuteronomy gives us the Old Testament roots of that principle.

4. The Curses in History

The curses of Deuteronomy 28 are not theoretical. They have recognizable historical fulfilments:

Sieges and starvation under foreign armies,
Cannibalism in desperation,
Exile to distant nations,
Scattering and becoming a “byword” among peoples.

The Assyrian and Babylonian invasions, in particular, read like case studies in Deuteronomy 28 coming true. Even when some kings were righteous, the nation often persisted in rebellion, and the covenant curses fell.

By the time of Jesus, Israel lived in the long shadow of these warnings and their fulfilment, leading to Roman domination.

5. Is the Modern State of Israel the Promised Restoration?

Deuteronomy 30 looks beyond judgment to hope:

Both blessings and curses come upon Israel (30:1).
In exile, Israel returns to the Lord with all heart and soul (30:2).
God gathers them from all nations (30:3–5).
God circumcises their hearts, so they truly love Him and live (30:6).

This is not just about moving back into the land. It is about deep, God-given heart change.

Compare that with the modern State of Israel:

Formed largely through Gentile political processes, wars, and treaties,
Overwhelmingly secular, with only a minority actively worshiping the God of Scripture,
Often regarding the preaching of Jesus as Messiah as “antisemitic.”

That does not yet look like the Deuteronomy 30 picture of a people who have repented with all their heart and received circumcised hearts from God.

So we should be cautious about calling the current state the fulfillment of Deuteronomy’s restoration promises. A more careful way to say it is:

The modern State of Israel may be part of the setup of prophecy,
but it is not yet the full covenant restoration Deuteronomy describes.

The restoration Deuteronomy envisions is profoundly spiritual, not merely political.

6. Only the Messiah Can Truly Restore Israel

Deuteronomy 30:6 is central:

“The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.”

The New Testament connects this to the work of Christ and the Spirit (Romans 2:28–29; Colossians 2:11). The final restoration of Israel cannot be separated from Jesus the Messiah.

So:

The ultimate regathering and blessing of Israel will happen under Jesus’ rule,
The church will have a role in teaching and gathering those God identifies as His scattered people,
The pattern of Deuteronomy—judgment beginning with Israel, then reaching the nations—reappears in Revelation.

The hope of Israel is not finally Zionism or secular statehood, but the Messiah Himself.

7. How Should Christians “Support Israel”?

If that is so, faithful Christian “support for Israel” must mean at least:

Don’t confuse the secular state with God’s finished work.
Remember that covenant blessing is tied to faithfulness, not bloodline alone.
Don’t be afraid to tell Israelis about Jesus, Israel’s Messiah, even though you will be called an antisemite and worse.
Center everything on Christ, the only true restorer.
Apply Deuteronomy’s warning in its New Testament form to ourselves as the church.

Deuteronomy’s closing challenge still stands:

“I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live… For the Lord is your life.” (Deut 30:19–20)

That is as true for Christians today as it ever was for Israel.