“Just as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you.” Deuteronomy 28:63

I celebrated my 29th birthday on Tuesday and as a Gifts person, I felt so loved by all the cards and presents my family and friends showered me with. Over the years I have collected and saved my birthday greetings, so I typically also go back and reminisce on all those sweet gestures from throughout my life. As I dug into my keepsake box, I found some cherished ones from my grandma. She always used to send the cards from the “religious birthday” section. One such card contained the words from Deut. 28:63. “The Lord has rejoiced over you and has done such wonderful things for you.”

I couldn’t help but wonder about the context of that verse, considering it came from Deuteronomy. It was such a beautiful thought. So I turned to the passage to read more…

I found that those words were only the first part of one sentence in a section where God warned His people what would happen if they turned away from Him and disobeyed His commands. The entire verse reads, “Just as the Lord has rejoiced over you and has done such wonderful things for you and has multiplied you, so the Lord at that time will rejoice in destroying you; and you shall disappear from the land” (Deut. 28:63 TLB).

Wouldn’t that be a pleasant birthday greeting?

The experience reminded me how easy it is to select pleasant phrases from the Bible while ignoring their context and meaning. Today’s passage is a warning from God to His people. It is worth pondering for what it is—an expression of certainty as firm in the spiritual realm as the law of gravity in the physical realm. The Bible contains words of encouragement as well as words of warning. It’s important to appreciate both for their instruction in our walk with Christ.