Finally, they would be cursed in being scattered among all the peoples, in living a life in captivity, full of terrors (vv. 63b-67). They would be brought back to Egypt, and there they would offer themselves for sale to their enemies, but no one would buy them (v. 68).
These curses reveal that in His judgment God is severe. In Romans 11:22 Paul refers to the severity of God. Because God is severe toward those who are rebellious, we need to fear Him.
All the curses that have befallen the children of Israel have carried out God's governmental dealings with them, so that eventually God would be able to accomplish His economy with them to prove that He is the very God who would not change in His will forever. We should not think that God's severe chastisement of the children of Israel means that He has given them up. On the contrary, God's chastisement indicates that He will not give them up. The principle is the same with us today. God's chastisement of the believers indicates not that He has forsaken them but that He will not let them go.
In keeping with prophecy, the children of Israel have returned to their fatherland in their iniquity. The nation of Israel today is filled with sinfulness and iniquity. The people trust in education, in technology, and in their army, all of which are idols in the sight of God. The day is coming when God will chastise them further and even more severely.
This chastisement will take place during the great tribulation, which is the second half of the last week of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27. Each week denotes seven years. The first seven weeks, a period of forty-nine years, were for the rebuilding of ancient Jerusalem. The next sixty-two weeks, a period of four hundred thirty-four years, covered the span of time from the rebuilding of Jerusalem to the day of Christ's crucifixion. Between the end of the sixty-ninth week and the beginning of the seventieth week, there is a long period of time—the age of grace, which is also the age of the church. This is the age in which we are living, and the end of this age may be very near. One sign of the end was the restoration of Israel in 1948, and a second sign was the recovery of the city of Jerusalem by the nation of Israel. As far as Israel is concerned, the only remaining sign is the rebuilding of the temple. Matthew 24:15 indicates that the temple will be rebuilt. (See the notes on this verse in the Recovery Version.) The time is coming when the temple will be rebuilt, and at that time the Jews will practice the things related to worship recorded in the Pentateuch.
Recent events in Germany and in eastern Europe may also be indications that the end of the age is near. Certain countries in eastern Europe are turning away from Russia and communism toward democracy. This is a fulfillment of the prophecy related to the great image in Daniel 2 with its feet and toes of iron mixed with clay. Iron signifies autocracy, and clay signifies democracy.
God has not given up Israel. On the one hand, God is disciplining Israel, dealing with her in a sovereign way. On the other hand, God is protecting Israel. Because of God's protection, the Arab nations surrounding Israel have not been able to destroy this tiny nation. According to prophecy, Israel will not be destroyed but will remain until the Lord Jesus appears as lightning coming forth from the east and shining to the west (Matt. 24:27). At that time, the whole house of Israel will turn to the Lord.
At the beginning of the seventieth week, Antichrist will confirm a covenant with Israel to maintain the peace and to allow Israel to worship God according to their ways. However, in the middle of this week, the last seven years of this age, Antichrist will change his mind, and during the last three and a half years he will oppose any kind of god. In this regard, the first thing Antichrist might do is destroy Catholicism. He will also seek to destroy Judaism and persecute the Jews, besieging the city of Jerusalem. But the Lord Jesus will come back, and Israel will repent to God and be saved. In this we see how faithful God is in keeping His word and in fulfilling it.
Concerning our own situation as believers today, we need to be reverent before the Lord. Not only is Israel under God's chastisement, but we also are under His dealing. We need to ask ourselves if we are ready for the rapture of the overcomers, an extraordinary rapture that will take place before the great tribulation. The overcomers will be raptured to the third heaven before the tribulation, whereas the other believers will be left on earth to pass through the time of the great tribulation. Like the woman in Revelation 12, these believers will be preserved, cared for, and nourished by God. Nevertheless, the situation on earth will be very threatening. The devil will be cast down to earth to damage the human race, Antichrist will come up from the abyss, and the false prophet will join Antichrist to destroy the earth, making it no longer fit to be inhabited by human beings. Those three and a half years, therefore, will be a terrible time.
We have considered the portions of Deuteronomy which declare the blessings and the curses. We have also seen that instead of giving up Israel, God is chastising her for her perfecting. Thus God's chastisement is a kind of perfecting.
God has two peoples on earth—Israel and the church—and He is perfecting both. While He is perfecting Israel, He is also perfecting us. Today God is dealing with Israel, and He is also dealing with the church.